Totally appropiate for the time period. Second best choice if he can't rest alongside them.
Frankie Goes to the Hofburg, or Napoléon II, Regent of Austria?
I feel like Victoria not having "retired" into widowhood like OTL (and her uncle being the last representative of her childhood), would probably allow it. Or be that romantic dramatic soul to send a box of dirt (it sounds right up her alley, TBH). While neither she nor Albert are as much in their uncle's thrall as OTL, the fact is that, growing up, he was likely that "titanic figure" to them that was to be treated with "respect" if not awe.
On the plus side...Léo dies still being one of the hunkiest rulers in Europe (the looks that had won him the hand of Princess Charlotte only started fading in the 1850s and 1860s when he became increasingly grey and haggard, and his fashion style became more and more noticeably out-of-date).
OTL they revolted (the September Uprising of 1848) over as simple as disagreeing with the Armistice of Malmö that ended the First Schleswig War. Essentially, as Louise notes, it's as full of kings and princes (albeit deposed ones) as peers at a coronation. To a city that's been a "free city" that the emperor wasn't even allowed to reside in- he had to stay with someone in town, he couldn't build his own place- and is a guaranteed "republic" by the Congress of Vienna...that's likely vaguely unsettling.
OTL, the September Uprising was also the radical liberals (those who wanted a republic) who whipped up the mob. Ergo, having three or four kings (Léopold, the Mecklenburgs, the Hohenzollerns, maybe one or two others haven't left after Frankie's usual August jamboree) in town is likely enough to panic them into thinking they plan to end the "republic".
What those radicals don't realize (and why the revolt is contained so easily*) is that Frankie's half-yearly visits and his building projects etc have desensitized most people to it. To the majority, the royals in town means more work, more income generated etc etc.
*it was this small (and disorganized) OTL as well
So if the Hungarians aren't in open revolt, how would this go/what form would it take?
Very hard to say. The members of the Sabor would probably vote on all things I mentioned above (even if the diet is officially adjourned) and then aggressively petition the Court to get their demands accepted. The Croatians might also refuse to send delegates to the Hungarian Diet. This Croatian issue could be used by the Court as a bargaining chip against the Hungarians (to temper reformists and keep royal authority stronger). For a time being, there could be some kind of limbo and high tension.
If the Court and the Hungarians are in a mutual understanding however, then the Croats would fall into an impossible situation. In such case, a rift could be created between the moderate and more radical elements within the Croatian elite. The moderates negotiate a deal that leaves both the Court and the Hungarians content, but also manages to secure some concessions for Croatia. Unable to accept the compromise, the radicals attempt a forceful takeover in last resort, but they are ultimately suppressed.
As for the contents of the compromise, I think OTL's Hungarian-Croatian Compromise of 1868 could be a good base, but with some explicit guarantees to royal influence (like the appointment of the Ban).
Then in regards to how successful the radicals' insurrection is, I think that can be decided freely based on the needs of the story.
I literally saw when the thread started, I thought it was interesting but I didn't take it seriously, but now I'm starting to read it and I think it's brilliant, please tell me that all the Bonapartes end up working for the Habsburgs
The Malmö Armistice inspired revolt?
Thank you for your kind words. It means a lot
Let's just say that Frankie would never have a "dream" of becoming a sort of "hereditary mayor of the palace" to the Habsburgs (like Bismarck did OTL) or continuously intermarrying with them (Bismarck wanted his son/grandson to marry Friedrich III's eldest daughter*). And his avoidance of the whole marriage question- when his grandfather asks him- suggests he realizes it would be a political misstep. While he's still (technically) a bachelor with a live-in mistress and a gaggle of bambinos by four different women (not counting that he's "adopted" his former mistress' son [Robert Eisler] from another man, the prince of Salerno), who makes Europe laugh behind their hands at him, him being single soothes fears that he's going to emulate his dad or even establish a dynasty.
Unlike the first generation of Bonapartes, Frankie makes very certain that his family knows they owe "everything they have" to him. The guy murdered his own brother (Comte Léon) in broad daylight, and exhibited several other "tendencies" that show he can be far more brutal/callous than his father ever was. But mostly, Frankie's far less attached to his family than his dad (or Napoléon III) was OTL. He tolerates most of them "be useful, and if you can't be useful, be necessary, if you can't be either, sit down and shut up!" would be a good motto for him to have towards them.
*this makes Bismarck's refusal to countenance a Battenberg match even more hypocritical/hysterical. Fortunately, Count Otto is living in England and married to his first love, a very wealthy heiress
@Carlos I de Quito
As to "working for the Habsburgs":
The Bonaparte are a... "mixed bag", both politically and personality wise. Frankie, his half-brother, Walewski and one or two others are in the Habsburg service, because they have the ability to either tough it out and withstand the slings and arrows from the court/Metternich (like Frankie) or keep their heads down and eyes on the job (like Walewski).
As to "working for the Habsburgs":
The Bonaparte are a... "mixed bag", both politically and personality wise. Frankie, his half-brother, Walewski and one or two others are in the Habsburg service, because they have the ability to either tough it out and withstand the slings and arrows from the court/Metternich (like Frankie) or keep their heads down and eyes on the job (like Walewski).
Others are...less "pliable", less "suited" to life in Vienna- and TBH, Frankie probably couldn't be paid enough to spend time with many of them willingly- however, they have the right surname. He's dispatched several of Lucien's branch to Spain, to help the Carlists. And some of them have even started putting down roots and climbed reasonably high in Isabel II-Carlos V's favour (Lucien's son the philologist, for instance, is probably undertaking the study of the Basque language did OTL, just with royal approval). His brother, the "Lucien 2.0" Prince Pierre is married to a Spanish heiress (figured he married a hatmaker OTL, he wasn't particularly fussy) in a bit of a scandal. But his republican leanings are for the Spanish to deal with- not Frankie.
Then there's King Lodewijk's branch that went to Paris. Hortense de Beauharnais' granddaughter is the Princesse de Polignac, OTL Napoléon III is "governor" to Louis Philippe's grandsons (OTL comte de Paris and duc de Chartres), by royal appointment. Elisa Bonaparte's son is the comte de Chambord's secretary. Jérôme Bonaparte's line is also in France, married among the French peerage (Mathilde Bonaparte has a happy marriage with the French duc d'Uzes who shares her interests for when they are together, and who allows her to do as she pleases when they're not. She also has a bambino or two), although Plon-Plon is still at a loose end. Essentially, he becomes the recurring joke character we never see- Frankie's always trying to arrange a match for him but conveniently never seems to actually get around to it (although Plon-Plon's older brother surviving also makes him "less" of a catch).
Then there's King Lodewijk's branch that went to Paris. Hortense de Beauharnais' granddaughter is the Princesse de Polignac, OTL Napoléon III is "governor" to Louis Philippe's grandsons (OTL comte de Paris and duc de Chartres), by royal appointment. Elisa Bonaparte's son is the comte de Chambord's secretary. Jérôme Bonaparte's line is also in France, married among the French peerage (Mathilde Bonaparte has a happy marriage with the French duc d'Uzes who shares her interests for when they are together, and who allows her to do as she pleases when they're not. She also has a bambino or two), although Plon-Plon is still at a loose end. Essentially, he becomes the recurring joke character we never see- Frankie's always trying to arrange a match for him but conveniently never seems to actually get around to it (although Plon-Plon's older brother surviving also makes him "less" of a catch).
Three Men and a Baby
@Fehérvári I hope I did Stephan justice
Soundtrack: Mihály Mosonyi - Mass no. 3, F Major - Credo
*exterior* *Lunéville, Lorraine* *shows the Versailles-inspired palace* *cut to interior* *Henri is at a desk when the duchesse de Berri is announced* *he looks up*
Henri: Maman?
Caroline, Duchesse de Berri: Élisabeth's travails have begun, Riton.
*he nods* *but instead of just jumping up* *he finishes the sentence he was writing* *then wipes the pen* *screws the lid back on the ink pot* *and makes sure his desk is "tidy" before he leaves*
*cut to the Église de Saint-Jacques in Lunéville* *we see the tomb of Stanisław Leszczyński, King of Poland, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife, Katarzyna Opalińska* *then we pan to the front of the church* *the Bishop of Nancy [1], Charles Auguste, Comte de Forbin-Janson [2] is addressing a clutch of people*
Forbin-Janson: *in Latin* is it your will that this child should be baptised in the faith of our Holy Mother Church, which we have all professed with you?
*pan to the parents, Henri and Élisabeth Mikhailovna*
Henri & Élisabeth: volo.
Forbin-Janson: *repeats question to the godparents*
*camera pans to show Frankie's son, 11yo Léopold, Archduke Stephan- in full Austrian military uniform- and Marie of Baden [3]* *Leopold is holding the candle [4], Marie is holding the baptismal robe and Stephan the infant*
Leopold, Marie, Stephan: volo.
Forbin-Janson: *in Latin* what name is this child to be known to the community by?
*silence* *we see Léopold look nervously over his shoulder at Frankie and Amalie, his sisters sitting in the front row*
Leopold: *small voice* Franc- *clears throat, louder* Franciscus.
Forbin-Janson: *looks at Stephan*
Stephan: Stephanus
Forbin-Janson: *looks at Marie*
Marie: Alexis [5]
Forbin-Janson: *in French* In the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit, I christen thee François Étienne Alexis de France. God the Father of our Saviour, Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.
Congregation: Amen
Forbin-Janson: *makes the sign of the cross on the child's forehead* *motions to Marie to step forward* François Étienne Alexis de France, you have become a new creation, you have been clothed in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.
Marie: *wraps the child in the baptismal robe*
Congregation: Amen
Forbin-Janson: *beckons Leopold forward to light the candle* *to the baby* receive the light of Christ *to the parents/godparents* this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child has been enlightened by Christ, he is to walk always as a child of the light. May he keep the flame of faith alive in his heart, that when the Saviour comes, may he go out to meet Him with all the saints of the heavenly kingdom.
Congregation: Amen
Forbin-Janson: *touches little François' ears and mouth* Our Saviour made the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the greater glory of God the Father
Congregation: Amen.
*cut to Frankie, Henri and Stephan walking in the gardens of the Lunéville* *all three men are decidedly sombre as they share a cigarette*
Frankie: he might've been a bastard, but he deserved a better end than to be murdered in the streets of Frankfurt.
Stephan: I feel like Vitya and I have brought a shadow onto this otherwise happy celebration.
Henri:it is why I insisted on having the christening here, Stephan. In Paris, my uncle- even if he didn't particularly care for the man- has ordered court mourning. It was his goddaughter's husband, after all. It would look insulting if they didn't. And to lift the mourning for a christening? Tongues will wag about as much as they did when they heard Präsident Murat sent a wreath for King Leopold's funeral.
Stephan: how is Queen Louise taking it? I heard she was-
Henri: grief-stricken? My mother is en route to Brussels in the morning. First to try to calm her...I'm told she won't even go out in public. She won't eat, she- Tante thinks that Maman would be the person best suited to cope with the situation. My father having been murdered and all that.
Frankie: I just wonder why Leopold. Why not Prince Metternich? He was in Frankfurt at the same time. If anyone deserved an assassin's bullet, it was him!
Stephan: *grins* I'm sure he has wondered the same about you, Frank.
Henri: he does make a valid point. Leopold was many things, but if the situation in Brussels is anything to go by, this is making the liberals look like they can't even keep their own house in order. Murdering one of their own it-
Frankie: looks like the French Revolution all over again?
Henri: maman said Tante was having nightmares about the Princesse de Lamballe's murder when she heard about it.
Frankie: no doubt she is terrified of losing all this again.
Henri: rightly or wrongly, it's why I sent her to my uncle in Paris. For her to be camped out in Lorraine, makes it look suspiciously as though she is planning to flee should the worst happen.
Frankie: *makes disappointed noise at the cigarette being finished when it gets passed to him* how are things in Hungary? *he's clearly trying to change from a morbid topic*
Stephan: quiet. For now. It's the Croats I'm more worried about.
Frankie: *disdainfully* the Croats? That's like the English saying they're worried about the Welsh...no, the Cornishmen. When have the Croats ever been a problem?
Stephan: that's precisely the problem. They don't like the current government in Buda- to them it's...too Hungarian-
Henri: *sardonically* in the Hungarian capital? You don't say?
Stephan: *lights new cigarette* Their Sabor has sent a petition to Vienna. They wish to secede from the Hungarian crown. Be united with Slavonia, Dalmatia and Istria...possible annex Fiume-
Frankie: they're not asking much
Stephan: at least they were willing to accept my nomination of Jelačić for ban-
Frankie: Jelačić?
Stephan: we served together in the war. Knows his stuff. Figured that perhaps he can quiet them down.
Frankie: and if he doesn't? If he seizes the crown of this new Dalmatian kingdom for himself? *realizes* sorry, ignore me, it's me confusing him with my father.
Stephan: he's proved...useful. Jelačić, that is. He's managed to temper the petition. Keep out the more...radical elements, like independence- maybe with either the duke of Modena or his brother as monarch-
Henri: not yourself?
Stephan: the Hungarians see me as a Hungarian, the Croats see me the same way. It would be like Scotland declaring itself independent from Great Britain, but then choosing the Prince of Wales as their leader.
Frankie: would hate to be Albert in that scenario...he can barely get Victoria to agree to him buying Holdenby House for Ned to use as a base.
Henri: I thought he was trying to have Ned sent to Wales?
Frankie: case of wanting a goldfish, so you start by asking for a pony. He knew Wales was far-fetched, but figured Holdenby House was half the distance to Cardiff, it might sell easier. She agreed, but only when he's older.
Henri: he's already seven. By now, in France, he'd have had his own household.
Frankie: Albert got her to agree to formally invest him as prince of Wales next year [6]. *to Stephan* so your friend Jelačić has kept out the radicals. What do the moderates want?
Stephan: they refuse to send delegates to the Hungarian Diet. They want to be annexed directly to the archduchy of Austria-
Henri: that's good, isn't it? They don't want independence and François [Joseph] gets a little more powerful?
Stephan: it's not quite so simple. If the Croats leave the Crown of Saint Stephen, that means that the conservative element there is weaker. The liberals- those idiots like Déak and his ilk- who want an exclusively Magyar state, will have the upper hand. The crown would be backed into a corner. You can either send in the army or be forced to compromise. Knowing who is in Vienna [7], I can imagine what is the decision that will be reached. Would you want to annex Luxembourg to France if knowing that doing so meant you had to accept all those republicans' in the Chambres' demands? [8]
Henri: *grins* and women.
Frankie & Stephan: *look at him*
Henri: a certain Madame Deroin is standing for the Hurepoix seat [9] in the Chambres. It seems a similar situation to that in Rome has occured. There's nothing that explicitly bars a woman from standing for government, because whoever drafted that charte likely thought it could never happen. Terrible mess in the Chambres while they're trying to get some sort of coalition in place to pass a law to prevent her from taking her seat if elected.
Frankie: and if she isn't? If she loses? Then that is an entire waste of political time-
Henri: that's what my uncle said as well. Told them that they are running around like a bunch of silly fishwives in a panic about something that may not even happen. And since they want to behave like the poissonnières of Les Halles, a seamstress with sense will be a marked improvement [10]
Frankie & Stephan: *chuckle*
Henri: it's why my uncle advised Louise to not waste her energy fighting the estates to get Leopold buried in Belgium. The liberals who chased him out won't want a corpse back to point the finger at them.
Stephan: and he was the one who persuaded Victoria to let the man be buried in England?
Henri: I may have strummed a little Anglo-French rivalry by letting the duchesse d'Orléans assure the duchess of Kent [11] that, should it be impossible to follow Leopold's will and allow him to be buried in England...I'm sure we can find a side aisle at Saint Denis to stuff him in. -After all, the duc d'Orléans found place for his two mouldy brothers, and the Revolution did a lot of house cleaning, so there's more than enough room.-
Frankie: you'd bury a Protestant there?
Henri: *disdainful* not at all. I'd force the Orléans to bury him at Dreux. Preferably in the same coffin as the late duc's ghastly sister [12] if I had my way. -but it worked.
*exterior* *Windsor Castle* *Saint George's Chapel* *Leopold's funeral is a small, private ceremony* *his nephews- Albert and Ernst of Coburg, Ferdinand, August and Franz of Kohary and the prince of Leiningen- act as the pallbearers, carrying the coffin in* *we see Queen Louise seated alongside Queen Victoria, the duchess of Kent, Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna [13], all wearing mourning veils* *on the opposite side of the chapel, we see Léopold's nieces, including the duchesses of Coburg [14], Viktoria of Kohary, her husband, her sister-in-law, Princess Ferdinand [15] and Feodora, Princess of Hohenlohe* *in fact, the only three people who aren't family that are present are the priest and Prince and Princess William of Weimar*
*we see the 13yo Léopold II walking forward and places a yellow iris [16] on the black draped coffin* *he kneels at the coffin's side as he does so* *we see his lips moving but no sound* *he gets to his feet, squares his shoulders and walks back to his seat*
Stephan: *to Viktoria* he knelt a boy...he rose a man.
*fade to black*
[1] per an ordinance of Clement VIII, the Bishop of Nancy is to exercise duties as Primate of Lorraine
[2] this guy, he died unexpectedly in 1844, it's not unthinkable that he could survive a few more years
[3] daughter of Leopold of Baden, Catholic convert, who the Princess of Beira is sponsoring her instruction/conversion to Catholicism in preparation for her marriage to the OTL duke of Genoa
[4] for Élisabeth's brother, Alexei "Aloysha" Mikhailovich
[5] why is Leopold standing godfather and not Frankie? Two reasons. The first is that Leopold is a French peer- comte de Marnes- in his own right, Frankie is not even regent of Austria anymore. The second reason is that Leopold is approaching his teenage years, and to curb any "ambitions" he might have of being anything less to the Bourbons than a loyal subject. There is a third reason, namely that the French court might feel that giving a second son the Bonaparte claimant as godfather will be him slipping his feet under the table to make trouble
[6] again, OTL Bertie was created prince of Wales in 1841, but invested in 1850
[7] i.e. Metternich
[8] Frankie is not suggesting Henri actually do this, he's just using it as an example.
[9] Hurepoix is a former subdivision of the Ile de France, just to the south of Paris, east of Rambouillet and west of Fontainebleau
[10] what Angoulême/Louis XIX's view on the actual matter is is open to question. Married to Madame Royal for as long as he has been likely tempers his view that women aren't good for anything. In essence though, he may simply be trying to run out the clock. If he signs their law into existence, it looks as though he's siding with the elites against the common people, especially if Deroin doesn't even win the seat [she didn't OTL], and he ends up getting deposed. If he refuses to sign it, the Chambres accuse him of being uncooperative/a tyrant (like his father) and he gets deposed anyway. So while his "je verrai" response sounds very "weak", it's actually him playing a bad hand as best as he can.
[11] the pair were penpals OTL. Leopold was personal friends with Louis Philippe
[12] Madame Adélaïde
[13] née Juliane of Coburg
[14] Marie of Württemberg, Dowager Duchess of Coburg and Marie of Prussia, the current duchess (OTL queen of Bavaria)
[15] née Maria Josefa Iturbide, sister of Agustin de Iturbide
[16] floral symbol of Brussels
Soundtrack: Mihály Mosonyi - Mass no. 3, F Major - Credo
*exterior* *Lunéville, Lorraine* *shows the Versailles-inspired palace* *cut to interior* *Henri is at a desk when the duchesse de Berri is announced* *he looks up*
Henri: Maman?
Caroline, Duchesse de Berri: Élisabeth's travails have begun, Riton.
*he nods* *but instead of just jumping up* *he finishes the sentence he was writing* *then wipes the pen* *screws the lid back on the ink pot* *and makes sure his desk is "tidy" before he leaves*
*cut to the Église de Saint-Jacques in Lunéville* *we see the tomb of Stanisław Leszczyński, King of Poland, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife, Katarzyna Opalińska* *then we pan to the front of the church* *the Bishop of Nancy [1], Charles Auguste, Comte de Forbin-Janson [2] is addressing a clutch of people*
Forbin-Janson: *in Latin* is it your will that this child should be baptised in the faith of our Holy Mother Church, which we have all professed with you?
*pan to the parents, Henri and Élisabeth Mikhailovna*
Henri & Élisabeth: volo.
Forbin-Janson: *repeats question to the godparents*
*camera pans to show Frankie's son, 11yo Léopold, Archduke Stephan- in full Austrian military uniform- and Marie of Baden [3]* *Leopold is holding the candle [4], Marie is holding the baptismal robe and Stephan the infant*
Leopold, Marie, Stephan: volo.
Forbin-Janson: *in Latin* what name is this child to be known to the community by?
*silence* *we see Léopold look nervously over his shoulder at Frankie and Amalie, his sisters sitting in the front row*
Leopold: *small voice* Franc- *clears throat, louder* Franciscus.
Forbin-Janson: *looks at Stephan*
Stephan: Stephanus
Forbin-Janson: *looks at Marie*
Marie: Alexis [5]
Forbin-Janson: *in French* In the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit, I christen thee François Étienne Alexis de France. God the Father of our Saviour, Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.
Congregation: Amen
Forbin-Janson: *makes the sign of the cross on the child's forehead* *motions to Marie to step forward* François Étienne Alexis de France, you have become a new creation, you have been clothed in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.
Marie: *wraps the child in the baptismal robe*
Congregation: Amen
Forbin-Janson: *beckons Leopold forward to light the candle* *to the baby* receive the light of Christ *to the parents/godparents* this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child has been enlightened by Christ, he is to walk always as a child of the light. May he keep the flame of faith alive in his heart, that when the Saviour comes, may he go out to meet Him with all the saints of the heavenly kingdom.
Congregation: Amen
Forbin-Janson: *touches little François' ears and mouth* Our Saviour made the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the greater glory of God the Father
Congregation: Amen.
*cut to Frankie, Henri and Stephan walking in the gardens of the Lunéville* *all three men are decidedly sombre as they share a cigarette*
Frankie: he might've been a bastard, but he deserved a better end than to be murdered in the streets of Frankfurt.
Stephan: I feel like Vitya and I have brought a shadow onto this otherwise happy celebration.
Henri:it is why I insisted on having the christening here, Stephan. In Paris, my uncle- even if he didn't particularly care for the man- has ordered court mourning. It was his goddaughter's husband, after all. It would look insulting if they didn't. And to lift the mourning for a christening? Tongues will wag about as much as they did when they heard Präsident Murat sent a wreath for King Leopold's funeral.
Stephan: how is Queen Louise taking it? I heard she was-
Henri: grief-stricken? My mother is en route to Brussels in the morning. First to try to calm her...I'm told she won't even go out in public. She won't eat, she- Tante thinks that Maman would be the person best suited to cope with the situation. My father having been murdered and all that.
Frankie: I just wonder why Leopold. Why not Prince Metternich? He was in Frankfurt at the same time. If anyone deserved an assassin's bullet, it was him!
Stephan: *grins* I'm sure he has wondered the same about you, Frank.
Henri: he does make a valid point. Leopold was many things, but if the situation in Brussels is anything to go by, this is making the liberals look like they can't even keep their own house in order. Murdering one of their own it-
Frankie: looks like the French Revolution all over again?
Henri: maman said Tante was having nightmares about the Princesse de Lamballe's murder when she heard about it.
Frankie: no doubt she is terrified of losing all this again.
Henri: rightly or wrongly, it's why I sent her to my uncle in Paris. For her to be camped out in Lorraine, makes it look suspiciously as though she is planning to flee should the worst happen.
Frankie: *makes disappointed noise at the cigarette being finished when it gets passed to him* how are things in Hungary? *he's clearly trying to change from a morbid topic*
Stephan: quiet. For now. It's the Croats I'm more worried about.
Frankie: *disdainfully* the Croats? That's like the English saying they're worried about the Welsh...no, the Cornishmen. When have the Croats ever been a problem?
Stephan: that's precisely the problem. They don't like the current government in Buda- to them it's...too Hungarian-
Henri: *sardonically* in the Hungarian capital? You don't say?
Stephan: *lights new cigarette* Their Sabor has sent a petition to Vienna. They wish to secede from the Hungarian crown. Be united with Slavonia, Dalmatia and Istria...possible annex Fiume-
Frankie: they're not asking much
Stephan: at least they were willing to accept my nomination of Jelačić for ban-
Frankie: Jelačić?
Stephan: we served together in the war. Knows his stuff. Figured that perhaps he can quiet them down.
Frankie: and if he doesn't? If he seizes the crown of this new Dalmatian kingdom for himself? *realizes* sorry, ignore me, it's me confusing him with my father.
Stephan: he's proved...useful. Jelačić, that is. He's managed to temper the petition. Keep out the more...radical elements, like independence- maybe with either the duke of Modena or his brother as monarch-
Henri: not yourself?
Stephan: the Hungarians see me as a Hungarian, the Croats see me the same way. It would be like Scotland declaring itself independent from Great Britain, but then choosing the Prince of Wales as their leader.
Frankie: would hate to be Albert in that scenario...he can barely get Victoria to agree to him buying Holdenby House for Ned to use as a base.
Henri: I thought he was trying to have Ned sent to Wales?
Frankie: case of wanting a goldfish, so you start by asking for a pony. He knew Wales was far-fetched, but figured Holdenby House was half the distance to Cardiff, it might sell easier. She agreed, but only when he's older.
Henri: he's already seven. By now, in France, he'd have had his own household.
Frankie: Albert got her to agree to formally invest him as prince of Wales next year [6]. *to Stephan* so your friend Jelačić has kept out the radicals. What do the moderates want?
Stephan: they refuse to send delegates to the Hungarian Diet. They want to be annexed directly to the archduchy of Austria-
Henri: that's good, isn't it? They don't want independence and François [Joseph] gets a little more powerful?
Stephan: it's not quite so simple. If the Croats leave the Crown of Saint Stephen, that means that the conservative element there is weaker. The liberals- those idiots like Déak and his ilk- who want an exclusively Magyar state, will have the upper hand. The crown would be backed into a corner. You can either send in the army or be forced to compromise. Knowing who is in Vienna [7], I can imagine what is the decision that will be reached. Would you want to annex Luxembourg to France if knowing that doing so meant you had to accept all those republicans' in the Chambres' demands? [8]
Henri: *grins* and women.
Frankie & Stephan: *look at him*
Henri: a certain Madame Deroin is standing for the Hurepoix seat [9] in the Chambres. It seems a similar situation to that in Rome has occured. There's nothing that explicitly bars a woman from standing for government, because whoever drafted that charte likely thought it could never happen. Terrible mess in the Chambres while they're trying to get some sort of coalition in place to pass a law to prevent her from taking her seat if elected.
Frankie: and if she isn't? If she loses? Then that is an entire waste of political time-
Henri: that's what my uncle said as well. Told them that they are running around like a bunch of silly fishwives in a panic about something that may not even happen. And since they want to behave like the poissonnières of Les Halles, a seamstress with sense will be a marked improvement [10]
Frankie & Stephan: *chuckle*
Henri: it's why my uncle advised Louise to not waste her energy fighting the estates to get Leopold buried in Belgium. The liberals who chased him out won't want a corpse back to point the finger at them.
Stephan: and he was the one who persuaded Victoria to let the man be buried in England?
Henri: I may have strummed a little Anglo-French rivalry by letting the duchesse d'Orléans assure the duchess of Kent [11] that, should it be impossible to follow Leopold's will and allow him to be buried in England...I'm sure we can find a side aisle at Saint Denis to stuff him in. -After all, the duc d'Orléans found place for his two mouldy brothers, and the Revolution did a lot of house cleaning, so there's more than enough room.-
Frankie: you'd bury a Protestant there?
Henri: *disdainful* not at all. I'd force the Orléans to bury him at Dreux. Preferably in the same coffin as the late duc's ghastly sister [12] if I had my way. -but it worked.
*exterior* *Windsor Castle* *Saint George's Chapel* *Leopold's funeral is a small, private ceremony* *his nephews- Albert and Ernst of Coburg, Ferdinand, August and Franz of Kohary and the prince of Leiningen- act as the pallbearers, carrying the coffin in* *we see Queen Louise seated alongside Queen Victoria, the duchess of Kent, Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna [13], all wearing mourning veils* *on the opposite side of the chapel, we see Léopold's nieces, including the duchesses of Coburg [14], Viktoria of Kohary, her husband, her sister-in-law, Princess Ferdinand [15] and Feodora, Princess of Hohenlohe* *in fact, the only three people who aren't family that are present are the priest and Prince and Princess William of Weimar*
*we see the 13yo Léopold II walking forward and places a yellow iris [16] on the black draped coffin* *he kneels at the coffin's side as he does so* *we see his lips moving but no sound* *he gets to his feet, squares his shoulders and walks back to his seat*
Stephan: *to Viktoria* he knelt a boy...he rose a man.
*fade to black*
[1] per an ordinance of Clement VIII, the Bishop of Nancy is to exercise duties as Primate of Lorraine
[2] this guy, he died unexpectedly in 1844, it's not unthinkable that he could survive a few more years
[3] daughter of Leopold of Baden, Catholic convert, who the Princess of Beira is sponsoring her instruction/conversion to Catholicism in preparation for her marriage to the OTL duke of Genoa
[4] for Élisabeth's brother, Alexei "Aloysha" Mikhailovich
[5] why is Leopold standing godfather and not Frankie? Two reasons. The first is that Leopold is a French peer- comte de Marnes- in his own right, Frankie is not even regent of Austria anymore. The second reason is that Leopold is approaching his teenage years, and to curb any "ambitions" he might have of being anything less to the Bourbons than a loyal subject. There is a third reason, namely that the French court might feel that giving a second son the Bonaparte claimant as godfather will be him slipping his feet under the table to make trouble
[6] again, OTL Bertie was created prince of Wales in 1841, but invested in 1850
[7] i.e. Metternich
[8] Frankie is not suggesting Henri actually do this, he's just using it as an example.
[9] Hurepoix is a former subdivision of the Ile de France, just to the south of Paris, east of Rambouillet and west of Fontainebleau
[10] what Angoulême/Louis XIX's view on the actual matter is is open to question. Married to Madame Royal for as long as he has been likely tempers his view that women aren't good for anything. In essence though, he may simply be trying to run out the clock. If he signs their law into existence, it looks as though he's siding with the elites against the common people, especially if Deroin doesn't even win the seat [she didn't OTL], and he ends up getting deposed. If he refuses to sign it, the Chambres accuse him of being uncooperative/a tyrant (like his father) and he gets deposed anyway. So while his "je verrai" response sounds very "weak", it's actually him playing a bad hand as best as he can.
[11] the pair were penpals OTL. Leopold was personal friends with Louis Philippe
[12] Madame Adélaïde
[13] née Juliane of Coburg
[14] Marie of Württemberg, Dowager Duchess of Coburg and Marie of Prussia, the current duchess (OTL queen of Bavaria)
[15] née Maria Josefa Iturbide, sister of Agustin de Iturbide
[16] floral symbol of Brussels
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@Kellan Sullivan ! Thanks For this! Amazing chapter! And Hopefully Leopold II Will be... Better.
@The_Most_Happy ! Leo got to be buried with lotte! My hearth broke a little there.
@The_Most_Happy ! Leo got to be buried with lotte! My hearth broke a little there.
I'll admit, I was originally planning something completely different, but figured the baptism of Henri's kid coinciding with Leopold's death/funeral, was too good an opportunity to pass up. As married to Leopold's niece, Stephan, would be the "obvious" Austrian representative at the man's funeral without needing to make it a state affair (which I imagine would cause considerable embarrassment to the Belgians). But it also gets him out of Budapest in case things do go sideways (and so he can avoid the distrust he was regarded with after the 1848)- after all, very difficult to blame someone who isn't even in the same country as the scene of the crime. Stephan and Frankie both seem to have suspicions that things are not gonna be "all's well" while he's gone- Frankie's observation about who's running things in Vienna (Metternich) and Stephan's attempts to moderate the Croats' demands- but that could just be nothing more than them fearing whatever happened in Frankfurt is gonna happen in Budapest. Frankie's dodged a bullet and a knifing already, he's likely to be a little bit more paranoid. And Stephan's policies might be moderate-to-liberal-adjacent - i.e. resembling Leopold of Coburg's superficially - that he has taken to glancing over his shoulder a bit more regularly than usual
Agreed! Plus the contrast of the ceremonies of the beggining and ending of life were great
I will admit, given that Leopold Bonaparte is godfather, I did actually consider naming the child "Léopold" for a brief blip. But then I remembered that the mother of Henri's daughter is Léopoldine Hugo, so that seemed lke one of those passive-aggressive things a husband who really dislikes his wife would do.
I actually had this random idea that maybe due to he and Stephan, Viktoria and Louise travelling up to or back from London together, he latches onto Stephan as a "proxy dad".
Hear me out: while Henri and Frankie have proven themselves as loyal friends and capable fathers, neither of them really "knew" their dads. Albert had the same withering neglect from his dad- dislike for what he isn't instead of love for what he is- as what Léopold II likely got from his dad. By contrast, Stephan and his dad had a pretty good relationship OTL. Not saying they went camping and fishing together every weekend, but Joseph was pretty much a "good dad"- even if stepmom was difficult- to his kids FWIG.
Stephan's just lost his dad the year before, plus he's wound up as proxy dad- in the interim- to his younger half-siblings regardless of whether he likes them or not. He's likely far enough through his own grief that it wouldn't be "drowning each other" if he were to reach out to Léopold*. But the loss is still recent enough that he can recognize what Léopold's going through.
*situation where both parties end up dangerously co-dependent on one another and neither wants the other to actually make any progress. One because it means they're not needed any more and the other because they enjoy the attention.
@Fehérvári
Oh you absolutely did! Amazing chapter!
You can always dig up great pieces seemingly from nowhere!
Didn't know the French form of Stephen was Étienne. I wonder what's the etymology there.
All in all, I'm very curious how things will develop going forward. For the time being it seems like things can be worked out without real trouble. Knowing Metternich though, he might try to fan the flames and cause a crisis if he thinks he can come out on top in the end. Perhaps with the intent to sideline Stephan since he seems both too close to Frankie, but also too close to the Hungarians. Stephan momentarily stepping out of the country won't remove the target on his back permanently, I believe.
Agree. and with his guidance hopefully he will be a much better king/person and the congo will be spared the worst
thank you
I try
actually seemed pretty straightforward to me: Stephen>Estephan>Estienne>Etienne?
Metternich and Napoléon have that in common then, a compulsive gambler who keeps hoping he'll turn over the right card or pick the right horse
what I was thinking. And I suspect that Stephan will perhaps take his time getting back. Not to pose as the hero or remind "you can't live without me", but sort of just to avoid getting shit on his shoes, as it were.
haters are gonna hate, it's a truism of life, sadly. Fortunately, unlike OTL, Stephan has bothered cultivating an actual relationship with Franzi. It won't save him, but I suspect it could at least mitigate the worst criticisms if the regent is not so willing to believe them. Also, unlike OTL, Stephan has a "network" of his own- Coburg-Kohary wife, in-law to England, Prussia, Belgium and the Iturbides through that, brother-in-law to the dukes of Brunswick and Mecklenburg-Strelitz.- not saying that they're going to put their heads through a noose for him, but compared with OTL where his only connection was a stepmom that Metternich/Vienna hated?