AHC: British "Meiji Restoration"

With a POD whenever you want, have it so that, at some point in the nineteenth century, the British monarch is restored to being head of government as well as head of state.
 
Napoleon invades successfully and has Parliament dissolved. George III is forced to the negotiation table and is told that he will be permitted to keep his kingdom in exchange for ending the war on France, giving several colonies, limiting the size of the Navy, and a marriage of Princess Charlotte to a Bonaparte at some point in the future. Napoleon then doesn't invade Russia, everything goes as planned, and the British people are ruled by a Bonaparte King of England after he and Princess Charlotte successfully have fifteen children, all of whom survive to adulthood.
 
Napoleon invades successfully and has Parliament dissolved. George III is forced to the negotiation table and is told that he will be permitted to keep his kingdom in exchange for ending the war on France, giving several colonies, limiting the size of the Navy, and a marriage of Princess Charlotte to a Bonaparte at some point in the future. Napoleon then doesn't invade Russia, everything goes as planned, and the British people are ruled by a Bonaparte King of England after he and Princess Charlotte successfully have fifteen children, all of whom survive to adulthood.

Couldn't such a thing just break George's mind and render him incapable of negotiation?
 
Couldn't such a thing just break George's mind and render him incapable of negotiation?

A much more likely scenario considering his mental fragility.

That said, such a scenario is hard but not impossible. Basically you need to discredit the major parties to the point that restoring the Monarch's former power seems to be a good idea or the only solution. It would also help if the monarch is highly respect by the country at large, like Queen Elizabeth is today. The problem becomes how to discredit the parties. Some kind of massive scandal would be necessary, maybe involving taxation or attempted collaboration with a foreign power? Perhaps some kind of national emergency, an invasion like Beausoleil suggested, though without the collaboration with the Bonapartes. That's more likely to discredit the monarchy rather than the ruling parties.
 
I once had the idea of a "British Shogunate" a few years ago. Basically Charles I dies during the Civil War, ending the war early and leading to a regency for Charles II. The scenario could develop from there, with a *Lord Protector (Shogun-expy) gaining more and more executive power, becoming a dictator.
 
A much more likely scenario considering his mental fragility.

That said, such a scenario is hard but not impossible. Basically you need to discredit the major parties to the point that restoring the Monarch's former power seems to be a good idea or the only solution. It would also help if the monarch is highly respect by the country at large, like Queen Elizabeth is today. The problem becomes how to discredit the parties. Some kind of massive scandal would be necessary, maybe involving taxation or attempted collaboration with a foreign power? Perhaps some kind of national emergency, an invasion like Beausoleil suggested, though without the collaboration with the Bonapartes. That's more likely to discredit the monarchy rather than the ruling parties.

The original Meiji Restoration kicked off when the Shogun started making a series of unequal treaties giving too many concessions to the Europeans, so maybe something similar could happen in Britain. The problem is that Britain's navy was pretty powerful during this period, meaning that it would be difficult for a foreign power to just come over and force humiliating concessions on the UK.

Maybe you could have some sort of coup, and then the restauration could be like a kind of counter-coup. Like, say, an attempted communist revolution or something that ends up killing all of the Cabinet and a good portion of Parliament; then the monarch manages to escape and rally the army, and comes back to squash the rebellion. With all the previous administration dead and Parliament in disarray, the king or queen could end up in charge by default, and as the hero who crushed the revolution they might be popular enough to keep control permanently.
 
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