A Plethora of Princes - (Thread 1) : Cumberland Rex

[Grey Wolf]

Cumberland Rex

For a royal family with so many princes and princesses at the turn of the nineteenth century, the Hannoverian dynasty in Great Britain almost withered to extinction over the next few decades. So great were the hopes heaped on the Prince Regent's sole child, Princess Charlotte that there seem to have been few thoughts as to what would happen should she die. Her death in 1817, after giving birth to a stillborn infant, left the dynasty with no leigitimate grandchildren of King George III, let alone great-grandchildren for which Charlotte, and her husband Leopold, had been striving. At her death, only two of George III's other sons had married, the eldest, the Duke of York, a long time ago and having failed to produce an heir. Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland was the only other, having wed Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in 1815. As yet they had no living heir either.

Charlotte's death thus set in motion of scramble for marriage, and the production of an heir. In 1818 both William, Duke of Clarence and Edward, Duke of Kent (the third and fourth sons of George III) found themselves wives, both ditching long-time mistresses so to do. Before the year was out William's wife Adelaide had produced only a stillborn child.

1819 was to see some real movement in the race for the succession. First, on the 24th May Edward's wife Victoire (anglicised to Victoria) produced a living daughter, Princess Alexandrina Victoria. Three days later, Ernest Augustus's wife Frederica produced a living son, Prince George. William's wife also produced a live daughter, Princess Charlotte Augusta, but she soon died an infant.

1820 saw the death of Edward, Duke of Kent at the start of January, only a couple of weeks before his father, King George III finally passed away, bringing with it the accession of the Prince Regent as King George IV. William's wife Adelaide gave birth to another living daughter, Princess Elizabeth Georgina, but again she did not prove strong enough to long survive the birth.

At this stage, the history given is as per OTL. There are some discrepancies among sources for the stillborn children of William and Adelaide, and also on how many and when Frederica had similar.

Grey Wolf

 

[Grey Wolf]

Cumberland Rex - Part 2

The 1820s were a time of difficulty for the British body politic. On the one hand there was a profligate king, spending freely whilst the country staggered under enormous debt from the late war. On the other, the working man was faced with hardship, aggravated by industrial developments which threatened traditional working practices. Two causes came to dominate the scene - the call for Catholic Emancipation, emanating from Ireland, and the call for the reform of the franchise and of the electoral system. The corruption of the latter was epitomised by such personalities as the Duke of Newcastle who had nine MPs in his pocket, a practice made possible by the system of Rotten Boroughs, parliamentary seats where the population had withered away but which still returned MPs even whilst growing industrial cities like Birmingham or Leeds had none.

It was to be the question of Catholic Emancipation which caused the greatest difficulty for the body politic. Catholics had been enfranchised by previous reforms, but they remained unable to become MPs. The injustice of this was trumpeted by people such as Daniel O'Connell who turned the nascent Catholic Association into a mass-membership body and who stood for, and was elected to parliament in 1828. As a Catholic he was unable to take up his seat. Thus began the crisis.

Emerging as the leading figure amongst the Ultras, those Tories opposed to Catholic Emancipation, was Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Since the death in infancy of Princess Alexandrina Victoria in 1823, it had become clear that Cumberland's line would be next to inherit the crown after that of William, Duke of Clarence whose efforts to produce an heir had proven ultimately to be fruitless; Adelaide's final pregnancy in 1824 had ended with the birth of stillborn twins. It was thus obvious to all that either Cumberland, or his son George, would one day inherit the crown. Given the condition of the king, his gluttony and increasingly drugged up state, it did not seem likely that there would be much delay before only William stood between the line of Cumberland and the throne, the Duke of York having passed away in 1827. Ernest Augustus used every trick, as dark and dastardly as they come, to increase his influence in anticipation of this ultimate event.

Imposing his will upon King George IV, Ernest was able to secure his brother's rejection of all calls for Catholic Emancipation. In vain did the Duke of Wellington and Robert Peel call on the king and try to bring him round. Wellington became convinced that George IV was insane. His proof was not hard to come by, the frequent rantings and ravings, often drug-induced, his nonsensical false memories, and the danger he was putting the nation in.

On March 5th 1829 Wellington convened a cabinet meeting. As anticipated by Lord Ellenborough, Wellington announced the king's insanity and moved to block Ernest's manoevrings to set up an Ultra government, by re-assuming the position of Prime Minister from which he had resigned in a last effort to impress the king with the gravity of the situation. William, Duke of Clarence became Prince Regent but it was Wellington who held the whip hand for the moment.

But it was an insecure position. Assailed on the one hand by reformers pressing for access to government, and on the other by Ultras scheming to replace him with a ministry more in tune with their prejudices, Wellington was forced to resort to the use of the army in order to maintain order.

Effectively side-lined by being declared insane, George IV declined rapidly and by the end of the Summer of 1829 he was dead. The accession of King William IV did not usher in any reprieve for the embattled nation. Wellington's attempts to push through Catholic Emancipation had run into predicatable disaster in the Lords, and all attempts to persuade the Ultra peers to at least abstain fell on deaf ears.

Ernest Augustus now prevailed on his brother to dissolve Wellington's ministry and institute an ultra cabinet led by the Duke of Richmond. At the same time, Ernest's own machinations throughout the country were being stepped up. Orange Lodges had spread widely, even amongst the army where they were officially banned.

The appointment of the Duke of Richmond as Prime Minister, and the obvious message that the Ultra ministry would not work for Catholic Emancipation precipitated uproar amongst the reformers, and a general uprising in Ireland. The open opposition to this of the Orange Lodges and the decision to commit the army turned this into a full-blown civil war. With Wellington removed from the scene, William IV was completely under his brother's thumb.

This is obviously Alternate History, though quite a lot of it is based on reality. Ellenborough did expect Wellington to declare the king insane on March 5th - of course, in OTL he didn't. But in the ATL, there is the definite likelihood that Ernest is going to end up king. This increases his power, and the threat he is seen to be. The stuff about the Orange Lodges is true also - in OTL he was forced to disband the army lodges in 1835. Here, circumstances have brought about their expansion even quicker than historically. It would be noted that the Orange oath of allegiance was a conditional one to the monarch, and an absolute one to the principles of William III

Grey Wolf

 

[Grey Wolf]

Timeline 1815-1829

1815
Ernest Augustus' marriage to Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 29 May 1815

1817
Princess Charlotte dies November 1817
Frederica born 1817 and dies, to Ernest Augustus (*)

1818
Edward, Duke of Kent marries May 1818
William, Duke of Clarence marries July 1818
Stillborn child born to William, Duke of Clarence
Daughter born and died 1818 to Ernest Augustus (*)

1819
Birth of Alexandrina Victoria to Edward, Duke of Kent 24 May 1819
27 May 1819 birth of Prince George to Ernest Augustus
Princess Charlotte Augusta Louisa b&d 1819 dtr of William, Duke of Clarence
Stillborn child 1819 to William, Duke of Clarence

1820
Death of Edward, Duke of Kent 3rd January 1820
George III dies 19 January 1820
Princess Elizabeth Georgina Adelaide b&d 1820 to William, Duke of Clarence

1822
Stillborn child 1822 to William, Duke of Clarence (*)

1823
Death of Alexandrina Victoria

1824
Stillborn twin boys 1824 born to William, Duke of Clarence (*)

1827
Death of Frederick, Duke of York 5 January 1827

1828
Eelection of Daniel O'Connell in County Clare

1829
George IV declared insane 5th March 1829
William, Duke of Clarence is Regent
Wellington reinstated as Prime Minister
Death of George IV in late summer
Accession of William IV
Failure of Catholic Emancipation in the Lords
Installation of Duke of Richmond as Prime Minister of an Ultra administration
Civil war in Ireland

* Information on the OTL stillborn children of William and Adelaide and on the stillborn or infant deaths of Ernest Augustus and Frederica are contradictory. If anyone can definitively produce the information I would be grateful.

Grey Wolf

 

[Grey Wolf]

Cumberland Rex - Part 3 (1830)

Historians will argue for ever over how far the distraction of Great Britain in its own internal conflicts affected the history of Europe, and indeed the world. Claims have been made that events in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Netherlands, in Portugal and in Spain may have gone differently had Britain not been in the throes of civil unrest.

Added to the civil war raging in Ireland, the popular pressure for reform of the voting system began to build up, especially in the industrial cities of England. With support in the Commons weak, despite the best efforts of the likes of Peel, the Ultras in the Lords found their ability to control the process of government seriously hampered. The Duke of Richmond gamely attempted to steer the careening ship of state, but as 1830 wore on it became obvious that something needed to be done, lest the government collapse.

William IV was by this time showing increasingly worrying signs of that same madness that had overtaken his father and his brother. He was prone to long incomprehensible speeches and in his purely ceremonial role of admiral in issuing orders that were impossible to obey. Ernest Augustus now began working to have him in turn declared insane and attain the pinnacle of Regent.

Events elsewhere would derail this plan for the time being. In July 1830 a revolution swept King Charles X of France from his throne, and despite his abdicating in favour of his young grandson, the Comte de Chambord, it was his cousin, the Duke of Orleans who ascended the throne as King Louis Philippe I. Whilst this would have great consequences elsewhere in Europe, within Britain it seemed to point to a dangerous possibility for the increasingly unpopular monarchy. Under pressure from Wellington and other senior Tories, King William IV was pressurised to rid himself of Richmond, and reinstate Wellington as Prime Minister.

Ernest Augustus, temporarily cast aside, continued to work towards his ultimate goal. His position was too strong to be directly assailed, and with a civil war raging in Ireland it was impossible for even so respected a former army man as Wellington to attempt to abolish the army lodges.

Wellington's ministry attempted to prosecute the war in Ireland at the same time as trying to quash the unrest at home. Moderate reform of the electoral system was put forward, but under the leadership of Ernest Augustus the Lords rejected even this small measure. With riots and mass gatherings becoming dangerously commonplace in English towns, Wellington was again forced to rely upon the army and the New Police to retain order. Underneath the surface dangerous tensions boiled.

Grey Wolf

 

[Archangel Michael]

Ernest Augustus, in OTL, had only one living child, the future King Georg V of Hannover. He had a single daughter, Fredericka, that was born and died in early 1817.

The problem wasn't the Duke of Clarence, it was his wife, more than likely. He had 10 kids with his mistress Dorothea Bland. His wife was pregenant six times, and all six babies died within a year of birth, the longest was Elizabeth who was born in December 1820 and died in March 1821, a four month life.

The Duke of York (Frederick) was married to the daughter of King Frederich Wilhelm II of Prussia. They didn't have any children together. They married in 1791, and the marriage lasted until Fredericka's death in 1820.

 

[Grey Wolf]

Ernest Augustus, in OTL, had only one living child, the future King Georg V of Hannover. He had a single daughter, Fredericka, that was born and died in early 1817.

The problem wasn't the Duke of Clarence, it was his wife, more than likely. He had 10 kids with his mistress Dorothea Bland. His wife was pregenant six times, and all six babies died within a year of birth, the longest was Elizabeth who was born in December 1820 and died in March 1821, a four month life.

The Duke of York (Frederick) was married to the daughter of King Frederich Wilhelm II of Prussia. They didn't have any children together. They married in 1791, and the marriage lasted until Fredericka's death in 1820.

Thanks

Did Frederica also miscarry ? Something that would not be quoted as a birth....

Thanks for the additional information on the putative Queen Elizabeth II as she would have been

What I meant to imply regarding the Duke of York was that there was no chance he was going to produce an heir by that time, because his wife was too old and they hadn't up to then.

Grey Wolf

 

[Grey Wolf]

What should happen now ?

I'm looking in terms of the following, but was wondering what people thought (if indeed people are thinking anything about this) :-

Wellington is assassinated.

The Earl of Bathurst becomes Ultra PM

Ernest Augustus moves to have William IV declared insane

A combination of this, plus his actually looking to depose William rather than become Regent for him, leads to civil war spreading across England

The Orange Lodges in the army would provide him with a solid foundation of support

The populace on the whole may well be against him, but can they be mobilised, and if so who by ?

It seems unlikely that leading Whig aristocrats, however much they might hate him, would commit treason, at least in the first instance. They may join with a revolution but seem unlikely to lead it.

Thoughts ?

If this can be spun out over a few years then it allows the changes I've planned for the rest of Europe to go ahead with Britain supremely distracted.

Grey Wolf

 

[Faeelin]

I'm kinda confused; what sparked this war in Ireland?

 

[Grey Wolf]

I'm kinda confused; what sparked this war in Ireland?

The refusal of the Lords to pass Catholic Emancipation and the subsequent fall of the ministry that attempted it, to be replaced by an Ultra Tory ministry that was bitterly opposed to Emancipation.

OTL Wellington constantly warned George IV that an uprising in Ireland would be the result of not passing the Emancipation law. Here, with Cumberland definitely in line to succeed, his power is greater and his influence over George IV just that tad more than OTL, that's all it would take for George IV to be like his father and refuse. In OTL, when the king let it be known he would assent, his private secretary requested that the Ultras in the Lords abstain in the vote. Half of them, including Ernest, obeyed. Here, with the king backing the no camp, no such instruction is given and the Lords vote down the bill.

Grey Wolf

 

[Archangel Michael]

What exactly are the Orange Lodges?

 

[G.Bone]

Aren't they the pro-Protestant dudes in Ireland?

 

[Grey Wolf]

Aren't they the pro-Protestant dudes in Ireland?

They are now, but in this time period the Orange Lodges were found across Britain, in the colonies and were infiltrating the army. Protestantism was not just the sectarian Irish issue it is now. Before Catholic Emancipation it was a major issue - the King's coronation oath was seen as against it, the Church, the aristocracy etc made a big deal of it. Catholics were seen as a route in for Popery, for rule by priests and not by the king, however much we may see such fears as exaggerated ourselves.

Ernest Augustus was Imperial Grand Master of the Orange Lodges, he was the power behind their spread in this period, it was estimated in OTL by the early 1830s that in Ireland and Britain both he could mobilise 300,000 men. His OTL position was weakened of course by the existence of little Alexandrina Victoria, and the fact that any conspiracies would require her removal from the line of succession. In the ATL disloyalty to William IV would seem less horrendous. The Orange oath was a conditional one to the king, as long as he upheld his coronation oath and the Protestant principles of William III. If it appeared that these were going to be breached, then the higher duty called. Without Alexandrina Victoria standing in the way, it would be easier for that higher duty to be identified in the self same person as Ernest Augustus.

Grey Wolf

 

[Grey Wolf]

Part 4 - Into civil war

The assassination of the Duke of Wellington brought the Ultras back to power once again, this time in the form of the Earl of Bathurst, another close friend and confidante of the Duke of Cumberland. The king was increasingly in his brother's power, and with the other royal dukes, Sussex and Cambridge backing Ernest Augustus, William IV allowed the Ultras to form a ministry once again. The only alternative was to let the Whigs under Lord Grey into power, but he was pledged to enact much of what they had fought so hard to prevent over the past few years.

The Earl of Bathurst proved less able than even the Duke of Wellington to stem the civil unrest growing in the towns and cities. As the Ultras conspired to take more direct and definite control, Ernest Augustus used his support amongst the Orange lodges to forward the idea of declaring the king to be insane and taking power into his own hands as Regent. As the situation deteriorated, he went one step further and declared William IV to be deposed, gaining support for this position within the Lords and from the Orange lodges. The Commons refused to accept this state of affairs, and with their refusal came the first overt actions of the Civil War.

Tying directly into the Irish civil war, and with Radicals rallying the industrial populace the civil war rapidly became a struggle between the Ultra Protestantism of the Orange lodges and the reformist zeal of the revolution's leaders. Caught between the two extremes were the majority of the moderate Whigs, aristocrats and gentlemen who were unwilling to commit treason but found themselves swept up in the war against what many regarded as an usurpation.

The civil war of 1832-1836 would pull Britain apart.

Grey Wolf

 

[Grey Wolf]

Part 5 - Civil War

Just as Charles I in his civil war ended up making a deal with the Scots and bringing in the Irish, so did Ernest Augustus look to his other dominions for support. By rank a Field Marshal and colonel of a Hannoverian regiment of Hussars, King Ernest I Augustus made more of his military experience than was truly merited, perhaps showing the family predeliction for hyperbole that had led to the declarations of insanity against both of his surviving older brothers. But in Ernest's case these were not idle boasts, or drug-fuelled ramblings, but a political power play. He came to increasingly use both Hannoverian levies and mercenaries from his wife's home in Mecklenburg as the civil war dragged on.

Both of Ernest's surviving brothers played important parts for the Royalist cause, commanding armies in battle and by their skill winning important early victories against the untrained and hastily assembled rebels. But early victories were not enough to turn into outright victory, and the war in Ireland was a constant drain on Ernest's resources, whilst at the same time providing the rebels with arms, advisors and as the Irish cause gained ground with troops for the mainland campaigns.

Many of the rebels at first fought in the name of King William IV, refusing to recognise his deposition and overcoming their general dislike for the at-best half-sane king by contrasting him with the man claiming to currently hold that position. As the conflict bore on, a growing trend of republicanism began to permeate rebel ranks, with Radical leaders pressing for the abolition of monarchy, church and Lords. Although appealing to many uneducated members of the populace who were easily roused to envy at the wealth and privelege of the born elite, such calls drove many a wavering neutral gentleman into reluctant alliance with Ernest.

Thus, the civil war provided its own fuel for its longevity.

Grey Wolf

 

[G.Bone]

Interesting....is there much support from the Scots to the cause of William IV? What about the future Victoria or has she been born yet?

 

[Archangel Michael]

Emerging as the leading figure amongst the Ultras, those Tories opposed to Catholic Emancipation, was Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Since the death in infancy of Princess Alexandrina Victoria in 1823,

I am afraid that she is dead.

 

[Grey Wolf]

Interesting....is there much support from the Scots to the cause of William IV? What about the future Victoria or has she been born yet?

She is actually the POD. Alexandrina Victoria to give her her full name in this ATL died as a toddler in 1823. This puts Ernest not only nearer the throne but definitely in line for it (as his older brothers are without heirs and will be unlikely to outlive him) and puts his line in place to succeed. This in turn increases his power and importance and leads to the ATL events of 1828.

I will have to think about Scotland. I'm trying to avoid having to actually FIGHT this civil war in detail and just intend to skim over the top. Scotland is something of a blank subject in this time period usually, I guess I need to see if it differed in any substantial way from England

Grey Wolf

 

[Grey Wolf]

Part 6 - Aftermath (1836)

1836 opened with the death of William IV, since his deposition living in seclusion and declining health. Whilst at the one time pulling the rug from under the feet of those who claimed to be fighting in his name, it also served to focus opposition to Ernest I Augustus. With Ireland largely lost, and horrendous atrocities being reported from amongst the Protestant population, the focus of the civil war was now upon whether the Royalists could hold out against an increasingly republican rebellion. The death of William IV effectively forced the hand of the more moderate monarchists, and in a furious and tumultuous meeting in Leeds, Lord Grey came out in support of the rebellion but on his own terms. Ernest I Augustus was to be deposed, but his son George was to be king, ruling in name only over parliament where the superior power of the state was to lie. Despite being branded a traitor by Radical leaders, Grey's vision was the more appealing for a large section of the more traditional population, and the rallying call soon attracted a new wave of volunteers to the cause, men whose views differed both from the Radical leaders, and from the Irish troops now being sent over to England by O'Connell.

It was this new rebel army which defeated and killed the Duke of Sussex in battle, and which proceded to lay siege to London. The Duke of Sussex's illegitimate son, created Duke of Kendal by Ernest in 1833, was forced to surrender the capital. With momentum growing in the rebellion, Ernest attempted to flee to Hannover but was caught at Deal and brought in chains before the leaders of the Rebellion.

Despite Radical calls to execute him, Ernest I Augustus was allowed to go into exile in Mecklenburg, along with his wife. Their son remained in England, effectively a prisoner of parliament and a figurehead monarch for the rebels. The Duke of Cambridge, latterly Ernest's viceroy in Hannover was allowed to succeed to the kingship of that land, now split asunder from Great Britain.

1836 was to end with the first major crisis between the victorious rebel leaders. Even as King George V was being crowned in London, Daniel O'Connell was in Paris meeting with King Louis Philippe I and signing an agreement that would see the French king's third son, Prince Francois, installed as the Catholic king of a newly-independent Ireland.

Grey Wolf

 

[Syphon]

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