For Want of A Sandwich - A Franz Ferdinand Lives Wikibox TL

[MaskedPickle]

Florestan II (born Wilhelm Karl von Württemberg, 30 May 1864-24 March 1928) was the Prince of Monaco from 11 July 1924 to 24 March 1928. He was also Duke of Urach from 17 July 1869 to his death, and King-elect of Lithuania under the regnal name of Mindaugas II from June 4, 1921 to January 10, 1923.

Born to the First Duke of Urach and Princess Florestine of Monaco, Florestan II was a professionnal general in the German Army, although, as a German catholic nobleman related to the House of Württemberg, he was also considered for the throne of Albania in 1913 or the Grand Dukedom of Alsace Lorraine, even if his strongest claim was to Monaco, as a grandson of Prince Florestan I and as heir apparent Louis Grimaldi had no legitimate issue. Nevertheless, the French refused steadily to have a German prince reigning on the Mediterrannean.

In 1921, the newly established Council of Lithuania, wishing to secure German protection while maintining their distances from the House of Hohenzollern, elected the Duke of Urach as King Mindaugas II of the restablished Kingdom of Lithuania. If the future Florestan accepted the claim is unclear ; even if he corresponded with then Lithuanian Chancellor Antanas Smetona and began to learn the Lithuanian language, he didnt formally accepted the offer, as the country was embroiled into the Polish War and as he expected the Prussians to refuse him ; he was right, as Germans decided to reorganize Lithuania in 1923 and established Prince Franz of Bavaria as King Vytautas II instead.

Florestan II finally came to his own throne in 1924 ; in the aftermath of the Syndicalist Revolution, Prince Louis II had never been inaugurated in Monaco, having fled to Algeria, while Chancellor von Tirpitz viewed the Principality as a perfect site to host a submarine base for the Mediterranean that would keep the Italians in check. Upon being proposed the Principality of Monaco as the perfect heir, Florestan immediately accepted. His four-year-reign saw the establishment of the Monaco German Naval base, that exists to this day. Upon his passing, Florestan transmitted the Principality of Monaco to his eldest son Wilhelm (who became Florestan III) while his second son Karl Gero became Duke of Urach. To this day, both branches of the House of Urach still reign over their respective demesnes.

 

[MaskedPickle]

The Monaco Agreement was a multilateral treaty signed in Turin (Italy) in 1952 by Germany, Italy and France, and also by the House of Urach and the Polignac Family, that established the House of Urach as the reigning house in the Principality of Monaco, put the country under an Italian protectorate while retroceding it the cities of Menton and Roquebrune.

Monaco had been surrounded by France since the annexation of the County of Nice in 1860; the towns of Menton and Roquebrune, that had been part of the House of Grimaldi’s demesne since the Middle Ages, joined France the following year. Avoiding to become a French protectorate, the Principality modernized, relying on entertainment through the Société des Bains de Mer ; nevertheless, when the Great European War broke out, the heir apparent, Louis Grimaldi, had no legitimate issue and should the House of Grimaldi become extinct, nothing would oppose a French annexation ; French defeat and the Syndicalist Revolution led to Louis never taking his throne and getting into exile, while the Principality was offered to his German cousin, the Duke of Urach, remaining independent while Monaco was now surrounded by Italy.

Monaco was occupied by the CWR during the World War ; reigning duke Florestan III fought with the Legions of Christ in Italy, while Louis Grimaldi, a supporter of the French government-in-exile (who rewarded him with the distinction of Marshal of France), died in London in 1949 with no legitimate issue, thereby ending the Grimaldi-Goyon line. Nonetheless, he had an illegimate daughter, Charlotte de Valentinois. Surrounded by a few exalted partisans, she took advantage of the Third French Restoration to enter Monte-Carlo on February 2, 1950, while Florestan hadn’t came back from the Alps yet.

With Charlotte in Monaco and Florestan exiled, while France had recovered control of the homeland and Italy was looking forward to annex the small medieval remnant, Germany was worried that the Monaco Submarine Base, the future headquarters of its Mediterrean Fleet, would fall into Italian hands. Thus, the German government pushed for an Agreement to settle the situation in Monaco.

According to it, the House of Urach was recognized as the true legitimate rulers of Monaco, while the Polignacs were offered significant shares into the Société des Bains de Mer and other lucrative Monegasque institutions. To compensate for the loss of shares for the Urachs, Monaco received back the towns of Menton and Roquebrune to further extend the already overcrowded Principality ; to compensate for the territorial loss, Italy could establish a protectorate over Monaco, granated that the Principality remained independent and the German naval base untouched.

If the Italian Protectorate ended in 1993 with the entry of Monaco into the European Community, the House of Urach remains the ruling family to this day, Monaco remains the headquarters to the German Mediterranean Fleet and descendants from Charlotte de Valentinois remain stockholders into Monaco’s institutions, even if Rainier Polignac (Charlotte’s son)’s shares were brought back by Prince Charles V in 2005.

 

[MaskedPickle]

The Monaco Crisis was a military standoff between the Kingdom of Italy and the Principality of Monaco, culminating into an Italian military excursion on October 12, 1962.

Monaco had been a protectorate of Italy since 1952, as the principality was surrounded since 1921 and the end of the Great European War by its protective power. Young Prince Charles IV, that had ascended the throne on 1957, resented the Italian domination and, taking advantage of President of Council Italo Balbo’s announcment in early 1962 that he had begun a battle with cancer, decided to pursue a better relationship with Germany, hoping to rely into the strategic importance of the Principality for the German military apparatus.

Nevertheless, Balbo didn’t took lightly the Monegasques’ independent policy, considering his relation with Germany as stronger and fearing that Charles IV’s policies would convince others. Balbo waited until he was confident enough into German support to launch a small invasion of Monaco, launched with 3,000 men and lasting less than seven hours. Charles IV, surrounded and without support from abroad, had no choice but to abdicate, leaving his infant son Hercule II to follow him.

The Monaco Crisis is seen for commentators as the “last stand of Balbo’s rule”, but also as “an exemple of using a blundbuss to squash a mosquito”.

 

[MaskedPickle]

Charles V (born 14 March 1958 in Monaco) is the current Prince of Monaco, reigning since 22 May 1977, stemming from the House of Württemberg-Urach.
Second son and third child of Prince Charles IV, he became heir apparent to the small Principality at 4, when his father was forced to abdicate following the Monaco Crisis. Expecting to remain in the shadow, he then rose to the throne before his 20th birthday, when his predecessor and brother, Hercule II, died childless, only 22, s in a horrific car accident as he participated to the 1977 Monaco Grand Prix. Charles, who had just entered West Point Military Academy in the United States, had to go back to his native country in short notice.

Beginning his reign under a close Italian protectorate, Prince Charles V embarked his small country into modernity. He first made international headlines in 1982 when he married actress Carrie Fisher, an American actress from Broadway, whom he had met at a reception from his cousin Rainier de Polignac. If Princess Caroline (the name she took) was known as Debbie Reynolds’ daughter, she also sparked controversy into conservative circles as being a commoner wedded to a reigning prince, and also of being of Jewish heritage through her father. Nevertheless, Charles V embraced the boldness of his marriage, that proved happy and was childless until the birth of his heir, Florestan, in 1992.

Nationally, Charles V managed to have Monaco enter the European Community in 1993, effectively ending the Italian protectorate even if, as a scion of a German noble family, he remained a firm partisan of Germany, maintaining the German Mediterrannean submarine base on the Principality’s grounds. As such, he also ensured the Principality’s incomes by effectively buying Polignacs’ stock shares into the Société des Bains de Mer after Rainier de Polignac’s passing in 2005. Monaco, if it remains a wealthy country, with one of the highest GDPs per capita of the world, nevertheless had to renounce all forms of tax evasion in 2011, under German pressure.

A known patron of the arts and esthete, Charles V could rely on the notoriety of Princess Caroline, that became a major humanitarian, working closely with the World Council in raising awareness for mental health issues and animal rights, being very open upon her own depression ; the unexpected death of Princess Caroline during a Christmas stay in Paris with her son was heartfelt throughout the world. The Prince also happens to be quite popular in Lithuania, where a very small faction continues to consider him as the rightful King, even if he never addressed the issue.

 

[MaskedPickle]

Rainier Polignac (born Rainier de Polignac, 31 May 1923-6 April 2005) was an Monegasque-born American businessman and socialite, best known for his five marriages to Hollywood stars Marylin Monroe, Carroll Baker, Tippi Hedren, Priscilla Beaulieu and Liz Taylor.

Born in Monaco in the middle of the Syndicalist Revolution, he fled to Algiers with his mother, Charlotte de Valentinois, the illegitimate daughter of Prince Louis II of Monaco ; even if his mother was later legitimized, her claim to the Principality was never fully recognized, except for a small period from 1950 to 1952. Spending his childhood in Algeria and England, Polignac graduated from Oxford and fought in the British Army during the World War and never considered pushing his claim forward, unlike his sister Antoinette. Instead, he embarked to California, where he first tried to become an actor (famously playing in Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief alongside Grace Kelly) before adopting US citizenship (renouncing his nobility titles under the 25th Amendment) and embarking in a socialite life, renowned for his good manners and easygoing. Most of his wealth came from his family’s shares into the Société des Bains de Mer, which were sold by his children to the Principality.

 

[MaskedPickle]

An absolute monarchist Kingdom of Nepal, with what looks like the borders of Greater Nepal and possibly Bhutan?
I'm not crying, you're crying!

You dreamed it, it's all there !

American here! Just interested in South American history!

So do I, even if I'm French !

Northeast Greenland is part of Norway? This should be interesting.

It will be.

Great to see Monaco restored to its pre-1861 borders! Interesting to see that although it's greatly enlarged in land area (roughly 12 times the size) the population increase isn't proportionate (only about doubled).

Here are your questions about Monaco. As of the demographics, I would say that the Principality remains quite worried about his tax status... As does France (or Italy) for that matter.

Damn boris IV is hot as fuck .
a bit different from OTL

Well, he is the current Czar of Bulgaria, but Simeon II is quite... different, as he hasn't the same mother than OTL.

What happened to Ireland? I see that, as of 2020, it's unified and independent, but was this gradual and peaceful, or otherwise? No Great War in 1914 means the UK has the Home Rule Act and the UVF to manage; did Redmond's federal plan work out?

Yes, Ireland is unified and independent, and the story of how it came to be will be discussed here. For a clue : the Irish War of Independence didn't go that smoothly.

 

[Catsmate]

Yes, Ireland is unified and independent, and the story of how it came to be will be discussed here. For a clue : the Irish War of Independence didn't go that smoothly.

Oh dear, I'd rather hoped that it was avoided.

 

[pls don't ban me]

Well, he is the current Czar of Bulgaria, but Simeon II is quite... different, as he hasn't the same mother than OTL.

ok so no italian-savoy related?
i need to know what happened to bulgaria, because from what i see they lost the aegean coast at some point but also gained macedonia and the whole dobruja.

 

[Mr.Doctor]

Really eager to see the story of Greece gettin so big and basically being New Byzantine

 

[glenn67]

View attachment 597383

Charles V (born 14 March 1958 in Monaco) is the current Prince of Monaco, reigning since 22 May 1977, stemming from the House of Württemberg-Urach.
Second son and third child of Prince Charles IV, he became heir apparent to the small Principality at 4, when his father was forced to abdicate following the Monaco Crisis. Expecting to remain in the shadow, he then rose to the throne before his 20th birthday, when his predecessor and brother, Hercule II, died childless, only 22, s in a horrific car accident as he participated to the 1977 Monaco Grand Prix. Charles, who had just entered West Point Military Academy in the United States, had to go back to his native country in short notice.

Beginning his reign under a close Italian protectorate, Prince Charles V embarked his small country into modernity. He first made international headlines in 1982 when he married actress Carrie Fisher, an American actress from Broadway, whom he had met at a reception from his cousin Rainier de Polignac. If Princess Caroline (the name she took) was known as Debbie Reynolds’ daughter, she also sparked controversy into conservative circles as being a commoner wedded to a reigning prince, and also of being of Jewish heritage through her father. Nevertheless, Charles V embraced the boldness of his marriage, that proved happy and was childless until the birth of his heir, Florestan, in 1992.

Nationally, Charles V managed to have Monaco enter the European Community in 1993, effectively ending the Italian protectorate even if, as a scion of a German noble family, he remained a firm partisan of Germany, maintaining the German Mediterrannean submarine base on the Principality’s grounds. As such, he also ensured the Principality’s incomes by effectively buying Polignacs’ stock shares into the Société des Bains de Mer after Rainier de Polignac’s passing in 2005. Monaco, if it remains a wealthy country, with one of the highest GDPs per capita of the world, nevertheless had to renounce all forms of tax evasion in 2011, under German pressure.

A known patron of the arts and esthete, Charles V could rely on the notoriety of Princess Caroline, that became a major humanitarian, working closely with the World Council in raising awareness for mental health issues and animal rights, being very open upon her own depression ; the unexpected death of Princess Caroline during a Christmas stay in Paris with her son was heartfelt throughout the world. The Prince also happens to be quite popular in Lithuania, where a very small faction continues to consider him as the rightful King, even if he never addressed the issue.

View attachment 597384

From Princess Leia to Princess Caroline.

 

[Brainbin]

View attachment 597384

Carrie Fisher becoming a real Princess is straight out of the MaskedPickle playbook, and it was a lot of fun to read, too!

 

[MaskedPickle]

Joe Biden (born Joseph Robinette Biden III, February 3 1969-30 May 2015) was the 70th Governor of Delaware, serving as a Republican from his first election on January 20 2009 and serving after being re-elected in 2012 and until his death on 30 May 2015.
The son of Wilmington attorney Joseph R. Biden and Neillia Hunter, Biden's life was stricken by tragedy when both his parents and his sister were killed in a car accident on Demceber, 18 1972 ; the future Governor was raised by his paternal grandparents in Delaware and benefitted from the scholarship programs enacted by the McGovern Administration. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Syracuse, working as a lawyer and serving in the Delaware National Guard from 2002.
Inspired by his late father's interest in public service, Joe Biden ran in the 2008 election as a Republican for Governor of Delaware : as the Grand Old Party remains strong in the small state, Biden easily won election in his first bid for elective office ; easily re-elected in 2012, Biden was seen as one of the fresh faces of the Republican Party, as his personal history, his military service, his moderate insight and his good gestion as Governor saw him fit to be a presidential candidate in either 2016 or 2020, and one of the few Republican officials who could actually get a shot at the White House. Nevertheless, his national ambitions were broken by brain cancer, diagnosed in 2013, that would kill him on May 2015, as he was hoping to be in remission and eyeing the 2016 election. The Governor was publicly eulogized by his peers accross the nation.
His brother Hunter Biden was United States Ambassador to Russia from 2017 to 2019.

 

[MaskedPickle]

Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959 in Columbus, Indiana) was the United States Representative for the 2nd District of Indiana, serving from 1991 to 1997, and served as Lieutenant Governor of Indiana from 1997 to 2001, serving under Governor Linley E. Pearson. He served both offices as a Conservative.
Entering Congress during the 1990 midterms, Pence positioned himself as a Robertson Conservative, stressing the need of Christian values for American society and harshly criticizing President Gore's actions ; Pence quit his position as Representative to run as Lieutenant Governor of Indiana ; he was selected as running mate by Governor Pearson, who was running for re-election, and won office, serving from 1997 to 2001. In 2000, Pence decided against running for Governor and positioned for the 2000 Senate election in Indiana, to succeed Progressive Senator Lee Hamilton who was retiring after 30 years ; he was defeated in the Conservative primary by his successor for the 2nd District, David McIntosh, who went on to win the election and still served. Later, Pence ran for Governor in the 2008 election ; he was again defeated in the primaries by eventual nominee and winner Brian Bosma. Mike Pence now serves as a lobbyist for Christian values in Washington, D.C..

 

[MaskedPickle]

Donald John Trump (June, 14 1946) was a real estate developer, who served as the 106th Mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1994, serving as an Independent for his self-funded Make New York Great Again party.
Heir to the Trump Organization, specialized in real estate, Donald Trump was a celebrity in his own right, embodying the "yuppie" culture during the early 1980s in the United States ; first uninterested in politics, he ravised his own views after the 1983 economic crisis, that deeply disrupted his business ; he relied in the dissatisfaction with incumbent Mayor Andrew Stein, who had succeeded Mario Cuomo in 1988 after his nomination as Attorney General, as New York City was in bankruptcy and experienced the largest crime rates in the nation ; Trump ran a populist campaign with unusual pledges, such as building a wall that would separate Manhattan from the Bronx and Queens or promising the "Make the Apple Big Again". Due to electors' fatigue with 60 years of Progressive administration, Trump went on to win Gracie Mansion in an upset in the 1989 mayoral election.
The Trump term for New York City was ripe with scandals : along with accusations of sexism and racism for the Mayor himself, his business was attacked, due to rumours about links with the Mafia, racism against African American tenants enacted during the days of his father's handling of the Trump Organization and fund embezzlement and insider trading during the days of Trump in Gracie Mansion : his spite of his "Broken Windows" approach to crime, homicide and rape continued to skyrocket during the Trump administration ; his handling of the 1991 Crown Heights riot was criticized, as Trump went on to declare that there had been "very fine people on both sides". A recall attempt failed in 1993, as his opponents pointed to rumours of sexual scandals and tax fraud from Donald Trump.
Donald Trump was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1993 by Andrew Cuomo, son to the former Mayor, who ran as a Progressive ; Trump immediately ordered a recount of all ballots and even after Cuomo's victory was confirmed, refused to leave Gracie Mansion to allow Andrew Cuomo to take office ; he finally left the office five weeks after the scheduled appointment after the Governor of New York had threatened to have the National Guard intervene.
Since his retirement, Donald Trump returned to real estate and has lived a quiet life, abstaining from political comment.

 

[MaskedPickle]

Oh dear, I'd rather hoped that it was avoided.

The world of this timeline is much more violent : war is still "the last resolve of Kings".

ok so no italian-savoy related?
i need to know what happened to bulgaria, because from what i see they lost the aegean coast at some point but also gained macedonia and the whole dobruja.

Really eager to see the story of Greece gettin so big and basically being New Byzantine

The mess in the Balkans will be adressed in due time, but it's still a reason for massive wars in Europe.

From Princess Leia to Princess Caroline.

Carrie Fisher becoming a real Princess is straight out of the MaskedPickle playbook, and it was a lot of fun to read, too!

Both as a tribute to Grace Kelly and to Carrie Fisher, I couldn't resist this little play. I hope you enjoyed it, and as you can see my last Infoboxes, easter eggs will be plenty here !

 

[MaskedPickle]

Pope Nicholas VI (Latin : Nicholaus VI, Italian : Niccolo VI, born Domenico Serafini, 3 August 1852 - 5 March 1918) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in 1918. He succeeded Pius X and was succeeded by Innocent XIV.
Between 1846 and 1903, the Church had lost its temporal estates, retreating within the Leonine City on Vatican Hill and had experienced two of the longest pontificates in recent history, those of Pius IX and Pius X. The 1914 Papal Conclave thus decided to rally behind Benedictine Archbishop of Spoleto Domenico Serafini, leader of the Conservative wing of the Curia, already aged 62, in order to prepare for a transition reign in the continuity of Pius X. His choice of the regnal name of Nicholas V, who was ruling at the time of the fall of Constantinople, was a clear signal to the Kingdom of Italy, as the new pope continued to consider himself as Prisoner of the Vatican and refused to acknowledge the takeover of Rome as capital of Italy.
The pontificate of Nicholas VI only lasted for three years and a half and he didn't left an important legacy, as compared to both his predecessor and successor ; nevertheless, his papacy saw the outbreak of both the Irish Civil War and the Great European War ; during the first, he provided an outspoken support for the Irish Volunteer Army and asked the British and the Unionists to give peace a chance, leading to effigies of the Pope being burned in Belfast and London during the Civil War ; some historians claim that the Papacy provided some of its fortune to provide funding for the Irish Rebels. He was not as biased during the Great European War, remaining neutral while calling for peace , even if some consider that the Pope chose to remain neutral as long as Italy would be, as the Kingdom only entered the conflict after his demise. Instead, Nicholas VI's lasting legacy was the first comprehensive Code of Canon Law, published in 1917, a long task that had begun under Pius X.

 

[MaskedPickle]

 

[MaskedPickle]

 

[MaskedPickle]

 

[MaskedPickle]