I just wanted to start a thread for people to suggest and then examine some PODs that could lead to a radically different British Monarchy. Bonus points for PODs that spawn totally new Dynastic Houses, major social and cultural butterflies, and those PODs that lead to the most rapid divergences from OTL.
Alternate British Monarchies
- Thread starter Justin Pickard
- Start date
Justin Pickard said:
Curiously, before the birth of Edward VI and before his own death, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and only acknowledged bastard of Henry VIII was being touted as a potential successor, with the odd assumption that he would marry Mary Tudor who was, er, his half-sister. This would certainly have created a strange and new England...
Grey Wolf
No Glorious Revolution. Meaning a Catholic Royal Family. Thus a long civil war, but less trouble in Ireland, with Scotland instead being a problem. Probably better relations with the Continental Powers. Also an increased chance of real revolution. Britain as a figurehead/constituional, protestant monarchy by the time of the French Revolution, or else a Britain where the Civil War was intervened in by Catholic european powers.
Having said which, the Tudor period is the logical one for changes.
OR, change results in 1066.
Hadrada for the win! Who, although a devout Christian, might butterfly to a still-pagan relative in a few centuries. Redcoat chaplains exhorting the troops for King, country and a chance for Valhalla? Hell yes. I posted possible ways for Hadrada to win (weather changes so William lands first, forwarning by spies allied to Tostig in Harold's camp lets the Vikings prepare) in another thread. Bear in mind Hadrada was a serious military figure (captain of Constantinople's guard) of the time.
Having said which, the Tudor period is the logical one for changes.
OR, change results in 1066.
Hadrada for the win! Who, although a devout Christian, might butterfly to a still-pagan relative in a few centuries. Redcoat chaplains exhorting the troops for King, country and a chance for Valhalla? Hell yes. I posted possible ways for Hadrada to win (weather changes so William lands first, forwarning by spies allied to Tostig in Harold's camp lets the Vikings prepare) in another thread. Bear in mind Hadrada was a serious military figure (captain of Constantinople's guard) of the time.
Or, I suppose, we could simply have a different 'Glorious Revolution' analogue, with the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 suceed in installing the Protestant James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth (an illegitimate son of Charles II), as an James II of England (with OTL James II not being recognised).
Owain Glendwyr!
Not sure how historically plausible this is, but what if he mounts a more cohesive, better trained military force against Henry IV, teams up more effectively with Percy and Mortimer and takes advantage of Scottish and French support to unseat Bolingbroke?
The Welsh shall inherit the earth, look you!
Not sure how historically plausible this is, but what if he mounts a more cohesive, better trained military force against Henry IV, teams up more effectively with Percy and Mortimer and takes advantage of Scottish and French support to unseat Bolingbroke?
The Welsh shall inherit the earth, look you!
Justin Pickard said:
I think this is the basis of Joan Aiken's stories, and the Carolus Rex duology.
Smuz said:
Would that equate to a dynastic union of Norway and England? So, we have a Scandinavianised England, whilst Scotland remains a bastion of Christendom. Interesting...
Here's another one - WI Eustace, the son and heir of King Stephen of England (1066-1154), outlives his father to inherit the British throne? This keeps the Plantagenets out of the picture. He was married to Constance of France (1124-76), the sister of Louis VI.
Justin Pickard said:
Depends. For the Norse to stay in power, they'll probably have to engage in a pseudo-Norman Burning of the South to deal with rebels, and I'd expect a hybridised nobility to emerge *if* they stay in power. The result being that by the 12 and 300s the Anglo-Norse ruling class is a cousin of the Norwegian aristocracy at best- even if under the same throne. Scotland would be s seperate country as per OTL, although I'd suggest problems over island colonies of Norse (Shetlands/Faroe etc) being under Norwegian rule.
Then let there be some split from Scandanavia- either with the fall of the Norwegian royal line in the Black Death (1387) or the introduction of Protestanism to Norway results in some Catholic Englishman being crowned (in York/Jorvik Cathedral, naturally).
Or perhaps let the island of Britain be united under Norwegian rule until at least the Napoleonic period (where Norway/Denmark was one of Napoleon's few allies) and thus you can let in pan-Napoleonic europe by the backdoor.
Mary does not suffer from what we now think was uterine cancer, and gives birth to an heir...to the thrones of Spain, England and Ireland. For added ridiculousness, make it only female offspring, so that the Spanish throne goes to...?
Elizabeth marries Dudley. Elizabeth marries her German suitor (whose name and station I forget inconveniently, but I think he was a Frederick).
Edward VI lives and marries Jane Grey. He'll execute Mary and, if his early life is any indication, build an absolutist Puritan state worthy of Cromwell rather than the relatively sane one Princess Elizabeth would have.
Anything back in the middle ages is completely unpredictable except in the very short term, so it becomes author's fiat.
Richard Cromwell (or William Lambert, or George Monk) convinces the Commonwealth to recognize someone other than Charles II as a constitutional monarch and delays dissolving until said person is safely installed in London. I'm not immediately coming up with any good candidates...who's Elector Palatine at the moment? Or a minor Hohenzollern, perhaps?
The man who would be George IV dies early of overindulgence, so that when George III goes truly starkers he gets Frederick, Duke of York for Regent. The Regency is aggressively conservative and authoritarian enough, and long enough, to provoke a short Republican interlude; it ends with a Chartist/Whig/Radical Parliament declaring William Lamb, Lord Melbourne its new monarch...
Elizabeth marries Dudley. Elizabeth marries her German suitor (whose name and station I forget inconveniently, but I think he was a Frederick).
Edward VI lives and marries Jane Grey. He'll execute Mary and, if his early life is any indication, build an absolutist Puritan state worthy of Cromwell rather than the relatively sane one Princess Elizabeth would have.
Anything back in the middle ages is completely unpredictable except in the very short term, so it becomes author's fiat.
Richard Cromwell (or William Lambert, or George Monk) convinces the Commonwealth to recognize someone other than Charles II as a constitutional monarch and delays dissolving until said person is safely installed in London. I'm not immediately coming up with any good candidates...who's Elector Palatine at the moment? Or a minor Hohenzollern, perhaps?
The man who would be George IV dies early of overindulgence, so that when George III goes truly starkers he gets Frederick, Duke of York for Regent. The Regency is aggressively conservative and authoritarian enough, and long enough, to provoke a short Republican interlude; it ends with a Chartist/Whig/Radical Parliament declaring William Lamb, Lord Melbourne its new monarch...
ShawnEndresen said:
I think this one, in particular, has a lot of potential, although I'm not sure that Melbourne would be the best candidate for the job. What with the sex scandals and all...
Feel free to suggest a better one then...but I didn't think Liberal Lords were in terribly long supply. The sex scandals we may have to simply deal with 
On second thoughts, the following scheme seems more likely- the Viking invasion stops more or less at the limits of older viking territories, ie the north of England, leaving the south split between the English, the Welsh and the Cornish. Ireland becomes a quasi-Viking island kingdom, and Scotland is perhaps gradually assimilated into the Northern Kingdoms of Ireland, Northumbria and Scotland. Predict long wars between the various kingdoms, as the English look to France for support, and the Celtic fringes of the mainland may remain unassimilated for a long time. Eventually a War of the Roses -esque long and multi-sided conflict lets us unite the kingdoms, under the "North" royal house. Note the sideshow of a two-pronged conquest of Wales, by land and sea. We may well have seen foreign invasions of a weak and divided land by then- perhaps a semi-successful French invasion of the south, which merely serves to introduce some Romance vocabulary. The language is a rather complex layer cake of Celt/Saxon/French/Norse/Latin in order of intellectual snobbery of vocabulary choice.
So having vaguely butterflied away to what would be the Tudor period, we watch as the nation of Britmark, unified under a single Catholic monarch, faces trouble as the Scandanavian-settled middle is the sympathetic to the Scandanavian Protestant states. Spain has nowhere to invade on religious pretexts within reach save African Islamic states, but is still troubled by British privateers preying on its trans-Atlantic gold routes, but is unable to get Papal blessing to invade a Catholic nation, especially one with a sizable protestant majority which may be pushed into uprising by outisde interference. Foreign interference not happening, there's a gradual growth of Protestantism, with the Celtic fringes especially being centres of non-Conformism and anti-Monarchism, rising for say a century until it explodes into Civil War, with the fiercely traditional and Catholic Scots in particular sending regiments south-west for a rather brutal, even by the periods of the time, series of massacres in Wales. With the rebellion suppressed, a cunning king spends a decade consolidating before volutarily dropping some powers to an elected Britian Ting (parliament of the Brits), partly because the Royal Treasury was depleted enough by the conflict that he listened to merchants and moneylenders! (oh, the scandal!).
Servicing this set of loans becomes the business of state for a good part of the next century, and is largely resolved with the sale of some of Britain's colonies in America to the Dutch and the fruits (or possibly gemstones) of colonising India. This comes back to haunt the monarch when Britian Canada winds up getting embroiled in an independence war belonging to a Dutch(with a large portion of Portugese and many aforementioned former British colonists, many Protestant). Britain nearly goes to war with the Dutch AND the colonies after a naval engagement, but the colony of New Amsterdam (aka Flemish America) gets independence and the British become distracted as a nation by alliances with the Scandanavian states, which look about to draw her into a war with at least one Scandanavian country as the Kalmar Union split apart (delayed from OTL by butterflying), although there was legal opacity as to which nation Britmark might be obliged to declare war on. Fortunately, the matter is settled peaceably, although Norway is felt by many Brits to be the closest of the three to Britmark. Then the rise of a radically rationalist circle of army officers to rule France following a revolution in Paris results in the invasion of France by Spain and several German and Italian states, with the stated intention of "restoring the rightful state of order". Denmark promptly declares itself to be allied with France in defence against this clear invasion, which Norway and to a lesser extent Sweden use as a pretext to free themselves from the remnants of Danish control- but without declaring war on Denmark.
Britmark at first attempts to keep neutral, then finds its shipping through the Mediterranean threatened by the French when they conquer most of Italy, including Malta and send an army to recently invaded Netherlands. When this is pulled out (in the 1798 burning of Bruges), they send their redcoats to the Spanish, who hold southern Spain for most of the war. Peace was temporarally signed, but the Spanish territory of Egypt was a continuation of the war for another three years until a Britian fleet was sent from India and, fearful of their troops being blockaded and destroyed, the French withdrew their forces- the fleet subsequently occupied the Suez and the Nile, and in 1804, the Britian fleet, reinforced by an army who had sailed from Britmark itself through the straits to the Nile, seized first Aden from the Ottomans and then threatened to invade Malta and Sicily unless the Maltese royal family (in exile in Barcelona) were restored to the islands. After the bombardment of Malta harbour and its seizure by marines, the French capitulated.
Perhaps emboldened by this show of aggrandizment, an alliance of North-Western German states threatened to seize Luxemburg as a Germanic state, and to liberate the Dutch, a crisis which intermingled with Spanish resentment at the lines drawn in 1798 (well south of the Alps) until the French struck pre-emptitively, and smashed the Germans. At this juncture alliances and treaties resulted in, by 1810, when the war reached its furthest east (Poland, with the French army seizing Warsaw only to retreat at the threat of a Russian invasion [which only occured when the French armies were half way to Berlin 5 months later] and begin a long and cold winter march homewards), the following sides: Britmark, Spain, Poland, the surviving Germanies and Norway allied against France, Denmark and Italy, with support nominally, but negligably, given by Russia and Hungary.
In 1811 the British bombarded Copenhagen and effectively ended the "War of Blizzards" in the North, and in 1812 the French army, with a sizable component of Italians, met the Britian/Prussian forces in Luxembourg and the Spanish and Sicilians in two battles a month apart in Bavaria and Champagne, destroying their Armee du South and crippling their Northern force, which retreated to Paris and prepared for a seige. In the end, the city fell without a fight, only for an attempt to extract a harsh peace lead to a desperate and destructive uprising by militia, soldiers and citizenry against the occupying armies. After a week of fighting (ending with the storming of the Bastille by the Jorvik Grenadiers) and another four of re-negotiation, the Peace of Rouen (where negotiations were moved) effectively split Italy into the Italian Empire in the south, the Papal states and the French-ruled kingdom in the North, with Sicily and Malta absorbed into the Empire.
Holy sweet Skorzeny crossing Pegasus Bridge, I've made a timeline, haven't I? I feel so odd, but so... right...
So having vaguely butterflied away to what would be the Tudor period, we watch as the nation of Britmark, unified under a single Catholic monarch, faces trouble as the Scandanavian-settled middle is the sympathetic to the Scandanavian Protestant states. Spain has nowhere to invade on religious pretexts within reach save African Islamic states, but is still troubled by British privateers preying on its trans-Atlantic gold routes, but is unable to get Papal blessing to invade a Catholic nation, especially one with a sizable protestant majority which may be pushed into uprising by outisde interference. Foreign interference not happening, there's a gradual growth of Protestantism, with the Celtic fringes especially being centres of non-Conformism and anti-Monarchism, rising for say a century until it explodes into Civil War, with the fiercely traditional and Catholic Scots in particular sending regiments south-west for a rather brutal, even by the periods of the time, series of massacres in Wales. With the rebellion suppressed, a cunning king spends a decade consolidating before volutarily dropping some powers to an elected Britian Ting (parliament of the Brits), partly because the Royal Treasury was depleted enough by the conflict that he listened to merchants and moneylenders! (oh, the scandal!).
Servicing this set of loans becomes the business of state for a good part of the next century, and is largely resolved with the sale of some of Britain's colonies in America to the Dutch and the fruits (or possibly gemstones) of colonising India. This comes back to haunt the monarch when Britian Canada winds up getting embroiled in an independence war belonging to a Dutch(with a large portion of Portugese and many aforementioned former British colonists, many Protestant). Britain nearly goes to war with the Dutch AND the colonies after a naval engagement, but the colony of New Amsterdam (aka Flemish America) gets independence and the British become distracted as a nation by alliances with the Scandanavian states, which look about to draw her into a war with at least one Scandanavian country as the Kalmar Union split apart (delayed from OTL by butterflying), although there was legal opacity as to which nation Britmark might be obliged to declare war on. Fortunately, the matter is settled peaceably, although Norway is felt by many Brits to be the closest of the three to Britmark. Then the rise of a radically rationalist circle of army officers to rule France following a revolution in Paris results in the invasion of France by Spain and several German and Italian states, with the stated intention of "restoring the rightful state of order". Denmark promptly declares itself to be allied with France in defence against this clear invasion, which Norway and to a lesser extent Sweden use as a pretext to free themselves from the remnants of Danish control- but without declaring war on Denmark.
Britmark at first attempts to keep neutral, then finds its shipping through the Mediterranean threatened by the French when they conquer most of Italy, including Malta and send an army to recently invaded Netherlands. When this is pulled out (in the 1798 burning of Bruges), they send their redcoats to the Spanish, who hold southern Spain for most of the war. Peace was temporarally signed, but the Spanish territory of Egypt was a continuation of the war for another three years until a Britian fleet was sent from India and, fearful of their troops being blockaded and destroyed, the French withdrew their forces- the fleet subsequently occupied the Suez and the Nile, and in 1804, the Britian fleet, reinforced by an army who had sailed from Britmark itself through the straits to the Nile, seized first Aden from the Ottomans and then threatened to invade Malta and Sicily unless the Maltese royal family (in exile in Barcelona) were restored to the islands. After the bombardment of Malta harbour and its seizure by marines, the French capitulated.
Perhaps emboldened by this show of aggrandizment, an alliance of North-Western German states threatened to seize Luxemburg as a Germanic state, and to liberate the Dutch, a crisis which intermingled with Spanish resentment at the lines drawn in 1798 (well south of the Alps) until the French struck pre-emptitively, and smashed the Germans. At this juncture alliances and treaties resulted in, by 1810, when the war reached its furthest east (Poland, with the French army seizing Warsaw only to retreat at the threat of a Russian invasion [which only occured when the French armies were half way to Berlin 5 months later] and begin a long and cold winter march homewards), the following sides: Britmark, Spain, Poland, the surviving Germanies and Norway allied against France, Denmark and Italy, with support nominally, but negligably, given by Russia and Hungary.
In 1811 the British bombarded Copenhagen and effectively ended the "War of Blizzards" in the North, and in 1812 the French army, with a sizable component of Italians, met the Britian/Prussian forces in Luxembourg and the Spanish and Sicilians in two battles a month apart in Bavaria and Champagne, destroying their Armee du South and crippling their Northern force, which retreated to Paris and prepared for a seige. In the end, the city fell without a fight, only for an attempt to extract a harsh peace lead to a desperate and destructive uprising by militia, soldiers and citizenry against the occupying armies. After a week of fighting (ending with the storming of the Bastille by the Jorvik Grenadiers) and another four of re-negotiation, the Peace of Rouen (where negotiations were moved) effectively split Italy into the Italian Empire in the south, the Papal states and the French-ruled kingdom in the North, with Sicily and Malta absorbed into the Empire.
Holy sweet Skorzeny crossing Pegasus Bridge, I've made a timeline, haven't I? I feel so odd, but so... right...
So, OTL George IV gorges himself to death shortly before the advent of the initial Regency Crisis, say roughly around 1786. Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (b.1763) suceeds his brother as the heir apparent and Prince of Wales, but the untimely death of his eldest son and hier leads to a sudden deterioration in George III's already somewhat tenuous grip on sanity, leaving him in a similar state as in OTL 1811.
In Parliament, Charles James Fox (Whig) and William Pitt (Tory) clash over provisions for a Regency. William Pitt is a firm supporter of Prince Frederick in an absolute personal Regency, whilst Charles J. Fox heads a faction advocating a 'Regency Council' of sorts which, although still headed by Prince Frederick, would have stronger links with Parliament...
How does this sound, so far?
In Parliament, Charles James Fox (Whig) and William Pitt (Tory) clash over provisions for a Regency. William Pitt is a firm supporter of Prince Frederick in an absolute personal Regency, whilst Charles J. Fox heads a faction advocating a 'Regency Council' of sorts which, although still headed by Prince Frederick, would have stronger links with Parliament...
How does this sound, so far?
Fine, as far as it goes. Fred's not getting a sole regency if OTL is any guide, but he can probably demand a smaller regency council than George, and aim for only a few staunch Tories and Churchmen.
ShawnEndresen said:
Any suggestions for specific historical personages who might have been involved in the regency council or, alternatively, who might have spoken out in opposition to Frederick?
Not my strongest period. A few decent leads --Guy Carleton, Lord Dorchester; William Petty, Marquess Lansdowne; Sir Henry Conway; Jeffery Amherst and Lord Cornwallis. Amherst and Cornwallis are the frontrunners to my eyes. Churchmen are less familiar to me, but the most interesting possibility is John Wesley. And maybe Marquess Wellesley.
His brothers William and Edward are possibilities as well.
Amherst and Wesley are both not too long for this world...things become more interesting when they die, I imagine.
His brothers William and Edward are possibilities as well.
Amherst and Wesley are both not too long for this world...things become more interesting when they die, I imagine.
The Royal House of Cromwell
A Brief History
The First Two Hundred Years 1657 - 1856
Oliver I 1657-1658. Founder of the current Royal House of Britain & that of the Royal House of America, until that nation became a Republic in 1964 due to a constitutional crisis. Although Oliver had a short reign as King, he had been all that but in name since the end of the First English Civil War in 1649, when the then current King Charles I (Stuart) was executed. From there, with the full support of the Parliamentary New Model Army, he defeated Stuart Loyalist uprisings in both Ireland & Scotland.
From there, Oliver lead the English to victory over the Dutch in 1654 which ensured that the Royal Navy would dominate the seas until the Twentieth Century. In the process of victory, Oliver rejected an offer of the Crown but accepted the position of Protector in 1653. Later in 1657, he was once again offered the Crown, & after much debate from colleagues & friends, decided that a “Puritan gentleman, of humble origins, may indeed make a very good & Godly English King for the good graces of all Englishmen”.
Throughout the period of Protectorship & Kingship, other than the various conflicts which Britain found herself in, Oliver established probably the more important legacy Britain, & later America, would come to cherish: a nationwide education system. The Puritans placed great importance on education in both religious & secular matters. Thus by the time of Oliver’s death, every village, town & city in Britain had some kind of school of one type or another ensuring that, by the turn of the century, about 80% of the population were literate.
Oliver’s claim to the throne, unlike the Stuart’s, was in reality based upon the power of the military. Although this was never stated anywhere, the Cromwell Dynasty would have never survived its first year, let alone a long history on the Throne of Britain, without Oliver’s control of the New Model Army. In order to gather a legitimate claim to the Throne, however, several writers at the time, & needless to say many ever since, argued that the Cromwells were actually descended from the ancient Welsh Powys Royal Household, which thus fulfilled an old prophesy whereby a descendant of this ancient Royal House would one day become king of Britain & establish a long line of successors. The Cromwells have ever since accepted this claim & used it to justify their Dynasty. Needless to say, the Cromwell Royal Household has always enjoyed overwhelming Welsh support.
Richard IV 1658-1660. Richard was never ready to become King. Furthermore, Richard was the target of constant plots & had to be saved on several occasions thanks to Oliver’s supporters in the government, Parliament &, more importantly, the New Model Army. After only two years he abdicated from the throne on the eve of an invasion by Charles Stuart “The Pretender”. He would establish the Richards line of the Royal Family of Cromwell.
Henry IX 1660-1688. Known as Henry “The Wise”, Henry IX was everything his father was & more. In doing so, he established the Henris Line of the Royal Family in the process of ruling Britain. Prior to accepting the Throne, he was Governor-General to Ireland until rumours were heard that Charles Stuart was going to invade Britain. He immediately took over the Crown from his abdicating brother, Richard IV, rushed north with the New Model Army, the Corps of Welsh Guardsmen & his Irish Model Army, defeating Charles “The Pretender” in Scotland near Dunbar. Charles escaped to France whilst his Scottish allies feared the retribution of Henry. Unlike his father Oliver I, however, Henry IX showed “Christian compassion to his wayward Scottish subjects”. General Monck, though, an English turncoat was not as lucky & was executed for High Treason in 1661.
Following on from the “compassion” that Henry showed to the Scots, Henry followed his example of government policy in Ireland & established the policy of “Toleration” for all of Britain. Later in 1680, he defeated further attempts by the Stuarts (James Stuart this time) to retake the Throne of England & Scotland. In his final years, he transferred much power to Parliament in exchange for the Act of Union (1686), which established the United Kingdom of England, Scotland & Wales.
Ireland remained a separate political entity with its own Parliament & Governor-General. This arrangement would be successful & acted as a blueprint for future political arrangements throughout much of the future British Empire. Furthermore, Ireland would be somewhat independent & saw its own Parliament deal reasonably well in domestic matters, with little interference from the British Parliament at Westminster, or indeed by the various Cromwellian Monarchs.
The immediate result of Henry’s policy of “Toleration”, however, witnessed two circumstances, which, even though appeared to offer little importance at the time, made in fact a major impact upon Britain & Ireland. The more immediate of the two permitted people to observe whichever religion that they wished to follow. This also included Catholicism, albeit with restrictions. The result was that much of the fuss involved with the English Civil Wars was negated overnight & the Stuarts found it harder to gain support, especially in Ireland.
The second circumstance, as a result of “Toleration”, was protection given to the Jews. Although many of the general public still entertained anti-Semitic attitudes, many Jews, nevertheless, arrived in Britain to begin new lives under the protection of the Throne. These Jews soon established various businesses & flourished. They would become the cornerstone of the financial strength of the British economy over the next 25 years & contribute greatly to the development of the British Empire in the next century.
Edward VII 1688-1702. Accepted the terms of Parliament, in regards to the new Act of Accession, in order to take the Crown. In doing so, Oliver Cromwell of the Richards Line was rejected & the Henris would continue to be the main Royal Lineage until the establishment of the Kingdom of America. Unlike Henry IX rule, Edward’s was a rather quiet affair. British trade, on the other hand, began to dominate the region & was the firm foundation for the future British Empire.
Robert 1702-1722. Robert oversaw a tough time for Britain. War commenced with France & Spain in North America. As a consequence of the ongoing war, Robert accepted Parliament’s plan for the creation of the Commonwealth of Northern America. This was principally an effort to organise the American colonies to fight the war efficiently & effectively on behalf of Britain. Although it had an Advisory Council, a Governor-General ruled on behalf of the Crown. After the British were victorious over the French & Spanish, local discontent eventually forced Robert to request Parliament to copy “the Irish governmental system for My colonies in America”. Alas Robert died before this was achieved.
Oliver II 1722-1749. Known as the “Great Reformer”, Oliver pushed through many reforms during his reign that saw the voting franchise in Britain drastically increase to include 50% of the male population. This new franchise was based upon higher educational standards & the “new money classes”, as against the previous franchise qualification of “right by ancestral position”. Furthermore, Oliver II continued his father’s wishes & America got its own Parliament with the same powers, responsibilities & duties as the British Parliament in Westminster.
In 1745, an aging Oliver had to fight off the final invasion attempt of the Stuarts. This time “Bonnie” Prince Charlie landed in Scotland, raised a Highland Stuart Army & invaded England. After some initial success, forces loyal to the Cromwell Royal Household (that being most of the army in England & Wales), chased the Stuart Army out of England & eventually destroyed it at the Battle of Culloden. “Bonnie” Prince Charlie managed to escape, but not his followers. Little mercy was shown to the Highlanders.
Although Britain had already established its empire by 1730, this was greatly increased in 1748 by conquests in India. Even though not all of India was in British hands, over half nonetheless came under direct British control. Much of the remaining regions were in one type of allegiance or another with the British, whether it be military, trade &/or political.
Charles II 1749-1754. Ill health plagued Charles all his life & his reign was thus short. As a result, the position of Prime Minister was established to act on his behalf in Cabinet meetings & the general running of the country. The position proved to be highly successful & Parliament decided to make the appointment a permanent one.
Andrew 1754-1788. Andrew reigned during a difficult period for Britain. He witnessed the Industrial Revolution in Britain thoroughly change both the physical & cultural landscape. America was also effected, but more so by higher standards of education, a booming domestic economy & a growing population, which eventually led to calls for independence. Andrew, though, was not at all keen on letting the Americans have any reforms, even though Parliament was prepared to allow some new arrangements in America. In the end, however, nothing got done in American political reform.
The impasse in American reform came about due to the complete conquest of India. The British Parliament, however, kept India as a separate political entity & a Viceroy was appointed to govern the country on behalf of the Crown. Furthermore, to ensure that the world understood who was in charge of India, the British Monarch accepted the Indian Throne. King Andrew was thus crowned Emperor of India in 1785. All future British Monarchs (until Indian independence in 1947)would automatically gain the Indian Title as well.
As a consequence of the British presence in India, Australia was rapidly colonised during this period in an effort to ensure that the French, Dutch, or anyone else for that matter, did not assert control over this recently discovered continent. The result of all this activity for Britain was that it was the most powerful nation on Earth. Furthermore, Andrew was the Earth’s most powerful Monarch. It is no wonder, then, that he refused American requests for political reforms, regardless how conservative these requests may have been.
Henry X 1788-1821. Henry X was a very different man from his father Andrew. Highly educated (he had a doctorate in history from Cambridge University), Henry was very much an enlightened & liberal minded man. As a result, America finally got its freedom, even though it had to accept the second Royal Lineage of Cromwells as the American Monarchy. The Richards Line of the House of Cromwell was thus established as the Royal Family of the Kingdom of America. The American Parliament accepted this arrangement, albeit with many unhappy members. Prince William-Richard hence became King William of the Americans in 1801.
King Henry X reign, although long, was also a hard one. Even though the Americans were somewhat placated by 1800, the French underwent the Revolution & its aftermath. The result was the French Revolutionary Wars & the subsequent Napoleonic Wars that followed. These wars moreover did not go well for Britain on land.
The Royal Navy, however, had numerous important victories over the French which ensured British domination of the seas. The land war, though, was an entirely different matter & it was not until 1813 when Britain finally gained the upper hand over the French. Yet, war with France started up again shortly thereafter & was eventually defeated for good at the Battle of Waterloo (1815) by a combined Allied Army, which included units from Britain, Germany, America, Holland & Belgium.
William I of America 1801-1833. William ensured that a very successful second Cromwell Kingdom was established, this time, in North America. He also oversaw major political reforms at both the provincial & national levels; the most important of which permitted all males over the age of 21 being able to vote &/or participate in elections. As a last act of reform, in 1830, the appointed American House of Lords was reformed into a democratically elected Senate.
Apart from the hurried domestic activity, William I also had to face the problem of war in Europe. Although America was somewhat isolated from the Napoleonic Wars, the British nonetheless demanded all sorts of help. Even though William was a Cromwell, he & the American Parliament were not keen on the idea of getting involved. Nelson’s naval victory at Trafalgar in 1805, however, convinced the Americans that the war was almost over & they should get involved as a matter of honour.
The thought that the French were about to collapse was further reinforced when the Royal American Army invaded the recently acquired French territory of Louisiana in 1806. Only a handful of French troops offered any resistance & these were quickly dealt with. Alas a short ending to the war was not to be the case & the Royal American Army, along with their British counterparts, would have to slog it out in Spain, Portugal & southern France for some 7 years (1807-1814), then get dragged back into the vortex of battle the following year, before victory was finally achieved. Louisiana was annexed after the Napoleonic Wars in 1816.
Richard V of Britain 1821-1845. Named Richard-William, in honour of his uncle the King of America, Richard V came to the throne at a time when Britain enjoy peace & much prosperity. This would continue for much of his reign, although in 1832 Parliament could no longer curtail the demands of many for electoral reform. Having seen democracy flourish in America, many British citizens demanded change.
By 1832 riots had broken out in London, Glasgow, Manchester & Liverpool, not to mention a dozen other cities. Although the rioters were brutally repressed, Parliament insisted that reform take place & forced Richard to give his Royal Acceptance to the Great Reform Act 1832 or face dismissal. Richard did not have a choice, so 90% of males in Britain, over the age of 21, were granted the franchise. The House of Lords, however, would remain a right & privilege for the aristocracy.
George I of America 1833-1851. With the coming of the new American King came the coming of a new period of rapid expansion. Although the Atlantic coastline had been well & truly settled, not much had been west of the Mississippi River. This would now change with George & the Parliament agreeing to open large tracks of land across the continent. Alas this also meant that the Native American population would soon find themselves being pushed off their ancestral lands. The result ended in numerous Indian Wars which would continue on & off until the end of the century.
This expansion also ensured that relations between Mexico & America soured dramatically, for as the Kingdom of America was expanding west, so too Mexico was expanding North. Eventually, neither country could ignore the so-called infringements on their claimed territory, & with the American annexation of Texas in 1845, so war was soon declared by Mexico in 1846. Two years later, with her armies defeated, Mexico sued for peace. It was an expensive peace for Mexico who was forced to cede to America nearly all of the territory now included in the states of New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona & California.
Elizabeth II of Britain 1845-1847. The only surviving child of Richard V, Elizabeth’s reign was tragically cut short due to a horrific train accident, which took her & the Prince Consort (Prince Thomas of Huntingdon) lives, whilst travelling from London to Edinburgh. Elizabeth was Crowned at the young age of 20 & it was viewed among many that she would have achieved a very long reign. Alas this was not to be. Married only a few months before her death she left no immediate successor to the Throne.
Oliver III of Britain 1847-1856. The first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II & the most senior male member of the Henris Line (& Duke of Cambridge) at the time of the Queen’s death, Oliver’s rise to power came as much as a shock to Him as it was for Britain. As the Duke of Cambridge, alas, he gained no expertise in politics, royalty or the military skills whatsoever. Moreover, he was a renowned womaniser & “cheerful fellow”; one well known for his fondness for drink. Furthermore, he had been involved in various affairs with “societal ladies”.
Queen Catherine tolerated her husband as best she could &, more importantly, quickly became the real Monarch of the Kingdom. When dealing with the Prime Minister, she was noted by him to be “the most intelligent, charming & above all saintly of Monarchs within memory”. This observation was likewise professed by other Ministers, dignitaries & foreign leaders & diplomats - in fact just about everyone who ever met Her Majesty. Just as importantly, Queen Catherine ensured that Oliver somewhat reformed himself when he gained the Crown, although it was well known that the King eventually drank himself to death. Nonetheless, Britain was well managed during this period, thanks mostly to the efforts of this saintly Queen.
John I of America 1851-1859. John’s reign began quietly enough, but soon internal turmoil would account for much of His Kingship. The issue of slavery, ignored in 1801, would now no longer go away. Although the Cromwell Royal Household had no slaves of their own, & slavery had been outlawed by 1750 in the “North”, some 7 million slaves lived in the “South”. Slowly, but surely, the Puritans in the North gained power in the American Parliament & brought the issue to head the Government’s agenda. So afterwards, the His Majesty’s Whig Government at the Capital introduced legislation that would ban slavery in all of America.
This proposed legislation was immediately challenged by the Southern Governors & appeals were sent to John to not give His Royal Assent to the legislation. After much negotiation, & fearing a split in the Kingdom, John persuaded His Prime Minister, John Brown, not to push on with the Anti-Slavery Bill. This the Prime Minister reluctantly agreed to, but not before Brown warned His Majesty that “Providence will Judge us accordingly, and I fear much blood sacrifice will occur before God’s Will is finally achieved, because of Your Royal request”. They would be prophetic words.
A Brief History
The First Two Hundred Years 1657 - 1856
Oliver I 1657-1658. Founder of the current Royal House of Britain & that of the Royal House of America, until that nation became a Republic in 1964 due to a constitutional crisis. Although Oliver had a short reign as King, he had been all that but in name since the end of the First English Civil War in 1649, when the then current King Charles I (Stuart) was executed. From there, with the full support of the Parliamentary New Model Army, he defeated Stuart Loyalist uprisings in both Ireland & Scotland.
From there, Oliver lead the English to victory over the Dutch in 1654 which ensured that the Royal Navy would dominate the seas until the Twentieth Century. In the process of victory, Oliver rejected an offer of the Crown but accepted the position of Protector in 1653. Later in 1657, he was once again offered the Crown, & after much debate from colleagues & friends, decided that a “Puritan gentleman, of humble origins, may indeed make a very good & Godly English King for the good graces of all Englishmen”.
Throughout the period of Protectorship & Kingship, other than the various conflicts which Britain found herself in, Oliver established probably the more important legacy Britain, & later America, would come to cherish: a nationwide education system. The Puritans placed great importance on education in both religious & secular matters. Thus by the time of Oliver’s death, every village, town & city in Britain had some kind of school of one type or another ensuring that, by the turn of the century, about 80% of the population were literate.
Oliver’s claim to the throne, unlike the Stuart’s, was in reality based upon the power of the military. Although this was never stated anywhere, the Cromwell Dynasty would have never survived its first year, let alone a long history on the Throne of Britain, without Oliver’s control of the New Model Army. In order to gather a legitimate claim to the Throne, however, several writers at the time, & needless to say many ever since, argued that the Cromwells were actually descended from the ancient Welsh Powys Royal Household, which thus fulfilled an old prophesy whereby a descendant of this ancient Royal House would one day become king of Britain & establish a long line of successors. The Cromwells have ever since accepted this claim & used it to justify their Dynasty. Needless to say, the Cromwell Royal Household has always enjoyed overwhelming Welsh support.
Richard IV 1658-1660. Richard was never ready to become King. Furthermore, Richard was the target of constant plots & had to be saved on several occasions thanks to Oliver’s supporters in the government, Parliament &, more importantly, the New Model Army. After only two years he abdicated from the throne on the eve of an invasion by Charles Stuart “The Pretender”. He would establish the Richards line of the Royal Family of Cromwell.
Henry IX 1660-1688. Known as Henry “The Wise”, Henry IX was everything his father was & more. In doing so, he established the Henris Line of the Royal Family in the process of ruling Britain. Prior to accepting the Throne, he was Governor-General to Ireland until rumours were heard that Charles Stuart was going to invade Britain. He immediately took over the Crown from his abdicating brother, Richard IV, rushed north with the New Model Army, the Corps of Welsh Guardsmen & his Irish Model Army, defeating Charles “The Pretender” in Scotland near Dunbar. Charles escaped to France whilst his Scottish allies feared the retribution of Henry. Unlike his father Oliver I, however, Henry IX showed “Christian compassion to his wayward Scottish subjects”. General Monck, though, an English turncoat was not as lucky & was executed for High Treason in 1661.
Following on from the “compassion” that Henry showed to the Scots, Henry followed his example of government policy in Ireland & established the policy of “Toleration” for all of Britain. Later in 1680, he defeated further attempts by the Stuarts (James Stuart this time) to retake the Throne of England & Scotland. In his final years, he transferred much power to Parliament in exchange for the Act of Union (1686), which established the United Kingdom of England, Scotland & Wales.
Ireland remained a separate political entity with its own Parliament & Governor-General. This arrangement would be successful & acted as a blueprint for future political arrangements throughout much of the future British Empire. Furthermore, Ireland would be somewhat independent & saw its own Parliament deal reasonably well in domestic matters, with little interference from the British Parliament at Westminster, or indeed by the various Cromwellian Monarchs.
The immediate result of Henry’s policy of “Toleration”, however, witnessed two circumstances, which, even though appeared to offer little importance at the time, made in fact a major impact upon Britain & Ireland. The more immediate of the two permitted people to observe whichever religion that they wished to follow. This also included Catholicism, albeit with restrictions. The result was that much of the fuss involved with the English Civil Wars was negated overnight & the Stuarts found it harder to gain support, especially in Ireland.
The second circumstance, as a result of “Toleration”, was protection given to the Jews. Although many of the general public still entertained anti-Semitic attitudes, many Jews, nevertheless, arrived in Britain to begin new lives under the protection of the Throne. These Jews soon established various businesses & flourished. They would become the cornerstone of the financial strength of the British economy over the next 25 years & contribute greatly to the development of the British Empire in the next century.
Edward VII 1688-1702. Accepted the terms of Parliament, in regards to the new Act of Accession, in order to take the Crown. In doing so, Oliver Cromwell of the Richards Line was rejected & the Henris would continue to be the main Royal Lineage until the establishment of the Kingdom of America. Unlike Henry IX rule, Edward’s was a rather quiet affair. British trade, on the other hand, began to dominate the region & was the firm foundation for the future British Empire.
Robert 1702-1722. Robert oversaw a tough time for Britain. War commenced with France & Spain in North America. As a consequence of the ongoing war, Robert accepted Parliament’s plan for the creation of the Commonwealth of Northern America. This was principally an effort to organise the American colonies to fight the war efficiently & effectively on behalf of Britain. Although it had an Advisory Council, a Governor-General ruled on behalf of the Crown. After the British were victorious over the French & Spanish, local discontent eventually forced Robert to request Parliament to copy “the Irish governmental system for My colonies in America”. Alas Robert died before this was achieved.
Oliver II 1722-1749. Known as the “Great Reformer”, Oliver pushed through many reforms during his reign that saw the voting franchise in Britain drastically increase to include 50% of the male population. This new franchise was based upon higher educational standards & the “new money classes”, as against the previous franchise qualification of “right by ancestral position”. Furthermore, Oliver II continued his father’s wishes & America got its own Parliament with the same powers, responsibilities & duties as the British Parliament in Westminster.
In 1745, an aging Oliver had to fight off the final invasion attempt of the Stuarts. This time “Bonnie” Prince Charlie landed in Scotland, raised a Highland Stuart Army & invaded England. After some initial success, forces loyal to the Cromwell Royal Household (that being most of the army in England & Wales), chased the Stuart Army out of England & eventually destroyed it at the Battle of Culloden. “Bonnie” Prince Charlie managed to escape, but not his followers. Little mercy was shown to the Highlanders.
Although Britain had already established its empire by 1730, this was greatly increased in 1748 by conquests in India. Even though not all of India was in British hands, over half nonetheless came under direct British control. Much of the remaining regions were in one type of allegiance or another with the British, whether it be military, trade &/or political.
Charles II 1749-1754. Ill health plagued Charles all his life & his reign was thus short. As a result, the position of Prime Minister was established to act on his behalf in Cabinet meetings & the general running of the country. The position proved to be highly successful & Parliament decided to make the appointment a permanent one.
Andrew 1754-1788. Andrew reigned during a difficult period for Britain. He witnessed the Industrial Revolution in Britain thoroughly change both the physical & cultural landscape. America was also effected, but more so by higher standards of education, a booming domestic economy & a growing population, which eventually led to calls for independence. Andrew, though, was not at all keen on letting the Americans have any reforms, even though Parliament was prepared to allow some new arrangements in America. In the end, however, nothing got done in American political reform.
The impasse in American reform came about due to the complete conquest of India. The British Parliament, however, kept India as a separate political entity & a Viceroy was appointed to govern the country on behalf of the Crown. Furthermore, to ensure that the world understood who was in charge of India, the British Monarch accepted the Indian Throne. King Andrew was thus crowned Emperor of India in 1785. All future British Monarchs (until Indian independence in 1947)would automatically gain the Indian Title as well.
As a consequence of the British presence in India, Australia was rapidly colonised during this period in an effort to ensure that the French, Dutch, or anyone else for that matter, did not assert control over this recently discovered continent. The result of all this activity for Britain was that it was the most powerful nation on Earth. Furthermore, Andrew was the Earth’s most powerful Monarch. It is no wonder, then, that he refused American requests for political reforms, regardless how conservative these requests may have been.
Henry X 1788-1821. Henry X was a very different man from his father Andrew. Highly educated (he had a doctorate in history from Cambridge University), Henry was very much an enlightened & liberal minded man. As a result, America finally got its freedom, even though it had to accept the second Royal Lineage of Cromwells as the American Monarchy. The Richards Line of the House of Cromwell was thus established as the Royal Family of the Kingdom of America. The American Parliament accepted this arrangement, albeit with many unhappy members. Prince William-Richard hence became King William of the Americans in 1801.
King Henry X reign, although long, was also a hard one. Even though the Americans were somewhat placated by 1800, the French underwent the Revolution & its aftermath. The result was the French Revolutionary Wars & the subsequent Napoleonic Wars that followed. These wars moreover did not go well for Britain on land.
The Royal Navy, however, had numerous important victories over the French which ensured British domination of the seas. The land war, though, was an entirely different matter & it was not until 1813 when Britain finally gained the upper hand over the French. Yet, war with France started up again shortly thereafter & was eventually defeated for good at the Battle of Waterloo (1815) by a combined Allied Army, which included units from Britain, Germany, America, Holland & Belgium.
William I of America 1801-1833. William ensured that a very successful second Cromwell Kingdom was established, this time, in North America. He also oversaw major political reforms at both the provincial & national levels; the most important of which permitted all males over the age of 21 being able to vote &/or participate in elections. As a last act of reform, in 1830, the appointed American House of Lords was reformed into a democratically elected Senate.
Apart from the hurried domestic activity, William I also had to face the problem of war in Europe. Although America was somewhat isolated from the Napoleonic Wars, the British nonetheless demanded all sorts of help. Even though William was a Cromwell, he & the American Parliament were not keen on the idea of getting involved. Nelson’s naval victory at Trafalgar in 1805, however, convinced the Americans that the war was almost over & they should get involved as a matter of honour.
The thought that the French were about to collapse was further reinforced when the Royal American Army invaded the recently acquired French territory of Louisiana in 1806. Only a handful of French troops offered any resistance & these were quickly dealt with. Alas a short ending to the war was not to be the case & the Royal American Army, along with their British counterparts, would have to slog it out in Spain, Portugal & southern France for some 7 years (1807-1814), then get dragged back into the vortex of battle the following year, before victory was finally achieved. Louisiana was annexed after the Napoleonic Wars in 1816.
Richard V of Britain 1821-1845. Named Richard-William, in honour of his uncle the King of America, Richard V came to the throne at a time when Britain enjoy peace & much prosperity. This would continue for much of his reign, although in 1832 Parliament could no longer curtail the demands of many for electoral reform. Having seen democracy flourish in America, many British citizens demanded change.
By 1832 riots had broken out in London, Glasgow, Manchester & Liverpool, not to mention a dozen other cities. Although the rioters were brutally repressed, Parliament insisted that reform take place & forced Richard to give his Royal Acceptance to the Great Reform Act 1832 or face dismissal. Richard did not have a choice, so 90% of males in Britain, over the age of 21, were granted the franchise. The House of Lords, however, would remain a right & privilege for the aristocracy.
George I of America 1833-1851. With the coming of the new American King came the coming of a new period of rapid expansion. Although the Atlantic coastline had been well & truly settled, not much had been west of the Mississippi River. This would now change with George & the Parliament agreeing to open large tracks of land across the continent. Alas this also meant that the Native American population would soon find themselves being pushed off their ancestral lands. The result ended in numerous Indian Wars which would continue on & off until the end of the century.
This expansion also ensured that relations between Mexico & America soured dramatically, for as the Kingdom of America was expanding west, so too Mexico was expanding North. Eventually, neither country could ignore the so-called infringements on their claimed territory, & with the American annexation of Texas in 1845, so war was soon declared by Mexico in 1846. Two years later, with her armies defeated, Mexico sued for peace. It was an expensive peace for Mexico who was forced to cede to America nearly all of the territory now included in the states of New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona & California.
Elizabeth II of Britain 1845-1847. The only surviving child of Richard V, Elizabeth’s reign was tragically cut short due to a horrific train accident, which took her & the Prince Consort (Prince Thomas of Huntingdon) lives, whilst travelling from London to Edinburgh. Elizabeth was Crowned at the young age of 20 & it was viewed among many that she would have achieved a very long reign. Alas this was not to be. Married only a few months before her death she left no immediate successor to the Throne.
Oliver III of Britain 1847-1856. The first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II & the most senior male member of the Henris Line (& Duke of Cambridge) at the time of the Queen’s death, Oliver’s rise to power came as much as a shock to Him as it was for Britain. As the Duke of Cambridge, alas, he gained no expertise in politics, royalty or the military skills whatsoever. Moreover, he was a renowned womaniser & “cheerful fellow”; one well known for his fondness for drink. Furthermore, he had been involved in various affairs with “societal ladies”.
Queen Catherine tolerated her husband as best she could &, more importantly, quickly became the real Monarch of the Kingdom. When dealing with the Prime Minister, she was noted by him to be “the most intelligent, charming & above all saintly of Monarchs within memory”. This observation was likewise professed by other Ministers, dignitaries & foreign leaders & diplomats - in fact just about everyone who ever met Her Majesty. Just as importantly, Queen Catherine ensured that Oliver somewhat reformed himself when he gained the Crown, although it was well known that the King eventually drank himself to death. Nonetheless, Britain was well managed during this period, thanks mostly to the efforts of this saintly Queen.
John I of America 1851-1859. John’s reign began quietly enough, but soon internal turmoil would account for much of His Kingship. The issue of slavery, ignored in 1801, would now no longer go away. Although the Cromwell Royal Household had no slaves of their own, & slavery had been outlawed by 1750 in the “North”, some 7 million slaves lived in the “South”. Slowly, but surely, the Puritans in the North gained power in the American Parliament & brought the issue to head the Government’s agenda. So afterwards, the His Majesty’s Whig Government at the Capital introduced legislation that would ban slavery in all of America.
This proposed legislation was immediately challenged by the Southern Governors & appeals were sent to John to not give His Royal Assent to the legislation. After much negotiation, & fearing a split in the Kingdom, John persuaded His Prime Minister, John Brown, not to push on with the Anti-Slavery Bill. This the Prime Minister reluctantly agreed to, but not before Brown warned His Majesty that “Providence will Judge us accordingly, and I fear much blood sacrifice will occur before God’s Will is finally achieved, because of Your Royal request”. They would be prophetic words.
