AHC: Dutch Palatinate and Rhineland

How about the ruler or heir of a leading principality in the Low Countries (Holland, Brabant or Gelre), within the Holy Roman Empire, marries the Hohenstaufen heiress (early) or Welf heiress (a bit later) of the County Palatine by Rhine?
As a result that dynasty inherits the Palatinate and will start the unification of the Low Countries, which could become a powerbase to be one of the leading great houses in the Empire.
 
Easy - IOTL Joseph II had a scheme to trade the Austrian Netherlands to Charles Theodore in exchange for Bavaria. IIRC Prussian intervention prevented that, but still.

Not sure if it counts though because you have the Elector Palatine in charge of the Netherlands than the reverse, though.
 
Easy - IOTL Joseph II had a scheme to trade the Austrian Netherlands to Charles Theodore in exchange for Bavaria. IIRC Prussian intervention prevented that, but still.

Not sure if it counts though because you have the Elector Palatine in charge of the Netherlands than the reverse, though.

Perhaps I was not clear as to which Netherlands, as while writing up this thread I had forgotten that there existed two, the Dutch Republic, which would eventually become the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Spanish Netherlands, which would eventually become the Austrian Netherlands that you speak of.

The challenge I seek is for the Dutch Republic or its successor the Kingdom of the Netherlands to acquire the Palatinate and the Rhineland.
 
I think a good idea would be a different Napoleonic Wars: Prussia doesn't do that well so instead of them getting the Rhineland, the Dutch get it instead at the Congress of Vienna analogue. As for the Palatinate Bavaria could probably give it up for some more concessions and such.
 
Had Prince Frederick Henry caught a fever and died in, say, June 1625 (just after his brother Maurice) then the Electors Palatine would have been the new Princes of Orange.
 
Had Prince Frederick Henry caught a fever and died in, say, June 1625 (just after his brother Maurice) then the Electors Palatine would have been the new Princes of Orange.

Not necessarily, the prince of Orange was in a position to decide, who'll inherit the principality, if he lacked a heir.
He might decide to make a son or grandson of count John VI the Elder of Nassau-Dillenburg (younger brother of prince William the Silent of Orange) his heir, in order to have it remain with the Nassau dynasty.

René of Chalons (Nassau-Breda) did something similar, when he made his cousin William the Silent* (Nassau-Dillenburg) his heir.

(*= he earn that nickname later in life)
 
Would the dynastic lines allow the House of Orange-Nassau to inherit the rest of Nassau? That would be a start...
 
Would the dynastic lines allow the House of Orange-Nassau to inherit the rest of Nassau? That would be a start...

Having them inherit all possessions from the Ottonian line is hard, but doable. IOTL that happened in 1743 (the house of Orange-Nassau-Dietz inherited all the other Ottonian branches); this still leaves the Walramian line, which was united in 1816 by the Nassau-Weilburg branch.

Both branches agreed to the Nassau Family Pact in 1783, which ultimately resulted in Nassau-Weilburg inheriting the grand duchy of Luxembourg, when Wilhelmina succeeded Willem III, whereas unlike the Netherlands the succession in Luxembourg used to strictly agnatic.
Also the pact was restricted to former Imperial fiefs and subsequent members of the German Confederacy (which excludes the Netherlands).
 
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