Hm. How about something a bit more heterodox? Start out with Warblade instead of Fighter (a good excuse to have decent INT that comes with Diplomacy, Intimidate and Knowledge (history+local) as class skills), boost CHA at 4 (justifying it with his being an officer at that point and thus needing it) and then switch over to Master ProfessionalDLCS. Master Professional gets 8+INT skill points per level, Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Knowledge (local), Sense Motive (all good skills for someone who wants to deal with diplomacy, politics (in terms of intrigue and policy making) and other ruling-related activities), Appraise (fluff it as a head for economics), Handle Animal and Ride (good for representation). Other class skills can be used for a humanising final touch: Heal, Knowledge (nature) and Survival are skills fit for a weary leader who likes to spend some time out in the wild hunting and stuff to get rid of excess steam. As for Knacks, he can take, I don't know, Fast-Talk at level 5 (fluff it as the ability to smoothly produce the white lies needed to calm down troops or crowds on the verge of panic), and (here comes the important bit) Faithful Aide at level 8, alongside pumping his CHA further for a whole freakin' extra cohort in addition to the one granted by Leadership which he took two levels earlier. (And if you're really worried about mages with mind control, make one of those cohorts, I don't know, an aasimar (not the lesser version; you don't want 'em to be humanoid) Paladin 2/Monk 3 with Mage Slayer and call it a day.)