Alix of Hesse dies of Diphtheria

[WillVictoria]

In 1878, Diptheria swept over the Hessian court at Darmstadt, ultimately killing Grand Duchess Alice and her youngest child Princess Marie. IOTL these deaths permanently affected the second youngest Hessian princess, Alix, whose morose personality would become infamous during the twilight of Imperial Russia.
So what if that Diptheria outbreak claims one more royal victim in Alix of Hesse?

The most profound changes will obviously be in Russia as the future Nicholas II will need a new bride (and, having never met Alix at Ella & Sergei's wedding, it's likely the death will have no emotional consequences for the young Grand Duke). I know the common alternate bridal suggestions for Nicky are Helene of Orleans and Margaret of Prussia but I truly doubt either.

Helene, as a Catholic, would have a hard time converting to Orthodoxy (the need to convert is why her father and the Pope squashed her proposed match to the Duke of Clarence, and if her father refused conversion to Anglicanism I see little chance he'll agree to Orthodoxy). Conversion will also be an issue for Margaret, as while her sister Sophie converted to Orthodoxy after marrying the Crown Prince of Greece their brother Wilhelm II responded to the religious change by banning Sophie from the country. Adding that to Maria Feodorovna's notorious anti-Prussian feelings and the general loathing of Wilhelm leaves me unconvinced the Romanovs would welcome Margaret to the family.

So who becomes Nicholas's consort and how does that change, and other related butterflies, affect the world?

 

[QueenMaud]

Well, here are few princesses who are not German or willing to convert. At first I would bet he was marrying one of the Wales sisters, who were beautiful and nicolas had a very close relationship, he could fall in love in the late 1880s or early 1890s, Nicolas had a flirt with Toria OTL and Edward VII tried to marry him with Maud so they would be an option. But for this Alexander III would have to authorize the marriage since they were first cousins and the princess would have to convert to orthodoxy, something she could do if she were in fact in love. Another option would be a marriage with an orthodox princess, certainly preferred by Alexander III, we would have Helena and Ana de Montenegro, but this could be dangerous, given that it would further consolidate the position of Anastacia and Militza, and perhaps we would still have monks at court. Other Orthodox Options would be the Alexandra and Maria of Greece, which seem to me good options as well, although it had the question of the marriage of first cousins. We also have Marie of Edinburgh, who was also her first cousin. The Belgium also had 3 princess of the age of Nicolas but I am not sure that Leopold would agree with a union. Without Alix I think Nicky would fall in love with one of his cousins, who were the only royal princesses he had contact. All the other princesses would be Germans (which Maria Feodorovna would certainly try to prevent as OTL) or Catholics (which makes marriage even more difficult, since besides the Emperor / King authorizing marriage, the Pope would also have to authorize, which seems a lot complicated)

 

[ranichi17]

Weren't Alexander and Maria pushing for Nicky to wed either Hélène of Orléans or Margaret of Prussia? Nevermind, you already mentioned that bit. Conversion would be tricky for either of them, as it was for Alix IOTL, but put enough family pressure and it will happen.

And anyway, there's not much conflict between Catholics and Orthodoxy as there is between Catholics and Protestants so the Pope won't oppose to the match as fiercely as he did with Clarence.

 

[WillVictoria]

Weren't Alexander and Maria pushing for Nicky to wed either Hélène of Orléans or Margaret of Prussia? Nevermind, you already mentioned that bit. Conversion would be tricky for either of them, as it was for Alix IOTL, but put enough family pressure and it will happen.

And anyway, there's not much conflict between Catholics and Orthodoxy as there is between Catholics and Protestants so the Pope won't oppose to the match as fiercely as he did with Clarence.

In my opinion, if the Pope and Helene's father were so adamant against her converting to Anglicanism in what seemed to be a (by royal standards) love match that gave her a chance at being Queen of the UK, I doubt they'd be pressured into having Helene as Tsarevna of Russia. Unless Helene's dad dies and whoever is in charge of her marriage prospects (her brother, mother, etc...) is more pragmatic then daddy dearest in allowing her to convert, it seems the Count of Paris was determined to drag his feet on the religious question. And even in a scenario where Helene's father is replaced by a more pragmatic party I still think she chooses the Duke of Clarence over Nicky, leaving the Tsarevich without a bride

 

[QueenMaud]

In this scenario of Maria of romania survived she could be the most appropriate candidate for him (she was orthodox as someone said in my thread, she was not her cousin, she was a royal princess, and although she was daughter of Germans she was not German in fact which would avoid implications of Maria Feodorovna)

- About Helena she would obviously marry Eddy if she could convert
- About Margareth - It would be an option, but it would certainly leave Nicky torn between his mother and his wife (Maria Feodorovna really would not get Mossy very well I believe), he said she was not pretty and Nicky would not want to marry her very probably (He preferred to become a monk)

 

[Titania's Rose]

If either of the Wales girls or an Orthodox princess were to marry Nicky how would the Russian court treat them? Would they be able to adapt to Russian court life? That was one of Alix's main difficulties and it ultimately did not leave her disposed to making friends in the Russian court.

 

[WillVictoria]

If either of the Wales girls or an Orthodox princess were to marry Nicky how would the Russian court treat them? Would they be able to adapt to Russian court life? That was one of Alix's main difficulties and it ultimately did not leave her disposed to making friends in the Russian court.

I'm not sure the Wales girls would be in the running, given that they're first cousins to Nicky and first cousin marriages were heavily frowned upon in Orthodoxy (see Grand Duke Kryil Vladimirovich and the controversy surrounding his marriage to Victoria Melita or the ultimately unsuccessful match between Michael Alexandrovich and Beatrice of Saxe Coburg and Gotha).

One possibility is one of the Montenegro girls (likely either Milica, Anastasia, a surviving Marica, Elena, or Anna), who were Orthodox and the elder two did marry into the extended Romanov family IOTL. The only issue is that IOTL Milica and Anastasia (the two who married into the Romanovs) were big into mystics and helped Alix get connected to her many "friends" like Rasputin. Whether their mysticism will prove as dangerous without a situation whether they believe random holy men are the only way to save the hemophiliac heir is anyone's guess.

The other option is either a surviving Maria of Romania (which would have to be the POD as Maria died before the Diptheria outbreak in Hesse) or have Maria have a younger sister, let's call her Elisabeth, and have that be the POD with Alix's death as a butterfly.

 

[QueenMaud]

About Nicky marrying one of the Wales sisters or one of the Greek cousins - It would not be impossible at all, Catherine Pavlovna (a fine Russian duchess) married twice with first cousins.
I do not particularly like montenegro siblings (the older ones) and I think they could be a bad influence for Helena or Anna marrying Nicky like they were for Alix.
- The Wales sisters and Aline / Marie of Greece as possible brides for Nicky would not have much difficulty adapting at court (The Wales sisters were Empress's nieces, Maud was Alexander III's favorite niece, and still spoke Russian - I'm not sure , but I read it on some site at a time. The Greek cousins were Grand Dukes grandchildren, and the emperor's nieces, which would also make dressing easier for Alix, Aline Greek adapted quite well to the court)
- A possible Elisabeth of Romania would have some difficulty adapting I believe (would she have some connection with the Romanov?) But the fact of being orthodox might make it easier

 

[jycee]

One possibility is one of the Montenegro girls (likely either Milica, Anastasia, a surviving Marica, Elena, or Anna), who were Orthodox and the elder two did marry into the extended Romanov family IOTL. The only issue is that IOTL Milica and Anastasia (the two who married into the Romanovs) were big into mystics and helped Alix get connected to her many "friends" like Rasputin. Whether their mysticism will prove as dangerous without a situation whether they believe random holy men are the only way to save the hemophiliac heir is anyone's guess.

The mysticism won't be as dangerous, even if Milica and/or Anastacia have Rasputin around for a bit for them it would be an eccentric hobby and Rasputin a passing acquaintance. It was a mix of Alix's morose and secluded personality, her desperation that led her to see Rasputin as the only means to save her son (and thus keeping him around for too long), and her near-fanatic religiousness that gave Rasputin the access and power he had in OTL. Either of the Montenegro girls would have likely gotten bored by Rasputin at some point and move on to the next excentric. Meanwhile, Nicholas might have paid little attention to Rasputin at this point.

Aside from having a different Empress, the other consideration is that - for all we know - Nicholas could have a healthy firstborn son in TTL. Assuming a similar timing of pregnancies and issues, this alt-Tsarevich could be eighteen years old by the time the war breaks out. And old enough to succeed his father, should a coup and abdication still happen.

 

[JonasResende]

Catholics and Protestants so the Pope won't oppose to the match as fiercely as he d

IIRC, it was the Cte de Paris who opposed the match with Clarence. He simply asked the pope to back him up (similarly to Mme Royale asking the pope to intervene to prevent a marriage between Henri, cte de Chambord and a Russian grand duchess). Plus, the last time the pope agreed to a send Catholic princess to Moscow, was with Zoë Palaiologina a.k.a Sophia, second wife of Ivan III (I think there was a hope that she'd convert her hubby and Moscow). So the pope might just decide to take the path of least resistance and back Hélène's dad. After all, the pope's job as a priest (at least in theory) is to save/win souls. Not damn them to Hell. And by allowing her to convert to Orthodoxy (which the Romanovs WILL require) as opposed to granting her a dispensation to marry an Orthodox husband would seem tantamount (in Catholic eyes) to that the pope has not only damned her to Hell, but bought her the ticket for the train ride there.

So, Margarethe if at all possible. But if she's off the table, somebody Protestant (not a first cousin if it can be helped) and willing to convert is most likely. An Orthodox bride from the Balkans, while presumably preferable, would cause all sorts of problems (Britain/France/Germany seeing it as the Russian bear trying to get more influence in the Balkans).

It hasn't been mentioned yet, but what about the last king of Württemberg's daughter? OTL Russia expressed an interest in marrying her. Her father expressly forbade it. Admittedly, she's a bit young for Nicky (nearly a full decade), but reasonably unrelated to him, but related to the young queen of the Netherlands, to Mary of Teck, the Wittelsbachs, the Saxe-Weimars, Oldenburgs etc.

 

[QueenMaud]

The daughter of the Württemberg kings seems interesting, but I do not believe Maria Feodorovna supported the game. Louise and Victoria of Wales used to say about May Teck '' poor May with her Wurttemberg hands '' that feeling was certainly shared by Maria Feodorovna.

 

[QueenMaud]

Although I still favor Nicky by marrying one of his cousins has a princess who looks interesting - Louise Charlotte of Saxe Altenburg. Louise was born in 1873 or 1874, could have married Nicky between 1891-1892, and although he was German, Nicky's mother might not have involved the departure since she was the sister of Elisabeth Mavrikievna who in turn was very close to Minnie . Another option would be the Oldenburgs to have a daughter who would certainly be a candida appreciated by Minnie, who was very close to Eugenia

 

[WillVictoria]

IIRC, it was the Cte de Paris who opposed the match with Clarence. He simply asked the pope to back him up (similarly to Mme Royale asking the pope to intervene to prevent a marriage between Henri, cte de Chambord and a Russian grand duchess). Plus, the last time the pope agreed to a send Catholic princess to Moscow, was with Zoë Palaiologina a.k.a Sophia, second wife of Ivan III (I think there was a hope that she'd convert her hubby and Moscow). So the pope might just decide to take the path of least resistance and back Hélène's dad. After all, the pope's job as a priest (at least in theory) is to save/win souls. Not damn them to Hell. And by allowing her to convert to Orthodoxy (which the Romanovs WILL require) as opposed to granting her a dispensation to marry an Orthodox husband would seem tantamount (in Catholic eyes) to that the pope has not only damned her to Hell, but bought her the ticket for the train ride there.

So, Margarethe if at all possible. But if she's off the table, somebody Protestant (not a first cousin if it can be helped) and willing to convert is most likely. An Orthodox bride from the Balkans, while presumably preferable, would cause all sorts of problems (Britain/France/Germany seeing it as the Russian bear trying to get more influence in the Balkans).

It hasn't been mentioned yet, but what about the last king of Württemberg's daughter? OTL Russia expressed an interest in marrying her. Her father expressly forbade it. Admittedly, she's a bit young for Nicky (nearly a full decade), but reasonably unrelated to him, but related to the young queen of the Netherlands, to Mary of Teck, the Wittelsbachs, the Saxe-Weimars, Oldenburgs etc.

The main issues with Mossy are Minnie's fierce anti-Prussian streak and the fact that during marriage negotiations Wilhelm recently had his spectacular blow up over Sophie turning Orthodox by banning her from the country. Maybe Alexandra of Anhalt would do? Another possibility is Elizabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg Schwerin, the only problem being she's Grand Duchess Vladimir's half-sister, which might not work in her favor given the main line's hatred of the Vladimirs.

 

[isabella]

Well about the first cousins matches for the Romanov everything depend from how willing is the ruling emperor to make an exception for some matches... Nicholas II was totally against it, maybe is father was more amenable to that as the proposed match between Kyril and Ducky failed firstly for the opposition of her mother, who had a bad opinion of Romanov men, and grandmother who wanted marry her in Hesse and the opposition for religious and consanguinity reasons to the matches between Kyril and Victoria Melita and Michael and Beatrice came only under the reign of Nicholas...
A wedding between Nicholas and a first cousin would need to be authorized by Alexander III and if Ducky and Kyril were more determined and married earlier their wedding likely would not be forbidden and If Alexander III lived longer also Michael and Beatrice’s wedding can happen.

 

[ranichi17]

The other thing with marrying a first cousin is that even if Alexander allows it, the patriarchs might not, and that's gonna be messy. Plus it's a waste of an alliance.

 

[QueenMaud]

The other thing with marrying a first cousin is that even if Alexander allows it, the patriarchs might not, and that's gonna be messy. Plus it's a waste of an alliance.

It is worth remembering that Nicky's cousins were the Greek princesses, of wales, and of edinburgh what certainly would not be a loss of alliance, on the contrary

 

[QueenMaud]

Maybe Alexandra of Anhalt would do?

- About Alexandra de Anhalt I consider her a good candidate, she was considered a candidate for Eddy, right? Anyway it might not be a waste of a more powerful alliance

Another possibility is Elizabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg Schwerin, the only problem being she's Grand Duchess Vladimir's half-sister, which might not work in her favor given the main line's hatred of the Vladimirs.

Already Elisabeth would be a poor choice I think, she was not very pretty and as a sister of the duchess vladimir minnie would never approve such a union