King Ralph is a movie released in 1991 based on the novel Headlong by Emlyn Williams. On the surface it's a standard 90's fish out of water comedy but definitely falls in the category of alternate history as well. In it Finland is depicted as having a Royal Family and a nation state called Zambezi exists I assume around the river of the same name in Africa also with a Royal Family. It depicts an accident during a gathering of the British Royal family that wipes out almost the entire line. After an exhaustive search American lounge singer Ralph Jones is discovered to be the closest living heir do to a philandering Duke having a tryst with his grandmother while she worked as a waitress during a visit to the United States.

Your challenge is to wipe out our real world Royal Family is some sort of horrific but possibly comical way and put the most far fetched least likely person on the British Throne. Like the film we'll be focusing on the time frame between 1986-1996 though no negative points for going outside of that period. Also what are the effects internationally? Do other Commonwealth nations accept this decision? They could abandon Monarchial systems or put their own better suited candidates on national thrones in places like Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Do groups like the IRA or Scottish and Welsh Independence movements try and take advantage of this to break off chunks of the UK.

Alternate Challenge: Show and tell how Zambezi was created in the King Ralph universe and obtained its Royal Family. Or figure out how Finland Ended up with a Royal Family in the King Ralph Universe?

Be as serious or as ridiculous as you like. Good luck. Have fun.
 
I once read in a book of trivia that a person who is something like five-hundredth in line to the throne of the United Kingdom is an American chicken farmer who's also a convicted felon. I don't know if that's true or not, but it seems to be related to this topic.
 
Do other Commonwealth nations accept this decision? They could abandon Monarchial systems or put their own better suited candidates on national thrones in places like Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Do groups like the IRA or Scottish and Welsh Independence movements try and take advantage of this to break off chunks of the UK.

Not to be pedantic, but I think the nations you're wondering about here would be what are known as "Commonwealth realms", ie. Commonwealth countries maintaining the monarchy. There are lots of republics in the Commonwealth which wouldn't have to worry about this scenario.

Granted, the Queen is also the titular head of the Commonwealth itself(apart from being the Head Of State in the Realms), so I guess they could object if an unqualified individual was doing that job. Can't see it being a huge crisis, though.
 

Don Quijote

Banned
The trouble is that the British Royal Family is related, though not so closely as in previous times, to many other European royal houses. The first ~75 are British and at least minor nobility, so don't qualify as complete outsiders. If they were all wiped out, the crown would simply pass to Harald V of Norway. Even if his family all dropped dead as well, the line of succession runs through several other royal houses. Many of them are defunct, but only a couple of generations from the last time they reigned, while others are current European royalty. A real life 'King Ralph' with no close royal links would probably require a purge of several hundred European royals.
 
The highest-ranking person in the line of succession who is an American is Tanit Lascelles, daughter of the Hon. James Lascelles and Lori Susan Lee Lascelles, his second wife.

Ahead of her are:
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
Prince George
Princess Charlotte
Prince Louis
Prince Henry, Duke of Sussex
Archie Mountbatten-Windsor
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Princess Beatrice
Princess Eugenie
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor
James Mountbatten-Windsor, Lord Severn
Princess Anne
Peter Phillips
Savannah Phillips
Isla Phillips
Zara Tindall
Mia Tindall
Lena Tindall
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Alexander Windsor, Lord Ulster
Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden
Lady Cosima Windsor
Lady Davina Windsor
Senna Lewis
Tane Lewis
Lady Rose Gilman
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Lady Helen Taylor
Columbus Taylor
Cassius Taylor
Eloise Taylor
Estella Taylor
David Lascelles, Earl of Harewood
Alexander Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles
Edward Lascelles
James Lascelles
Sophie Lascelles
Rowan Lascelles
And finally . . . Tanit Lascelles

And she was born in Ibiza at that, but her mother is an American.
 
Finland actually had a short-lived monarchy back in 1918, so there's that.

Only technically, though. The king never stepped on Finnish soil. In 1918-1919 Finland had a short regency until Germany lost the war and a republican constitution was implemented. In practice, you'd probably need Germany to win the war (or at least not lose it) to have the monarchy take root.
 
I guess the simplest way to get a Finnish royal family would be to have Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim elected king in october 1918 rather the Fredrick Charles of Hesse. Carl was the leader of the Whites in the Finnish war of independence, served as regent until 1919 & later was the 6th president.
 
I guess the simplest way to get a Finnish royal family would be to have Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim elected king in october 1918 rather the Fredrick Charles of Hesse. Carl was the leader of the Whites in the Finnish war of independence, served as regent until 1919 & later was the 6th president.

Mannerheim dynasty would be quiet difficult. C.G.E. Mannerheim didn't enjoy 100 percent support of right wing and left wing hated him. And monarchism wasn't generally too popular. Furthermore there would be serious question who would succeed C.G.E. Mannerheim when him hadn't son and his daughters were abroad. Well, there was some nephews but not sure how it would work.
 
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