British monarchy
British monarchy
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]In the summer of 1816, the big news was the marriage of Princess Charlotte Agusta to Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfied. This vibrant celebration captures the imagination of the British people, and in their minds, crowns the glory of having won the wars against Napoleon (and America).[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Charlotte has some problems with her pregnancies, suffering a handful of miscarriages during the course of her childbearing years. However, her personal physician has read a number of the reports coming out of the Florence-Nightingale Society in Canada, and tries feeding her nutritious food and not doing bloodletting. On the 4th of November 1817, she gives birth to a healthy daughter, Princess Augusta Sophia to great rejoicing. Two weeks after her birthday in 1819, she gives birth to a son William Edward George on February 18, and then in 1824, after several more miscarriages and a still birth, another son Leopold Francis John on the 24th of June. Since each pregnancy and birth was difficult, and since they now have three healthy children, including an heir and a spare, Charlotte and Leopold decide not to have any more children. The succession is assured, however, and when George IV dies in 1830, Charlotte ascends to the throne as Charlotte I, with Leopold as her Prince Consort. Charlotte lives to the age of 73, dieing in 1869.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]With the death of George, there is a new election for Parliament, as was the rule in those days, and Charles Grey (2nd Earl Grey) was returned as Prime Minister quite handily. He immediately introduced the Reform Bill of 1831 which would remove rotten boroughs, etc. increase representation in new large cities, and expand electorate by 50-80% to 1 in 6 adult males. [Since his monarch is a queen, the specific wording introduced to limit the electorate to males is quietly dropped.] The bill passes the House of Commons, but is voted down by the House of Lords. This causes something of a constitutional crisis. Earl Grey strongly presses the Queen to ennoble enough Whig Lords that the bill can pass. To make enough Lords to outvote the current ones would require not quite doubling the size of the House of Lords, which would cause a HUGE furore. She appoints several new Whig merchants as barons, and dissolves Parliament, calling a new election, in which the Whig reformers increase their majority quite a bit. Charlotte then goes and talks (quietly) to many of the Tory Lords. She makes it quite clear that she can repeat the process as long as is necessary, that defending an obsolete and unfair bastion of their own prerogatives will do them much harm in the long run, and that they just aren't going to win this one. Thus when essentially the same bill comes up again in 1832, and comes to the Lords, the chamber is more than half empty (members refusing to show up to vote), but the bill passes.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]As Charlotte is a woman, and Hannover has Salic law, the throne of Hannover goes to her uncle William. William, not having any specific duties in England any more, moves to Hannover, and implements a more liberal constitution for his new Kingdom. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Note: Charlotte, being born after the PoD is a different person with a slightly different body. Together with slightly better medical care, she survives her (still difficult) pregnancies. Her survival means uncle Edward isn't forced into marriage, and thus Victoria is never born. William being actually present in Hannover means that the liberalization takes root a little more strongly.[/FONT]