Alternate House of Hapbsburg-Lorraine

What if Leopold Clément of Lorraine, hereditary prince of Lorraine survived small pox and married Marie Theresa of Austria just like it was intended OTL. Will Charles VI still apply the rule "no renunciation to Lorraine, no archduchess". Apparently, Leopold was a tall and very intelligent young man groomed to be his father's heir. Could Lorraine become part of the Hapsburg hereditary lands ? With a more active an confident young emperor,could Austria find a good outcome out of the incoming Austrian War of Succession ? Will Maria Theresa allow the sharing of power with her husband (OTL, she didn't with Francis).
 
What if Leopold Clément of Lorraine, hereditary prince of Lorraine survived small pox and married Marie Theresa of Austria just like it was intended OTL. Will Charles VI still apply the rule "no renunciation to Lorraine, no archduchess". Apparently, Leopold was a tall and very intelligent young man groomed to be his father's heir. Could Lorraine become part of the Hapsburg hereditary lands ? With a more active an confident young emperor,could Austria find a good outcome out of the incoming Austrian War of Succession ? Will Maria Theresa allow the sharing of power with her husband (OTL, she didn't with Francis).

First off, its Habsburg, not Hapsburg. The former has been the official spelling for a long time. Second, aside from having a different Lorrainer nothing would really change. France demanded Lorraine for the King's father-in-law in exchange for recognizing the Pragmatic succession. As Karl VI was obsessed with getting the Great powers to sign that worthless piece of paper, he'd still apply the no renunciation, no Archduchess clause.

As to the sharing of power, no way. At best you'd see something similar to Maria Theresa's deal with her son Josef: the Emperor runs the army and the Empress the government.
 
To be fair Francis Stephan had qualities of his own, for instance he had a much better grasp of finances than Maria Theresia. Not to mention, that his, but also Leopold Clément's upbringing was closer to the traditional upbringing of a future ruler. For all the effort Charles VI put in the Pragmatic Sanction, he apparently didn't feel the need to aim to steer the upbringing of his daughters a bit more towards, that of a future ruler (they had the 'normal' education of an archduchess); OTOH Maria Theresia turned out pretty good.

However you're selling Francis Stephen short, during their shared reign he was responsible for the financial affairs and was very competent at it, he also assisted Maria Theresia in other matters of state, but was content that ultimately his wife was the one wielding power.
A potential more active Leopold Clément might not necessarily have made for a better outcome; IOTL Maria Theresia and Francis Stephen were quite compatible.

I agree that Leopold Clément like Francis Stephen would probably also have to renounce Lorraine for suitable compensation.

@ Emperor Constantine: instead of obsessing over that 'worthless piece of paper', Charles VI IMHO would have been better off, if he followed the advice of Austrian field marshal Prince Eugene of Savoy to fill his coffers and build up his army.
 
Thank you for your answers. Sorry for the spelling, it must have been my spell check.
But is there anyway Lorraine be kept?
 
First off, its Habsburg, not Hapsburg. The former has been the official spelling for a long time. Second, aside from having a different Lorrainer nothing would really change. France demanded Lorraine for the King's father-in-law in exchange for recognizing the Pragmatic succession. As Karl VI was obsessed with getting the Great powers to sign that worthless piece of paper, he'd still apply the no renunciation, no Archduchess clause.

As to the sharing of power, no way. At best you'd see something similar to Maria Theresa's deal with her son Josef: the Emperor runs the army and the Empress the government.

Well that first bit is a bit pedantic for the sake of being pedantic isn't it? Hapsburg is an acceptable spelling of that family's name as well.

And what would happen if the Duke of Lorraine was more willful towards his wife and wanted more control?
 
Thank you for your answers. Sorry for the spelling, it must have been my spell check.
But is there anyway Lorraine be kept?

Delay the War of Polish Succession or Avoid direct involvement. Let Charles do all he can to prevent the Prince Conde from getting to Poland without going to War, let Russia & Saxony do the fighting (secretly contract out troops to Saxony, in addition to diplomatic support for PS recognition) Augustus III wins because there is no way France is going to be able to transport enough troops to Poland to fight Russia for it. Saxony-PLC, Russia & Austria in alliance. No?
 
Perhaps if MT still marries Francis, even with Léopold available (he perhaps marries a Bourbon or Bourbon-allied princess) that was the duchy of Lorraine wouldn't pass to Austria and Stanislas can keep ruling Zweibrucken? Just a suggestion.
 
I like the suggestion about delaying the war.
@JonasResende I think Charles would like to see his daughter married to the heir of Leopold of Lorraine (longtime friend and game companion), OTL they were already betrothed by the time of Leopold Clement died.
 
Well that first bit is a bit pedantic for the sake of being pedantic isn't it? Hapsburg is an acceptable spelling of that family's name as well.

And what would happen if the Duke of Lorraine was more willful towards his wife and wanted more control?

Thank you for reassuring me about the orthography. If Leopold Clement would want more control, it would depend on Maria Theresa's personality. She seems OTL like a strong woman ready to protect at all cost her hereditary lands, Emperor Constantine said there was no way of sharing power, but I don't know. What about a co-ruleship à la William and Mary .
 
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