Could Louis 1 Have remained King of Holland?

I was wondering what Napoleon's younger brother should or could have done differently, so that he and his descendants continued to rule the Kingdom of Holland till this day?
 
I was wondering what Napoleon's younger brother should or could have done differently, so that he and his descendants continued to rule the Kingdom of Holland till this day?

It is hard, but possible. It will not be the fault of the Dutch as Louis/Lodewijk was very populair in the Netherlands. There are basicly only two ways for Lodewijk to remain king of Holland. A Napoleonic victory or a Louis that becomes an ally of Napoleon's enemy.

That Napoleonic victory must happen after 1806 and preferably before 1810 as that was the time when Lodewijk was king of Holland. After is possible, but in that case Napoleon should restore Lodewijk as king of Holland. That might be possible, probably even wise, because France would have a lot of Dutch, Flemish and Germans if they keep all they have.

If Louis becomes an ally of the English, Russians and the others that oppose France, he must become a more important and reliable ally than the prince of Orange, as he will most certainly claim the Netherlands for himself. Louis will be distrusted by the English as he still is a napoleon, so they (and probably all allies) will most likely not prefer him over Willem I. I used this scenario in my timeline (which I really need to update soon). It is hard but I think (barely) possible.
 
Top