A Better match for Queen Isabella II

During the Affair of the Spanish Marriages (link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affair_of_the_Spanish_Marriages) France and Britain tried to prick the King Consort for Spain and Isabella II. Ultimately France and their moderado allieswon the day, forcing Isabella II to marry Infante Francis,Duke of Cadiz, who was widely thought to be homosexual, impotent or a combination of the two. And also forcing Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Isabella II's sister and heiress, to marry Prince Antoine d'Orleans Duc de Montpensier, youngest son of King Louis-Philippe. So what if Isabella II didn't marry Cadiz? It seems to me that any other match would have been better than who was selected but who would have been the best pick? The British candidate, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Koháry? Or Isabella's pick, Francis' older brother, Infante Enrique Duke of Seville? Or even the proposed Neapolitan match, of which I can't find a candidate, so I assume there was no specific person elevated to potential King-Consort?

Would a different Consort be enough to help Isabella II keep her throne or was she doomed from the start?
 
A possible good candidate for the king regent could be Prince Ferdinand of Savoy. In the very least he has none of the qualities that made Isabella II hate her husband OTL. And he's the child of a french ally so it would mean thing's could go relatively as OTL.
 
A possible good candidate for the king regent could be Prince Ferdinand of Savoy. In the very least he has none of the qualities that made Isabella II hate her husband OTL. And he's the child of a french ally so it would mean thing's could go relatively as OTL.

I'm not sure if any matches from Sardinia-Piedmont were ever considered. Or hell if any Italian states besides the Two Sicilies were in the running.

But what do you think about Leopold of Saxe-Coburg? I'll be the first to admit I dislike the Saxe-Coburg family's actions when they married into other countries, especially how the Coburg Consorts usurped the true Monarch's powers. However both Albert and Ferdinand seemed to do fairly well so could Leopold be any help to Isabella or would her personality cause her to oppose any attempts to usurp her prerogatives by a Foreign consort?

It seems to me that Infante Enrique Duke of Seville would be the best choice. He was liberal and Spanish. So he would oppose some of Isabella's more questionable policies and political interventions and wouldn't be seen as a foreign usurper. Plus he was Isabella's preferred choice for Husband.
 
I think almost anybody but Francisco de Asis would be better :D The guy not only despised his wife (and she him), but actively worked to undermine her liberal leaning.
Your final pick, Enrique, seems good enough to me. Sorry i can't be of more help :D
 
Or even the proposed Neapolitan match, of which I can't find a candidate, so I assume there was no specific person elevated to potential King-Consort?

The Neapolitan match considered was proposed (according to Theo Aronson's book Royal Vendetta) by the Queen-Regent, Maria Cristina of the Two Sicilies. The prince proposed was http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Francis,_Count_of_Trapani. Maria Cristina's reasoning on this point, was that if she had been happy with her uncle, why should Isabel II not be happy with her uncle.

That said, when Trapani was brought to Spain, the Spanish derided him since the title "Trapani" in Italian sounded much like the Spanish word "trappani" (or some such) (which according to Aronson's book) - a dishcloth.

Further than that, there is not much mentioned about said suit to wed him and Isabel II.
 
Isabella II definitely had foot-in-mouth disease a lot like her French Bourbon relatives, and while she and her husband didn't get along at first, in exile they surprisingly became good friends. I think anyone would be infinitely better than her OTL husband, but I think the big idea is also finding an alternate husband for her sister, who married Louis-Philippe's son. The Duke of Montpensier was scheming man who wanted to be King of Spain himself, and essentially saw it as his given how his father had groomed the match -- the Queen would marry her cousin and have no issue while his issue would eventually succeed the throne, Of course, that never happened, although many are dubious of the paternity of Isabella II's children.

At least without Montpensier scheming in the background, Spanish politics will be a little more stable, at least as stable as they can be in the situation of Isabellaline Spain.
 
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