Hm…i like Frankie and Amelie together, and I’m intrigued to see how things develop in regards to Mexico.
Frankie Goes to the Hofburg, or Napoléon II, Regent of Austria?
No doubt both sides are very unhappy about it. The Bonaparte feeling they deserve actual royalty (OTL Mathilde regarded herself as a good enough partner for a son of Louis Philippe or Nikolai I, and Eugènie, a bona fide countess was not seen as "good enough") while families like the Uzes and Grammonts feel like they are parvenus. However, as Henri points out: Frankie can sell sand to a camel. As distasteful as a Bonaparte match is, Mathilde and Montfort are both still royalty via their mom (a legitimate princess) while Agénor de Grammont's maternal grandma is a Württemberg BASTARD. Frankie can simply phrase it as "so you're snobby enough to accept a Grammont via a bastard but not a Bonaparte via a legitimate princess. No wonder you're here [at Frohsdorf] not there [Paris]". Frédéric (called Fritz OTL) Bacchiochi they likewise can't sneer at as Madame de Maillé does: the Bacchiochi-Levoys (he likely goes as "Comte Bacchiochi-Levoy" at Frohsdorf) are an old but impoverished aristocratic family. The daughter of Louis Napoléon being offered to Polignac is also half-Beauharnais (old French aristocratic family, in fact, the Beauharnais had honneurs de cour long before (1667) the Polignacs got it in 1739, although the families are roughly of equal age (if we don't count the first house of Polignac that goes back all the way to the 10th century).
For the exiles at Frohsdorf, as distasteful as they find it, if Angoulême/Henri de Chambord orders it, are these families going to be loyal enough to share his exile but not loyal enough to obey on something as inconsequential as a marriage. No doubt Mathilde comes with a very nice dowry (courtesy of stepmom, Betsey, and grandma, Letizia, since Betsey is the administrator of Jérôme's inheritance thanks to Frankie) so rather than she is forced to "marry for money" like OTL, she gets not only a fancy husband but likely, he's marrying her for her money (many ultra's, regardless of how rich they were prior to 1830, if they followed Charles X into exile, had their property seized by the government).
For Frankie it serves the purpose of not only tying his family to some of the most illustrious/ancient names in France (when all Napoléon III managed was a Noailles), but also "diluting" the Bonapartes. OTL, in the first generations children, there were a lot of cousin matches either made or at least planned (Lucien's eldest daughter to Pauline's son, his younger one to Caroline's eldest boy - which Joseph thwarted - or OTL Napoléon to Mathilde) in a way that made the Habsburgs look "normal". But in allowing those "blocs" to line up, even if the parents don't get along, Frankie makes an oppositional rallying point. OTOH, marrying them off "outside" the family breaks up that opposition. In fact, his uncles will be very unlikely to be able to convince their sons-in-law to join them in a plot against Frankie in their favour, since most of those sons-in-laws recognize Henri de Chambord as king, so they'd just be like "depose Frankie from what?"
Plus it means that Louis Philippe's government is once more fighting an uphill battle to portray Frohsdorf as a sort of Jacobite court of delusional people stuck in 1789. So it sort moves the imagery of Frohsdorf a few degrees left of where it was OTL hardline right, it's now (seen as) left-leaning.
as Hortense points out, possibly in a way that's far more indelible than his father's. Because, much as Metternich dislikes Frankie, he's being far more subtle about it than Napoléon ever was. In fact subtle enough that most persons don't even realzie that he's doing anything weird. The marriages of his cousins for instance. He's not doing something radical like forcing a family like the Uzes or the Grammonts to accept Republican Lucien's kid as a daughter-in-law or attempting to force a Rohan or a de la Trémoïlle to accept a match to a bastard (Napoléonne [like goes by Hélène here] de Montholon is officially the daughter of the marquis de Montholon-Sermonville, even if everyone knows who her dad is). He's matching persons who can really have no objections to marrying down (like the Polignacs) when really, aside from the most recent duke's disastrous government, the Polignacs are relatively undistinguished either politically or militarily. The Beauharnais (and Tascher de la Pageries), by contrast have a history of being governors of New France, Martinique, almoners to Louis XVI's mother, etc etc.
As to his business in Mexico, he technically hasn't done anything - not provided any financial assistance or given any troops: Max and co are there on a "scientific expedition", only difference is that Max (and most of his OTL sons) was a science nerd OTL as well. The Mexican government can't refuse him without it causing diplomatic waves to Brasil or Europe, even if they're probably more wary of him than Joinville. Difference is that Max (like OTL) is likely to tour the provinces and actually see what's going on. He can make a scientific and disinterested report on the state of affairs in Mexico, where Joinville or Duflot (like OTL) is likely going to make as though things are wonderful so that it's easier to annex it. And the Orléans government can be remembered as "fixing it" (sound like any OTL modern governments?). That's not to say the Mexican government will like being told what to do by Max any more than they did by anyone else, but at the end of it, he'll walk away and go back to Europe, if they don't wanna listen, not his problem.
Frankie sending Max might be because he knows the guy would make Prince Albert proud with regards to scientific inquiry.. The guy has no reason to lie (where a Bonaparte going will naturally be...of a similar mindset to the Orléans), but also demonstrates that Frankie (and through him the rest of Europe) is aware of what the French are up to. That's not to say any of them will go to war with France over Mexico, but they might not be above something like selling guns to the Mexicans or allowing a general to make a trip out to Mexico to review the army kinda thing
Finally caught up with the thread. Even if all the details might need a spreadsheet to keep track of, the idea of Frankie combining his father's ambition with the diplomatic chess preferred by his Habsburg family is simply too fun to ignore.
Bahn Frei! [1]
Soundtrack: Smetana: Festival Overture in D Major
*exterior* *various shots of trains running across the countryside*
*cut to a scene of a ground-breaking being blessed by a cleric* *several persons are recognizable in the crowd* *like Archdukes Albrecht and Stephan* *Henri de Chambord* *Ignaz Leitenberger* *Salomon de Rothschild* *Reichstadt is conspicuously absent*
*on a podium, the 8yo Archduke Franzi[2] walks out in a miniature uniform of the 3rd dragoons with his tutor, Prince Felix zu Schwarzenberg [3] and his aja, Baroness Luise Sturmfeder [4]*
*Franz Joseph makes speech - in fluent Czech* *about what an honour and a privilege it is to have been tasked by "our beloved uncle" - who is unfortunately detained by official business - to be the lightbringer of a new era for the town of Reichstadt by being present at the groundbreaking for this new factory that will yada-yada-yada-yada* *the speech is obviously not written by an eight-year-old but that he's there, in what is essentially a "sleepy backwater" counts more to the audience of Reichstadters than what he says* *even his faults, when he has to look down at the speech because he can't remember what comes next is forgiven*
Franz Joseph: *puts speech aside when he's finished* and be assured that I love you all dearly!
Audience: *goes wild with applause*
*clips of newspaper headlines of several more things that Franzi does* *him distributing prizes at the Vienna Medical School* *him distributing prizes at a Prague industrial exhibition* *him touring a new factory* *him attending the groundbreaking for the new Chain Bridge in Buda* *opening a branch of one of Frankie's hospitals for poor women in Graz* *him naming the first two ships built at the new and improved Arsenale, the "Phobos" and the "Metus"[5]*
*finally* *station in Prague* *this time Franzi is just part of the audience, not the centre stage* *as the emperor opens the new Kaiser Franz Nordlinie Railway* *around him are both his sons* *his daughters-in-law* *Franz Karl's two oldest sons* *Frankie* *Albrecht and Stephan* *off to the side*
Metternich: preposterous. That the emperor must take time out of his schedule to come and open a goddamned railway station. And all because of a damned Bonaparte
Graf Bombelles: *standing alongside him* *looks poisonously at Frankie* you know that he invited his mother, of course.
Metternich: no, I didn't know that.
Bombelles: she of course accepted. Wrote to him let him know that she would be only too happy to attend. With my brother, of course.
Metternich: so why is she absent
Bombelles: because of that Bonaparte brat. On receiving that reply, he made her understand in no uncertain terms that either she arrives alone and in widow's weeds as becomes the Dowager Empress, or she does not arrive at all and she can remain in Parma.
Metternich: he told her that?
Bombelles: their relationship is hardly what one can call...harmonious. In fact, he seems to spite her at every opportunity. He's called her a whore in public on several occasions.
Metternich: has he now? *that tone where you secretly agree with the sentiment but pretend not to*
Bombelles: it has caused...much distress to her Majesty, to know that her son is so...ungrateful, after all she has done for him.
Metternich: what mother...what parent wouldn't feel that way if their child - or grandchild *looks down at his grandson, Roger* - were to act so callously towards them.
Bombelles: and he is no more charitable to his own siblings. He accepts the bastards of other queens at that damned accademia of his in Venice - the dowager queen of Sicily's son, the queen of Spain's oldest daughter - but he refuses to acknowledge his mother's children. You can imagine how painful it is for her Majesty.
Metternich: can anyone say that they are surprised. That's how the Bonapartes work is it not. Try to be accepted by Europe's royal families, adopt the mannerisms and yet still miss the mark because of their...petty grievances. It's like him convincing his grandfather to not allow Roger a title [6], said I didn't know what I was talking about and that in all likelihood, he was the son of that canaille, Balzac! *lets his son, Richard, stand next to Roger* *the similarities are striking* does that look like Balzac?
Bombelles: I do not understand him. He acts as though - if the circumstances were different - he would somehow be better than any of us.
Metternich: that's his father talking. Most arrogant and disagreeable man I ever met.
Bombelles: *watches as the emperor acknowledges the crowds applause* *then leaves - leaning heavily - on his grandson's arm* and the way he parades the emperor around as though the man is a puppet on a string!
Metternich: I have warned his Majesty time and again about appearing overly partial to the boy. After all, what must it look like to the rest of Europe...to see Reichstadt fêted as though he were somehow a legitimate sovereign! His bastard son, named Comte de Marnes by the king of France. His cousins polluting the bloodlines of some of the oldest and noblest houses in France. I never thought I'd be so grateful that in Germany we have rules against such marriages.
Bombelles: and now he drags *looks at Franzi and Maxi running around Frankie's legs* the future emperor into his schemes as well.
Metternich: you assume, of course, that he will be the future emperor and that we aren't all going to be due to live under the house of Habsburg-Bonaparte *spits*
Bombelles: if only there were a way of...unseating him.
Metternich: I have tried countless times to get his Majesty to listen to reason, but he agrees when he's in my hearing and as soon as he sees his grandson, he forgets about it.
Bombelles: what of his mother?
Metternich: you said it yourself, they have no relationship. He'd hardly listen to her.
Bombelles: but his mother discomforts him. While they have no relationship, her presence might be enough to...throw him off stride.
Metternich: *you see a plan forming behind his eyes* what wicked minds we have, Graf.
[1] Clear the tracks! Polka by Eduard Strauss (Johann Strauss II' brother), which, like many of Eduard's works, deals with trains (Mit Dampft (head of steam), Reiselust (travel enjoyment), Ohne Bremse (without brakes))
[2] OTL Franz Josef's name in the family, he was named colonel in chief of the 3rd dragoons around this time OTL as well
[3] OTL it was Heinrich Franz von Bombelles, a man who Metternich said "saw as I saw, thought what I thought". Here, the fact that Emperor Franz is still alive, Frankie's around and Bombelles' brother is Frankie's stepdad and Metternich is unable to manipulate the lips of a dead man to convince Sophie appointing a man who can still remember Versailles is a good idea sees the "younger" Schwarzenberg appointed.
[4] this is an OTL. Luise had charge of Franz Joseph and his siblings, unlike their mother, Franzi was always her favourite (much to the future Maximilian's disgust). She was a friend and confidante of the Empress Karoline Auguste and was the one who urged for Sophie's kids to learn Czech from age 2. Sadly, court protocol meant that, from age 6, when the archdukes were given into the "care of men", Luise was no longer allowed to have any contact with her proteges. In her diaries she writes "they tramp around in my head all day long, so I'm forced to think about them. In the garden, I see them and am not allowed to go to them. What is the name for this torment? DIdn't I love them enough? Would it not have been more fortunate for me if I had never loved them?" Fortunately, the kids did love her enough to continue communicating with her via secret channels (like lowering letters down to her window at the end of a string). I could definitely see Frankie using his influence with his grandpa/grandma to allow Luise access to the boys (after all, she's still gonna be around for the others, so why stop Franzi from seeing her?) Franzi said to her OTL that "I love you so much...when you die, I'm going to have you stuffed and mounted that I can still see you".
[5] these are the twin sons of Mars and Venus in mythology: Phobos (Fear) and Metus (Dread)
[6] Roger isn't a Metternich, not legally anyway. He's the bastard of Metternich's son, Viktor, and the Duchesse de Castries (Balzac's patroness of OTL). OTL Metternich succeeded in having Franz name the boy "Freiherr von Aldenburg" OTL.
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Tarabas @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @Fehérvári @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle
*exterior* *various shots of trains running across the countryside*
*cut to a scene of a ground-breaking being blessed by a cleric* *several persons are recognizable in the crowd* *like Archdukes Albrecht and Stephan* *Henri de Chambord* *Ignaz Leitenberger* *Salomon de Rothschild* *Reichstadt is conspicuously absent*
*on a podium, the 8yo Archduke Franzi[2] walks out in a miniature uniform of the 3rd dragoons with his tutor, Prince Felix zu Schwarzenberg [3] and his aja, Baroness Luise Sturmfeder [4]*
*Franz Joseph makes speech - in fluent Czech* *about what an honour and a privilege it is to have been tasked by "our beloved uncle" - who is unfortunately detained by official business - to be the lightbringer of a new era for the town of Reichstadt by being present at the groundbreaking for this new factory that will yada-yada-yada-yada* *the speech is obviously not written by an eight-year-old but that he's there, in what is essentially a "sleepy backwater" counts more to the audience of Reichstadters than what he says* *even his faults, when he has to look down at the speech because he can't remember what comes next is forgiven*
Franz Joseph: *puts speech aside when he's finished* and be assured that I love you all dearly!
Audience: *goes wild with applause*
*clips of newspaper headlines of several more things that Franzi does* *him distributing prizes at the Vienna Medical School* *him distributing prizes at a Prague industrial exhibition* *him touring a new factory* *him attending the groundbreaking for the new Chain Bridge in Buda* *opening a branch of one of Frankie's hospitals for poor women in Graz* *him naming the first two ships built at the new and improved Arsenale, the "Phobos" and the "Metus"[5]*
*finally* *station in Prague* *this time Franzi is just part of the audience, not the centre stage* *as the emperor opens the new Kaiser Franz Nordlinie Railway* *around him are both his sons* *his daughters-in-law* *Franz Karl's two oldest sons* *Frankie* *Albrecht and Stephan* *off to the side*
Metternich: preposterous. That the emperor must take time out of his schedule to come and open a goddamned railway station. And all because of a damned Bonaparte
Graf Bombelles: *standing alongside him* *looks poisonously at Frankie* you know that he invited his mother, of course.
Metternich: no, I didn't know that.
Bombelles: she of course accepted. Wrote to him let him know that she would be only too happy to attend. With my brother, of course.
Metternich: so why is she absent
Bombelles: because of that Bonaparte brat. On receiving that reply, he made her understand in no uncertain terms that either she arrives alone and in widow's weeds as becomes the Dowager Empress, or she does not arrive at all and she can remain in Parma.
Metternich: he told her that?
Bombelles: their relationship is hardly what one can call...harmonious. In fact, he seems to spite her at every opportunity. He's called her a whore in public on several occasions.
Metternich: has he now? *that tone where you secretly agree with the sentiment but pretend not to*
Bombelles: it has caused...much distress to her Majesty, to know that her son is so...ungrateful, after all she has done for him.
Metternich: what mother...what parent wouldn't feel that way if their child - or grandchild *looks down at his grandson, Roger* - were to act so callously towards them.
Bombelles: and he is no more charitable to his own siblings. He accepts the bastards of other queens at that damned accademia of his in Venice - the dowager queen of Sicily's son, the queen of Spain's oldest daughter - but he refuses to acknowledge his mother's children. You can imagine how painful it is for her Majesty.
Metternich: can anyone say that they are surprised. That's how the Bonapartes work is it not. Try to be accepted by Europe's royal families, adopt the mannerisms and yet still miss the mark because of their...petty grievances. It's like him convincing his grandfather to not allow Roger a title [6], said I didn't know what I was talking about and that in all likelihood, he was the son of that canaille, Balzac! *lets his son, Richard, stand next to Roger* *the similarities are striking* does that look like Balzac?
Bombelles: I do not understand him. He acts as though - if the circumstances were different - he would somehow be better than any of us.
Metternich: that's his father talking. Most arrogant and disagreeable man I ever met.
Bombelles: *watches as the emperor acknowledges the crowds applause* *then leaves - leaning heavily - on his grandson's arm* and the way he parades the emperor around as though the man is a puppet on a string!
Metternich: I have warned his Majesty time and again about appearing overly partial to the boy. After all, what must it look like to the rest of Europe...to see Reichstadt fêted as though he were somehow a legitimate sovereign! His bastard son, named Comte de Marnes by the king of France. His cousins polluting the bloodlines of some of the oldest and noblest houses in France. I never thought I'd be so grateful that in Germany we have rules against such marriages.
Bombelles: and now he drags *looks at Franzi and Maxi running around Frankie's legs* the future emperor into his schemes as well.
Metternich: you assume, of course, that he will be the future emperor and that we aren't all going to be due to live under the house of Habsburg-Bonaparte *spits*
Bombelles: if only there were a way of...unseating him.
Metternich: I have tried countless times to get his Majesty to listen to reason, but he agrees when he's in my hearing and as soon as he sees his grandson, he forgets about it.
Bombelles: what of his mother?
Metternich: you said it yourself, they have no relationship. He'd hardly listen to her.
Bombelles: but his mother discomforts him. While they have no relationship, her presence might be enough to...throw him off stride.
Metternich: *you see a plan forming behind his eyes* what wicked minds we have, Graf.
[1] Clear the tracks! Polka by Eduard Strauss (Johann Strauss II' brother), which, like many of Eduard's works, deals with trains (Mit Dampft (head of steam), Reiselust (travel enjoyment), Ohne Bremse (without brakes))
[3] OTL it was Heinrich Franz von Bombelles, a man who Metternich said "saw as I saw, thought what I thought". Here, the fact that Emperor Franz is still alive, Frankie's around and Bombelles' brother is Frankie's stepdad and Metternich is unable to manipulate the lips of a dead man to convince Sophie appointing a man who can still remember Versailles is a good idea sees the "younger" Schwarzenberg appointed.
[4] this is an OTL. Luise had charge of Franz Joseph and his siblings, unlike their mother, Franzi was always her favourite (much to the future Maximilian's disgust). She was a friend and confidante of the Empress Karoline Auguste and was the one who urged for Sophie's kids to learn Czech from age 2. Sadly, court protocol meant that, from age 6, when the archdukes were given into the "care of men", Luise was no longer allowed to have any contact with her proteges. In her diaries she writes "they tramp around in my head all day long, so I'm forced to think about them. In the garden, I see them and am not allowed to go to them. What is the name for this torment? DIdn't I love them enough? Would it not have been more fortunate for me if I had never loved them?" Fortunately, the kids did love her enough to continue communicating with her via secret channels (like lowering letters down to her window at the end of a string). I could definitely see Frankie using his influence with his grandpa/grandma to allow Luise access to the boys (after all, she's still gonna be around for the others, so why stop Franzi from seeing her?) Franzi said to her OTL that "I love you so much...when you die, I'm going to have you stuffed and mounted that I can still see you".
[5] these are the twin sons of Mars and Venus in mythology: Phobos (Fear) and Metus (Dread)
[6] Roger isn't a Metternich, not legally anyway. He's the bastard of Metternich's son, Viktor, and the Duchesse de Castries (Balzac's patroness of OTL). OTL Metternich succeeded in having Franz name the boy "Freiherr von Aldenburg" OTL.
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Tarabas @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @Fehérvári @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle
I know right? No offense to other TLs on L'Aiglon, (I've sort of deliberately avoided reading them to avoid comparisons) but the usual order from discussions on his survival is that he's either gonna wind up in France in 1830 or in Italy, where Metternich deliberstely tried to keep him away from OTL. And then he basically either recreates the First French Empire or the Roman Empire. While Frankie WAS an ambitious son-of-a-bitch (once announcing that he would mount God's throne if the deity would obligingly step aside), I tend to group the sources on him into two main categories: Bonapartist (who believe him to be his dad reborn and attempt to portray him as wanting nothing but the throne stolen from him) and anti-Bonapartist (who see him as genetically evil, and where ideas such as honour, loyalty or tradition are completely alien).
The second option is problematic since we have contemporaneous accounts from persons who would have no reason to be complimentary about him that all remark on his kindness, his intelligence, his devotion to his grandparents (ordering an equerry to fetch a coat for his grandpa when they were out walking and the weather turned), his distress and worry when he and his grandma were out riding and her horse spooked and threw her. Where an evil/heroic person would've run after the horse, Frankie helped his grandma up and ordered them to fetch her doctor to treat her skinned arms and cheek. So while that could be the brhaviour of a psycho, it could also be the behaviour of a devoted grandson to people he referred to in his diary as "dearer to me than any other parents".
The first option (being like his dad) is problematic. First he'd need to escape from a bona fide police state to get to France. Then he gets there and what? People just spontaneously rise up for him? See Napoléon III's two failed attempts. Especially since, ny comparison, Frankie is a blank slate. Hes done nothing political like write treatises or publishanifestos (no guesses what would happen to him if he did). And he has no political résumé to run on. No military record aside from some courtesy appointments/promotions. Plus, he hasnt set foot in France since 1814, and he was only allowed to talk to someone who had just come from there, about it in 1829/1830 (under Metternich's supervision). So we'd have a handsome idiot, who looks nothign like his dad (but very much like the Comte de Chambord and duc de Chartres, without their "redeeming qualities"), knows nothing about the country he's coming to rule over and has no army. How exactly will he getbto be emperor ezcept on the point of Austrian bayonets?
Ergo, I opted for the middle path. Smart enough to recognize his father's mistakes, intelligent enough to not repeat them.
Its vague. He's in Reichstadt. And Frankie's absent but his posse is all there, so it could be referrig to him as well
Tbh, I don't think anyone expected Ferdinand to visit. In the capacity as the "king's presence", it was the Palatine who could be expected to come to the location. Still, Ferdinand's visit could muster a great amount of goodwill from the citizens of Óbuda, Buda and Pest (and the future Újpest), which could possibly influence events in 1848.
The most important development of that would be if the regulation works of the Danube's banks could be hastened/started early. Rebuilding efforts further from the river began quickly and progressed smoothly even IOTL, AFAIK.
Can't wait to read it!
If you're planning to create some bigger stirs in Hungary, know that the promise of territorial integrity (administrative and political) could sway a lot of people in both the Diet and among the masses. Championing the idea could allow even less popular policies being pushed through the legislation (like the mandated and state-compensated liberation of serfdom), or could prevent more radical ideas from taking ground (like the separate Hungarian tariff barriers on foreign manufactured products).
could we see this (allowing less popular policies) also be used as a "weapon" to encourage industry (minor at first) in Hungary. Probably at the first, improving roads and transport between towns, or with railways (which I'd imagine the magnates would be very against), but then branching out in other directions?
Why would they oppose railways? I don't remember being any kind of opposition to railway constructions IOTL. At the time, the biggest debate concerning the railway was about the exact route of the first line. More specifically, the question was about which side of the Danube should the line connecting Buda-Pest and Vienna be built on. IOTL, the left-bankers won, so the first railway to be built in Hungary was the Pest-Vác line.
To actually answer your question, yes, there could be some industry-supporting policies pushed through. Aside from the previously mentioned abolition of serfdom, the abolition of guilds could also push the country towards development, but the curtailing of county autonomy (in regards to tax collection) could also be useful.
Marriage
Soundtrack: Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 Violins & 2 Organs, F Maj, RV584
*exterior* *a trail of (cleatly) state carriages stops at the edge of the Venetian lagoon* *Frankie is standing next to a magnificent white horse* *astride the horse is Henri de Chambord* *Frankie looks about as dressed up as we've ever seen him* *normally, he's in military uniform or some natty au courant outfit* *but now he is in a long, dark green frock-coat with fancy silver embroidery on the front, frothy white cravat, black knee breeches, stockings* *all thats missing from the ensemble to resemble an ancien regime grand seigneur is the powdered wig*
Frankie: *leaves off talking to Henri and walks forward to the couple* *speads arms wide and bows deeply* your Majesties, on behalf of his Majesty, the King of Lombardy, and his Most Christian Mahesty, the king of France and Navarre, I bid you welcome to Venice.
Carlo Alberto, King of Sardinia: *looks at Henri* *then at Frankie* *then at Henri again* *like he's scrutinizing his faults[1]*: your Serene Highness, we are honoured by the invitation.
Frankie: *kisses Queen Maria Teresa's hand* no need, Majesty...we would be remiss if we did not invite the wisest and most loyal of our allies. *Bows again* *returns to Henri's horse to help him dismount* shall we go, your Majesty?
Henri: *nods* *leads the way to the barge decorated in blue with golden lilies* *climbs in* *followed by Frankie* *there is a second and third barge* *decorated in red and white, clearly for Savoy use*
Duc de Raguse: right this way your Majesty *motions to barge*
Carlo Alberto: what? Is this to be like Tilsit for his father?
Raguse: not at all your Majesty. His Serene Highness simply believed your Majesty would be more comfortable in this than to sit cramped and crowded in by your luggage and servants as he was when he first arrived in Venice
Maria Teresa: *clearly hesitant about getting in* *she keeps looking between the two barges* *like she's trying to decide between two glasses she's been told one is poisoned*
Henri: *as his barge is pulling away* Madame, they are all three identical. My aunt and uncle were rowed across in those exact barges earlier this afternoon. If anything, Monsieur François is far too cunning to engage in such a puerile trick as to invite you here, let you come all this way...only to attempt what Nero did to Agrippina [2].
*few shots of Louis XIX, Madame Royal, Henri and his mother arriving* *then the elderly Franz and Karoline, Ferdinand and Maria Anna of Savoy* *in both cases, their barge docks at the Piazza de San Marco* *to be met by a singing choir of children from the Ospedale San Gerolamo, presided over by Sister Clotilda [3]*
*interior shot* *ballroom* *we see Maria Anna and her sisters, the duchesses of Modena and Lucca, dancing a quadrille with the duchesse de Berri, Henri, Ferdinand, D. Miguel and Frankie.*
*exterior shot* *day* *we see Frankie taking some of the royals on the equivalent of a "walking tour"* *showing them the works at the Arsenale* *the new Bank he has established in the former Ospedale degli Incurabili [4]* *the orphanage at San Gerolamo* *while there we see Maria Anna of Savoy pointing at a plaque on the wall alongside the door and saying something to the duchess of Lucca and Madame Royal while looking at Frankie* *Madame Royal says nothing* *camera zooms in on the plaque and a subtitle flashes translating it [5]*
*next day we see a copy of Napoléon's Le Canot Imperiale state barge being rowed out into the lagoon* *the windows, bridges and piazza are all packed with viewers, both Venetians and visitors alike* *the boat finally comes to a halt and the oarsmen raise the oars in salute* *then, out of the tent decorated in black, gold, red and white draperies emerges Emperor Franz with his son, Ferdinand at his one side* *the patriarch of Venice on the other* *Frankie bringing up the rear* *Franz is dressed in imperial purple* *while Ferdinand's robes are gold and he wears the horned cap of the doges* *they proceed to the bow of the boat* *the dukes of Modena, Lucca, Tuscany and Milan step forward* *each removes one of Ferdinand's outer garments* *his hat* *his robes* *until he's standing there in nothing but his underwear**then Ferdinand climbs into a bosun's chair* *the bosun's chair is then lowered over the side until he is waist deep in the water*
Ferdinand: *loudly* *in Italian* *maybe its just because of the silence that it seems to echo across the lagoon* Ti sposiamo, mare. In segno di vero e perpetuo dominio![6]
*then the bosun's chair is raised again*
*a dripping Ferdinand is then ceremonially dressed by the dukes of Modena, Lucca, Tuscany and Milan* *not in the gold robes from before* *this time in robes that look suspiciously like they were borrowed or copied off of the robes from Napoléon's Italian coronation* *then, the patriarch takes the Iron Crown off of Franz's head and places it on a cushion held by Frankie*
Ferdinand: *picks up crown* *and sets it on his own head* *loudly proclaiming "Iddio me l’ha data; guai a chi la toccherà![7]"
*beat where nobody says anything* *nobody seems to even be breathing* *and then it happens. The crowd on the square, on the bridges, at the windows, in the boats that have followed the procession go absolutely batshit crazy with their cheers and shouts of Viva il Re! Viva Ferdinando! Viva Italia!
Carlo Alberto: *grimly from his boat as they are rowing back to shore* if only the boat had sunk.
*fade to black*
[1] lets face it, by this point, everyone's heard about Frankie and Henri's penchant for swapping clothes with the servants, so Carlo Alberto is probably wary that they may have switched clothes with one another
[2] he sent her to sea in a boat that was designed to sink while she was aboard
[3] formerly Maria Teresa of Modena, decided on her taking "Clotilda" as her nun's name in honour of Louise d'Artois acting as the chief agent of her being allowed to join a convent, and also of her great-aunt, Clothilde (Louis XVI's sister). Clotilda-Teresa is part of the Convent of the Visitation - long associated with the house of d'Este - which happens to also be associated with the historical Ospedale della Pietà, where the orphans were taught music by people such as Vivaldi, Gasparini and Hasse. And yes, I was going for the Miss Clavel imagery
[4] the Ospedale was being used as a barracks for Austrian troops from 1819 before most of the troops were moved out by 1831. It sat empty until 1872
[5] this is either the original, removed from the Ospedale della Pietà or a reproduction, That proclaims the 1548 decree of Pope Paul III that all parents who abandon their children when they have the means to support them are under the threat of excommunication and a divine curse, they should be regarded with contempt and avoided by all God-fearing Christians. Yup...this is Frankie displaying his utter contempt for his mama (and potentially his dad as well. Difference being that his dad had a reason).
[6] We espouse thee, O sea, as a sign of true and perpetual dominion
[7] God has given this to me. Beware him that touches it! standard formula of coronation of kings with the Iron Crown
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Tarabas @LordKalvan @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @Fehérvári @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell
*exterior* *a trail of (cleatly) state carriages stops at the edge of the Venetian lagoon* *Frankie is standing next to a magnificent white horse* *astride the horse is Henri de Chambord* *Frankie looks about as dressed up as we've ever seen him* *normally, he's in military uniform or some natty au courant outfit* *but now he is in a long, dark green frock-coat with fancy silver embroidery on the front, frothy white cravat, black knee breeches, stockings* *all thats missing from the ensemble to resemble an ancien regime grand seigneur is the powdered wig*
Frankie: *leaves off talking to Henri and walks forward to the couple* *speads arms wide and bows deeply* your Majesties, on behalf of his Majesty, the King of Lombardy, and his Most Christian Mahesty, the king of France and Navarre, I bid you welcome to Venice.
Carlo Alberto, King of Sardinia: *looks at Henri* *then at Frankie* *then at Henri again* *like he's scrutinizing his faults[1]*: your Serene Highness, we are honoured by the invitation.
Frankie: *kisses Queen Maria Teresa's hand* no need, Majesty...we would be remiss if we did not invite the wisest and most loyal of our allies. *Bows again* *returns to Henri's horse to help him dismount* shall we go, your Majesty?
Henri: *nods* *leads the way to the barge decorated in blue with golden lilies* *climbs in* *followed by Frankie* *there is a second and third barge* *decorated in red and white, clearly for Savoy use*
Duc de Raguse: right this way your Majesty *motions to barge*
Carlo Alberto: what? Is this to be like Tilsit for his father?
Raguse: not at all your Majesty. His Serene Highness simply believed your Majesty would be more comfortable in this than to sit cramped and crowded in by your luggage and servants as he was when he first arrived in Venice
Maria Teresa: *clearly hesitant about getting in* *she keeps looking between the two barges* *like she's trying to decide between two glasses she's been told one is poisoned*
Henri: *as his barge is pulling away* Madame, they are all three identical. My aunt and uncle were rowed across in those exact barges earlier this afternoon. If anything, Monsieur François is far too cunning to engage in such a puerile trick as to invite you here, let you come all this way...only to attempt what Nero did to Agrippina [2].
*few shots of Louis XIX, Madame Royal, Henri and his mother arriving* *then the elderly Franz and Karoline, Ferdinand and Maria Anna of Savoy* *in both cases, their barge docks at the Piazza de San Marco* *to be met by a singing choir of children from the Ospedale San Gerolamo, presided over by Sister Clotilda [3]*
*interior shot* *ballroom* *we see Maria Anna and her sisters, the duchesses of Modena and Lucca, dancing a quadrille with the duchesse de Berri, Henri, Ferdinand, D. Miguel and Frankie.*
*exterior shot* *day* *we see Frankie taking some of the royals on the equivalent of a "walking tour"* *showing them the works at the Arsenale* *the new Bank he has established in the former Ospedale degli Incurabili [4]* *the orphanage at San Gerolamo* *while there we see Maria Anna of Savoy pointing at a plaque on the wall alongside the door and saying something to the duchess of Lucca and Madame Royal while looking at Frankie* *Madame Royal says nothing* *camera zooms in on the plaque and a subtitle flashes translating it [5]*
*next day we see a copy of Napoléon's Le Canot Imperiale state barge being rowed out into the lagoon* *the windows, bridges and piazza are all packed with viewers, both Venetians and visitors alike* *the boat finally comes to a halt and the oarsmen raise the oars in salute* *then, out of the tent decorated in black, gold, red and white draperies emerges Emperor Franz with his son, Ferdinand at his one side* *the patriarch of Venice on the other* *Frankie bringing up the rear* *Franz is dressed in imperial purple* *while Ferdinand's robes are gold and he wears the horned cap of the doges* *they proceed to the bow of the boat* *the dukes of Modena, Lucca, Tuscany and Milan step forward* *each removes one of Ferdinand's outer garments* *his hat* *his robes* *until he's standing there in nothing but his underwear**then Ferdinand climbs into a bosun's chair* *the bosun's chair is then lowered over the side until he is waist deep in the water*
Ferdinand: *loudly* *in Italian* *maybe its just because of the silence that it seems to echo across the lagoon* Ti sposiamo, mare. In segno di vero e perpetuo dominio![6]
*then the bosun's chair is raised again*
*a dripping Ferdinand is then ceremonially dressed by the dukes of Modena, Lucca, Tuscany and Milan* *not in the gold robes from before* *this time in robes that look suspiciously like they were borrowed or copied off of the robes from Napoléon's Italian coronation* *then, the patriarch takes the Iron Crown off of Franz's head and places it on a cushion held by Frankie*
Ferdinand: *picks up crown* *and sets it on his own head* *loudly proclaiming "Iddio me l’ha data; guai a chi la toccherà![7]"
*beat where nobody says anything* *nobody seems to even be breathing* *and then it happens. The crowd on the square, on the bridges, at the windows, in the boats that have followed the procession go absolutely batshit crazy with their cheers and shouts of Viva il Re! Viva Ferdinando! Viva Italia!
Carlo Alberto: *grimly from his boat as they are rowing back to shore* if only the boat had sunk.
*fade to black*
[1] lets face it, by this point, everyone's heard about Frankie and Henri's penchant for swapping clothes with the servants, so Carlo Alberto is probably wary that they may have switched clothes with one another
[2] he sent her to sea in a boat that was designed to sink while she was aboard
[3] formerly Maria Teresa of Modena, decided on her taking "Clotilda" as her nun's name in honour of Louise d'Artois acting as the chief agent of her being allowed to join a convent, and also of her great-aunt, Clothilde (Louis XVI's sister). Clotilda-Teresa is part of the Convent of the Visitation - long associated with the house of d'Este - which happens to also be associated with the historical Ospedale della Pietà, where the orphans were taught music by people such as Vivaldi, Gasparini and Hasse. And yes, I was going for the Miss Clavel imagery
[4] the Ospedale was being used as a barracks for Austrian troops from 1819 before most of the troops were moved out by 1831. It sat empty until 1872
[5] this is either the original, removed from the Ospedale della Pietà or a reproduction, That proclaims the 1548 decree of Pope Paul III that all parents who abandon their children when they have the means to support them are under the threat of excommunication and a divine curse, they should be regarded with contempt and avoided by all God-fearing Christians. Yup...this is Frankie displaying his utter contempt for his mama (and potentially his dad as well. Difference being that his dad had a reason).
[6] We espouse thee, O sea, as a sign of true and perpetual dominion
[7] God has given this to me. Beware him that touches it! standard formula of coronation of kings with the Iron Crown
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Tarabas @LordKalvan @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @Fehérvári @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell
because I'm a dumbass and thought they would
Would that still be the case here? Or is it one of those common sense things that aren't likely to change
Cool. And I could see how the latter would definitely be favoured by a "centralizing" government
Oh very much so
well, since I haven't thought about it, I suppose it could