British Alfred von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha lives to WW1

[Byzantion]

So the second oldest son of Queen Victoria, Alfred von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, had been German Prince. He died in 1900 OTL at only 56. In 1914 he would have been 70, in 1918 he would have been 74. Alfred drank heavily after his son commited suicide, the cancer might have been caused by it. So it is not unrealistic for him being alive in 1914 considering alternate circumstances. What would have been the consequences of a German Territorial Prince being from the Dynasty of an enemy of the British Empire ? Alfred had been a long term Royal Navy officier. When he became Prince of Sachsen Coburg Gotha, there had been great hostility against the British Prince in all of Germany. Alfred himself disliked the Kaiser Wilhelm II.. With the years the German people and other Princes of the Reich seem to have been more comfortable with the British Prince. But in 1914, when WW1 broke out, things might have been very different again. What do you think would have happened?

 

[Rattenfänger von Memphis]

Assuming that everything else remains the same besides the Prince’s actual death date in 1900, if he remains in Germany, he will probably be considered too old, at 70 years, to actively fight. He would lose his British honors in May 1915. And he will lose his throne in 1918, along with all the other German monarchs when he is 74.

In any case, his would be a very divided family with his daughters on all sides of the war.

By 1918, his only son would have been dead for 18 years. Only non-eligible (due to the war) British princes would be the nearest heirs.

Of his four daughters, Queen Marie of Romania would be on the Allied side, her country defeated and occupied and her family stuck in a tiny Romanian town with an uncertain future.

Grand Duchess Victoria Melita would be a penniless, pregnant refugee, fleeing to Finland, in fear for her life from the Russian Revolution,

Princess Alexandra of Hohenlohe-Langenburg would be on Germany’s side.

Princess Beatrice would be married to a Spanish infante and, of course, Spain was neutral.

By 1914, Alfred would have been ruling in Saxe-Coburg-Gotha for 21 years. He would have been legally a German citizen. He would no doubt have been part of building the German Navy and in one of my Kindle books, “Alfred, Queen Victoria’s Second Son” by John van der Kiste, it says Alfred was made a German Admiral in the 1890s.

In real life, his Russian wife Marie stayed in Saxe-Coburg-Gotha during World War I and was pro-German. Alfred and his wife were not particularly close so what were his choices in 1914 ?

He could abdicate and return to England. This would be considered treason by Germany as Alfred was a German citizen and had been a Federal German Prince for 21 years.

He could try to sit the war out being 70 years old. His specialty would no doubt have been the German Navy but he would probably be suspected of English sympathies and not allowed to have anything to do with the wartime German fleet, assuming he would want to. This was the experience on the English side of his niece’s husband Prince Louis of Battenberg who was born German but became a British subject at the age of 14.

In 1914, at age 60, Prince Louis was England’s First Sea Lord and an Admiral. “Matriarch” by Anne Edwards, on page 285, tells the tale of Louis in England, which could also have been the tale of Alfred in Germany.

”Attacks upon Prince Louis and his German birth, insinuating that he could be a spy, started first in the “Globe” and other London newspapers, a smear campaign that finally reached the floor of Parliament. Such a furor was raised that by October 29 (1914) Prince Louis had no alternative but to resign….”

Even sitting the war out in Germany, Alfred would be thought of in England as betraying the land of his birth even if all he did was Red Cross work or similar non-military activities.

What a heart-breaking decision Alfred would have faced.

 

[Byzantion]

Assuming that everything else remains the same besides the Prince’s actual death date in 1900, if he remains in Germany, he will probably be considered too old, at 70 years, to actively fight. He would lose his British honors in May 1915. And he will lose his throne in 1918, along with all the other German monarchs when he is 74.

In any case, his would be a very divided family with his daughters on all sides of the war.

By 1918, his only son would have been dead for 18 years. Only non-eligible (due to the war) British princes would be the nearest heirs.

Of his four daughters, Queen Marie of Romania would be on the Allied side, her country defeated and occupied and her family stuck in a tiny Romanian town with an uncertain future.

Grand Duchess Victoria Melita would be a penniless, pregnant refugee, fleeing to Finland, in fear for her life from the Russian Revolution,

Princess Alexandra of Hohenlohe-Langenburg would be on Germany’s side.

Princess Beatrice would be married to a Spanish infante and, of course, Spain was neutral.

By 1914, Alfred would have been ruling in Saxe-Coburg-Gotha for 21 years. He would have been legally a German citizen. He would no doubt have been part of building the German Navy and in one of my Kindle books, “Alfred, Queen Victoria’s Second Son” by John van der Kiste, it says Alfred was made a German Admiral in the 1890s.

In real life, his Russian wife Marie stayed in Saxe-Coburg-Gotha during World War I and was pro-German. Alfred and his wife were not particularly close so what were his choices in 1914 ?

He could abdicate and return to England. This would be considered treason by Germany as Alfred was a German citizen and had been a Federal German Prince for 21 years.

He could try to sit the war out being 70 years old. His specialty would no doubt have been the German Navy but he would probably be suspected of English sympathies and not allowed to have anything to do with the wartime German fleet, assuming he would want to. This was the experience on the English side of his niece’s husband Prince Louis of Battenberg who was born German but became a British subject at the age of 14.

In 1914, at age 60, Prince Louis was England’s First Sea Lord and an Admiral. “Matriarch” by Anne Edwards, on page 285, tells the tale of Louis in England, which could also have been the tale of Alfred in Germany.

Even sitting the war out in Germany, Alfred would be thought of in England as betraying the land of his birth even if all he did was Red Cross work or similar non-military activities.

What a heart-breaking decision Alfred would have faced.

Yes, it would be a hard situation for the Prince. He would never want to fight his felloe Englishmen nor be the enemy of the Royal Navy he once served in. Also his safety might be a also a question. With an extreme Nationalist sentiment and Anti- British feeling during wartime there might be an uproar against Alfred (like ahainst Battenberg in Britainfor the sole reasonnof his upbringing even if don't offer to much any more service wise in WW1.