Francis I of Austria has a son by his first wife

Prince of Spain - unless you're letting Carlos Clemente survive, and him being more his grandfather's grandson than his parents' son, (not impossible, since Carlos was born in 1771, so he'd be 18 by the time grandpa kicks, as opposed to his younger brothers, born in 1780, 1783 and 1784 who were still in single digits) - is out.

Most likely match is the Neapolitan crown prince or an Austrian archduke

Could Carlos Clemente continue the good work of his grandfather?
 
Could Carlos Clemente continue the good work of his grandfather?

I guess, Spanish 18th century history's not really my forte. But I'd guess it'd mean that rather than Spain going downhill from Carlos IV's reign, it could be temporarized rather. Carlos III - good king; Carlos IV - poor ruler; Carlos V - good king again.
 
I guess, Spanish 18th century history's not really my forte. But I'd guess it'd mean that rather than Spain going downhill from Carlos IV's reign, it could be temporarized rather. Carlos III - good king; Carlos IV - poor ruler; Carlos V - good king again.

Hmm aye, and hopefully avoid the disaster that was the Carlist wars, and the slide into republicanism.
 
I've been thinking on the matter some more, and Ekaterina II was originally hesitant to take Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg for a daughter-in-law, due to that lady's great multitude of brothers. Kat wrote to someone (I think it was Potemkin) saying that she was choosing the princess of Hesse (Wilhelmine/Natalia Alexeïevna) instead, because otherwise St. Petersburg would have to pony up to support all of Sophie/Maria's brothers. I've never read that there was a similar concern from Vienna, but, of course, by the time Franz II became emperor, he was remarried to someone else and none of Elisabeth's brothers could really insist on "the emperor, my brother-in-law" in the same way they could in Russia. So, I wonder if here - what with Franz having as many brothers as he did to support (in contrast to Paul who was an only child) - it would play out in similar fashion?
 
Well if you want see how the House of Habsburg resolved that problem look to Leopold I. He had not suitable female relatives so arranged dinastic matches for his sisters-in-law and promoted the church career of many of his youngers brothers-in-law...

Franz has two brothers already settled with their lands (Ferdinand in Tuscany, Karl as heir to Teschen) but he has still six other brothers: the eldest of them (OTL him and after his death the second eldest) will became Count Palatin of Hungary and likely destined to some important or useful dynastic match, another two to the ecclesiastic career and the remaining two to the military career (OTL one of them made a morganatic match for love and the other one a dynastical match with a minor princess)
 
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