Queen Elizabeth III of Manticore (Elizabeth Adrienne Samantha Annette Winton) is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber. She is the reigning monarch of the Star Kingdom of Manticore. A member of the House of Winton (the only royal house of Manticore), she ascended to the throne in 3986 AD (1883 PD), seventeen years prior to On Basilisk Station. The Manticoran Constitution gives her some limited actual executive power.
Her full title, as given in Mission of Honor, is "Elizabeth Adrienne Samantha Annette Winton, Grand Commander of the Order of King Roger, Grand Commander of the Order of Queen Elizabeth I, Grand Commander of the Order of the Golden Lion, Baroness of Crystal Pine, Baroness of White Sand, Countess of Tannerman, Countess of High Garnet, Grand Duchess of Basilisk, Princess Protector of the Realm, and, by God's grace and the will of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth III of the Star Kingdom of Manticore, and Empress Elizabeth I of the Star Empire of Manticore."
She is straightforward, unduplicitous and honourable. This sets her apart from many of her aristocratic contemporaries. Treecats, including her personal companion Ariel, refer to her as "Soul of Steel". She demonstated the reason she is thus named in a speech she gave in Mission of Honor, in which she could be described as "channeling Churchill".
She is the daughter of King Roger III and Queen Angelique. She, like the entire House of Winton before her, is by appearance of African descent, though her genome is actually quite mixed racially. The genetic lines of the different portions of the Terran genome have been blended for many centuries creating a genetic 'mish mash.'
Quirk: She is said to keep her grudges for so long that they die of old age; then she has them stuffed and mounted. It is said that even elephants admit they can be forgetful compared to her when it comes to tenacious memory of slight and opposition. Particularly, she hates the People's Republic of Haven, as the People's Republic was responsible for the assassination of her father, the death of a great many of her subjects, and her Prime Minister, uncle, and cousin. Her father was killed in a grav-skiing 'accident', which was orchestrated by some Manticoran politicians who disagreed with his military policies and who were influence by Havenite agents or paid directly by them. The apparent plan had been to put a weak, teenaged Heir onto the throne and to influence Star Kingdom policies (specifically the military buildup in anticipation of war with the PRH. They were, however, faced instead with Queen Elizabeth Winton III. The Queen is, however, currently in the process of learning that the newly reestablished Republic of Haven is a rather different entity from the old 'People's Republic'.
Elizabeth III, like seven of the previous nine Manticoran monarchs, has been adopted by a Sphinxian treecat. She has named him Ariel. Treecats have named her Soul of Steel. Her consort, Prince Justin, is also an adoptee, having been adopted by her father's treecat, Monroe, after the late King's assassination. The Royal Couple also have two children, Crown Prince Roger, and Princess Joanna. Most recently the Star Kingdom has become a Star Empire, and therefore Elizabeth III is the first Empress of Manticore.