I read on Wikipedia I think that she appeared to manifest all the symptoms of a major personality disorder and her behaviour was certainly bizarre. Had her husband lived, it's possible she would have calmed down a bit. I think she did nurse him at the end and caught smallpox herself (though...
I would guess that it would probably be a Russian marriage for Natalya. She and her brother were very close - she was probably the only person he truly loved - and I expect he'd want her living with him in Russia rather than abroad.
I believe that Marie Antoinette rejected a proposal for Madame Royale from Francesco of Naples (courtesy of his mother, MA's sister, Queen Maria Carolina). She didn't want her daughter to have to go through the trauma of leaving home and was keen for her to marry her cousin, Angouleme.
MA was...
I think Marie Antoinette having a son so much earlier could potentially have a huge impact on how things played out. Her own loss of popularity occurred in the years immediately after the accession - she was very popular as Dauphine and briefly after the accession - largely because she spent a...
A very interesting scenario! I think it's likely that Louis and Marie would try for another child ASAP - unless Marie was already past the age of childbearing. The problem, as Kellan said, was that Marie did tend to produce a lot more girls that boys. Assuming she were willing, would it be...
I've often wondered what would have happened had Adelaide survived, so I love this thread! I wonder who Louis XV would have married had his mother still been alive to arrange it. If Felipe V does not remarry to La Farnese then there may not be an available Spanish Infanta, and though Adelaide...
A more powerful and influential Scotland would be interesting - and the resulting effect on its relationship with England. Also it would be nice for Margaret the maid of Norway to have a long and interesting life!
Peter II of Russia does not die of smallpox in 1730 and instead has a long life and reign. During his short reign he seemed to have had little interest in modernizing Russia or increasing its links with the west. Had he survived for decades after 1730 with the same attitude, then Russia might...
Interesting scenario. I'm not sure how easy it would be for George III to disinherit his eldest son if Prinny didn't want to be disinherited. Chances are, Prinny would quickly agree to pension Maria Fitzherbert off and never see her again if he thought there was a real possibility of losing...
Funnily enough, once I'd posted I did think of Karl Peter as a possible rival claimant. However what went against him was that he was still a minor, that his father had not been popular in Russia, that he was another German, and that he was expected to be the next King of Sweden. Also, being...
Ivan VI of Russia was deposed as a baby by Peter the Great's daughter, Elizabeth, and spent the rest of his wretched life in solitary confinement. If his mother, the regent Anna Leopoldovna, had the foresight to have Elizabeth put into a convent as soon as Ivan took the throne, or if Elizabeth...