Frankie Goes to the Hofburg, or Napoléon II, Regent of Austria?
he doesn't want Prussia wiped from the map, just...shorn of "ill-gotten" gains, like 58% of Saxony that it got because Metternich was so focused on the appeasement of Prussia in 1815 that he offered them the whole thing (with no mention of compensation for the Wettins, either in Poland or in the Rhineland) in the hopes of getting them to sign onto the anti-Russian league. Even his colleagues in the Austrian ministry called such a move stupid and foreshadowing the dominance that Prussia would have in north Germany. However, Friedrich Wilhelm III reached an agreement with Alexander of Russia, and Metternich panicked, withdrawing the offer. The result was the Saxon Question since now Metternich only offered limited gains in Saxony rather than the whole thing. Which Prussian minister Hardenberg, backed by Russia, insisted on.
The irony being that Metternich's actions poisoned the waters between Vienna and Berlin, and made it that Saxony was unwilling to sign onto his anti-Prussian alliance of small and medium sized states. Saxony finally went over to the Austrian side with the marriage of Frankie's aunt to the king of Saxony in 1819, but it was more a spectator than a participant. Saxony was too shit scared of being trampled by Prussia in a future war to agree to any idea of reclaiming the lost territories. And Austria's "timidity" didn't encourage Saxony to do anything. In fact, Saxony basically stayed out of politics between 1815-1848 and stuck close first to Austria, then to Prussia (after 1848) because she didn't want to be wiped off the map as Poland had been. Einsiedl's policy is characterized as "he'd ask permission from Vienna to put out a fire in Dresden". All Frankie has done is ask Saxony - the shy wallflower at the dance that everyone's politely ignoring - to dance. Is Prussia going to be pissed? Of course. That's natural. But what Frankie is targetting are the 1815 gains (Saxony, the Rhineland, ones where the Prussians haven't really "sent down roots" beyond a generation). That's not saying Saxony, Nassau, etc are automatically going to rule "better" than the Prussians, and yes, there may be "revolts" in Prussia's favour...but most of the German states are going to agree that "Prussia caused this mess when she allied with France".
oh? How so?
I agree that it's not exactly something easy to swallow, but I defer to @isabella
@Fehérvári care to respond?
Metternich was often an idiot…
If it was well ruled and NOT oppressed most of the population would NOT care at all. And an eventual request of independence is pretty likely to be separated by any desire of an Italian unification… And, whatever was said about them, the Savoy were a FRENCH dynasty who spoke FRENCH NOT ITALIAN, unlike the italian branches of Habsburgs and Bourbons (and at least in the Two Sicilies and Tuscany the local rulers were loved by the population). At the worst the cure for Lombardy-Venetia is independence under an Archduke who would install his own branch there
like...oh, IDK Leopoldo of Tuscany? This was around the time that the idea of an Italian confederation came into being, didn't it? With either the pope or Leopoldo as president. Wonder if Francesco IV d'Este - married to Théodelinde de Beauharnais, daughter of the last/only viceroy of Italy - could have a shot though? He's younger than Leopoldo, is brother-in-law to the king of Sardinia and has the Napoléonic ties and the Habsburg ones
I am not talking about the peace , I am talking about 48' revolutions where we have a bitter smaller , in the midst of rearmament Prussia ,that is viewed differently by otl where the king will go full authoritarian, a Prussia more susceptible to revolution .
The 48' revolutions and famines will destroy a lot work of Frankie , plus it will change a lot about their opinions of their kings, if they go full authoritarian , if they appease and renege their words so regimes will surely collapse
As for the fact that the Savoia are a French dinasty is not really true ,once upon a time they were now not so much ,
Prussia (IMO) can go one of two ways. Friedrich Wilhelm IV flirts with liberalism in such a way (as he did in the 1840s OTL) that he actually "outdoes" the "liberal" regimes in Saxony or Bavaria or Württemberg. Or he cracks down (encouraged by his brother and the conservative faction at court). Neither is exactly "workable" solutions, but it will cause enough disorder in the Prussian house that makes it unlikely for them to meddle abroad for a while. There'll be a lot of pissed off people, but who they're pissed off at is...well, difficult to determine.
thing is that a lot of the kings - like in Spain and Portugal - have taken the bullet out of the gun. They've gone harder than the liberals in some places (abolishing slavery and extending the voting franchise) while more conservative in others (a hereditary house of Lords instead of an elected Senate, and a degree of protection for the church) in others. In the latter case, the church estates were often nationalized and the liberals said they were going to give the land to the tenants, but the prices made it impossible for the tenants to buy the land, so they ended up being washed up in the cities as the poor and the homeless, while the elite built up a "new" landholding class. The monarchy's "protection" of the church has prevented that. Church lands are still confiscated, but the prices they are sold at is set by the crown, not the politicians to reward their cronies.
Sebastiao and Carlos have both had major public works projects (in Portugal) or focused on the economy and industrializing (in Spain) in a way that while there is likely still the problems of OTL, the liberals are unlikely to have the support of the starving, poor and huddled masses, since the king is the one who's given them work (public work projects, new job opportunities), money, food, education and healthcare (Maria II is doing the last two in Portugal to go hand in hand with the "tent cities" of workers, and I could see both of Queen Isabel II's sisters-in-law-to-be encouraging a similar interest in Spain).
This isn't that crazy: Sebastiao, Henri de Chambord, Juan de Montizon, Enrique de Sevilla, Napoléon III, Prince Albert, ironically, even Wilhelm II - while poles apart politically - were all in favour of socialism to various degrees.
Are the famines of the 1840s still going to hit? No doubt, since things haven't really changed in a way that would affect it. But the situation at the top is very different to OTL.
Uh...both Umberto I and his wife, Margherita of Savoie-Genoa's first language was French, not Italian. IIRC, so was Vittorio Emanuele II's. Most of the business at the court in Turin was done in French, not Italian, and most of the liberal courtiers who dominated Carlo Alberto's identified with France (or Prussia) rather than Italy or Austria. That sounds pretty damn French to me.
VVD0D95
Banned
Disagree, if the people are seeing improvements (which by accounts they are) why would they revolt? Men with full bellies don’t care who rules them as long as their bellies remain full.
The Heredity Principle
Soundtrack: Peter von Winter - Das Labyrinth: Nun adieu, ich reis
*exterior* *views of Paris* *cut to down by the docks* *a couple of workers are singing as they unload load the barges*
Workers: Roule ta boule, roi cotillon, Rends la couronne à Riton! Bon! Bon Roi Riton, va rentrer dans sa maison![1]
*cut to seeing gendarmes arresting the workers*
*exterior* *Ravengiersburg, Germany* *view of the Hunsrückdom*
*interior* *inside the "cathedral" of Kloster Ravengiersburg* *there is a funeral being celebrated* *Frankie walks up to the coffin* *salutes* *then slowly - like weighed down by the world - walks down the aisle*
*cut to out in the forecourt* *Frankie's having a smoke*
Prince Vasa: *puts hand on Frankie's shoulder* Is everything alright [2]?
Frankie: *offers Vasa the cigarette* another day, another battle, some more people killed.
Vasa: *takes a drag* *exhales* you're worried about the Elector of Kassel inside? That he's going to defect to the Prussians.
Frankie: when a French bullet killed him? I doubt it. -*takes cigarette back* more trying to figure out what the fuck happens to Kassel now? Mean, the elector's only son is dead, so who gets the kitchen sink?
Vasa: the elector's cousin, the Dowager Queen of Denmark's brother.
Frankie: you've met him?
Vasa: I know of him. Former governor of Danish Norway, field marshal in the Danish army, saved the Danes from complete and utter humiliation à la Saxe after the battle of Leipzig, became governor-general of Schleswig and Holstein a few years ago. Thing is...he's closer to your grandfather's age than the elector is. And he's spent his whole life in Denmark, whether he'd come south for a rule of a few years-
Frankie: or just send his son?
Vasa: boy's illegitimate. You would do better sending Freiherr von Haynau's brother to be elector if that's the case.
Frankie: *chuckles blackly* good thing is that I won't have to worry about Jules [3] allowing his brother to tolerate any dissent.
Vasa: *laughs as he takes the cigarette back* to answer the question you're not asking, after the governor-general comes the king of Denmark's nephew.
Frankie: I thought you said he's illegitimate.
Vasa: other nephew. His dad was the elector's uncle, so I guess his dad would be before him. His mom is the king of Denmark's sister-
Frankie: Jesus Christ, do they have a rule like "only marry Danes"?
Vasa: *shrugs*
Frankie: what's he like?
Vasa: young. Around Henri's age, I think. Unmarried.
Frankie: I meant the father.
Vasa: older than I am. Younger than the elector of Hesse, though. Currently governor of Copenhagen, general in the Danish army.
Frankie: so, let me make sure I understand this...I'm dealing with a dead prince of Hesse, who didn't care about his inheritance, except to take out of it whatever could benefit his children [4]...and instead, it's being inherited by a group of Danes who are possibly going to leave it in the hands of administrators any way?
Vasa: that's the long and the short of it.
Frankie: *suddenly silent* listen.
Vasa: *you can hear a pin drop but there's no sound* what am I listening for?
Frankie: my father laughing at me from his grave, watching me try to clean up this mess that he and Metternich made.
Vasa: then your father is even more a fool than my father believed him to be, Frank.
Frankie: well, I've made a fuck up of the Hesses. Kassel's going to a Dane. Darmstadt is...so tangled up even Philipp the Magnanimous is standing in the corner shouting what the actual fuck. And both sides I'm going to have the Russians breathing down my neck regarding the matter. They're already pissed - as is Württemberg - at that the Prussians are keeping their nephew out of Oldenburg.
Vasa: I heard Carlo Alberto is crying uncle. And the Saxons are considering your offer. Even the king of Prussia is - however unwillingly - budging on the matter of Coblenz and Mainz. Not all bad, Frank.
Frankie: yes, but if I keep dragging this out, the czar will get involved. He's already invited that Henri's age Kassel Dane to St. Petersburg.
Vasa: and you know this?
Frankie: the Grand Duchess Charlotte [Elena Pavlovna] informed me. Also that the czar is witholding his permission for her daughter, Marie- the one I danced with at Albrecht [of Teschen]'s wedding? -to marry the Baden crown prince. Least waiting until the dust clears about how Baden looks once the French are cleared out.
Vasa: well, I'm sure, he'd hardly enjoy a situation like the king of Hannover is currently dealing with.
Frankie: which situation is that?
Vasa: well, *gossip tone* what happened was that while you were dancing with the Grand Duchess Marie at the Teschen wedding, la belle Hanovrienne met Prince Furstembourg's son, Baden's nephew? And a few weeks ago, it came out that the pair...got married. [5]
Frankie: last year?
Vasa: Sophie [his sister] didn't say when they got married in her letter from Basel [6], only that the king of Hannover was furious when he found out.
Frankie: was this a love match or a must match to spare blushes?
Vasa: *grins* Hannover doesn't blush, he turns purple. *seriously* Luise has always been...a free thinker. She got emancipated two years ago already-
Frankie: I did not know that.
Vasa: it was her "demand" after the czarevich broke the engagement. She wanted to be able to live on her own, and that she would have the final say on who she married.
Frankie: Albert [of Coburg] mentioned the latter, but I didn't know about the emancipation.
Vasa: Hannover wanted to keep it quiet. For obvious reasons. It's a private matter. No need to tarnish her marital prospects by advertising that she's a girl who can think.
Frankie: if that's a dig at that school of mine-
Vasa: why would I take a stab at my daughter's school? Hmm?
Frankie: so what you're telling me is that Carola is likely to go the same way when she's a teenager?
Vasa: *realizes* God, I hope not
Frankie: I'm just pointing out the similarities between she and Luise: both absolutely adored by their father, strong-willed, bit of a temper, pretty - if her teenage years don't ruin her looks [7] - and artistic.
Vasa: *grimaces as his schadenfreude turns to worry*
Frankie: I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, Gustaf. Although I hear she adores Marianne and her daughters.
Vasa: that's not fair.
Frankie: what is?
Vasa: to use a man's child against him, Frankie.
Frankie: *innocently* I did nothing of the sort. I was simply kind enough to offer Marianne and her children refuge when the Sardinians neared Lake Como. How was I to know that she's going to take such an interest in the school. She even recommended that we start teaching the girls about money matters. Surprisingly, Madame Royal and the queen of Sicily both backed her on this. *serious* but you and I both know that this constant stress of the war hasn't been good for Louise [Princess Vasa's] heart. Doctor Vivenot [8] wrote me that he is not optimistic. She's making her will. Would you as a widower marrying Marianne a widow truly be such a bad thing?
Vasa: nobody would agree. Louise-
Frankie: *takes letter from his jacket* has already asked that if you remarry- *hands it Gustaf* that you consider your daughter.
Vasa: *takes letter* will the day arrive when I can get a letter from my wife without you reading it first?
Frankie: it was addressed to me. She asked me to remind you of that [9]
*fade to black*
[1] aria sung by Papageno, the Birdcatcher - from the woefully unknown sequel to Mozart's Magic Flute - "that's it, I'm done" that just captures perfectly the disillusion and disappointment. While he's speaking of love, the last line of "no, no, no, I'll leave all that [drama], I'd rather travel alone" can both allude to Frankie's feeling of "loneliness" but also that he's just so "done" with cleaning up everyone else's mess (his dad, Prussia, Louis Philippe's). The references to the empty seat next to him, while Papageno means in terms of "I'm single", for Frankie is more in terms of, as Marius de Pontmercy sings "empty chairs at empty tables", because every empty chair raises a problem of who to fill it with.
[2] roll your ball, King Cotillion, return the crown to [our] Harry! Good! Good King Harry will soon be back in his house
[3] I have this idea that Prince Vasa has sort of taken Frankie on as a sort of "surrogate son". It's different to Marmont's (who may have done the same) or Franz's relationship to Frankie in that theirs, while affectionate, is diluted by self-interest (Marmont's trying to banish the stigma attached to his name) or duty (if it wasn't his grandson, it's doubtful Franz would care). Vasa is one of the few "older males" who can genuinely say he cares about Frankie for Frankie. It's not that Vasa is one of those people who thinks it's night time when Frankie sits down, but there is a genuine affection
[4] Julius, Freiherr von Haynau. Known to his troops as "the Habsburg Tiger", to the Hungarians as "the hangman of Arad" and to the Italians as the "hyena of Brescia". The guy was one brutally efficient general, possibly a psychopath
[5] pretty much OTL. Friedrich Wilhelm of Kassel's morganatic marriage meant that he sought to increase the family's private assets (which his children could inherit) at the expense of worrying about his regal duties or public opinion. Think Léopold II without the Congo shadow
[6] I was going to go with Sasha of the Netherlands until I got this brainwave. The Furstenbergs weren't a very important family politically, they were rather wealthy, and sat in the "house of Lords" in Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Bohemia, they're big into the railways, mines and industrializing in Bohemia (for instance). He's one of those figures who people history that's cousin to everybody (naturally the Badens, but also the Princess of Orange, the Württembergs, the Hesses, the Rohans, Thurn und Taxis, the Hohenlohes (Victoria's brother-in-law), the Hohenzollern-Hechingens (and the Beauharnais, so by extension to the Habsburg-Estes, Brasil, Sweden)), but not really important enough themselves to tilt the scale either way. And @The_Most_Happy , I think they were also Catholics, so it's considerably scandalous.
[7] the house of Baden still had a "ancestral home" at the Markgräfler Hof in Basel.
[8] this was a concern voiced by several royals about prospective marriage partners. That a girl was pretty as a child, but her teenage growth spurts left her a bit...challenged in that she wound up either too tall, too flat-chested, bore acne scars (this was one of the points that Vicky raised against Anna of Darmstadt, and ISTR Vicky's sister Helena was rejected by the Prince of Orange for the same reason) or the like. It's not just girls, you see it with Queen Victoria's sons and Louis Philippe's grandsons as well. Difference is that with the boys it's "less commented on". As to Luise's behaviour, it's a bit "scandalous", but not actually that different from what her niece (Princess Friederike), what Victoria's daughter, Louise, or what happened with Princess Eugènie in Sweden OTL did. It's a young woman taking charge of her destiny (she's already 25yo by 1842, "old maid" status was usually by 22yo in the 19th century) but still staying within the bounds of respectability (marriage to Furstenberg rather than simply "living in sin").
[9] same doctor of Frankie's that he sent to recommend the "waters" at Bad Ischl for Charles X
[10] this could be a passive-aggressive move to ensure Frankie guilts Gustaf (she probably didn't tell her husband this) against remarrying once she's dead. Frankie's simply choosing to interpret it as the wife who graciously steps aside
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena
*exterior* *views of Paris* *cut to down by the docks* *a couple of workers are singing as they unload load the barges*
Workers: Roule ta boule, roi cotillon, Rends la couronne à Riton! Bon! Bon Roi Riton, va rentrer dans sa maison![1]
*cut to seeing gendarmes arresting the workers*
*exterior* *Ravengiersburg, Germany* *view of the Hunsrückdom*
*interior* *inside the "cathedral" of Kloster Ravengiersburg* *there is a funeral being celebrated* *Frankie walks up to the coffin* *salutes* *then slowly - like weighed down by the world - walks down the aisle*
*cut to out in the forecourt* *Frankie's having a smoke*
Prince Vasa: *puts hand on Frankie's shoulder* Is everything alright [2]?
Frankie: *offers Vasa the cigarette* another day, another battle, some more people killed.
Vasa: *takes a drag* *exhales* you're worried about the Elector of Kassel inside? That he's going to defect to the Prussians.
Frankie: when a French bullet killed him? I doubt it. -*takes cigarette back* more trying to figure out what the fuck happens to Kassel now? Mean, the elector's only son is dead, so who gets the kitchen sink?
Vasa: the elector's cousin, the Dowager Queen of Denmark's brother.
Frankie: you've met him?
Vasa: I know of him. Former governor of Danish Norway, field marshal in the Danish army, saved the Danes from complete and utter humiliation à la Saxe after the battle of Leipzig, became governor-general of Schleswig and Holstein a few years ago. Thing is...he's closer to your grandfather's age than the elector is. And he's spent his whole life in Denmark, whether he'd come south for a rule of a few years-
Frankie: or just send his son?
Vasa: boy's illegitimate. You would do better sending Freiherr von Haynau's brother to be elector if that's the case.
Frankie: *chuckles blackly* good thing is that I won't have to worry about Jules [3] allowing his brother to tolerate any dissent.
Vasa: *laughs as he takes the cigarette back* to answer the question you're not asking, after the governor-general comes the king of Denmark's nephew.
Frankie: I thought you said he's illegitimate.
Vasa: other nephew. His dad was the elector's uncle, so I guess his dad would be before him. His mom is the king of Denmark's sister-
Frankie: Jesus Christ, do they have a rule like "only marry Danes"?
Vasa: *shrugs*
Frankie: what's he like?
Vasa: young. Around Henri's age, I think. Unmarried.
Frankie: I meant the father.
Vasa: older than I am. Younger than the elector of Hesse, though. Currently governor of Copenhagen, general in the Danish army.
Frankie: so, let me make sure I understand this...I'm dealing with a dead prince of Hesse, who didn't care about his inheritance, except to take out of it whatever could benefit his children [4]...and instead, it's being inherited by a group of Danes who are possibly going to leave it in the hands of administrators any way?
Vasa: that's the long and the short of it.
Frankie: *suddenly silent* listen.
Vasa: *you can hear a pin drop but there's no sound* what am I listening for?
Frankie: my father laughing at me from his grave, watching me try to clean up this mess that he and Metternich made.
Vasa: then your father is even more a fool than my father believed him to be, Frank.
Frankie: well, I've made a fuck up of the Hesses. Kassel's going to a Dane. Darmstadt is...so tangled up even Philipp the Magnanimous is standing in the corner shouting what the actual fuck. And both sides I'm going to have the Russians breathing down my neck regarding the matter. They're already pissed - as is Württemberg - at that the Prussians are keeping their nephew out of Oldenburg.
Vasa: I heard Carlo Alberto is crying uncle. And the Saxons are considering your offer. Even the king of Prussia is - however unwillingly - budging on the matter of Coblenz and Mainz. Not all bad, Frank.
Frankie: yes, but if I keep dragging this out, the czar will get involved. He's already invited that Henri's age Kassel Dane to St. Petersburg.
Vasa: and you know this?
Frankie: the Grand Duchess Charlotte [Elena Pavlovna] informed me. Also that the czar is witholding his permission for her daughter, Marie- the one I danced with at Albrecht [of Teschen]'s wedding? -to marry the Baden crown prince. Least waiting until the dust clears about how Baden looks once the French are cleared out.
Vasa: well, I'm sure, he'd hardly enjoy a situation like the king of Hannover is currently dealing with.
Frankie: which situation is that?
Vasa: well, *gossip tone* what happened was that while you were dancing with the Grand Duchess Marie at the Teschen wedding, la belle Hanovrienne met Prince Furstembourg's son, Baden's nephew? And a few weeks ago, it came out that the pair...got married. [5]
Frankie: last year?
Vasa: Sophie [his sister] didn't say when they got married in her letter from Basel [6], only that the king of Hannover was furious when he found out.
Frankie: was this a love match or a must match to spare blushes?
Vasa: *grins* Hannover doesn't blush, he turns purple. *seriously* Luise has always been...a free thinker. She got emancipated two years ago already-
Frankie: I did not know that.
Vasa: it was her "demand" after the czarevich broke the engagement. She wanted to be able to live on her own, and that she would have the final say on who she married.
Frankie: Albert [of Coburg] mentioned the latter, but I didn't know about the emancipation.
Vasa: Hannover wanted to keep it quiet. For obvious reasons. It's a private matter. No need to tarnish her marital prospects by advertising that she's a girl who can think.
Frankie: if that's a dig at that school of mine-
Vasa: why would I take a stab at my daughter's school? Hmm?
Frankie: so what you're telling me is that Carola is likely to go the same way when she's a teenager?
Vasa: *realizes* God, I hope not
Frankie: I'm just pointing out the similarities between she and Luise: both absolutely adored by their father, strong-willed, bit of a temper, pretty - if her teenage years don't ruin her looks [7] - and artistic.
Vasa: *grimaces as his schadenfreude turns to worry*
Frankie: I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, Gustaf. Although I hear she adores Marianne and her daughters.
Vasa: that's not fair.
Frankie: what is?
Vasa: to use a man's child against him, Frankie.
Frankie: *innocently* I did nothing of the sort. I was simply kind enough to offer Marianne and her children refuge when the Sardinians neared Lake Como. How was I to know that she's going to take such an interest in the school. She even recommended that we start teaching the girls about money matters. Surprisingly, Madame Royal and the queen of Sicily both backed her on this. *serious* but you and I both know that this constant stress of the war hasn't been good for Louise [Princess Vasa's] heart. Doctor Vivenot [8] wrote me that he is not optimistic. She's making her will. Would you as a widower marrying Marianne a widow truly be such a bad thing?
Vasa: nobody would agree. Louise-
Frankie: *takes letter from his jacket* has already asked that if you remarry- *hands it Gustaf* that you consider your daughter.
Vasa: *takes letter* will the day arrive when I can get a letter from my wife without you reading it first?
Frankie: it was addressed to me. She asked me to remind you of that [9]
*fade to black*
[1] aria sung by Papageno, the Birdcatcher - from the woefully unknown sequel to Mozart's Magic Flute - "that's it, I'm done" that just captures perfectly the disillusion and disappointment. While he's speaking of love, the last line of "no, no, no, I'll leave all that [drama], I'd rather travel alone" can both allude to Frankie's feeling of "loneliness" but also that he's just so "done" with cleaning up everyone else's mess (his dad, Prussia, Louis Philippe's). The references to the empty seat next to him, while Papageno means in terms of "I'm single", for Frankie is more in terms of, as Marius de Pontmercy sings "empty chairs at empty tables", because every empty chair raises a problem of who to fill it with.
[2] roll your ball, King Cotillion, return the crown to [our] Harry! Good! Good King Harry will soon be back in his house
[3] I have this idea that Prince Vasa has sort of taken Frankie on as a sort of "surrogate son". It's different to Marmont's (who may have done the same) or Franz's relationship to Frankie in that theirs, while affectionate, is diluted by self-interest (Marmont's trying to banish the stigma attached to his name) or duty (if it wasn't his grandson, it's doubtful Franz would care). Vasa is one of the few "older males" who can genuinely say he cares about Frankie for Frankie. It's not that Vasa is one of those people who thinks it's night time when Frankie sits down, but there is a genuine affection
[4] Julius, Freiherr von Haynau. Known to his troops as "the Habsburg Tiger", to the Hungarians as "the hangman of Arad" and to the Italians as the "hyena of Brescia". The guy was one brutally efficient general, possibly a psychopath
[5] pretty much OTL. Friedrich Wilhelm of Kassel's morganatic marriage meant that he sought to increase the family's private assets (which his children could inherit) at the expense of worrying about his regal duties or public opinion. Think Léopold II without the Congo shadow
[6] I was going to go with Sasha of the Netherlands until I got this brainwave. The Furstenbergs weren't a very important family politically, they were rather wealthy, and sat in the "house of Lords" in Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Bohemia, they're big into the railways, mines and industrializing in Bohemia (for instance). He's one of those figures who people history that's cousin to everybody (naturally the Badens, but also the Princess of Orange, the Württembergs, the Hesses, the Rohans, Thurn und Taxis, the Hohenlohes (Victoria's brother-in-law), the Hohenzollern-Hechingens (and the Beauharnais, so by extension to the Habsburg-Estes, Brasil, Sweden)), but not really important enough themselves to tilt the scale either way. And @The_Most_Happy , I think they were also Catholics, so it's considerably scandalous.
[7] the house of Baden still had a "ancestral home" at the Markgräfler Hof in Basel.
[8] this was a concern voiced by several royals about prospective marriage partners. That a girl was pretty as a child, but her teenage growth spurts left her a bit...challenged in that she wound up either too tall, too flat-chested, bore acne scars (this was one of the points that Vicky raised against Anna of Darmstadt, and ISTR Vicky's sister Helena was rejected by the Prince of Orange for the same reason) or the like. It's not just girls, you see it with Queen Victoria's sons and Louis Philippe's grandsons as well. Difference is that with the boys it's "less commented on". As to Luise's behaviour, it's a bit "scandalous", but not actually that different from what her niece (Princess Friederike), what Victoria's daughter, Louise, or what happened with Princess Eugènie in Sweden OTL did. It's a young woman taking charge of her destiny (she's already 25yo by 1842, "old maid" status was usually by 22yo in the 19th century) but still staying within the bounds of respectability (marriage to Furstenberg rather than simply "living in sin").
[9] same doctor of Frankie's that he sent to recommend the "waters" at Bad Ischl for Charles X
[10] this could be a passive-aggressive move to ensure Frankie guilts Gustaf (she probably didn't tell her husband this) against remarrying once she's dead. Frankie's simply choosing to interpret it as the wife who graciously steps aside
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena
not gonna lie, even with a chart I was getting confused with who's related to whom
hopefully his urgency is making sense. After all, I can see both France or Prussia stalling long enough to either see Franz I dead or at least to rearm so they can take it back. He wants to avoid either scenario. Since if Franz is dead, Prussian-conciliatory, Saxon-public enemy no. 1 and pro-Louis Philippe Metternich is the one likely running the show. Which might be what they're trying to do.
So Frankie is, as usual, aware that he's racing against the clock. Once grandpa's dead, I doubt Metternich will have any problem laying the blame for the war at his feet, agreeing to any compromise or breaking any prior agreement to get peace back. Even if he has to slash Austria's throat to do it - like he did in 1815.
That was Metternich's problem: he couldn't adapt. From 1815 to his resignation in 1848, his policies never really varied, despite the situation definitely being different. He was one of those politicians who see every problem as a nail, unfortunately. And while Kolowrat is there to "balance" him, and he has been officially removed from the presidency of the council, he's still got his fingers in enough pies that he can't be removed. Quite possibly, even dabbling in negotiations with Prussia or France behind the emperor's back (not treason so much as the back room diplomacy Metternich is renowned for). Problem for Metternich is that he's the one who taught diplomacy to Frankie. And the Saxon deal may have been a negotiation that Frankie and his grandpa knew about, but neglected to tell Metternich about (so he can say to the Prussians "I didn't know *sobs* you gotta believe me *sobs* the emperor didn't tell me something *ugly cry*")
As Kellan already pointed THEY SPOKE FRENCH as FIRST language. At least in Tuscany they spoke Italian and in Naples the main language was Neapolitan
Exactly my point
Last edited:
The Croats, Serbs and Transylvanian Romanians. These are the groups that could cause any kind of trouble within Hungary. Slovaks, Ruthenians and Romanians outside of Transylvania displayed essentially no hostility towards the Hungarians even in 1848-'49. Germans at the time were a mixed bag, since many of them supported the revolutionary innovations, but they also tended to be loyal to Vienna. The least supportive group among the Germans were the Transylvanian Saxons because they were set to lose their privileges with Transylvania's complete reintegration into Hungary.
Croats can be negotiated with if agreeable autonomy terms are offered. They can also be made partners against the Serbs during the dissolution of the Military Frontier.
The Transylvanian Saxons and Romanians both can be kept calm with Transylvania retaining autonomy/devolution after reintegration. In the case of the Romanians, the abolition of serfdom were slow in implementation in Transylvania IOTL, that also added to their frustration. Also, it would hardly have any real effect, but the inclusion of the Romanian Nation into the "Nations of Transylvania" could also be seen as a favourable gesture. This would be up to the Transylvanian Diet to decide though.
In the case of the Serbs however, the question of the Military Frontier will inevitably birth conflict. There's not much that can be do about it.
As for the rest, my earlier mentioned fair language law being rigthly implemented can solve trouble with them for good.
From An Inn at Roche-Sur-Yon
Soundtrack: Johann Strauss Senior - Egerien-Tanze Waltz [1]
*exterior* *Munich* *we see a montage of buildings* *first the Town Hall* *then the spires of the Frauenkirche* *the Alte Hof* *the Theatinerkirche* *Nymphenburg* *the Prince Carl-Palais and Leutstetten Palais of Leo von Klenze* *the half-finished Siegestor* *and finally we stop on a long building of wrought iron and glass*[2]
*cut to interior of said Glaspalast* *while it resembles a traditional fair, there's a lot more iron and steel, machinery bits and bobs among the traditional wares* *a card flashes to tell us that this is the "First German-Imperial Industrial Exhibition"[4]*
*walking down one of the hallways, ignoring the wares for the most part, are several women in a group* *Archduchess Sophie of Austria* *Queen Elise of Prussia* *Queen Marie of Saxony* *Mathilde, Grand Princess of Darmstadt* *Queen Therese of Bavaria* *Princess Eugènie of Hohenzollern-Hechingen* *Théodelinde, Crown Princess of Modena* *clearly these women are talking intently, judging by their facial expressions and gestures*
*we see that they are passing in front of a stall displaying Hungarian wares* *identified by the red-white-green ribbons tricolour ribbons festooning the stall[5]*
*cut to Palazzo de Caserta* *Louise d'Artois is standing with her year-old daughter* *watching King Ferdinando teaching his three-year-old son (and his son's companion, Ludo of Württemberg) to ride a horse[6]* *he's fussing over his son to make sure he doesn't fall off* *his son is like "it's okay dad, I got this" and rides a bit further than he "should"* *we see Ferdinando's face form into a scowl of disapproval at being disobeyed* *then bursts out laughing* *all of the others follow suit* *and we see an almost idyllic family shot*
*cut to Athens* *Queen Sophia is at the foundation laying of what will be the National Observatory in Athens* *at her right side sits her son and heir, the duke of Sparta (b.1838)* *on her left, sits her second son, Nicholas (b.1839)* *we hear in snippets of the speech being made that this was thanks to the "gracious endorsement and unflagging encouragement" of the Queen of Greece*
*cut to Madrid* *Queen Isabel II walks into Privy Council Chamber, accompanied by D. Carlos de Montemolin* *she goes straight to the throne at the head of the table and despite being two months shy of her twelfth birthday, she seems to be following the discussion intelligently* *we even see her interrupting a minister to ask a question or two*
*cut to London* *a pregnant Queen Victoria is giving a speech at the opening of parliament* *her "agenda" outlined includes that the re-analyzing of the Poor Law, pursuant to the Chartist Petition, the announcement of the closure of several prisons, the prohibition of children under the age of ten being allowed to work and the establishment of a commission to decide on the matter of railway gauges [7]*
*cut to Paris* *at the Palais de Luxembourg* *King Louis Philippe sits on his throne at the head of the Chambre des Pairs* *the Peers look like they're debating something of extreme importance*
*cut to Henri de Chambord* *he's on horseback* *despite the rain* *riding through town* *we see figures in doorways scowling and frowning at him* *a man spits in the street as Henri rides past* *a woman looks at him, crosses herself, then hurries on shielding her head from the worst of the rain with a newspaper* *another mother comes out to chase her kids inside, looks at Henri for a moment, then turns her back on him*
Henri: Monsieur le Marquis, how do you want to lead a revolt when these men don't even seem happy to see me.
Marquis de Rochejacquelin: sire, I'm sure it's just the weather that ha-
*a projectile of some sort comes flying from unseen hand* *it hits Henri in the side of the neck* *his horse rears and next thing, he's lying on his back in the street [8]*
Rochejacquelin: aux armes! *he and several others draw their swords* *start looking around for the "assailant"*
Henri: *meanwhile* *picks up the potato/tomato/apple* *looks at it* *and laughs*
*Rochejacquelin and Fitz-James look at him like he's gone absolutely mad*
Henri: *climbing back on the horse without assistance* I shall have it framed and mounted. The first "stone" thrown at me by my loyal subjects *chuckles*
*Rochejacquelin, Fitz-James both frown*
*Ney's now joining in the chuckle* *so is Noailles*
Henri: let's get out of this wet, I could do with some dry clothes.
*cut to an inn room* *Henri, now in different clothes is standing staring out the window at the rain* *on the table, we see a copy of the newspaper the woman in the street was using as an umbrella* *it announces that the Chambres des Pairs has just passed a law that, in the event of the king's death before his grandson is eighteen, there will naturally be a regency* *but the boy's mother, the Dowager Duchesse de Chartres, will have no part in it[9]*
Henri: *sits down at table as Noailles comes in* *still towelling his hair dry* what do you have to say to that, Monsieur le Duc.
Noailles: *reads article* Prussia has agreed to a truce with Austria? And she agrees to surrender some of the territory to Saxony, sire?
Henri: I meant the other article. About the regency.
Noailles: *scans article*
Henri: is the duc d'Orléans poorly? That they have reason to believe such a bill is necessary?
Noailles: I hadn't heard he was, Majesty. Usual aches and pains that come with age, as I'm sure General Ney can relate.
Ney: *lying on bed with his eyes closed* I'm lying down, not dead, Noailles. No need to talk of me like I'm a crate of rats.
Henri: *looks at Noailles*
Noailles: my apologies, General.
Ney: seems...odd. If you'll forgive me saying so, Majesty. Even Napoléon didn't seek to remove those rights from his empress for his son.
Henri: *smiles sharkishly* it would seem that Orléans, for all his supposedly good qualities at working for the good of the kingdom, has neglected one key fault.
Fitz-James: *leaning against the wardrobe* that it's not within parliament's power to decide such a matter?
Henri: that such a motion is ultimately unnecessary.
Ney: because you plan to remove him from power before it is necessary?
Henri: no. I'm surprised Noailles didn't realize this- but according to the Constitution of 1791 and the Charte Octroyen, that my grandfather abdicated under, such a right had been removed from my mother anyway. The position of regent is to be filled by the senior prince du sang resident in France. In 1791 that would've been Philippe Égalité. In 1830, that was the duc.
Noailles: *catching up* and now, if the duc were to die, the senior prince du sang resident in France is not the duc de Nemours, but your Majesty.
Henri: exactly. What? That my presence unnerves him so that he is willing to make them wards of the state? Instead of a Régency allow for the Corps Legislatif to exercise these rights? Does he think I will repay evil for evil, lock his grandsons up like some...Richard III?
Fitz-James: you don't plan to, Majesty?
Henri: why would I lock them up? They've done me no harm-
Rochejacquelin: *from window bench* but they will, sire. Give them time.
Henri: and so it goes on? Cain kills Abel, Abel's son kills Cain, Cain's son kills his cousin and so on and forth? Where does it end, Rochejacquelin? Louis le Grand didn't execute his Uncle for taking part in the Fronde against him. Where would France have been if he had done that to le Grand Condé?
Rochejacquelin: "irritably" your Majesty plans to kill them with kindness.
Noailles: they are his Majesty's heirs until he has children of his own.
*silence in the room* *Henri stares stonily at Noailles*
Noailles: *quickly* which, God willing, will not be long in arriving, Majesty.
Henri: as far as I was aware, Noailles, the Régent Orléans passed a bill excluding bastards from the succession, which would require me to marry first. Since I haven't had a proposal all year, perhaps you would tell me who this obliging young woman is that you have waiting in the wings?
Noailles: well, there is the princess of Saxony, sire.
Henri: *writing on a piece of paper* too young. She's seven years younger than me, that makes her fifteen at the moment. Her mother was in her twenties before she had children. How long would you have France await a dauphin?
Ney: Napoléon waited six years. Thirteen if you count from when he married Josèphine
Henri: and look how Monsieur François describes most of his cousins: "born an heir when there was nothing left to inherit". Unlike Napoléon I don't have a nephew available.
Fitz-James: your Majesty could dust off the plan from the 1760s to name your sister's son as the premier prince du sang [10]
Henri: much though I love Louise, that would simply cause too much chaos.
Noailles: which brings us back to the Orléans' children.
Henri: *snorts* hardly. *turns page over to Noailles*
Noailles: *picks it up* *it's headed "Last Will and Testament of Henri d'Artois, Comte de Chambord, Duc de Bordeaux etc etc" in block capitals* *it's about three paragraphs long* *reads it* *we see his eyes getting bigger* absolutely not, Majesty.
Henri: *hands the page to Rochejacquelin* *instructs him to pass it around*
Noailles: no legislature will recognize it. It'll mean war, Majesty.
Henri: on what grounds?
Fitz-James: *reading over Rochejacquelin's shoulder* depending on whether you accept the treaty of Utrecht or not.
Henri: Philippe V never considered himself bound by those rights. You pointed out yourself that there was a plan in the 1760s to include the duc de Calabrie. You're willing to accept my sister's son, which would also be in contravention of that. Yet you act appalled when I suggest Monsieur le Comte, Noailles?
Rochejacquelin: it would be the matter of what happens to the crown after the comte de Molina dies. If it is to pass to his eldest son, then France and Spain will end up in union, which would be in contravention of Utrecht, and Britain would definitely not accept it-
Ney: *now reading it* *schoolteacher tone of voice* your penmanship needs work, Majesty. -as to the Marquis' objections that Britain will not accept it, I tend to believe that much has to do with the packaging. The war currently raging in Germany is in clear violation of the terms agreed at Vienna, and yet neither Britain nor Russia are getting involved. Simply because it's in their interests not to.
Noailles: how would a union of France and Spain be in their interests?
Ney: because there would be no union. What his Majesty is suggesting is sensible. The comte de Molina was touted by the British as heir in 1836 [11]. As grudgingly as he views it, he will not depose his son to become king of Spain. And when he dies, God willing, the likelihood exists that the king of Spain will have more than one child. *reads* If the king of Spain only has one child, regardless of gender, his heir is to be his brother, the comte de Montizon, and his line. Should the comte de Montizon's line fail, the next heir will be the duc de Marchena [Infante Fernando], followed by...*reads* the king of Sicily, and his line, the Prince of Capua, his line, etc etc. Why did your Majesty exclude the duc de Cadix?
Henri: the man's legitimacy is questionable. At best, he'd only have a claim through his mother, and since in France that doesn't count...his line is out. Not to mention that between my brother-in-law in Sicily and my cousins in Spain, I'll have a field day justifying it given he's technically at war with both. I left the dukes of Parma out for the same reason.
Ney: *reading* and should all these lines fail, my heir is to be François Joseph Charles, Duc de Reichstadt, dit Napoléon, Roi de Rome.
*can hear a pin drop in the room*
Noailles: where do the Orléans fit in, Majesty?
Henri: they don't. They can remain princes du sang, but I will not have my coffin become their bridge [12].
*cut to Paris* *the next morning* *we see that Henri has published as a "manifesto" in nearly every newspaper in France*
Henri: *voice over* citizens of France, let's have the courage to speak. We are all born on the soil that our kings have gathered, our rightful inheritance. Even though the field is poorer and smaller than it was, we are still sown from the same seed in the same land. But who has plundered the domain? Without orders, without a leader and without a guide, the people are a flock untended. The mob is a reckless tyrant that the flatters and cronies push into the abyss. Power has became the prey that the parties fight over, and they are crushing the life from France! You craftsmen and farmers, in the workshop and in the field, the king used to protect the commons, but now you are abandoned. The labourer is no different to a slave or a convict to the dictators who sit in Paris. Those are the tyrants have killed the king, those are the ministers who have killed God, and now they wish for your children to die in their war. The king was to protect your prosperous homes, but he has allowed your wicked enemies to cross the borders into your lands! They rape Frenchwomen, they kill children, they murder our priests. Debout, citoyens! Sonne le tocsin! Sus à l'ennemi, aux armes! [13]
*Louis Philippe reads the last part - Henri's will that he sketched out the day before. Of how the succession will go* *that the Orléans are to be cut out entirely*
Louis Philippe: *puts the newspaper down* *leans back in his chair and smirks* and with that volley, Monsieur Henri has just shot any hopes of foreign support
*fade to black*
[1] Egeria is the nymph from Roman mythology who imparted laws and wisdom to Numa Pompilius, King of Rome, and so the name has become a byword for a wise/shrewd female counsellor (like Louis Philippe's sister)
[2] the purpose of this "architectural journey" is Munich down the centuries (Town Hall and Frauenkirche (Gothic), Alte Hof (Renaissance), Theatinerkirche (Baroque), Nymphenburg (Baroque-Rococo), Klenze's palaces/Siegestor (neo-classical) and now the Glaspalast is "modern" [3]
[3] OTL the Glaspalast was only built ten years later. However, the Brunnenhof was built at Bad Kissingen in 1842 with roughly the same mentality in mind: a wrought iron structure for display purposes.
[4] OTL this was in Mainz in September 1842, but due to Munich being "further from the front lines" (i.e. less likely to get attacked), it was decided to move the exhibit there. OTL this fair drew 75000 visitors inside a month.
[5] this - and the Bohemian stall - are probably the only "non German" exhibits present. This is more as a courtesy/respect to Franz I, than anything "concrete" like Hungary and Bohemia are now part of the German trade union or such
[6] I have this idea that despite not liking him for being a Protestant, Ludo's sort of "grown" on his adoptive parents that they come to regard him as if he were their own kid. Louise and Ferdinando are parents to three: Carlo Andrea, Duke of Calabria; Maria Teresa "Titi" (born 1841) and Carolina Enrichetta (born 1842). I have no idea what sort of dad King Bomba was, but I'm working off another "reactionary" who was a good dad: Alexander III of Russia.
[7] railway gauges in England were a problem until the matter was settled by an 1846 Act of Parliament. Part of the cause of the problem was that many - including Isambard Brunel - believed that the railways would function "independently" of one another, so this wouldn't be a problem. This led to the "British Gauge Wars" OTL. Here, Victoria pre-empts the problem. Why? Because of what were doubtless lengthy discussions with Albert in Cornwall about the establishment of a railway from London to Cornwall, and realizing that all the railways are on a separate gauge. This is Albert, the guy who realized that the people who washed the inside and outside of the windows couldn't work in sync. Of course he noticed something like this. Probably had a whole memoranda about it
[8] the horse is probably all they could find, it's not a trained war horse or something like that that it would be used to such behaviour
[9] France passed a law like this on August 30 1842 as well (the Loi du 30 août 1842 sur la majorité royale et la régence) by which women were excluded entirely from any regency that France would not just experience with Louis Philippe, but also going forward. I can't find the text of the law online though
[10] this plan was to name Carlos III's retarded son, the duc de Calabrie as the premier prince du sang in France, given his inadmissibility for Spain/Naples
[11] this is true. The London Times wrote in March 1836 "the life of the young Duke of Bordeaux [15 years old] is fragile, that the Duke of Angoulême [ sic ] [i.e. the Dauphin Louis-Antoine , 60 ] and Charles X [78 years old] are advanced in age, and that [the] hereditary rights [of the infant Charles , 48 years old] to the crown of France may sooner or later become the flag of legitimacy” which is a tacit acknowledgement of the situation at hand
[12] what Henri said of it OTL a few days before he died "Je ne veux pas que mon cercueil serve de pont aux d'Orléans" .
[13] arise citizens, sound the alarm/ring the bell, down with the enemy, to arms
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena
*exterior* *Munich* *we see a montage of buildings* *first the Town Hall* *then the spires of the Frauenkirche* *the Alte Hof* *the Theatinerkirche* *Nymphenburg* *the Prince Carl-Palais and Leutstetten Palais of Leo von Klenze* *the half-finished Siegestor* *and finally we stop on a long building of wrought iron and glass*[2]
*cut to interior of said Glaspalast* *while it resembles a traditional fair, there's a lot more iron and steel, machinery bits and bobs among the traditional wares* *a card flashes to tell us that this is the "First German-Imperial Industrial Exhibition"[4]*
*walking down one of the hallways, ignoring the wares for the most part, are several women in a group* *Archduchess Sophie of Austria* *Queen Elise of Prussia* *Queen Marie of Saxony* *Mathilde, Grand Princess of Darmstadt* *Queen Therese of Bavaria* *Princess Eugènie of Hohenzollern-Hechingen* *Théodelinde, Crown Princess of Modena* *clearly these women are talking intently, judging by their facial expressions and gestures*
*we see that they are passing in front of a stall displaying Hungarian wares* *identified by the red-white-green ribbons tricolour ribbons festooning the stall[5]*
*cut to Palazzo de Caserta* *Louise d'Artois is standing with her year-old daughter* *watching King Ferdinando teaching his three-year-old son (and his son's companion, Ludo of Württemberg) to ride a horse[6]* *he's fussing over his son to make sure he doesn't fall off* *his son is like "it's okay dad, I got this" and rides a bit further than he "should"* *we see Ferdinando's face form into a scowl of disapproval at being disobeyed* *then bursts out laughing* *all of the others follow suit* *and we see an almost idyllic family shot*
*cut to Athens* *Queen Sophia is at the foundation laying of what will be the National Observatory in Athens* *at her right side sits her son and heir, the duke of Sparta (b.1838)* *on her left, sits her second son, Nicholas (b.1839)* *we hear in snippets of the speech being made that this was thanks to the "gracious endorsement and unflagging encouragement" of the Queen of Greece*
*cut to Madrid* *Queen Isabel II walks into Privy Council Chamber, accompanied by D. Carlos de Montemolin* *she goes straight to the throne at the head of the table and despite being two months shy of her twelfth birthday, she seems to be following the discussion intelligently* *we even see her interrupting a minister to ask a question or two*
*cut to London* *a pregnant Queen Victoria is giving a speech at the opening of parliament* *her "agenda" outlined includes that the re-analyzing of the Poor Law, pursuant to the Chartist Petition, the announcement of the closure of several prisons, the prohibition of children under the age of ten being allowed to work and the establishment of a commission to decide on the matter of railway gauges [7]*
*cut to Paris* *at the Palais de Luxembourg* *King Louis Philippe sits on his throne at the head of the Chambre des Pairs* *the Peers look like they're debating something of extreme importance*
*cut to Henri de Chambord* *he's on horseback* *despite the rain* *riding through town* *we see figures in doorways scowling and frowning at him* *a man spits in the street as Henri rides past* *a woman looks at him, crosses herself, then hurries on shielding her head from the worst of the rain with a newspaper* *another mother comes out to chase her kids inside, looks at Henri for a moment, then turns her back on him*
Henri: Monsieur le Marquis, how do you want to lead a revolt when these men don't even seem happy to see me.
Marquis de Rochejacquelin: sire, I'm sure it's just the weather that ha-
*a projectile of some sort comes flying from unseen hand* *it hits Henri in the side of the neck* *his horse rears and next thing, he's lying on his back in the street [8]*
Rochejacquelin: aux armes! *he and several others draw their swords* *start looking around for the "assailant"*
Henri: *meanwhile* *picks up the potato/tomato/apple* *looks at it* *and laughs*
*Rochejacquelin and Fitz-James look at him like he's gone absolutely mad*
Henri: *climbing back on the horse without assistance* I shall have it framed and mounted. The first "stone" thrown at me by my loyal subjects *chuckles*
*Rochejacquelin, Fitz-James both frown*
*Ney's now joining in the chuckle* *so is Noailles*
Henri: let's get out of this wet, I could do with some dry clothes.
*cut to an inn room* *Henri, now in different clothes is standing staring out the window at the rain* *on the table, we see a copy of the newspaper the woman in the street was using as an umbrella* *it announces that the Chambres des Pairs has just passed a law that, in the event of the king's death before his grandson is eighteen, there will naturally be a regency* *but the boy's mother, the Dowager Duchesse de Chartres, will have no part in it[9]*
Henri: *sits down at table as Noailles comes in* *still towelling his hair dry* what do you have to say to that, Monsieur le Duc.
Noailles: *reads article* Prussia has agreed to a truce with Austria? And she agrees to surrender some of the territory to Saxony, sire?
Henri: I meant the other article. About the regency.
Noailles: *scans article*
Henri: is the duc d'Orléans poorly? That they have reason to believe such a bill is necessary?
Noailles: I hadn't heard he was, Majesty. Usual aches and pains that come with age, as I'm sure General Ney can relate.
Ney: *lying on bed with his eyes closed* I'm lying down, not dead, Noailles. No need to talk of me like I'm a crate of rats.
Henri: *looks at Noailles*
Noailles: my apologies, General.
Ney: seems...odd. If you'll forgive me saying so, Majesty. Even Napoléon didn't seek to remove those rights from his empress for his son.
Henri: *smiles sharkishly* it would seem that Orléans, for all his supposedly good qualities at working for the good of the kingdom, has neglected one key fault.
Fitz-James: *leaning against the wardrobe* that it's not within parliament's power to decide such a matter?
Henri: that such a motion is ultimately unnecessary.
Ney: because you plan to remove him from power before it is necessary?
Henri: no. I'm surprised Noailles didn't realize this- but according to the Constitution of 1791 and the Charte Octroyen, that my grandfather abdicated under, such a right had been removed from my mother anyway. The position of regent is to be filled by the senior prince du sang resident in France. In 1791 that would've been Philippe Égalité. In 1830, that was the duc.
Noailles: *catching up* and now, if the duc were to die, the senior prince du sang resident in France is not the duc de Nemours, but your Majesty.
Henri: exactly. What? That my presence unnerves him so that he is willing to make them wards of the state? Instead of a Régency allow for the Corps Legislatif to exercise these rights? Does he think I will repay evil for evil, lock his grandsons up like some...Richard III?
Fitz-James: you don't plan to, Majesty?
Henri: why would I lock them up? They've done me no harm-
Rochejacquelin: *from window bench* but they will, sire. Give them time.
Henri: and so it goes on? Cain kills Abel, Abel's son kills Cain, Cain's son kills his cousin and so on and forth? Where does it end, Rochejacquelin? Louis le Grand didn't execute his Uncle for taking part in the Fronde against him. Where would France have been if he had done that to le Grand Condé?
Rochejacquelin: "irritably" your Majesty plans to kill them with kindness.
Noailles: they are his Majesty's heirs until he has children of his own.
*silence in the room* *Henri stares stonily at Noailles*
Noailles: *quickly* which, God willing, will not be long in arriving, Majesty.
Henri: as far as I was aware, Noailles, the Régent Orléans passed a bill excluding bastards from the succession, which would require me to marry first. Since I haven't had a proposal all year, perhaps you would tell me who this obliging young woman is that you have waiting in the wings?
Noailles: well, there is the princess of Saxony, sire.
Henri: *writing on a piece of paper* too young. She's seven years younger than me, that makes her fifteen at the moment. Her mother was in her twenties before she had children. How long would you have France await a dauphin?
Ney: Napoléon waited six years. Thirteen if you count from when he married Josèphine
Henri: and look how Monsieur François describes most of his cousins: "born an heir when there was nothing left to inherit". Unlike Napoléon I don't have a nephew available.
Fitz-James: your Majesty could dust off the plan from the 1760s to name your sister's son as the premier prince du sang [10]
Henri: much though I love Louise, that would simply cause too much chaos.
Noailles: which brings us back to the Orléans' children.
Henri: *snorts* hardly. *turns page over to Noailles*
Noailles: *picks it up* *it's headed "Last Will and Testament of Henri d'Artois, Comte de Chambord, Duc de Bordeaux etc etc" in block capitals* *it's about three paragraphs long* *reads it* *we see his eyes getting bigger* absolutely not, Majesty.
Henri: *hands the page to Rochejacquelin* *instructs him to pass it around*
Noailles: no legislature will recognize it. It'll mean war, Majesty.
Henri: on what grounds?
Fitz-James: *reading over Rochejacquelin's shoulder* depending on whether you accept the treaty of Utrecht or not.
Henri: Philippe V never considered himself bound by those rights. You pointed out yourself that there was a plan in the 1760s to include the duc de Calabrie. You're willing to accept my sister's son, which would also be in contravention of that. Yet you act appalled when I suggest Monsieur le Comte, Noailles?
Rochejacquelin: it would be the matter of what happens to the crown after the comte de Molina dies. If it is to pass to his eldest son, then France and Spain will end up in union, which would be in contravention of Utrecht, and Britain would definitely not accept it-
Ney: *now reading it* *schoolteacher tone of voice* your penmanship needs work, Majesty. -as to the Marquis' objections that Britain will not accept it, I tend to believe that much has to do with the packaging. The war currently raging in Germany is in clear violation of the terms agreed at Vienna, and yet neither Britain nor Russia are getting involved. Simply because it's in their interests not to.
Noailles: how would a union of France and Spain be in their interests?
Ney: because there would be no union. What his Majesty is suggesting is sensible. The comte de Molina was touted by the British as heir in 1836 [11]. As grudgingly as he views it, he will not depose his son to become king of Spain. And when he dies, God willing, the likelihood exists that the king of Spain will have more than one child. *reads* If the king of Spain only has one child, regardless of gender, his heir is to be his brother, the comte de Montizon, and his line. Should the comte de Montizon's line fail, the next heir will be the duc de Marchena [Infante Fernando], followed by...*reads* the king of Sicily, and his line, the Prince of Capua, his line, etc etc. Why did your Majesty exclude the duc de Cadix?
Henri: the man's legitimacy is questionable. At best, he'd only have a claim through his mother, and since in France that doesn't count...his line is out. Not to mention that between my brother-in-law in Sicily and my cousins in Spain, I'll have a field day justifying it given he's technically at war with both. I left the dukes of Parma out for the same reason.
Ney: *reading* and should all these lines fail, my heir is to be François Joseph Charles, Duc de Reichstadt, dit Napoléon, Roi de Rome.
*can hear a pin drop in the room*
Noailles: where do the Orléans fit in, Majesty?
Henri: they don't. They can remain princes du sang, but I will not have my coffin become their bridge [12].
*cut to Paris* *the next morning* *we see that Henri has published as a "manifesto" in nearly every newspaper in France*
Henri: *voice over* citizens of France, let's have the courage to speak. We are all born on the soil that our kings have gathered, our rightful inheritance. Even though the field is poorer and smaller than it was, we are still sown from the same seed in the same land. But who has plundered the domain? Without orders, without a leader and without a guide, the people are a flock untended. The mob is a reckless tyrant that the flatters and cronies push into the abyss. Power has became the prey that the parties fight over, and they are crushing the life from France! You craftsmen and farmers, in the workshop and in the field, the king used to protect the commons, but now you are abandoned. The labourer is no different to a slave or a convict to the dictators who sit in Paris. Those are the tyrants have killed the king, those are the ministers who have killed God, and now they wish for your children to die in their war. The king was to protect your prosperous homes, but he has allowed your wicked enemies to cross the borders into your lands! They rape Frenchwomen, they kill children, they murder our priests. Debout, citoyens! Sonne le tocsin! Sus à l'ennemi, aux armes! [13]
*Louis Philippe reads the last part - Henri's will that he sketched out the day before. Of how the succession will go* *that the Orléans are to be cut out entirely*
Louis Philippe: *puts the newspaper down* *leans back in his chair and smirks* and with that volley, Monsieur Henri has just shot any hopes of foreign support
*fade to black*
[1] Egeria is the nymph from Roman mythology who imparted laws and wisdom to Numa Pompilius, King of Rome, and so the name has become a byword for a wise/shrewd female counsellor (like Louis Philippe's sister)
[2] the purpose of this "architectural journey" is Munich down the centuries (Town Hall and Frauenkirche (Gothic), Alte Hof (Renaissance), Theatinerkirche (Baroque), Nymphenburg (Baroque-Rococo), Klenze's palaces/Siegestor (neo-classical) and now the Glaspalast is "modern" [3]
[3] OTL the Glaspalast was only built ten years later. However, the Brunnenhof was built at Bad Kissingen in 1842 with roughly the same mentality in mind: a wrought iron structure for display purposes.
[4] OTL this was in Mainz in September 1842, but due to Munich being "further from the front lines" (i.e. less likely to get attacked), it was decided to move the exhibit there. OTL this fair drew 75000 visitors inside a month.
[5] this - and the Bohemian stall - are probably the only "non German" exhibits present. This is more as a courtesy/respect to Franz I, than anything "concrete" like Hungary and Bohemia are now part of the German trade union or such
[6] I have this idea that despite not liking him for being a Protestant, Ludo's sort of "grown" on his adoptive parents that they come to regard him as if he were their own kid. Louise and Ferdinando are parents to three: Carlo Andrea, Duke of Calabria; Maria Teresa "Titi" (born 1841) and Carolina Enrichetta (born 1842). I have no idea what sort of dad King Bomba was, but I'm working off another "reactionary" who was a good dad: Alexander III of Russia.
[7] railway gauges in England were a problem until the matter was settled by an 1846 Act of Parliament. Part of the cause of the problem was that many - including Isambard Brunel - believed that the railways would function "independently" of one another, so this wouldn't be a problem. This led to the "British Gauge Wars" OTL. Here, Victoria pre-empts the problem. Why? Because of what were doubtless lengthy discussions with Albert in Cornwall about the establishment of a railway from London to Cornwall, and realizing that all the railways are on a separate gauge. This is Albert, the guy who realized that the people who washed the inside and outside of the windows couldn't work in sync. Of course he noticed something like this. Probably had a whole memoranda about it
[8] the horse is probably all they could find, it's not a trained war horse or something like that that it would be used to such behaviour
[9] France passed a law like this on August 30 1842 as well (the Loi du 30 août 1842 sur la majorité royale et la régence) by which women were excluded entirely from any regency that France would not just experience with Louis Philippe, but also going forward. I can't find the text of the law online though
[10] this plan was to name Carlos III's retarded son, the duc de Calabrie as the premier prince du sang in France, given his inadmissibility for Spain/Naples
[11] this is true. The London Times wrote in March 1836 "the life of the young Duke of Bordeaux [15 years old] is fragile, that the Duke of Angoulême [ sic ] [i.e. the Dauphin Louis-Antoine , 60 ] and Charles X [78 years old] are advanced in age, and that [the] hereditary rights [of the infant Charles , 48 years old] to the crown of France may sooner or later become the flag of legitimacy” which is a tacit acknowledgement of the situation at hand
[12] what Henri said of it OTL a few days before he died "Je ne veux pas que mon cercueil serve de pont aux d'Orléans" .
[13] arise citizens, sound the alarm/ring the bell, down with the enemy, to arms
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena
Unfortunately, the only version I could find are three arias (this one, a duet for Papageno and Papagena, and an aria for thr queen of the night) from the performance at the Salzburg music festival. I also looked if there was a full version of it, but was unable to find one. Which is sad, because the music seems practically Mozart Ian, even if it was written around twenty years later by another composer
Thing with Henri's manifesto is that it does undermine his own credibility. He makes it so that his stances on how he views parliamentary government, he's ambiguous on naming names of the ministers and tyrants in Paris. The "wicked enemy crossing the border, raping the women, murdering children" could just as easily be referring to Henri himself as to the Prussian. It could also be the portent of what will happen if there's a civil war.
The publication of the will clears up ANY confusion about who his heirs are, in clear violation of Utrecht. Although, the situation here is a little different to OTL in that Henri SPECIFIES how it's to go - OTL even his confessor said "he has not mentioned it to me once in thirty years" after Henri's death when they asked him. "but his reservations, his silence on the matter, have often proved his did not think otherwise than us. Service had meant that we knew how to understand one another without speaking. I defy anyone to quote a word to me about the king affirming the alleged rights of the Orléans". Another member of Henri's household, his secretary, Joseph du Bourg, wrote "what was my indignation to see an Orléans once more usurp the right to make the king say what he had not said and settle the question to the benefit of the comte de Paris! We are told by the Orléanists to accept the Salic Law without discussion... But what does Salic Law say? That the heir to the throne of France is the first born. Is the comte de Paris the first born? Certainly not!" - but at the same time names a BONAPARTE as heir to the Bourbon should they all be unavailable (although he doesn't specify if this is just Frankie or the entirety of the house of Bonaparte) . Ahead of the Orléans. Even if nobody's particularly fussed about a treaty they signed 130 years ago, this is tantamount to a declaration of war. He's not only defying the Treaty of Utrecht, but also the Congress of Vienna that resolved that never again would a Bonaparte sit on the throne of France.
I was inspired by how calmly King Charles took getting egged in public. Henri's basically taunting "is that all you got?" since we know there are people who threw fruit at Louis Philippe's carriage who are currently in jail. Henri defuses the situation by simply turning it into a joke. It's not that he doesn't realize how deadly it is, but after being nearly killed in action, being hunted across your own country, and probably with Ney and Frankie as "tutors" Henri's like... "don't let them see you sweat". Him understanding the seriousness is shown by that his next action is to draw up a will. Joke would be if his personal effects are to be divided between Louise and Frankie