As Victoria and Prince Albert had a total of eighteen children in the course of their 25 years of marriage, their offspring’s lives will be shown divided among the eldest daughters, the younger son, and the youngest daughters
Victoria, German Empress
The
Empress Victoria of Germany (most commonly known in Albion as “Victoria, Princess Royal”, to differentiate her from her mother), was Victoria’s eldest child and daughter, born only 8 months after her parents’ marriage. While considered by many as her mother’s least “interesting” child due to her relatively peaceful life, the German Empress was still a remarkable woman in her own right, being known for her involvement in Prussian (and, later, German) politics and in shaping her children’s ideologies and personality.
Raised in the political Frankenstein that was her mother’s court[1], Victoria, in the end, developed into a staunchly conservative individual[2] perfect for her time as Crown Princess of Prussia, during which she became a close friend with Otto von Bismarck[3] at the same time she had frequent political disagreements with her husband[4]. A believer of the “natural relationship of Germany and Albion”, during her entire married and widowed life she lobbied for an alliance between the two empires, an endeavor that many draw upon to credit her as one of the individuals directly responsible for the establishment of the Imperial Alliance.
A prolific write and sketcher, although she mostly remembered in that area for the novels written during her widowhood[5], Victoria also published dozens of essays and pamphlets on politics and social theory[6], developing a now infamous long-distance enmity with Karl Marx[7]. Interested in architecture, after her husband’s death only 135 days into his reign Victoria became known for her friendship with king Ludwig II of Bavaria[8], with whom she shared a love for palaces and castles, and for investing most of her allowances into the building of her palatial residence in Kronberg in Taunus[9], where she would spend most of her life after 1888.
Extremely close to her children, of them the most famous are Wolfgang[10], Eric[11], Sigismund[12], Victoria[13] and Adelheid[14]
[1] From 1840 to 1876, the British Royal Court was marked by the strange dichotomy of values present among its members, as the empress was herself a mixed bag of liberal and autocratic ideals and basically affected the court in a similar manner, with her mother and husband’s own personalities and beliefs more oft than not only blurring things even more
[2] Victoria’s beliefs could be quite easily summed up as believing that society would collapse without strong hereditary monarchs being presents to fend off the instability of democracy (or, as she called “mobocracy”). Interestingly, one majorly liberal fact about Victoria was her belief on women’s rights, being a fervent suffraget who, in her later years, used the fact she was dying of tuberculosis to emotionally manipulate her son and his government into giving women the vote, with the official documents being signed only hours before her death
[3] About whom she declared “He understands what I am saying so well! If only he’d break-off with the anti-Semites…”
[4] Although the two were known for being akin to eternal newlyweds most of the time, Frederick III was known for his liberal ideals that clashed quite starkly with her conservatism. If urban legends are to be believed their arguments could get so heated that once a bedpan was seen flying from a window at their personal wing at the Kronprinzenpalais
[5] A total of 38, most of them steamy romances using Victoria and her husband as the basis for the bodies, they were all the rage in Europe during the turn of the century and, besides retaining a following to modern times, basically kickstarted the genre of the “bodice rippers” on literature. She mainly used the pseudonyms of “Erika Lonergan” and “Michela Jürstein”
[6] Under the pseudonym of “Albert Heinlein”, she published over 150 writings on her political and social theories
[7] As their beliefs were of almost complete antithesis to each other, through the 1860s and all the way to Marx’s death the two of them had a highly publicized and infamously violent enmity based around letters and newspaper publications critiquing and often taking jabs at each other’s beliefs
[8] Through a mix of butterfly effect and luck (and including ending up going through with his OTL engagement), Ludwig II was less of a spender during his reign and although he still commissioned the OTL palaces and castles (and managed to go through some of his planned but not completed ones), he managed to do so without going into bankruptcy and living a secluded life. Because of that, he is not deposed in 1886 and dies in 1915 of old age
[9] Schloss Friedrichshof would be greatly damaged by both world wars, but remains to modern times as the main residence of the German dowager consort monarch
[10] Her undisputed favorite almost from birth, during which a delayed process caused him to be born with a withered left arm, and named by Victoria as a homage to Mozart (a avid fan of the composer, Victoria is believed to have manipulated much of the Prussian establishment into giving her the liberty to do so due to the belief held that the baby would die due to the complications during the birth), he is often remembered for being the unholy mix of his mother and Bismarck in his personality, and for his rule of Germany during the early 20th century
[11] A general of the western front known for his frequent use of acts of mass killings to frighten the enemy, beforehand he beca-me famous for winning the title of “Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg” from his grandfather in 1876 when he won it on a drunken poker match, changing his name from Prince Heinrich of Prussia to “Eric VI, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg”
[12] Marked by his less-than-stellar relationship with his parents, Sigismund became infamous for, at the age of 14, faking his own death and skedaddling to Albion after a fight with them, entering the Navy under a false name and living there in secret for 8 years before being accidentally discovered during an award ceremony where one of his aunts was present. Some years later he was made King of the Bahamas by his grandmother
[13] Called by contemporary sources “the most vivacious princess of Europe” but most probable to have been a trans man, Viktoria became known for more often than not wearing masculine clothes when capable of getting away with it as a youth, often expressing a desire to having been born a man and be capable of serving in the army, and in adulthood living with a masculine demeanor and appearance privately. Viktoria caused a scandal in Berlin for eloping with the son of Bismarck’s greatest rival in 1888 and forcing Frederick III to make him into an imperial prince
[14] Known for her interest in fashion (popularizing large-trimmed hats with silk flowers on Germany and Switzerland) and for dying of eclampsia at the age of 27, I am mostly mentioning her here as an excuse for commenting on her marriage and the fact that, unlike OTL, when the 1848 revolution in Neuchatel happened, it ended up with the canton retaining its monarchy due to the fact that a morganatic cadet of the Hohenzollerns (the ITTL son of Christian Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Kulmbach, with his second, and morganatic, wife, Elizabeth Craven, Princess Berkeley, born long after his father sold the family’s domains to the Prussians) lived there and had become something of a social cornerstone in Neuchatel after living there for over 30 years, which resulted on the bloodless revolution making him a entirely ceremonial Prince of Neuchatel
Elizabeth, Hapsburg Empress
Empress Elizabeth of the Hapsburgs, Victoria’s third child and the first of her brood to marry outside of the expected protestant matches. She tied the knot in 1860 with Kaiser Franz Joseph I of Austria, who had recently become a widower[1], and, while not without its hiccups[2], the 55-years-long marriage would be marked by a close and dedicated relationship between them, who considered each other as being both their lovers, closest friends and confidants. Elizabeth served as his councilor and frequently acted as his second-in-command.
Cunning and extremely intelligent, Elizabeth’s tenure as empress was marked by firstly pestering and manipulating, and later by actually helping, her husband in dealing with the many instabilities of the Hapsburgs’ domains, being ones of the creators of the idea of a “United Hapsburg Imperial”[3] and responsible for convincing the Austrian government to grant independence to their Italian territories[4] after the War of 1866[5]. During her time as empress she also supported the gaining of the Cypriot throne[6] for one of her sons[7], acquired the Sabah Colony to the empire[8] and led the inciative for the establishment of an independent kingdom of Bosnia[9].
Although many times using of her husband’s semi-autocratic powers to get her way when she wanted, Elizabeth was, for the standards of her family and court at least, something of a liberal, supporting the idea of regional autonomy within the United Hapsburg Empire and the championing of “executive-monarchism”[10].
Having a somewhat colorful personal life, Elizabeth was a fashion icon in the empire, making the kiwi bird a fashionable pet for the aristocratic woman[11] as well as being (both in support and chagrin) credited with popularizing the use of colorful clothing on the Hapsburg court, to the point that even while the rest of the world had its monochromatic periods, the Hapsburg’s became known for both the extravagant moustaches[12] and for their almost garishly vibrant clothing. A carrier of hemophilia, two of her daughters[13] and four of her sons[14] carried and/or suffered from the disease.
[1] Franz Joseph I’s first wife, Duchess Elizabeth in Bavaria (nicknamed “Sissi”) died giving birth to their youngest daughter, Marie Valerie, in 1859, from what is believed to have been a severe case of eclampsia, the empress dying convulsing by her husband’s side less than 5 hours after the birth
[2] Besides hemophilia, which caused much grief for the couple, another major cause of strife was Elizabeth’s relationship with her mother-in-law, Princess Sophie of Bavaria, whom she called “that most infuriating woman” and with whom Elizabeth butted heads frequently, it was only in the 1870s, after a mighty fight that saw the emperor himself becoming closed-off from his wife and mother for months, that the two of them tried to make amends to each other, and when Sophie died of a tumor in 1877 it is believed the two of them were in somewhat good terms
[3] Using in some level inspiration from, of all things, the Persian empires old (with their autonomous satrapies) as well as Elizabeth’s own brother’s, the idea of the UHI was based around the establishment of a federalized empire comprised of “member-states” autonomous in their local policies but still united under the aegis of Vienna, being ruled by branches of the Hapsburg Dynasty. Although successful in the end, the process was an arduous one marked by conflicts with the Hungarians, which resulted on the Bloody July Uprising, and although most of the empire remai-ned in one piece, it would still see the Dobruja and Galicia seceding from it (the latter to become a part of its’ Grand Prince’s new kingdom in Poland
[4] Renamed to the “Kingdom of Venetia” after the lost of Lombardy (which would be retaken in the Third Italian War), the kingdom was given to Elizabeth’s eldest surviving son, Karl Joseph (more commonly known by his Italian name of “Giuseppe”), at the time only a second son to Franz Joseph, who moved there at the age of 17
[5] One of the (if not
the) most humiliating moments in imperial history, even if a necessary one in the long run, the War of 1866 (also known as the “Austro-Prussian War) represented the end of Austria’s membership and leadership of the German Confederation or any other large German entity, and the only reason why Italy didn’t manage to snatch Venetia was basically sheer dumb luck
[6] In the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War of 1878 Albion ended up with control over Cyprus as a
de facto new colony (even if it would only be in the 1920s that the Ottoman’s nominal control over the island would stop) but outside of naval basing rights it wasn’t really interested in actually administrating the multiethnic island. Because of that, following the establishment of the two first imperial kingdoms, it was decided that a royal would gain control of Cyprus as a kingdom (the Ottomans ended up agreeing with making Cyprus a Khedivate)
[7] Originally Empress Victoria was looking into making one of her grandsons by one of the princes into Cyprus' new ruler, but Elizabeth sweet-talked her mother into giving the throne to her then 14-year-old son, Alexander, who would be groomed for the position in Vienna before moving to Cyprus at the age of 17 (interestingly, he would never convert to Greek Orthodoxy, as a compromise between the Greek and Turkish groups of the island he remained Roman Catholic)
[8] Elizabeth personally bought Sabah from Baron Gustav von Overbeck in 1879, having a gut feeling that the region could be extremely lucrative, and using support from her relatives (as the British Navy was used by the Hapsburgs to access Sabah due to their infamously pilfered navy) ended up establishing the “Crown Jewel of Austria” due to Sabah’s rich mineral resources. Due to her ownership of Sabah (which remai-ned technically under her ownership until her death), Elizabeth is also the only Austrian or Hapsburg Empress consort to have a royal title on her own
[9] Originally a “Condominium” under Hapsburg rule (but that was still oficially under Ottoman sovereignty, in a similar vein to Cyprus), the region was formally annexed by the empire in 1908 following the first Balkan War but, understanding that it would be a better decision if the empire didn’t add
another multiethnic region to its already bustling territory, Elizabeth commandeered the political faction calling for the establishment of a separate Bosnian monarchy under protectorate status, which resulted in the creation of a reborn Bosnian kingdom in 1909 (creating the first Bosnian nation in 446 years) under the rule of Prince Stevan of Serbia, the younger son of Elizabeth’s youngest daughter, Maria Valkyria, who had been living in exile in Vienna with her children ever since her husband’s assassination and pos-thumous deposal in 1903
[10] Although an executive monarchy can come in various flavors (going from nearly powerless to basically absolute), it normally means that, unlike a parliamentary or absolute monarch, an executive monarch is neither a figurehead nor all-powerful, with the strict definition being that the monarch holds control over the executive branch of government, which on itself can have various levels of power over the rest of the administration
[11] Turing the Imperial Tour of 1858-1860, Elizabeth was known for accumulating pet animals, and after adopting a koala in Australia and a thylacine in Tasmania, she was gifted a group of young kiwis (the great spotted species in specific) during the stop in New Zealand which she took with her in her move to Vienna, where she popularized the bird as a pet in a similar vein to her mother and sisters’ doings on Albion and the rest of Europe. An interesting effect of the popularization of the kiwi as a pet in Europe was the diminishing of the use of stuffed birds and feathers on hats, with Empress Elizabeth herself prohibiting the use of them in any way, shape, or form in her presence
[12] To this day Franz Joseph’s stile of large sideburns connecting with a large slightly curved moustache (but lacking hair on the chin) have remained the most common facial hair styling in the Hapsburg Empire, and the only emperor since him to not have facial hair did so due to his young age at the time of death
[13] Maria Antonia’s only son suffered from the disease, living just long enough to produce offspring, and Maria Valkirya’s eldest not only suffered from the disease but was also born with deformed legs that prohibited him from walking, causing him to live his entire life with a constant fear of bedsores due to it
[14] Franz died young after bumping his head on a door while playing tag, Alexander lived his entire life waring a padded jacket in constant paranoia that he would cut himself and die (he seldom ate harder or chewier foods and most of his meat was from beef stroganoff due to not needing the use of a knife or fork), Fritz suffered from similar mental problems and anxiety and killed himself by jumping of a window of the Hofburg; the last, Stephen, not only did similar protections as his brothers but also went a wee-bit mad in his later years, believing he could be cured by drinking human blood (he died at the age of 27 from iron poisoning)
Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine
The Princess Alice, Grand Duchess consort of Hesse and by Rhine and Duchess of Devonshire, who while uninvolved in politics became famous (or infamous) for her quite unique for her personal life instead.
Married firstly to the Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse and by Rhine[1], it was during her years in Germany that Alice developed a deep interest in nursing after having a random encounter with Mary Seacole[2] and hearing of the tales of the intrepid nurses of the Crimean War. Hard-working, Alice devoted most of her time during her first marriage to either her family or to managing hospitals and tending for the sick. She nearly died in 1878 during an outbreak of diphtheria at the Hessian court, having exhausted herself ten-ding for her family over the course of a month before contracting the disease herself. Only four years later Alice would become a widower, after her husband, an infamous chain smoker, died of pulmonary emphysema in 1882, leaving Alice to serve as their son’s regent until 1886[3].
Following the end of her regency, Alice, wanting to stay away from the memories of her first husband and Hesse, decided to return to Albion, living two quiet years[4] before deciding to secretly enroll on the London School of Medicine for Women[5], becoming the first member of the royal family[6] to pursue an occupation outside the traditional rules on the military and simple royal duties. She graduated with a degree of Master of Surgery in 1891[7].
Following the scandal of her career choice, Alice was soon thereafter involved in another one when she remarried on July 30th, 1892, to Lord Victor Christian William Cavendish[8], a man half her age, in a small ceremony at a parish in Woolwich, with her daughter[9] and his brother serving as the testimonies[10]. Considered a scandal in Victoria society majorly due to their age gap, the two became the butt of jokes and caricatures[11] through the empire for the early years of their marriage, and many believe that they only returned to society’s good graces following the birth of their first son[12].
A hemophilia carrier, of her 14 children five[13] carried the disease and two[14] suffered with it
[1] Originally the two were deeply in love with each, but over the years their relationship degenerated to such a point that it couldn’t even be called a passing respect. Only during Ludwig’s wasting away that they somewhat mended things as Alice cared for him
[2] The two of them met during a gala hosted by one of Alice’s cousins, Prince Victor of Hohenhole-Lagenburg, in honor of Seacole in 1859, and became fast friends due to Seacole’s own somewhat charming personality, remaining close until Mary’s death in 1881. Alice also corresponded with Florence Nightingale, although the two were never extremely close to each-other
[3] Alice’s regency was considered, overall, as beign rather laid-back and mellow, with her main doings during that time being investing on the building of public hospitals and nursing institutions
[4] Although Alice sometimes worked as a volunteer nurse, she for the most part lived in a rather low-profile house on a middle-class neighborhood near Piccadilly, with most of her neighbors not even known she was a princess until she moved out in 1908, being known until then as “the widowed Mrs. Lewis, who lives with her son Freddie and married a man half her age” (the only people to know of her identity was her next-door neighbor, Mrs. Kelly Stownar, a retired governess with whom she was friends until Stownar’s death in 1898)
[5] Founded in 1874, it was the first medical school in Albion to train women as doctors
[6] An interesting curiosity in relation to Alice’s status as a member of the royal family was that, until her return to Albion, she wasn’t, technically speaking, a member of the House of Windsor (the documents changing the name of the family specified that daughters already married outside of the country didn’t count). Another interesting point is that, as a child of a monarch, she had the right to pass the style of Highness and the title of “Prince” to any of her children as long as their father was Albish (that being a major point established by the change to the House of Windsor, although stipulations for this included that unless naturalized as British the children could only inherit said titles and styles if their father didn’t hold any foreign title)
[7] Although her mother was at the beginning adamantly against it, over time she ended up mellowing down (after one or two screaming matches) and was even present during Alice’s graduation ceremony, where she also granted imperial patronage to the institution
[8] Who in 1908 became the 9th Duke of Devonshire, the two met while at a party hosted by his grandfather, the 8th duke, in 1890, and, as the saying goes, the rest is history
[9] A colorful character on herself, having married her aunt’s brother-in-law (even though she and her husband, Prince Louis of Battenberg, only had an 8-year age gap, something not so uncommon at the time), Victoria entered politics in 1895 after having herself be naturalized as Albish and served as a MP from there until her retirement in the 1930s, also serving as the Parliamentary Secretary for the Board of Trade from 1910 to 1916. In 1935 she was made Duchess of Halifax in respect of her political work
[10] Outside of them and the registrar the only other people present were Alice’s maid, son and neighbor; and Victor’s valet
[11] Who frequently presented Alice as being an elderly seductress looking to conquer and ravage young men and Victor was a daft fool not seeing that he was marrying a hag (that or that he had a fetish for older women)
[12] The first of seven, of whom the most memorable are probably Maud, Rachel and Isobel. The first was the first woman to reach the position of Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy (and was later given the title of “Duchess of Valletta”), the second be-came famous as one of the world’s greatest chemist (and her husband was a famous jewish physicist and mathematician), and the last not only followed her mother’s path on nursing and medicine but married a distant relative of a clan of Yorkshire earls, with her son later on inheriting the family’s title
[13] Of Alice’s daughters by her first marriage, both Irene, Alix and Ludwiga carried the disease (Ludwiga showed signs, although as she died young, she had no offspring with the disease to guarantee that it was true), while of her second both Rachel and Blanche had sons (and, in Blanche’s case, three female-line grandsons) who suffered from the disease
[14] The Duke of Orkney and the Marquess of Aberdaugleddau and Gelliswick (often known for his anglicized title of “Marquess of Milford Haven”) suffered from the disease, both dying before the age of 50. While Charles was a known politician, serving as a liberal MP for Flinsbury for over 15 years, and gained his title while in a coma after hitting his head on a doorframe (which would result on his death at age 48); Frederick was known for being what the time would consider an absolute madman as he decided to, against all reason, enter the navy after accompanying his mother back to Albion, there, he not only survived service but married at the age of 25 to Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (gaining his dukedom through it), dying during the Battle of Jamaica in the First World War
Margaret, Empress of Brazil
Empress Margaret of Brazil, the second of her siblings to marry a Catholic and the first to marry outside of Europe[1], being known in fact for rarely traveling outside of Brazil[2] after her marriage.
Remarkably shy[3] and known for her love of tea[4] and literature[5], Margaret became famous for, almost by herself, kickstarting the Brazilian tea industry[6] as well as for her service as a shadowy supporter of writers and artists[7] during her tenure as Princess Imperial, two actions that have, sadly, come to greatly overshadow her other actions in industrialization[8] and abolitionism[9].
Originally content with going through the route of slow but steady reform and not actively antagonizing the landowning elites of the empire, Margaret’s life and opinions would be dramatically changed in 1889 when a failed coup against her father-in-law[10] started a 6-years-long civil war[11] that would mar her time as empress, radicalize the imperial couple[12], and almost completely upend Brazilian society[13].
After the civil war ended, Margaret would become famous (or infamous) for her voracious taking of causes, actively supporting a variety of endeavors like land redistribution[14], women’s rights[15], helping the poor[16], ambientalism[17], and even government-run orphanages[18], the later of which she would run intermittently through her widowhood[19].
Ruling over Uruguay for nearly 9 years following the First World War[20], Margaret was the last of her siblings to pass away, dying only in 1951 from breast cancer, although by that time she had been suffering with Alzheimer for years[21], and was buried in the Imperial Pantheon of the Braganzas at Petrópolis[22].
[1] Margaret and Afonso had met when the Royal Fleet made its stop in Rio de Janeiro in 1860 during the late stages of the Imperial Tour, and after their stay the two of them spent the following 12 years in a long-distance courtship through let-ters, only seeing each other face-to-face again when Afonso came to Albion in 1872 to spend some months in a more serious court
[2] Margaret made, after her marriage, a total of 3 travels outside of Brazil (not counting her honeymoon, which was a grand tour), twice to Albion and once to Argentina (reportedly to spit on the grave of her husband’s assassin). On other hand, Margaret did extensive travels through the empire, including a horse caravan through the Midwest, a trekking through the Caatinga and a boat travel through the entire course of the Amazon
[3] For all her actions in life, Margaret was known for her shyness even in her later years, disliking being on the spotlight even as she was forced to be on it for her causes and rarely even speaking on social gatherings due to her dislike of attention
[4] Margaret was an amateur herbalist and farmer and became known for her love for growing, brewing and drinking tea of almost any kind, and even had a small farm for tea leaves near the Petrópolis Imperial Palace. She was also incredibly interested on the history of tea and on tea sets, becoming a friend with Empress Keiun of Japan after a diplomatic visit where the two spent the entire event talking about the beverage
[5] An avid reader, Margaret even dabbled in writing on her later years, publishing a total of 5 books, although her memoir is the only one widely known (she also published a travel book of Brazil in the 30s and a trilogy about the art of tea)
[6] Although coffee remains the most consumed infusion in the country (as well as one of Brazil’s biggest exports), Margaret made tea another common beverage following the civil war (during which much of the Brazilian coffee industry was damaged by the fighting), and to this day it is a widely liked drink, in special the cold varieties popularized by her daughter
[7] Fond of Brazilian Realism, Margaret was involved on the founding of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL) in 1877 (and was one of its main donors) and was a great admirer of some of the country’s greatest writers, even convincing her husband to grant an earldom and a pension to Machado de Assis in 1897 due to her love for his works
[8] Although she would have some somewhat contradicting views later, Margaret was a strong supporter of the idea that a nation’s way for growth was the development of its industry, and championed the cause for Brazil to go outside of farming cash crops for the basis of its economy, going as far as using part of the Imperial Family’s funds (as well as her dowry) to establish factories on the country and even fo as far as bailing out the Viscount of Maua, who while being Brazil’s greatest industrial had nearly gone bankrupt in the 1870s due to some unfortunate decisions on investments and politics
[9] Famous for freeing every single slave owned by the Imperial Family the day she was made the administrator of the estates, Margaret’s fervent belief on the right of all men for freedom put her and her similarly-minded husband at odds with much of the slave-owning aristocracy of the South and Southwest, who liked to portray them as radicals wishing to end their way of life (which even some of their ranks considered a stretch, seeing as they were, at least initially, open to the idea of possibly bankrupting the country just to pay compensations to the slave owners in a manner similar to Britain, as Margaret considered it a “necessary evil” for the sake of mantaining peace)
[10] Led by the war-hero Marshall Deodoro da Fonseca (nowadays believed to have been simply a useful figurehead and possible scapegoat in the case of the coup’s failure), the 15th November Coup of 1889 (to this day remembered as the holiday for the “Day of Infamy”) had the objective of establishing an oligarchical republic in Brazil but failed due to the Imperial Family’s own actions to resist it, as they still had much popular support. Abetting and supporting the coup where large republican factions in the military and aristocracy, with the unspoken approval of the Church (who had been at odds with Dom Pedro II for years by that point) and active support of much of the past landowning elite (rancorous over the abolition of slavery in 1888)
[11] The Brazilian Civil War (which also involved a near was against the United Provinces and a proxy conflict between Albion and them on Patagonia), which lasted for a total of 6 years and killed around 500.000 Brazilians on total, was a make-it-or-break-it moment for the empire, and when it ended after years of brutal fighting it completely changed the nation’s course. Fought between the Loyalists (made of the Imperial Family, around 60% of the army and large portions of the population, in special among the black, mulatto and poor portions of society) and the Republicans (also called “Traitors” and “Golpistas” (something akin to “Putschists” in English), comprising of much of the landowning elites as well as around 40% of the army, with a larger support in the North, South and western Southwest), each supported by foreign factions as well (while the Republicans had support from the United Provinces, some say the United States, and France, in what makes many consider the civil war also a proxy war between the later forces of the First World War; the Loyalists had the support of Albion, Russia, Germany and Bolivia, the latter due to the fact that the country had been ruled by Queen Isabel I (Dom Afonso’s younger sister) since the 1879 Bolivian Revolution) the war say fighting across the country, from as far south as Porto Alegre to all the way to the Amazon and Amapá (which the French tried to snatch away), and during it created large amounts of destruction and devastation that the country had barely recovered from 15 years later. Won by the loyalists following the fall of Porto Alegre (the last center of power of the republicans) in 1896, the civil war was also nearly lost more than once, and saw during it the deaths of Pedro II (from a stroke in 1892, although some say he was poisoned by his enemies), his third son, the Duke of Pernambuco (died during the coup of 1889) , as well as the death of Margaret’s youngest son, Antonio, who died fighting in the Battle of Desterro in 1896 at the age of 17
[12] Although the two of them were originally open to reaching some sort of compromise with the republicans (this lasted until around the death of Pedro II), by the war’s end the couple was basically one step away from ordering that no quarter be given to the traitors, and were, shall we say, rather vindictive in their punishment
[13] The war’s greatest effect, besides radicalizing the ruling family and the army, was, most of all, breaking the pre-existing social norms and hierarchy of the empire, as its aftermath saw the ruin of most of the landowning elites of the empire (the only region to overall retain their elites’ power and standing was probably the Northeast, where the traditionalist colonels mostly supported the monarchy (and Francisco V of Palmares even died commanding loyalist armies), and the Midwest, where there was almost no aristocracy outside of a town level due to the vast emptiness of the region), with most of them having their properties taken by the government or used to pay the astounding fines placed upon them; as well as the end of Brazil’s agrarian economy with the monarchy pursuing the development of state-run industries during and after the war (the industrialists being the percentage of the elite with the smallest amount per-capita of treason due to imperial patronage) and the devastation of harvests during the war; this besides the changes in government, as the groups that supported the monarch were granted franchise at the same time that the period of war strengthened the power of the monarch (which was already a wide-reaching one due to Brazil’s fourth power of government, the “Moderator”)
]14] An idea that had already started being proposed during the reign of Pedro II (the emperor himself being one of its early proponents), the redistribution of land through the empire happened mostly during the 1900s, following the Rebuilding Era, and saw the granting of lands on the Midwest (which besides being barely inhabited was mostly owned by the Crown due to laws passed decades earlier reserving all unowned lands as a possession of the estate) to freedmen and immigrants alike. The great estates of the Southeast and South were never ended similarly, as although leased (in perpetuity sometimes) they remain under the direct ownership of the government as some of the world’s largest state-run farms
[15] Although the first step was taken in 1897 when Princess Victoria (then only Duchess of Paraná) was made Princess Imperial following the changes on the succession (although Margaret defended that it be changed to absolute primogeniture, Afonso established the succession as being similar to old Russia or even China, with the heir being chosen by the emperor but having to be from his children or, at most, his siblings/nephews), later inheriting the Brazilian throne, the suffrage was only gained by women in 1909 following a plebiscite (in which, confusingly seeing the subject of it, only men could vote, it still won by 73%)
[16] Besides the granting of leases for poor or landless farmers, Margaret also established a charitable fund for poor relief, which later was taken over by her daughter in what became the “Bolsa Familia” program in the 30s
[17] While her mother introduced animal conservation to Europe, Margaret’s focus was, besides that, on nature in general, and at the same time that she proposed industrialization she also came to defend that the fauna and flora of Brazil be still respected and protected at the same time. Becoming more defensive of the idea following the civil war, Margaret is sometimes credited for developing the idea of “green in grey” that has now become standard for Brazilian city planning (an example of it being the network of parks on the banks of the various rivers in São Paulo City, creating a web of green among the largest city in the Americas)
[18] Following the First World War and the Swiss Flu, it is estimated that over half a million children in Brazil became destitute orphans (a term used in Brazil to refer to an orphan who lacks any kind of guardian, the total number of orphans by the census of 1925 places the number at around 60% of all children bellow the age of 15) and the religious orphanages on the country were filled to such a level that they were forced to either expel or not permit the entrance of more children, with the population of homeless youths on the country skyrocketing. Seeing that, Margaret convinced her daughter to establish the modern system of children’s care and state-run orphanages in Brazil.
[19] Following the end of her tenure as Regent of Uruguay, Margaret was made Minister of Child Services, and ran the ministry until her death, mostly from her residence at the “Dowager’s House” (“Casa da Viúva” in Portuguese, it is the nickname given to the Petrópolis Imperial Palace, where Margaret lived most of her life after becoming a widow)
[20] In the treaties following the First World War and the end of the United Provinces, Brazil annexed large swathes of land from her deceased enemy (Bolivia did similarly) and, as per plans made by Emperor Afonso earlier on the war, much of these newly annexed lands were made into the kingdoms of Entrerrios and Uruguay. Originally those two kingdoms (like Acre and Equador) were the be ruled by one of her siblings, in specific they were to be held in personal union by the Duke of Goiás until his death, at which point they would be divided between his sons, but, as Dom Luis died in the war, Entrerrios was granted to his eldest son and Uruguay to his youngest, who, as both children, had to be under a regency. While Entrerrios was placed under a regency of Luis wife, Maria Pia of the Two Sicilies, Uruguay was granted to Margaret, who administrated it until Gustavo I’s 18th birthday
[21] Possessing photographic memory, Margaret quickly noticed when, around 1945, she started forgetting things like speeches and events she was to appear on; many believe that she wrote her books (all of them within the span of 1945-48) due to not wishing to forget those things she knew and cared about. By the time of her death, Margaret was barely conscious, having to be constantly accompanied by a nurse and her maid due to her memory having degenerated to the point she often forgot who she even was.
[22] Originally a small personal retreat that Margaret and Afonso has bought after getting stranded inside a tree during a rainstorm in the 1870s, the Imperial Pantheon was officially established in 1910 when, following the death of Empress Mother Theresa Christina, she was buried there. More akin to an open field than even a burial ground (and completely different from the Portuguese Pantheon, which is a mausoleum), the pantheon is marked by the fact that graves are marked by trees and no body buried there is either embalmed or even put on a coffin, being instead draped on a shroud (Empress Theresa Christina was the one responsible for establishing this, as in her later years she became a member of a semi-religious group that would in OTL be something of a mix between Catholicism, Umbanda and the hippies)
Eudoxia Antonova, Empress of All Russia
Princess Ophelia, more commonly known for her post-conversion name of Eudoxia Antonova, she was the only one among her siblings to marry into the Orthodox Church, as well as the only one whose children fought on the Allied side of the First World War[1].
During her youth considered the most active and “unruly” among the children of Empress Victoria, known for her feisty personality and love for the thrill[2] and for wearing her status as the complete antithesis of what a “respectable woman” of her time would be as a badge of honor[3], Ophelia gained a quite large amount of infamy in 1865 when, during Grand Duke Alexander of Russia’s visit to Albion[4], she eloped with him[5], the two hastily marrying soon after[6].
Sharing many beliefs in relation to ruling[7] and in their opinion of Alexander II[8], the two of them disagreed the most of all in relation to Russia’s ethnic minorities[9], which Ophelia somewhat championed during her time as empress together with raising her children[10] and putting an effort in nurturing the Romanov’s image[11], the last one being a job she continued to do even in widowhood in what she perceived as damage control[12], together with working twice as hard to defend the dynasty, by any means necessary[13].
Although dedicated to what she saw as her lifework, Ophelia’s dreams of a united, multiethnic, Russian Empire were crushed by the calamity of the early 20th century, and she died in a deep melancholia after losing most of her siblings and watching her grandson rule over only a fraction of the domain her son had inherited[14].
[1] While the nations and descendants of her siblings either stayed out of the war or actively fought for the Imperial side, the Russian Empire was one of the leaders of the Allies due to its long-standing enmity with the Albish
[2] Normally she spent her days either escaping tutors, running (and sometimes climbing) through the royal estates, playing pranks, shooting or horse-riding, she also once convinced her maid (when the royal family was in a visit to Scotland) for the two of them to sneak outside and sail through the Strait of Corryvreckan, home of the world’s third strongest whirlpool. The two survived
[3] Once her mother asked her “are you a princess or a hooligan?” and for over three years she called herself “Hooligan Ophelia of the United Kingdom” because of that. Her sister’s diaries also show how she frequently exaggerated her antics for the sheer hilarity (her own words) of seeing people getting flustered or aghast over it
[4] Then not even heir to the Russian throne, the visit was a part of the traditional Grand Tour of a gentleman of the era
[5] During Alexander’s stay on Albion the two of them were actually known for despising each-other (and would be so for at least the first year or two of their marriage), but for some reason chemistry still caused the two to not be capable of stay out of the other’s clothes. With time hateful intercourse developed into cold toleration, then to respect, then friendship, and finally, to a loving relationship
[6] As Alexander was still not the Russian heir in 1865 (his brother dying in early 1867 with a young widow and a daughter still on her womb), when he and Ophelia discovered her pregnancy there was scandal but both in Albion and in Russia it was understood that a marriage was to occur. They married in January 1866, and in May Nicholas II was born
[7] Both of them believed in both the sanctity of the monarchy (for a holing Ophelia was quite religious after converting) and that a monarch should be strong and authoritative (although they also agreed that he should be capable of delegating and not hoarding all functions of government so as to not make government impossible)
[8] Ophelia once said in a banquet to Alexander: “your father’s greatest decision was to end serfdom, but even then he was an incompetent fool when he did it” and both considered the emperor as being idiotic in his liberalizing decisions (Ophelia’s opinion was that while, admittedly, a weaker monarch could work, it had taken over 500 years in Britain for that and still it was getting to its end, and so Alexander II was insane to think a similar thing could work on Russia, where not even the nobility had much say in politics). Interestingly, Ophelia was fond of her half-siblings-in-law (children of Alexander II by his morganatic wife and mistress), with one of them, Alexandra, even working as one of her private secretaries and seconds-in-command
[9] Fond of allegories, she used one to express her opinions to Alexander (which a maid ended up recording to posterity on a diary) “Alexander, we both know that you love your food, am I not right? So, I’d like to ask you this: If the only thing that you ate was a single food, even the one you most love, how would you think of it? Now think of a banquet, with only said food, maybe showed on various styles and colors but the same flavor over and over… I think you understand what I am saying”. She did support the mass migration of Old Believers from Russia proper to Alyaska, though, so there the two of them were alike
[10] A protective helicopter parent, Ophelia was extremely paranoid with her children, whom she rarely left out of her sight. Following Alexander II’s assassination, she even ordered that they have at least a personal guard at all moments and even forced her husband to permit defense lessons for them (which really paid off when, in 1897, Nicholas II survived an assassination attempt while visiting Japan by kicking his attackers face in)
[11] Alexander II’s lackluster reforms, the spread of Marxist ideas and a less-than-stellar 19th century for Russia really took their toll on the dynasty’s image, and Ophelia spent years working to present the Imperial Family as a symbol of unity among a gigantic and multiethnic empire
[12] Besides the antics of her younger children, just her eldest alone already was a handful for the empress, as due to Nicholas II’s literal mindedness he was incredibly incompetent when it came to things like delegating offices, forcing more than once conspiracies to form among Ophelia’s circle to basically not let him know of work so it could be done properly and efficiently; this without the problem of his personal life, as besides his wife’s unpopularity with the public (due to her German birth, which caused many to distrust her) their children’s’ health problems (two of their sons, including the Tsesarevich, suffered from brittle-bone disease, while their youngest had a severe case of autism
[13]
Ophelia was famously fond of gardening, and her gardens in Tsarskoye Selo were known for their lush appearance
[14] When Ophelia died, the Russian Empire (although the country never officially changed its name, from the end of the First World War to the reunification it is mostly known as the “Tsardom of Muscovy”) had a territory basically comprising the one of the Grand Principality of Moscow at its end, with various warlord states in Siberia and the South, while much of the empire’s east and Central Asia broke off permanently from the empire
