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Even though I've been totally slacking on it, I am still working on my OTL, The Last Hanover, which explores the life and reign of Charlotte of Wales had she survived her childbirth in November 1817.

Obviously with Charlotte living, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld -Leopold I of Belgium- is not going to take that throne. It's been making me crazy trying to figure out who will take the throne, and what it will do to Europe. Some things that for sure are going down are: Albert (OTL husband of Victoria) marries a Russian Grand Duchess and gets Greece after Otto I, and Louis Philippe d'Orléans does not take the throne of France and rules as co-regent with the dowager Duchesse de Berry, who does not remarry and retains custody of her son, who becomes the liberal King Henri V of the French.

Our OTL options are:
  • Prince Louis d'Orléans, Duc de Nemours (In my timeline, his father is next in line to the French after Henri V and his oldest brother Ferdinand Philippe is marrying Henri V's sister to keep the bloodlines together, so he's the next best 'Royalist French' option. In February 1831 OTL, he was nominated king of the Belgians when accompanying the French army into Belgium to support it's revolt; he participated in the siege of Antwerp. His father -the King of the French at the time- made him deny it to keep international peace but here it's not so much of an issue. OTL he married Leopold's Catholic niece, Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry, but he might look to marry someone a little higher up in this situation. Suggestions welcome!)
  • Auguste de Beauharnais, The Duke of Leuchtenberg (Step-grandson of Napoléon I and grandson of Maximilian Josef I of Bavaria. He was the official Russian candidate OTL and is ridiculously well connected in Europe: His sisters included Joséphine, The Queen of Sweden and Amélie, The Empress of Brazil; his aunts and uncles included Ludwig I of Bavaria, Empress Karolina of Austria, Queen Elisabeth Ludovika of Prussia, Queen Amalia Auguste of Saxony, Queen Maria Anna of Saxony, and Archduchess Sophie of Austria; and he was a first cousin to Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria, Napoléon III, Maximilian II of Bavaria, Maximilian I of Mexico, Otto of Greece, The Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, Albrecht I of Saxony, Georg I of Saxony, The Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and the Queen of the Two Sicilies. OTL his Napoleonic connections allayed the concerns of some of the Great Powers worried that the breakaway Roman Catholic realm might otherwise ally itself too closely with the likewise Catholic and revolutionary "bourgeois monarchy" of Orléans France, but since there's no bourgeois Orléans France, I'm not sure how his chances improve / worsen in this situation. He was said to have "proved unthreatening to the Great Powers because of his lack of membership in an already reigning dynasty and lack of conflicting foreign obligations or ambitions". He married Maria II of Portugal OTL and died two months later; supposedly he most likely died from diphtheria, so it's a simple case of butterflying that away. Obviously he can't marry Maria II in this situation, so brides for him would be welcome!)
  • Maximilien de Beauharnais, The Duke of Leuchtenberg (The brother of above, he's got all the same connections and 'unthreatening-ness'. OTL he had a not-so-hot marriage with Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia and like his brother, died fairly young of tuberculosis. Active in artistic and charitable causes, he could make a decent king. Not going to marry Maria Nikolaevna in this situation - she was a devoted Russian and not going anywhere, thank you- , so we're gonna need another wife).
  • Archduke Karl of Austria, The Duke of Teschen (Third son of Emperor Leopold II of the HRE, he was adopted and raised by his paternal aunt and uncle, the Duke and Duchess of Teschen, who conveniently were the much beloved governors of the Habsburg Netherlands - including what ended up becoming Belgium. He's not quite as well-connected as the Beauharnais brothers -he's a brother and an uncle to the Austrian Emperors, brother to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, great-uncle of the Duchesse de Berry, and brother to the Queen of Saxony. He's also got numerous cousin on Catholic thrones throughout Europe. He's married to the Protestant Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg - a nice sop to the Protestants in Belgium-, who's a sister to the Duke of Nassau and a distant cousin of the British royal family. He has six living children, including 4 sons, at the time he would accede to the throne, which gives him a bit of a leg up - his oldest son, Albrecht, was born in 1817 and OTL married Hildegard of Bavaria but may look for another, more connected wife if he's going to be the next King of the Belgians. All of the kids marriages will probably get shifted around if he takes the throne, so matches for them would be appreciated)
Wild Card Options
For whatever reasons, these guys weren't offered the throne of Belgium when it came up for grabs: since it's my timeline and my rules, I thought I would give them a shot this time around.

  • Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha-Koháry (Brother of Leopold, he converted to Catholicism for his Hungarian heiress wife, Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág and founded the Catholic Koháry branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha. OTL his son Ferdinand married Maria II of Portugal after Auguste de Leuchtenberg kicked the bucket, his daughter Viktoria married the Duc de Nemours, and his son August married Princess Clémentine of Orléans, so they were fairly well-connected. The fact that his wife was noble and not royal might be a sticking point for some of the Great Powers, but he's Catholic, has three sons, is fairly well-connected, and has connections to Great Britain and Austria right off the bat. Obviously his son Ferdinand can't marry Maria II of Portugal if he's going to be a king in his own right, so he needs a new wife - his brother and sister probably wouldn't both marry into the Orléans family, so one or both of them possibly need new spouses as well, and possibly the third son Leopold, who married morganatically OTL but might not get away with that here).

  • Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte, The Duke of Reichstadt (aka Napoléon II): (Okay, so hear me out here: the guy was intelligent, serious, focused, Catholic, a military man, and well-connected to the Emperors of Austria. Assuming we keep him from dying in 1832 and he gives up all claims to the throne of France, I feel like he's got a decent shot. He "gave some concern and fascination to the monarchies of Europe and French leaders over his possible return to France. However, he was allowed to play no political role and instead was used by Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich in bargaining with France to gain advantage for Austria". Assuming the stars align and the heavens part, we need to find a wife for him, since he was a confirmed bachelor OTL)

BONUS CHALLENGE: Find me someone to marry Victoria of Kent (OTL Queen Victoria, who's been pushed pretty far down the line of succession in this timeline), either from these candidates or in general!
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