If we do have an Anglo-Prusso-Hanoverian union, for one thing the United Kingdom will never view a powerful continental state like Prussia the way it viewed Hanover (an unwelcome burden to be thrown away ASAP). This could have two completely opposite effects. On the one hand, Prussia-Hanover (Hanover will probably be absorbed into Prussia) will be a good start to unifying Germany, and that might lead to a German unification supported by the United Kingdom in order to create a friendly power in personal union with the UK and able to counterbalance France. On the other hand, it could mean that Prussia-Hanover is seen as a British puppet so another state, such as Austria or Saxony, becomes the main hope for uniting Germany.
Or, to provide a really wild alternative, let's say the other powers of Europe are afraid of Great Britain, Hanover and Prussia all together, and they invade in order to break up the new alliance—in which case we get a completely different 18th century.
That would likely require a war of succession since Hanover runs on Salic law. However the two men in line for succession are old, childless and almost powerless so a major power would have to dig up an extremely distant relation and back him or her.
Great Britain was looking for any excuse to dump Hanover on someone else, so Prussia would get British support (i.e. British money) in our hypothetical War of the Hanoverian Succession; Hanover would have no choice but to accept the inevitable, unless the European powers opposed to Great Britain and/or Prussia—France, Saxony and Austria—intervene. So unless those powers are willing to fight a major war for the sake of the succession in Hanover—not a major country like Spain or Austria, just Hanover—I don't think a war of succession is likely.
On the other hand, a war of succession over the Anglo-Prussian personal union does sound reasonably likely. It would be a gun to the head of Saxony, in particular, since Prussia would be assured of British funding in its expansionist ambitions against Saxony. The question is whether the Saxons would be able to convince France to take their side; Saxony would be insanely foolish to go to war against both Prussia and Great Britain without the support of France.
If Sophia is allowed to inherit Hanover along with Great Britain, her son Fredrick will inherit both of them along with Prussia. Surely the other great powers would want to try and nip that in the bud right away.
Make a personal union between Britain and Prussia possible.
We had a 6 page discussion on what happens if this happened, as it was concluded early on that this was pretty easy to make in the early 1700s.
Or simply have it that Victoria had no sons and her eldest daughter Vicky be married to Fritz and let the Kaiser have both Empires after 1901. Not a happy thought but if Willy already had such a lopsided power base, WWI may have been somewhat muted if not avoided by other European powers.
That sounds interesting. May I have a link please?
Or simply have it that Victoria had no sons and her eldest daughter Vicky be married to Fritz and let the Kaiser have both Empires after 1901. Not a happy thought but if Willy already had such a lopsided power base, WWI may have been somewhat muted if not avoided by other European powers.
anyone closer by birth didn't qualify due to religion.
Parliament is not going to step in and amend the Succession Act just to keep Vicky and Fritz off the throne; there's no serious perceived threat, not like the burning of the Protestant Martyrs, the attempted bombing of Parliament by Fawkes et al., or the Great Fire, all of which had been either caused by Catholics or unfairly blamed on them. Nobody would have seen them as enough of a risk to bring in a bill to change the succession over
Prussia is in my opinion more likely to amend its succession to prevent it from being subsumed into the powerful British Empire.
Without a withered arm and under the control of less reactionary governors, Wilhelm would certainly turn out more balanced and less insecure, and probably more like his grandfather Albert.
Not even the threat that British foreign policy was based on the Anglo-French entente cordiale and the Anglo-Russian Convention, in order to keep France and Russia on Britain's side and to contain Germany? I think that's a pretty big threat to the British government. For all the ideas of 'Good Kaiser Fritz', by the time Friedrich III succeeded to the German throne the battle lines in Europe were already drawn.
I agree with this.The Anglo-French entente cordiale and the Anglo-Russian Convention didn't come until 1904 and 1907 respectively, decades past the original POD.
If Fritz and his issue are excluded from the Prussian succession who succeeds Wilhelm I in 1888? I am coming up with Prince Albrecht who reigns from 1888-1906.
Her husband is the King of Prussia. Her son will clearly inherit it. There is no way that Parliament is going to over rule her if she wants to go to war over Hanover.Certainly true—but I don't think she would. Salic law wasn't the reason why Hanover separated from its personal union with Great Britain, it was Great Britain's excuse to drop Hanover. In a scenario where the King of Great Britain is also King of Prussia (a nearby German nation powerful enough to protect Hanover), the best solution for Great Britain is to make Hanover part of Prussia. In a scenario where the monarch of Great Britain is not the monarch of Prussia (yet), the best solution for Great Britain is to give up Hanover as soon as it has the chance.
So if Great Britain inherits Prussia before getting a queen for the first time, I think Prussia will take Hanover. But if Great Britain gets a queen and doesn't (at the time) have any other way to get rid of Hanover, it'll get rid of Hanover that way.
I'm probably not making myself very clear, am I?![]()