Will Kürlich Kerl
Banned
What happens if Albert Fredrick, Duke of Prussia, had a son who survives to adulthood before going to the deathbed in 1618?
WI: Albert Frederick had a son?
- Thread starter Will Kürlich Kerl
- Start date
He seems to have all daughters by his wife except for two sons, the first, Albert Frederick, who lived only a few days in 1582, and a second Prince Wilhelm, who died a few months short of his first birthday. Of his wife, Marie Eleonore of Cleves, she seemed to have a decent track record vis a vis pregnancy: she had five daughters who lived into adulthood, some rather long lives, while others long enough to at least marry.
I think it's safe to say there's no hope for little Albert Frederick, so let's give the POD that Wilhelm of Prussia is born a bit born robust in 1582 and grows up perfectly healthly. He'll succeed his father in 1618 at the age of 36; so will be mature and old enough to rule, and very likely married with several children of his own.
What goes from there is up in the air. Prussian (especially the Duchy) is not my strong suit, but Duke Wilhelm I will be dealing with many things in his reign, such as the thirty years war on his very near doorstep. Depending who he marries, say a daughter of the Elector of Saxony, the deposed Elector of the Palatinate, or even a grander match, a daughter of the King of Denmark or Sweden: Catherine of Sweden would be a very interesting match as she was Charles IX's eldest daughter. Following Gustavus Adolphus and Christina's reigns, the throne was left to her cousin, Catherine's daughter. Now, the butterflies definitely mean things will not play exactly as they did in history: Gustavus Adolphus may not die in battle, marry differently, have a son, but it a stepping stone nevertheless that could see the Prussian Branch of the House of Hohenzollern eventually call Sweden home. Such a marriage may be offensive to their feudal suzereigns the King of Poland, but there is not much they can do about it.
There is also the aspect of the Polish Vasa. They're on their way out and Wilhelm's reign will likely not deal with it, assuming he reigns for a solid 15-20 years at least, his son will come of age in the 1630 and 1640s, with not only the Thirty Years War raging, but it clear that the Polish Vasas are on their way. It is quite possible we could see an alternate Deluge, this one lead by Wilhelm's grandson, not as Duke of Prussia, but King of Sweden, with the similar dissolution of Poland as a great power and Prussia becoming formally independent, a Duchy in personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden and an addition to their empire in the northern Europe.
Another interesting scenario might be closer connections with the Polish Vasas. Born in the reign Sigismund III, he had numerous daughters who died young, with only one living, being born in 1619 and eventually dying with issue who married the Elector Palatine. Perhaps butterflies that allow Wilhelm to live allow one of Sigismund's eldest daughters, Anna Marie (1593 - 1600 IOTL) to live and eventually be a bride to Prince Wilhelm. Through there children and the generations instead of Germanization, we could see an amount of Polonization occur, with perhaps a return to Catholicism by his son or grandson. If the Polish line meets an unfortunate end earlier, you could see the Hohenzollerns as Kings of Poland too, perhaps. There is the issue of the Sejm, the weak kingship in the sense, and the many economic issues, but perhaps spared the deluge, the Commonwealth could be properly reformed under the Prussian Branch of the Hohenzollerns, the main line remaining merely the Electors of Brandenburg.
I think it's safe to say there's no hope for little Albert Frederick, so let's give the POD that Wilhelm of Prussia is born a bit born robust in 1582 and grows up perfectly healthly. He'll succeed his father in 1618 at the age of 36; so will be mature and old enough to rule, and very likely married with several children of his own.
What goes from there is up in the air. Prussian (especially the Duchy) is not my strong suit, but Duke Wilhelm I will be dealing with many things in his reign, such as the thirty years war on his very near doorstep. Depending who he marries, say a daughter of the Elector of Saxony, the deposed Elector of the Palatinate, or even a grander match, a daughter of the King of Denmark or Sweden: Catherine of Sweden would be a very interesting match as she was Charles IX's eldest daughter. Following Gustavus Adolphus and Christina's reigns, the throne was left to her cousin, Catherine's daughter. Now, the butterflies definitely mean things will not play exactly as they did in history: Gustavus Adolphus may not die in battle, marry differently, have a son, but it a stepping stone nevertheless that could see the Prussian Branch of the House of Hohenzollern eventually call Sweden home. Such a marriage may be offensive to their feudal suzereigns the King of Poland, but there is not much they can do about it.
There is also the aspect of the Polish Vasa. They're on their way out and Wilhelm's reign will likely not deal with it, assuming he reigns for a solid 15-20 years at least, his son will come of age in the 1630 and 1640s, with not only the Thirty Years War raging, but it clear that the Polish Vasas are on their way. It is quite possible we could see an alternate Deluge, this one lead by Wilhelm's grandson, not as Duke of Prussia, but King of Sweden, with the similar dissolution of Poland as a great power and Prussia becoming formally independent, a Duchy in personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden and an addition to their empire in the northern Europe.
Another interesting scenario might be closer connections with the Polish Vasas. Born in the reign Sigismund III, he had numerous daughters who died young, with only one living, being born in 1619 and eventually dying with issue who married the Elector Palatine. Perhaps butterflies that allow Wilhelm to live allow one of Sigismund's eldest daughters, Anna Marie (1593 - 1600 IOTL) to live and eventually be a bride to Prince Wilhelm. Through there children and the generations instead of Germanization, we could see an amount of Polonization occur, with perhaps a return to Catholicism by his son or grandson. If the Polish line meets an unfortunate end earlier, you could see the Hohenzollerns as Kings of Poland too, perhaps. There is the issue of the Sejm, the weak kingship in the sense, and the many economic issues, but perhaps spared the deluge, the Commonwealth could be properly reformed under the Prussian Branch of the Hohenzollerns, the main line remaining merely the Electors of Brandenburg.