DBWI: King Oliver I of England turns down the crown in 1657

I'm pretty sure the whole Protectorate structure would have collapsed sooner rather than later. Without a clear king at the center of the British government, the whole balance of powers is thrown off-kilter. Parliament might even have gotten a real chance to abolish the monarchy for real and forever! Could you imagine, Britain without the royal family of Cromwell? /shudder
 
To be honest i doubt very much would've changed. Cromwell already had all the power, the only difference is if he didn't take the crown itself, he could take the role of president, consul, or something instead, without ceding a once of his power at all. In fact i think his heirs might've had more power, given that when Richard came to the throne, the role of the Cromwellian king had being scaled back by Parliament, though given Richards lack of "charisma" and ability of rule, i doubt he'd lasted long without some kind of coup against him.
 
Richard's OTL long reign could have been cut much shorter if he didn't have the legitimacy of the crown to back him up. And if Richard is thrown out, who knows what happens. Maybe Parliament takes over entirely, negating the role of a single leading figure? Richard remains the longest lived ruler of Great Britain, and ruled from the time he was 32 until his death over 50 years later. Despite personally not being as strong a magnetic figure as his father, he is the definitive figure of the early Cromwellian era.
 
A bit distant in terms of time, I know, but without the intervention of King Thomas II, would we have abolished slavery as early as 1886 ITTL?
 
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