What if Queen Victoria had married Marthinus Wessel Pretorius instead of Prince Albert?

In some ways, it would have been a great match:

1) They were the same age (although this is also true of Albert)
2) This would have likely reduced tensions between Boer and Briton, since MW Pretorius was the son of Andries Pretorius, one of the most revered Boer figures.
3) It would have likely assisted the British in their goal of annexing South Africa. Having Andries Pretorius’s grandson as the heir to the British throne would have likely decreased Boer resistance to British annexation by a large margin.
4) MW Pretorius was a far more capable statesman than Albert
5) MW Pretorius was far more handsome than Albert, so it’s likely Victoria could have learned to love him

The only real complication

1) Andries Pretorius, still alive at the time, had trekked away to be free of the Brits, and may not be so keen on his firstborn son marrying their queen, although, who knows? He was a very astute statesmen, and might have seen it as an opportunity for the Boers to increase their influence in London, opening up an opportunity for them to negotiate for more favorable terms, perhaps a personal union between the Boer Republics and the British crown, with the Boers completely independent but able to receive military assistance from Britain when necessary. Something similar happened with some German principality that only ended because Victoria became Queen of England, but women couldn’t inherit the principality.

Some objections that people might assume, but they actually wouldn’t have mattered:

1) MW Pretorius was a foreigner
- Yes, but so was Prince Albert. At least Pretorius was born as a British subject, unlike Albert
2) Pretorius wasn’t a native English speaker
- Victoria and Albert were both native speakers of German, and Albert always had an accent when he spoke English, since he had been born in Germany. Pretorius may have had less of an accent than Albert, seeing as he was born and raised in a British colony.
3) Pretorius wasn’t royalty
- No, but he was a son of a foreign leader, it’s not like he was some random peasant. It would be akin to the Queen marrying the son of a US President. Also, he was descended from a noble family - the van Egmond counts.
4) Pretorius had distant Chinese ancestry
- This wasn’t known at the time, it was only 1/32 of his ancestry, and even Princess Diana had some Indian ancestry (Pretorius’s great-great grandmother, Christina de Veij, was the daughter of Lim Inko, a Chinese convict who was banished to the Cape Colony and took the name “Abraham de Vey” upon his baptism)


I wonder if he would have been required to anglicize his name to “Prince Martin”, the way Prince Philippos of Greece had to anglicize his name to “Prince Philip”.
 
Sorry but no, this isn’t how matchmaking worked. He would never be considered suitable and would probably never even be in circumstances to meet Victoria, let alone make her fall in love with him and insist on marriage
 
Sorry but no, this isn’t how matchmaking worked. He would never be considered suitable and would probably never even be in circumstances to meet Victoria, let alone make her fall in love with him and insist on marriage
He was the son of a foreign leader (Andries Pretorius of the Natalia Republic)
Other non-royals have married in: Queen Mother, Diana, Middleton, Markle, Fergie
 
He was the son of a foreign leader (Andries Pretorius of the Natalia Republic)
Other non-royals have married in: Queen Mother, Diana, Middleton, Markle, Fergie
Yes but it wasn’t just foreign leaders - they had to be royalty. And note, all marriages in the 18th/19th century between British royals and British nobility/commoners were considered unequal. This would be the case for Victoria and Pretorius.
 
Yes but it wasn’t just foreign leaders - they had to be royalty. And note, all marriages in the 18th/19th century between British royals and British nobility/commoners were considered unequal. This would be the case for Victoria and Pretorius.
Couldn’t she have knighted him or given him a dukedom before the wedding?
And do you agree that he would have been a better match for her?
 
The case for him seems mostly that somehow this would make the Boers happier, and claims he was a better statesman than Albert. I am not familiar with him as far as comparing the two on that point, but I think "it would make the Boers happier" is a pretty slender basis on which to justify marrying a foreign-born commoner.
 
Dukedom/knighthood =/= royalty...
He was descended from Dutch counts, however
The case for him seems mostly that somehow this would make the Boers happier, and claims he was a better statesman than Albert. I am not familiar with him as far as comparing the two on that point, but I think "it would make the Boers happier" is a pretty slender basis on which to justify marrying a foreign-born commoner.
1) making the Boers happier would make it easier for Britain to achieve the annexation of all of South Africa, a goal of the Empire.
2) Albert was an incompetent man. Pretorius was said to have great administrative ability, even by the British, who his nation fought against several times (after Victoria’s marriage)
 
He was descended from Dutch counts, however

1) making the Boers happier would make it easier for Britain to achieve the annexation of all of South Africa, a goal of the Empire.
2) Albert was an incompetent man. Pretorius was said to have great administrative ability, even by the British, who his nation fought against several times (after Victoria’s marriage)
By the time of Victoria's reign, administration was mostly, if not entirely, done by the ministers. Victoria's consort didn't need to be an administrator or statesman, he needed to be an appropiate royal, which Albert was.
 
By the time of Victoria's reign, administration was mostly, if not entirely, done by the ministers. Victoria's consort didn't need to be an administrator or statesman, he needed to be an appropiate royal, which Albert was.
Still, choosing MW Pretorius as the Royal consort would have been an admirable gesture to the Boers
 

Albert and Victoria hated each other
Albert hated her. Or at least disliked her and was annoyed by her clinginess but Victoria was in love with him to an unhealthy degree and worshipped the ground he walked on. She didn't hate him.
And if she hadn't married Albert, she would have married another royal.
 
Albert hated her. Or at least disliked her and was annoyed by her clinginess but Victoria was in love with him to an unhealthy degree and worshipped the ground he walked on. She didn't hate him.
And if she hadn't married Albert, she would have married another royal.
Pretorius would have been a better choice, if not for the silly insistence at the time that royals marry only royals. I mean, at least Pretorius wasn’t her first cousin.
 
Too low, all his grandparents should be members of some european royal/imperial house or at least be members of princely houses of the Holy Roman Empire, otherwise he wouldn't be considered.
All of his grandparents and great-grandparents were born in South Africa.
What do you think the reaction would have been if Queen Victoria had announced that she was marrying MW Pretorius in 1840?
 
Pretorius would have been a better choice, if not for the silly insistence at the time that royals marry only royals. I mean, at least Pretorius wasn’t her first cousin.
Maybe but it wouldn't have happened. Even if Victoria decided to go against tradition, how would she meet Pretorius and choose to marry him? And don't say that it would be an arranged marriage, because none of Victoria's ministers or relatives would have arranged it.
 
He was descended from Dutch counts, however

1) making the Boers happier would make it easier for Britain to achieve the annexation of all of South Africa, a goal of the Empire.
2) Albert was an incompetent man. Pretorius was said to have great administrative ability, even by the British, who his nation fought against several times (after Victoria’s marriage)

"Descended from" sounds distant enough to be "still a commoner". Plenty of people aren't random peasants while still being poor matches for royalty in that day and age.

I'm not sure making the Boers happier is going to matter that much, even if it pleases them as much as your post suggests. As for Albert being incompetent, I would like to hear what you're talking about so far as Pretorius being such a better choice.

Preferably not from the Daily Mail.

Edited to add:
Looking at the Britannica article on Pretorius, I wonder if he would actually make more friends than not.
This article here https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marthinus-Wessel-Pretorius Credit to Amy McKenna.
Specifically this part:

"Pretorius was elected president in 1857; in February 1860 he was also elected president of the Orange Free State. Boer factionalism combined with Pretorius’ own high-handed methods not only prevented the amalgamation of the two states but also led to civil war in the Transvaal."

Not that this is his entire record, but it's not what I'd call encouraging.
 
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Maybe but it wouldn't have happened. Even if Victoria decided to go against tradition, how would she meet Pretorius and choose to marry him? And don't say that it would be an arranged marriage, because none of Victoria's ministers or relatives would have arranged it.
Perhaps she takes a Royal tour of South Africa, or Pretorius goes with his father to London in 1839-40 to negotiate for independent Boer Republics.
"Descended from" sounds distant enough to be "still a commoner". Plenty of people aren't random peasants while still being poor matches for royalty in that day and age.

I'm not sure making the Boers happier is going to matter that much, even if it pleases them as much as your post suggests. As for Albert being incompetent, I would like to hear what you're talking about.

Preferably not from the Daily Mail.
Making the Boers happy could have enabled Britain to achieve its imperial goals in South Africa without having to fight two Boer Wars.
 
Making the Boers happy could have enabled Britain to achieve its imperial goals in South Africa without having to fight two Boer Wars.

That would be a positive, yes. I'm not sure it's a particularly large positive against the negatives without hindsight, and not entirely certain even with it.
 
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