Charles II a surprise marriage

The question becomes would Charles really marry Frances Stewart if he's widowed? I mean it caused a lot of controversy when the Duke of York married Anne Hyde. Also there wouldn't be all that much relief at this point; Catherine and Charles would have only been married for a year in 1663. A foreign match is much more likely.
 
It's a curious situation. A king, 33 years old, casting about for foreign princesses. While it's not a deal breaker, he's already got a handful of illegitimate children. I'd suspect he'd be looking for a large dowry, so not just any random German would fit the bill. If the controversy regarding James was more about Anne's father being in the government (not to mention the mildly scandalous sequence of the courtship) Charles could make the marriage if he wanted to.
 
Very true.

So let's say the marriage goes ahead. What does the uk look like without any of the scandals of otl?
 
Foreign candidates could be Margarita Teresa of Spain (she was offered in opposition to Catherine of Bragança OTL), but IDK who the French could offer, maybe one of Gaston's daughters?
 
Margaret Teresa instead of Catherine would mean Charles marrying a 10 year old girl. Not impossible, but unusual for England. The ages of Gastons daughter work out a bit better, in that they're not children, but the three who lived long enough all married (Tuscany,Lorraine and Savoy.) Elisabeth, who didn't marry (Lorraine) OTL until 1667 would be possible. She'd be 17 in 1663. A king of England beats a Duke of Lorraine when it comes to the marriage lottery.
 
Margaret Teresa instead of Catherine would mean Charles marrying a 10 year old girl. Not impossible, but unusual for England. The ages of Gastons daughter work out a bit better, in that they're not children, but the three who lived long enough all married (Tuscany,Lorraine and Savoy.) Elisabeth, who didn't marry (Lorraine) OTL until 1667 would be possible. She'd be 17 in 1663. A king of England beats a Duke of Lorraine when it comes to the marriage lottery.

Margaret Teresa would be 12 in 1663 and probably 14 by the time of the marriage. Quite normal age wise for brides (Charles II's mother Henrietta Maria was 15 when she married Charles I). She would be an interesting match, especially considering her status as heiress of the Spanish Monarchy. We could see a threeway fight between the Stuarts, the Bourbons and the Habsburgs over the Spanish throne after Carlos II dies. Side note, I have to say its ironic that the Spanish offered their would be heiress to Charles II when they refused a second daughter for his father 40 years earlier. Back on topic though, the issue becomes Margaret's health. It was never that great and she died leaving only one child behind. Now that high infant mortality rate could also be due to the close relations of mother and father (the product of an uncle/niece match marrying her uncle and producing children: pretty horrible recipe) so maybe her kids are healthier with a quite distantly related husband (hell I'm not even sure who their common ancestors were).

That being said, I think Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans is the most likely choice. She's 17 at this point, the first cousin of Charles and Louis XIV, half sister of the fabulously rich la Grand Mademoiselle and would bring a French alliance with her. Considering Charles II's inclination towards the French, I'd say a French match would definitely be in the cards.
 
Don't overestimate Parliament at this point. It's power was still quite limited and had no right to decide foreign affairs or royal marriages.
Very true. Hmm s French Match does seem solid st this point. More so than Frances Stewart?

If so would that be more interesting for a story than a marriage Margaret Theresa ?
 
Very true. Hmm s French Match does seem solid st this point. More so than Frances Stewart?

If so would that be more interesting for a story than a marriage Margaret Theresa ?

Frances would never have been a realistic choice as Queen. While the idea of a home grown Queen was no doubt appealing for some of the English establishment (the conservative gentry and the Anglican church comes to mind), ultimately its worthless. A domestic match brings no advantages to England or the Crown. Maybe a rich English heiress with an impeccable lineage would be a possibility but an impoverished pretty face is not gonna happen.

As for Spanish vs French, hard to say. Charles was a Francophile, so naturally his inclinations would be towards Louis XIV and Paris. France brings a rich dowry (necessary sense Catherine of Braganza's death means the Portuguese would stop paying her enormous one) and an alliance. Now that doesn't mean as much considering Charles's sister was married to Louis's brother and France still sided against the English in the Second Anglo-Dutch war. Spain, on the other hand, was a declining but still great power. They couldn't afford a dowry like France could (see the unpaid dowry of Maria Theresa, Louis XIV's wife as an example) but did have other ways of seducing the English. The lucrative Asiento slave monopoly was one such way, limited trade rights with the Spanish colonies another. But the most important and controversial would be Margaret Theresa herself. Maria Theresa had been disinherited, leaving her younger half sister as second in line after their decrepit brother, the future Carlos II. So, in theory at least, Margaret could bring with her the succession rights to the Spanish Monarchy. The chance to see your son ruling the largest empire in the world is a hard temptation to resist.
 
Ok, how about this scenario: The death of the Queen of England, Catherine of Braganza, in 1663 was due to illness. The dying Queen herself believed that, during the last days of her sickness, she had given birth to an heir and begged to be allowed to hold her "son". Charles II of England, unable to be the one to tell his bride the truth, would instead bring his newborn son by his mistress Barbara Palmer, who fussed that her son would die in the arms of the Queen, which did not come to be. Instead, the baby comforted the dying woman, and it was on the 2nd of Novemeber, 1663 that Charles II of England was officially a widower and thus available for remarriage.

It was rumoured that, in the wake of his new state, the King planned to remarry to a distant cousin, Frances Stuart. A dim but beautiful woman, he had unsuccessfully attempted to take her as a mistress previously, and with their growing closeness in the immediate aftermath of the Queen's death, many feared that they had already become betrothed, if not fully wedded. They would be quite close by Christmas and in France, the note of congratulations for his marriage was prepared to be released the moment Charles II of England announced they had wed. This, however, seems to have been premature, as it turned out to be based merely on rumours. Instead, the King began negotiations for a new bride.

His first choice would be Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans, cousin of the King of France and an enchanting young woman in her own right. However during the early negotiations, a contender of the King's bride came in the form of Margaret Theresa of Spain, the heiress of Spain after her deformed brother. While the French match offered a rich dowry and a good, solid alliance with a traditionally antagonistic France, the Spanish match offered the potential of the Spanish Empire. The temptation of Spain proved too much for the King of England and in 1664 the 13 year old Infanta of Spain was betrothed to the King of England, to arrive in England when she was 14 and to begin the proper consummation of the union when she was 15.

Arriving in 1665, the Infanta of Spain delighted her new husband, who promptly designated the title of "Petite Douceur" (Little Sweetness) to his new Queen, a pet name that the Infanta would retain with her husband until her death. The cohabitation would, of course, wait until the Queen's 15th birthday. However, the two would grow close during this time and eventually the Queen of England would be comfortable enough to give her husband his own pet name, entitling him "Mon roi géant doux" (My Gentle, Giant King), after his height in comparison to her own shorter stature.

Their first child, a daughter, was born in January of 1668, named the Princess Sophia Stuart. With her daughter, the Spanish Queen found herself quite proud, and it was then that the teenager attempted to send her rival, Barbara Palmer, away from the court. Ultimately a fruitless attempt, the Queen would settle for the King simply removing his mistress from his wife's attendance for a time, instead placing her in a position that allowed her less access to the Queen.

A second daughter would be born in 1669, the Princess Margaret. Unfortunately, the Princess Margaret would die mere days after her birth and the Queen would meet the tragedy with sadness, falling into a melancholy state throughout the rest of the year. However, this was alleviated by her third pregnancy in 1671. Having just entered her 20's, the Queen of England was beginning to find her confidence as a young woman. An early victory against Barbra Palmer would lead to her opposing several of the women her husband would enjoy on the side and bets went around the court, seeing if the Queen would "domesticate" her husband. However, all this came to naught after the pregnancy of the Queen of England came to an end in December of 1671. Giving birth to a healthy son, named Charles after the King, the Queen of England died as a result of an emergency Cesarean Procedure, performed at her instruction. The King was truly devastated.

Having lost a second bride, the King of England was not immediately agreeable to a third marriage. Having now given England a male heir, the King felt he might be able to live a single lifestyle, at least for a time. However, fearing the Prince of Wales might grow sickly, and the Princess Royal would be all that was left, the King of England began negotiations with France for a new bride. In an odd moment of coincidence, the same her he had lost his bride, his former potential Queen, Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans, had been widowed by the Duke of Guise. The mother of a young son, the Dowager Duchess was somewhat antagonistic to the match, until the death of her child in 1673. Thus, in her grief, she agreed to marry the King of England as a way of escaping France and all it's memories of her son.

With his third bride, the King of England would find himself less emotionally attached than previous unions. While pet names had been the norm with his previous Queens, with Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans he would keep a formal tone to their correspondence. While this would obviously soften with the birth of their children, it was not for naught that many joked that the King was more married to Nell Gwyn than the Queen herself. Despite this, the Queen would be the mother to a further three of the King's children.

The first of the royal children would be the Duke of Clarence, the Prince Henry Stuart. Born in 1676, on his mother's 30th birthday, this son represented the softening of the previously stiffly formal Queen, who would grow more popular in the court after this time. A second son in 1679, named James and given the title Duke of Kintyre, would follow and the final birth of a Princess in 1681, named Henrietta after the Duchess of Orleans, who had died in 1670.

Now this is is the new royal family:

Charles II of England (b.1630: d.1685) m. Catherine of Braganza (b.1638: d.1663) (a), Margaret Theresa of Spain (b.1651: d.1671) (b), Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans (b.1646: d.1696) (c)

1b) Sophia Stuart, Princess Royal (b.1668)

2b) Margaret Stuart (b.1669: d.1669)

3b) Charles Stuart, Prince of Wales (b.1671)

4c) Henry Stuart, Duke of Clarence (b.1676)

5c) James Stuart, Duke of Kintyre (b.1679)

6c) Henrietta Stuart (b.1681)​
 
Looks plausible. Shame Margaret Theresa died giving birth at such a young age.

If she didn't die in childbirth, I'd wager she'd die young in the English climate. Margaret Theresa was never that healthy, and even with the non-incestuous Stuart marriage, that doesn't change her constitution. She was never a healthy young woman.
 
Under those circumstances (once Carlos II of Spain dies) I could see a VERY messy succession war play out. While the Prince of Wales has the best claim, no one outside of England will want to see a Union of the Anglo-Spanish Crowns. Much less the population of Spain who are VERY Catholic and will balk at being ruled by a Protestant King, who will one day inherit a VERY Protestant Kingdom. Especially since said Protestant Kingdom shows NO SIGNS of ever rejoining the Mother Church.
 
Under those circumstances (once Carlos II of Spain dies) I could see a VERY messy succession war play out. While the Prince of Wales has the best claim, no one outside of England will want to see a Union of the Anglo-Spanish Crowns. Much less the population of Spain who are VERY Catholic and will balk at being ruled by a Protestant King, who will one day inherit a VERY Protestant Kingdom. Especially since said Protestant Kingdom shows NO SIGNS of ever rejoining the Mother Church.

Would the Stuarts be considered Protestant when that time comes though? Charles I of England converted, Charles II of England converted (with 3 Catholic brides in a row I'd say that'd happen ITL), James II of England (now just the Duke of York) converted (possibly butterflied, but let's say not). Charles III of England will have been ruling England for 15 years at his uncle's death, and almost certainly married with children. If he marries a Catholic, which is likely, it's either going to be an Orleans Princess or an Austrian Archduchess. One solution I can see to get him on the Spanish Throne is a betrothal shortly before Charles II of England's death to Maria Elisabeth of Austria, the eldest surviving daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor without his marriage to Margaret Theresa of Spain. Thus, theoretically Leopold might be happy with the match and thus his daughter on the Spanish Throne. However, he would probably want his son on there. And Louis XIV of France might have an issue with this.
 
Would the Stuarts be considered Protestant when that time comes though? Charles I of England converted, Charles II of England converted (with 3 Catholic brides in a row I'd say that'd happen ITL), James II of England (now just the Duke of York) converted (possibly butterflied, but let's say not). Charles III of England will have been ruling England for 15 years at his uncle's death, and almost certainly married with children. If he marries a Catholic, which is likely, it's either going to be an Orleans Princess or an Austrian Archduchess. One solution I can see to get him on the Spanish Throne is a betrothal shortly before Charles II of England's death to Maria Elisabeth of Austria, the eldest surviving daughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor without his marriage to Margaret Theresa of Spain. Thus, theoretically Leopold might be happy with the match and thus his daughter on the Spanish Throne. However, he would probably want his son on there. And Louis XIV of France might have an issue with this.

Charles I was never a Catholic, granted his policies were 'High Church' in the Anglican tradition (to borrow the modern term) but he never embraced the Catholic Faith. Charles II converted on his death-bed in RL (and it may not have been done with his consent), and even with 'three Catholic wives' he rules a nation that (at this point) is SOLID Protestant and really didn't like the Stuarts constantly marrying Catholic Princesses, they didn't like it to the point that when they overthrew James II (because he was A) Catholic, B) Had gotten a male heir whom he intended to raise Catholic, and C) Was clearly planning to drag Britain back into the Catholic faith) it was made a law that NO British Monarch could be Catholic, or even be married to one and keep the crown.

The idea that Charles II could risk openly converting to the Roman Catholic faith during his reign at this point is not only unrealistic, it would have to result in his overthrow.

Looking at this situation I could see plenty of people in Britain having two different lines of thought about a potential union with Spain. One side wouldn't want it to happen AT ALL due to Spain being massively Catholic, a traditional rival, and having it would drag Britain into Europe's affairs (rather than the English tradition of getting involved by choice).

The other line of thought would be, 'Hey, maybe we can drag Spain into the Protestant fold...' and hilarity would ensue.

A suggestion that might emerge is the idea of splitting the inheritance, have Charles II's eldest son get Spain, but his second brother Henry can become King of Great Britain.

But any of the Stuarts attempting to make Great Britain a Roman Catholic state again would detonate another Civil War and have people wishing for Oliver Cromwell back.
 
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Alright interesting scenarios here. Cheers for helping out here.

So could we see an avoidance of the popish plot- or would it merely get worse?-
 
Splitting the inheritance could avoid the more drawn out war of the Spanish Succession: England and Spain ruled by brothers is very different than a united Spain and Austria, or even Spain and France ruled by brothers. The problem of course would be having Spain accept a king who is officially Protestant. Although Madrid would (and the Indies and Peru) surely be worth a mass.
 
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