Also, @HortenseMancini , how "funny"/"interesting" would it be if an anonymous someone mails a copy of Olympe de Gouges' La France Sauvée ou le Tyran Détroné to Henri. I know only part of it remains OTL, but if the heart of Louis XVII could pass from hand to hand for more than a hundred years, it's not impossible that someone had an "advance copy" she maybe sent them to proofread or "keep safe", or that one of the people who confiscated her belongings kept it as a "memento", not realizing the significance. He's long dead, but after he died, it was sold around a bit - or perhaps one of his kids' recognized the value of it and kept it - before making its way to Henri?
Frankie Goes to the Hofburg, or Napoléon II, Regent of Austria?
La Parata d'Eroi
@isabella hope you approve
Soundtrack: Johann Strauss Senior - Radetzky March [1]
*exterior* *Brescia* *Julius von Haynau is shown leading his troops against the Franco-Etrurian cavalry* *this isn't the first charge* *this is more a desperate last ditch attempt to smash the Franco-Etrurian cavalry* *the Franco-Etrurians are caught between their own guns and the Austrians* *cut to the battlefield afterwards* *Haynau - on horseback - is shown as picking his way over the corpses* *he directs the soldiers behind him to "kill any who still breathe" [2]* *we see soldiers in Saxon uniforms look at one another in surprise, then shrug*
*exterior* *we see ships under the Sardinian flag advancing ominously* *a title card tells us that this is in the Gulf of Gela, on Sicily's southern coast[3]* *the ships are at anchor in the gulf* *soldiers are in the boats on their way to the shore* *the sky is ominously dark* *like a storm is brewing* *the soldiers are laughing and joking about a comrade that's got sea-sick* *suddenly, one of them points to other ships approaching* *the soldiers relax when they see they're also flying the Sardinian colours* *once the ships are settled in, the Sardinian flags are hauled down* *and the Sicilian ones hoisted and they start to mercilessly shell the Sardinian ships[4]* *cut to - in the rain and wind - on the quarterdeck of the Sicilian flagship Vesuvius the Sardinian vice-admiral, Giuseppe Albini, surrenders to the Sicilian admiral, Raffaele de Cosa* *Cosa then turns and hands the sword of Albini and his second-in-command, Carlo Pellion di Persano, to the eighteen-year-old Luigi, Count of Aquila [5]* *a title card tells us that Luigi will acquire the nickname of "the Butcher of Gela" for his actions here, based on his order to his gunners firing on soldiers in the boats to "drown them all"[6]*
*exterior* *on the [destroyed] Ponte sul Taro[7]* *Savary, the duc de Rovigo, old and clearly fatally wounded, wearing an Austrian uniform accepts the surrender of the Etrurian general* *helping Rovigo stand is Prince Alexander of Württemberg* *and we see a lot of red-and-gold uniforms of Württemberger troops amongst Savary's men [8]*
*exterior* *Moncalieri* *Field Marshal Radetzky accepts the surrender of Colonel Giuseppe Dabormida and the keys to the city of Moncalieri* *alongside Radetzky is Crown Prince George of Hannover, sporting an eyepatch [9]* *behind he and Radetzky are a motley assemblage of troops* *Austrian in their "new" uniforms of red-gold-white* *French volunteers from Lyons in a uniform of red and silver[10]* *but the biggest group of non-Austrians are the Saxons in their uniforms of green, black and gold [11]*
*exterior* *Vienna* *Minoritenplatz [12]*
*interior* *Metternich is seated across his desk from the Sardinian Charge d'Affaires, Vittorio Balbo Berton di Sambuy*
Sambuy: it is good of you to invite me, Prince...given the state of affairs between our kings
Metternich: I assure you, Comte Sambuy, there is nothing more inimical to order and good governance than war. Especially a war started so...accidentally. I feel I made my opinions perfectly clear in the manifesto I assisted the comte de Chambord to draft [13] for dissemination to the French press.
Sambuy: *surprised* you assisted in drafting it, Prince?
Metternich: *straight face* of course. His Royal Highness assisted in some respects, but the majority of those sentiments are my own. I will admit, never have I had so apt a pupil as the comte. He doesn't progress from day to day or week to week, but hour to hour. He will be my most shining accomplishment, my gift to France, from Austria.
Sambuy: no doubt the French will show nothing but gratitude for your efforts
Metternich: it's a small gesture. I have nothing but free time since his Majesty removed my tutelage of Archduke Franz [Joseph] to Prince Schwarzenberg, and I have returned to my first love, diplomacy, to leave Count Kolowrat to run the empire.
Sambuy: it is something for which my master is no doubt grateful: to have such a experienced and steady hand on the tiller of the Austrian ship of state.
Metternich: *preens* you have your master's terms for surrender, then?
Sambuy: *nods to his secretary, Gioacchino Pepoli, to present them to Metternich*
Pepoli: *takes the sheet of paper out of his case*
Sambuy: as your Excellency can no doubt see, the king of Sardinia has grouped his requests into categories of what he is willing to negotiate on, what he regards as indisputable, and what he is willing to surrender.
Metternich: *reading* he will withdraw to the Ticino River?
Sambuy: in order that he can return to Savoie and sort out the problems that those...*distastefully* hooligans from Lyons have caused there.
Metternich: but he requires the duchy of Parma?
Sambuy: the king of Sardinia feels that the people of Parma have spoken. That was the only reason he invaded Parma in the first place. He offered them a plebiscite asking them if they would prefer to be joined to Modena or Sardinia, and they voted overwhelmingly in his favour.
Metternich: and he doesn't care about the duke of Lucca?
Sambuy: the empress [Marie Louise] abdicated in King Carlo Alberto's favour, not that of the duke of Lucca-
Metternich: at the point of bayonets, by her retelling.
Sambuy: it is war, Excellency, my master was going into a palazzo in hostile territory, one can account for his protections. He would never have harmed the empress in any way, given the great love he bears for Austria.
Metternich: *under his breath* and for her and her daughter no doubt [14].
Sambuy: pardon, sir?
Metternich: I was simply commenting that it is unfortunate that she mistook what was clearly a matter of security for one of violence.
Sambuy: *nods* and the abdication was based on the strength of the plebiscite. Had the empress done what she had originally planned and abdicated to the duke of Modena, King Carlo Alberto would've respected her decision.
Metternich: of course. *looks at page* he also wants the former duchy of Mantua? By popular acclaim no doubt as well?
Sambuy: not at all, excellency. It would seem that there has been some difficulty in the payment of the Princess of Piemonte [Maria Beatrice of Modena's] dowry. He simply wishes that the duchy of Mantua serve in lieu of the dowry, until the full payment can be made. He has offered to the duke of Modena that he hold the Crown Princess [of Modena]'s duchy of Galliera as lien for the payment, but the duke has unfortunately refused. Pointing out that the duchy is the Crown Princess' property, not his to dispose of.
Metternich: that hasn't stopped the duke from causing altercations with His Holiness by seizing territories up to the Reno River to "better protect" her inheritance in Bologna and the city of Ferrara, while he's busy [15].
Sambuy: as the king of Sardinia noted of his actions: banditti respect property too, in fact, they respect it so much that they wish for it to become theirs so they may respect it even better.
Metternich: naturellement, Comte. Although...my question does remain of whether your master's eyes are not too big for his stomach here?
Sambuy: in what sense, Excellency?
Metternich: he has lost all of the coastline he had along the Ligurian Gulf. On 5 September 1842, the city of Parma, so lately for your master, surrendered to the duc de Rovigo. On the 13th, the duc was killed at Ponte sur Tano, but not before the Parmese troops had surrendered. On the 16th, Baron von Haynau took Brescia back, on the 18th Crema, by the 19th Lodi, yesterday, the 23rd Rovigo's army under Prince Alexander of Württemberg took the city of Piacenza. On 4 September, General Radetzky took Cadibona, on the 11th, Radetzky's men rode into Mondovi, the 14th saw the surrender of Millesimo to the Crown Prince of Hannover. On the 20th, the forces took Alba and Cherasco. Yesterday, the General received the surrender of Moncalieri- in sight of Turin. And that's not even accounting for the fact that the Sardinian navy is now a fleet of submarines for the most part thanks to Prince Adalbert, Archduke Friedrich, Archduke Ferdinand [of Modena], Prince Leopold [of Bavaria] [16] and the Comte d'Aquila. The fact that your master believes he can hold anything more than he had in 1795 boggles the imagination.
Sambuy: *clearly didn't know about anything after the 19th* so what do you propose, Prince?
Metternich: I offer that Sardinia retreats to her pre-war boundaries, The border between Lombardy and Piemonte is to be fixed at the Sesia River, while Austrian troops will be withdrawn from your coast. As to Pontremoli and Lucca...how your master chooses to deal with them is up to him. But let him understand that I will not mediate for him as I did after the Golfe de Gela again. After all, I cannot have him upset my plans for France. Are we understood?
Sambuy: crystal, Excellency.
*fade to black*
[1] I know this video is Franz Joseph and Karl I heavy, but the imagery of an old emperor (Franz) and a much younger, more dynamic heir (i.e. Frankie) are not unthinkable
Points to anyone who knows the tradition in Vienna associated with the Radetzky March
[2] the guy was called the Hyena of Brescia for a reason. Frankie's clemency in the Rhineland of sending troops back to their masters likely would have no truck with Haynau.
[3] while it seems stupid for the Sardinians to attack Sicily and get the king of Naples involved, the fact is that control of Sicily means they can stop reinforcements arriving by sea from Spain, Venice or Naples.
[4] this is/was an acceptable ruse de guerre. So long as the correct colours are hoisted before fire is exchanged, it's legal. A ship who doesn't hoist the correct colours before opening fire is little better than a pirate by the standards of most admiralties. Why did the Sicilians allow the Sardinians to get this close? Ferdinando II is likely not interested in getting involved on either side - Sardinian or Austrian dominance north of the papacy doesn't really make much difference - but Sardinians landing on Sicilian turf without permission? That affects him. Him sending the Neapolitan fleet to Sardinia to bottle them up in whatever harbours the island has is...an act of war. Him waiting for them to land and sending his ships in to "prevent it", can be considered defending his borders.
[5] essentially "Lord High Admiral" of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies
[6] Luigi's actions are not especially cruel (when played against similar actions in the Greek War of Independence or the Ottoman-Egyptian War - where he probably served alongside Friedrich of Teschen). Those soldiers are not "innocents", however much they may be just "following orders". They are foreigners who are arriving in Sicily to invade. And, FWIG, this was basically what Luigi advocated doing to the Garibaldi Expedition of the Thousand OTL. The Sicilian fleet being victorious is more due to the fact that what they did was essentially start shooting at a man on the toilet. Due to not expecting to be attacked, the experienced sailors are likely in the boats with the soldiers, leaving skeleton crews in the ship (the ship probably already had a skeleton crew to make room for transporting the troops). Which means Luigi/Cosa's actions towards the ships likely causes a lot of damage, but very little loss of life. Firing on the men in the boats is to ensure that those "experienced sailors" are bobbing in the water like corks (if they can swim at all). No prizes for guessing where the "Butcher" nickname originates.
[7] the symbolism is telling. The bridge was built by Empress Marie Louise. Savary is likely the one responsible for the destruction in a manner of "no retreat. We fight or we die". Savary being mortally wounded is also a far more "fitting" end (dying with his boots on) than him dying slowly of lung cancer in disgrace. Couldn't find the name of any generals in the Parmese army (at any point)
[8] Frankie's "diplomatic wrangling" has seen King Wilhelm of Württemberg renew his pledge of Württemberger troops to Venice in exchange for keeping Alexander (ex-son-in-law of Louis Philippe) in Italy: Frankie's threat was do it, or I send him home and Louis Philippe can invade your country for not forcing him to oblige the marriage treaty. The French have invaded Württemberg (and Baden) anyway, so it's become sort of a moot point.
[9] his dad is probably a) not willing to let Georg fight in Germany (even as a volunteer) for how Prussia will view it; b) figured why not let Georg's "one-eyed" be from something his dad can respect (namely, a war wound) rather than a silly childhood injury?; c) Ernst August as a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars himself was probably a big supporter of Georg "getting experience" fighting...not saying it will improve their relationship any, but at least he doesn't see his son as a "spineless wimp" (which was the whole reason he supposedly sent him to Frankie in the first place).
[10] Lyons' city colours are red and blue with a silver lion on the red. I could see them rejecting blue solely because that's the same colour the French army wears.
[11] again, Frankie's diplomatic wrangling as we see what his rational was behind enlarging Saxony. Radetzky is likely facing a similar problem TTL as he did OTL: shortage of troops. By enlarging Saxony territorially, the kingdom of Saxony is also obliged to contribute a larger number of troops to the German Confederation's army. Likely the troops fighting for Saxony at the moment are "rentals" from the Austrians and Kassels. After all, just because a statesman decrees that the kingdom is bigger, doesn't automatically mean that those Prussians are going to fight for the (Catholic) Saxon king or even that they'll be any good. If the Saxon army needs to push out to take advantage of the new borders, they're going to be pulled from where they are at the moment (Italy). Frankie has found a way around it, by volunteering the salted Austrian army, in the neighbourhood, for that job, while managing to get a larger portion of Saxon recruits sent to Italy.
[12] where the Austrian foreign ministry is located
[13] doesn't it just sound like Metternich to take credit for something he had absolutely no role in? The guy encouraged the legend OTL that he single-handedly outwitted Napoléon.
[14] OTL Carlo Alberto did have a bit of a flirt with both Marie Louise and the Dowager Duchesse de Berri. And Marie Louise is already shown she's an "impressionable" young girl open to "seduction", why not let Carlo Alberto exploit that. Maybe to the point where there's a question of whether her daughter "Albertine" is Neipperg's or Carlo Alberto's
[15] as devout a Catholic as Francesco IV may be, the mere hint of pro-French or pro-Sardinian activity in those cities might've been enough to make him seize them to protect the Holy Father from the contagion. After all, if the Franco-Sardinians have taken the entirety of the viceroyalty of Lombardy as far as the Adige, then they would have a free path to seize the entirety of the Plain of the Po. Francesco taking these territories is more "for protection"
[16] I don't know why, but I could see the OTL Prince Regent taking to a life in the navy rather well. Also, by submarines, Metternich isn't ahead of his time, more a pun on "sub marina (beneath the sea)"
@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena
Soundtrack: Johann Strauss Senior - Radetzky March [1]
*exterior* *Brescia* *Julius von Haynau is shown leading his troops against the Franco-Etrurian cavalry* *this isn't the first charge* *this is more a desperate last ditch attempt to smash the Franco-Etrurian cavalry* *the Franco-Etrurians are caught between their own guns and the Austrians* *cut to the battlefield afterwards* *Haynau - on horseback - is shown as picking his way over the corpses* *he directs the soldiers behind him to "kill any who still breathe" [2]* *we see soldiers in Saxon uniforms look at one another in surprise, then shrug*
*exterior* *we see ships under the Sardinian flag advancing ominously* *a title card tells us that this is in the Gulf of Gela, on Sicily's southern coast[3]* *the ships are at anchor in the gulf* *soldiers are in the boats on their way to the shore* *the sky is ominously dark* *like a storm is brewing* *the soldiers are laughing and joking about a comrade that's got sea-sick* *suddenly, one of them points to other ships approaching* *the soldiers relax when they see they're also flying the Sardinian colours* *once the ships are settled in, the Sardinian flags are hauled down* *and the Sicilian ones hoisted and they start to mercilessly shell the Sardinian ships[4]* *cut to - in the rain and wind - on the quarterdeck of the Sicilian flagship Vesuvius the Sardinian vice-admiral, Giuseppe Albini, surrenders to the Sicilian admiral, Raffaele de Cosa* *Cosa then turns and hands the sword of Albini and his second-in-command, Carlo Pellion di Persano, to the eighteen-year-old Luigi, Count of Aquila [5]* *a title card tells us that Luigi will acquire the nickname of "the Butcher of Gela" for his actions here, based on his order to his gunners firing on soldiers in the boats to "drown them all"[6]*
*exterior* *on the [destroyed] Ponte sul Taro[7]* *Savary, the duc de Rovigo, old and clearly fatally wounded, wearing an Austrian uniform accepts the surrender of the Etrurian general* *helping Rovigo stand is Prince Alexander of Württemberg* *and we see a lot of red-and-gold uniforms of Württemberger troops amongst Savary's men [8]*
*exterior* *Moncalieri* *Field Marshal Radetzky accepts the surrender of Colonel Giuseppe Dabormida and the keys to the city of Moncalieri* *alongside Radetzky is Crown Prince George of Hannover, sporting an eyepatch [9]* *behind he and Radetzky are a motley assemblage of troops* *Austrian in their "new" uniforms of red-gold-white* *French volunteers from Lyons in a uniform of red and silver[10]* *but the biggest group of non-Austrians are the Saxons in their uniforms of green, black and gold [11]*
*exterior* *Vienna* *Minoritenplatz [12]*
*interior* *Metternich is seated across his desk from the Sardinian Charge d'Affaires, Vittorio Balbo Berton di Sambuy*
Sambuy: it is good of you to invite me, Prince...given the state of affairs between our kings
Metternich: I assure you, Comte Sambuy, there is nothing more inimical to order and good governance than war. Especially a war started so...accidentally. I feel I made my opinions perfectly clear in the manifesto I assisted the comte de Chambord to draft [13] for dissemination to the French press.
Sambuy: *surprised* you assisted in drafting it, Prince?
Metternich: *straight face* of course. His Royal Highness assisted in some respects, but the majority of those sentiments are my own. I will admit, never have I had so apt a pupil as the comte. He doesn't progress from day to day or week to week, but hour to hour. He will be my most shining accomplishment, my gift to France, from Austria.
Sambuy: no doubt the French will show nothing but gratitude for your efforts
Metternich: it's a small gesture. I have nothing but free time since his Majesty removed my tutelage of Archduke Franz [Joseph] to Prince Schwarzenberg, and I have returned to my first love, diplomacy, to leave Count Kolowrat to run the empire.
Sambuy: it is something for which my master is no doubt grateful: to have such a experienced and steady hand on the tiller of the Austrian ship of state.
Metternich: *preens* you have your master's terms for surrender, then?
Sambuy: *nods to his secretary, Gioacchino Pepoli, to present them to Metternich*
Pepoli: *takes the sheet of paper out of his case*
Sambuy: as your Excellency can no doubt see, the king of Sardinia has grouped his requests into categories of what he is willing to negotiate on, what he regards as indisputable, and what he is willing to surrender.
Metternich: *reading* he will withdraw to the Ticino River?
Sambuy: in order that he can return to Savoie and sort out the problems that those...*distastefully* hooligans from Lyons have caused there.
Metternich: but he requires the duchy of Parma?
Sambuy: the king of Sardinia feels that the people of Parma have spoken. That was the only reason he invaded Parma in the first place. He offered them a plebiscite asking them if they would prefer to be joined to Modena or Sardinia, and they voted overwhelmingly in his favour.
Metternich: and he doesn't care about the duke of Lucca?
Sambuy: the empress [Marie Louise] abdicated in King Carlo Alberto's favour, not that of the duke of Lucca-
Metternich: at the point of bayonets, by her retelling.
Sambuy: it is war, Excellency, my master was going into a palazzo in hostile territory, one can account for his protections. He would never have harmed the empress in any way, given the great love he bears for Austria.
Metternich: *under his breath* and for her and her daughter no doubt [14].
Sambuy: pardon, sir?
Metternich: I was simply commenting that it is unfortunate that she mistook what was clearly a matter of security for one of violence.
Sambuy: *nods* and the abdication was based on the strength of the plebiscite. Had the empress done what she had originally planned and abdicated to the duke of Modena, King Carlo Alberto would've respected her decision.
Metternich: of course. *looks at page* he also wants the former duchy of Mantua? By popular acclaim no doubt as well?
Sambuy: not at all, excellency. It would seem that there has been some difficulty in the payment of the Princess of Piemonte [Maria Beatrice of Modena's] dowry. He simply wishes that the duchy of Mantua serve in lieu of the dowry, until the full payment can be made. He has offered to the duke of Modena that he hold the Crown Princess [of Modena]'s duchy of Galliera as lien for the payment, but the duke has unfortunately refused. Pointing out that the duchy is the Crown Princess' property, not his to dispose of.
Metternich: that hasn't stopped the duke from causing altercations with His Holiness by seizing territories up to the Reno River to "better protect" her inheritance in Bologna and the city of Ferrara, while he's busy [15].
Sambuy: as the king of Sardinia noted of his actions: banditti respect property too, in fact, they respect it so much that they wish for it to become theirs so they may respect it even better.
Metternich: naturellement, Comte. Although...my question does remain of whether your master's eyes are not too big for his stomach here?
Sambuy: in what sense, Excellency?
Metternich: he has lost all of the coastline he had along the Ligurian Gulf. On 5 September 1842, the city of Parma, so lately for your master, surrendered to the duc de Rovigo. On the 13th, the duc was killed at Ponte sur Tano, but not before the Parmese troops had surrendered. On the 16th, Baron von Haynau took Brescia back, on the 18th Crema, by the 19th Lodi, yesterday, the 23rd Rovigo's army under Prince Alexander of Württemberg took the city of Piacenza. On 4 September, General Radetzky took Cadibona, on the 11th, Radetzky's men rode into Mondovi, the 14th saw the surrender of Millesimo to the Crown Prince of Hannover. On the 20th, the forces took Alba and Cherasco. Yesterday, the General received the surrender of Moncalieri- in sight of Turin. And that's not even accounting for the fact that the Sardinian navy is now a fleet of submarines for the most part thanks to Prince Adalbert, Archduke Friedrich, Archduke Ferdinand [of Modena], Prince Leopold [of Bavaria] [16] and the Comte d'Aquila. The fact that your master believes he can hold anything more than he had in 1795 boggles the imagination.
Sambuy: *clearly didn't know about anything after the 19th* so what do you propose, Prince?
Metternich: I offer that Sardinia retreats to her pre-war boundaries, The border between Lombardy and Piemonte is to be fixed at the Sesia River, while Austrian troops will be withdrawn from your coast. As to Pontremoli and Lucca...how your master chooses to deal with them is up to him. But let him understand that I will not mediate for him as I did after the Golfe de Gela again. After all, I cannot have him upset my plans for France. Are we understood?
Sambuy: crystal, Excellency.
*fade to black*
[1] I know this video is Franz Joseph and Karl I heavy, but the imagery of an old emperor (Franz) and a much younger, more dynamic heir (i.e. Frankie) are not unthinkable
[2] the guy was called the Hyena of Brescia for a reason. Frankie's clemency in the Rhineland of sending troops back to their masters likely would have no truck with Haynau.
[3] while it seems stupid for the Sardinians to attack Sicily and get the king of Naples involved, the fact is that control of Sicily means they can stop reinforcements arriving by sea from Spain, Venice or Naples.
[4] this is/was an acceptable ruse de guerre. So long as the correct colours are hoisted before fire is exchanged, it's legal. A ship who doesn't hoist the correct colours before opening fire is little better than a pirate by the standards of most admiralties. Why did the Sicilians allow the Sardinians to get this close? Ferdinando II is likely not interested in getting involved on either side - Sardinian or Austrian dominance north of the papacy doesn't really make much difference - but Sardinians landing on Sicilian turf without permission? That affects him. Him sending the Neapolitan fleet to Sardinia to bottle them up in whatever harbours the island has is...an act of war. Him waiting for them to land and sending his ships in to "prevent it", can be considered defending his borders.
[5] essentially "Lord High Admiral" of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies
[6] Luigi's actions are not especially cruel (when played against similar actions in the Greek War of Independence or the Ottoman-Egyptian War - where he probably served alongside Friedrich of Teschen). Those soldiers are not "innocents", however much they may be just "following orders". They are foreigners who are arriving in Sicily to invade. And, FWIG, this was basically what Luigi advocated doing to the Garibaldi Expedition of the Thousand OTL. The Sicilian fleet being victorious is more due to the fact that what they did was essentially start shooting at a man on the toilet. Due to not expecting to be attacked, the experienced sailors are likely in the boats with the soldiers, leaving skeleton crews in the ship (the ship probably already had a skeleton crew to make room for transporting the troops). Which means Luigi/Cosa's actions towards the ships likely causes a lot of damage, but very little loss of life. Firing on the men in the boats is to ensure that those "experienced sailors" are bobbing in the water like corks (if they can swim at all). No prizes for guessing where the "Butcher" nickname originates.
[7] the symbolism is telling. The bridge was built by Empress Marie Louise. Savary is likely the one responsible for the destruction in a manner of "no retreat. We fight or we die". Savary being mortally wounded is also a far more "fitting" end (dying with his boots on) than him dying slowly of lung cancer in disgrace. Couldn't find the name of any generals in the Parmese army (at any point)
[8] Frankie's "diplomatic wrangling" has seen King Wilhelm of Württemberg renew his pledge of Württemberger troops to Venice in exchange for keeping Alexander (ex-son-in-law of Louis Philippe) in Italy: Frankie's threat was do it, or I send him home and Louis Philippe can invade your country for not forcing him to oblige the marriage treaty. The French have invaded Württemberg (and Baden) anyway, so it's become sort of a moot point.
[9] his dad is probably a) not willing to let Georg fight in Germany (even as a volunteer) for how Prussia will view it; b) figured why not let Georg's "one-eyed" be from something his dad can respect (namely, a war wound) rather than a silly childhood injury?; c) Ernst August as a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars himself was probably a big supporter of Georg "getting experience" fighting...not saying it will improve their relationship any, but at least he doesn't see his son as a "spineless wimp" (which was the whole reason he supposedly sent him to Frankie in the first place).
[10] Lyons' city colours are red and blue with a silver lion on the red. I could see them rejecting blue solely because that's the same colour the French army wears.
[11] again, Frankie's diplomatic wrangling as we see what his rational was behind enlarging Saxony. Radetzky is likely facing a similar problem TTL as he did OTL: shortage of troops. By enlarging Saxony territorially, the kingdom of Saxony is also obliged to contribute a larger number of troops to the German Confederation's army. Likely the troops fighting for Saxony at the moment are "rentals" from the Austrians and Kassels. After all, just because a statesman decrees that the kingdom is bigger, doesn't automatically mean that those Prussians are going to fight for the (Catholic) Saxon king or even that they'll be any good. If the Saxon army needs to push out to take advantage of the new borders, they're going to be pulled from where they are at the moment (Italy). Frankie has found a way around it, by volunteering the salted Austrian army, in the neighbourhood, for that job, while managing to get a larger portion of Saxon recruits sent to Italy.
[12] where the Austrian foreign ministry is located
[13] doesn't it just sound like Metternich to take credit for something he had absolutely no role in? The guy encouraged the legend OTL that he single-handedly outwitted Napoléon.
[14] OTL Carlo Alberto did have a bit of a flirt with both Marie Louise and the Dowager Duchesse de Berri. And Marie Louise is already shown she's an "impressionable" young girl open to "seduction", why not let Carlo Alberto exploit that. Maybe to the point where there's a question of whether her daughter "Albertine" is Neipperg's or Carlo Alberto's
[15] as devout a Catholic as Francesco IV may be, the mere hint of pro-French or pro-Sardinian activity in those cities might've been enough to make him seize them to protect the Holy Father from the contagion. After all, if the Franco-Sardinians have taken the entirety of the viceroyalty of Lombardy as far as the Adige, then they would have a free path to seize the entirety of the Plain of the Po. Francesco taking these territories is more "for protection"
[16] I don't know why, but I could see the OTL Prince Regent taking to a life in the navy rather well. Also, by submarines, Metternich isn't ahead of his time, more a pun on "sub marina (beneath the sea)"
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I am liking it… hopefully Savoy will be forced to reduce his appetite and accepting net losses from the war…
Naples/Two Sicilies can defends itself on The sea very well without foreign interferences…
Metternich never learns
That would be very interesting, especially if he has the chance to show it to Madame royale. Its portrayal of Marie Antoinette is not unsympathetic, in my opinion.
God Help The Outcast
Soundtrack: Berlioz - Harold en Italie - Sérénade d'un Montagnard
*exterior* *Rome* *we see a carriage passing through the streets of the Holy City* *while Madame Royal is doing her best not to gawk we can see she is both awed and amazed at the sight of the city[1]*
*she blushes as the carriage stops at Saint Peter's square and there's a throng of street children waiting at the door shouting "Viva il Re di Francia! Viva la Regina!"*
Madame Royal: *seeing Anhoulême is a bit surprised and nervous* *thanks the street children in perfectly accented Tuscan*
Angoulême: *slightly more relaxed* *climbs out of the coach* *followed by his wife and sister-in-law*
*all of them look a bit different to how we ordinarily would recognize them* *they're dressed au courant with the latest fashions[2]*
*following them is a pregnant Archduchess Hermine, the Duchess of Brunswick*
Madame Royal: *almost giddy as a schoolgirl as she refuses the sedan chair and crosses the piazza on foot* *if this were 2022, she'd probably be the old lady tourist taking blurry selfies*
Hermine: her Majesty looks happy
Angoulême: she's had so little in her life to be happy about. - I hope our inviting ourselves along caused you and your husband no inconvenience.
Hermine: nonsense. I'm glad of the company. Otherwise, after the crown princess of Modena left us at Ravenna, I'd have had no one to talk to all the way from there to Rome.
Caroline: does Karl [of Brunswick] always travel by separate coach?
Hermine: since I became pregnant, yes. He is so... paranoid about anything happening. He has bad memories of his sister who was stillborn. His mother dying. Its- he says- why he always scared to get married. I... didn't know this, but it seems he and his brother were the only witnesses aside from the accoucheur who could be found... So... He saw her dying. And then to marry a woman whose mother died giving birth to her, you can no doubt understand how this makes him... Uneasy [3]
Angoulême: *nods sagely*
Hermine: not that I mind. All that talk of business in his coach gives me a headache. Just because I understand business doesn't mean I want to be bored to death by hearing about it. I'd be surprised if Karl paid any attention to anything outside his coach past Merano.
Angoulême: some of his ideas- Like establishing a fund to pay out if a worker is injured or to his widow if he is dead-I think are a little fanciful. But I do agree with his feeding and medical schemes for the workers.
Hermine: the fund was he and the duke of Ratibor's [4] idea. Between them and Albrecht [of Teschen] and Pista [her twin brother] I'm not sure who is madder. *this is said affectionately though*
Caroline: *smiles*why the duke of Reichstadt, of course.
Madame Royal: *joins them* *practically beaming*
*inside St. Peter's* *the group is walking around, admiringly looking at it* *Caroline has been to Rome, St. Peter's, before, but the other three are absolutely amazed* *they're busy chuckling as they see a child attempting to reach the Holy Water fonts[5] when two men appear behind them* *one man is in Austrian military uniform, the other in ordinary clothes* *both are wearing long black cloaks*
Angoulême: *still watching the child* you may speak, Monsieur le Comte de Triel. No need to skulk around like a brigand.
Comte de Triel [aka OTL Napoléon III]: *steps forward* *bows* your Majesties, your Royal Highnesses. My deepest apologies for interrupting what is no doubt been an otherwise enjoyable interlude. But I have news from France that is... Rather urgent.
Caroline/Madame Royal: *in unison* did something happen to Henri?
Triel: no, mesdames. But when you hear what my brother [Morny] and cousin [Walewski] write me... Perhaps you would regard that as... preferable.
Caroline: what could be more preferable to that?
*other man steps forward*
Triel: your Majesty, may I present, his Grace, Count Pepoli.
Caroline: your wife is the called Grand Duke of Berg's sister is she not?
Pepoli: she is, Majesty. And we are roundly ashamed of the dishonor that he has brought on our family. We have wasted no time in attempting to assure our cousin, the emp- *Triel steps on his foot* the duke of Reichstadt of our loyalty.
Triel: *prompting*and it is in the name of that loyalty that you bring this news to them?
Angoulême: out of curiosity, Monsieur le Comte, who are the Bonaparte, the Murats, the Beauharnais and all the rest of this strange cabal loyal to? I have always wondered.
Triel: the older amongst us, like my father and uncle, are loyal to an idea, to a world that no longer exists. Not unlike Prince Metternich, they live in an opium fuelled dream world. Where anything that is different is little more than a terror induced by the same opium. I cannot speak for my...many cousins, but what I can assure your Majesty of is my brothers [i.e. Including Morny] are loyal to my cousin, and his unquestioning loyalty to the duc de Bordeaux [6]
Angoulême: *looks at Triel as though to say "I've got my eye on you"* let us hear your news from France then.
Triel: the duc d'Orléans has ordered that a copy of Monseigneur le Duc de Bordeaux's manifesto and will be distributed to the foreign press in places such as London, Vienna, Berlin and St. Petersburg.
Madame Royal: that is good, surely? Then there can be no confusion about Henri's intentions.
Triel: in ideal circumstances, Majesty, yes. Unfortunately, there was some...editing.
Angoulême: *angrily* *voice rising* Orléans dares edit the words of the king of France?
Madame Royal: *smiles at people looking at them for the outburst* Antoine, darling...perhaps it would be better if we discussed this in private-
Angoulême: no, tell me how he dares to change one iota or tittle [7]of what Henri wrote.
Triel: it's not so much that he changed it, Majesty, as he omitted sections of what was published in France.
Caroline: which parts did he omit?
Triel: the parts that said if he were to die without heirs, the crown would got to D. Carlos, conditional on his renunciation of Spain.
Caroline: why would that be a problem.
Triel: Orléans removed the part about the renunciation. Which would mean that, as the foreign courts would understand it, if Henri had no son, France and Spain would end up in personal union as prohibited by Utrecht. And then, the king has omitted the rest of the line of succession from the will after D. Carlos to skip straight to the duke of Reichstadt. Thus implying that if the allies were to attack in order to enforce Utrecht, they would be caught in a web that would mean they support a Bonaparte on the throne of France.
Madame Royal: the vile snake!
Triel: in short, the king has made it that if Henri is successful, not only will he be an absolute monarch, but he will also rule against the wishes of every other crown in Europe.
Caroline: hedging his bets in other words. Making sure that even if they don't support him, they don't support Henri.
Triel: your Royal Highness has summed it up far better than I ever could.
Caroline: and your news, Pepoli?
Pepoli: Madame, my son is currently serving as secretary to the Sardinian ambassador in Vienna- at the duc de Reichstadt's recommendation, to atone for my brother-in-law's crimes. He was instructed to report back "anything interesting" to the duc -and he was at a meeting between Prince Metternich and the ambassador.
Madame Royal: what does this have to do with Henri?
Pepoli: Prince Metternich has taken credit for writing the manifesto.
Caroline: but he played no part in it. We don't even receive him at Frohsdorf, and we avoid him in public-
Pepoli: I am only relaying what Gioacchino told me, Madame. That Prince Metternich told the Sardinian ambassador that the manifesto was his idea, that Henri is his "most adept pupil" in statecraft, and that the manifesto was simply him organizing the...random thoughts...that the boy had spouted.
Caroline: why is this of any importance to Henri?
Triel: because it is all the newspapers in France have been printing for the last week. Henri's being called "the Austrian puppet". He is seen as a mere pawn of Metternich, as the duc de Reichstadt once was.
Madame Royal: *turning a fetching shade of puce* Damn Metternich! Curse him to the fiery innards of Hell! Let him burn alongside Orléans, the Simons, Samson and Louvel [8] ! He has so good as killed Henri. No help from outside France, no help from inside. *starts sobbing*
Hermine: *arrives on the scene she left that was laughing when she left* *to find them looking stunned, horrified and sad* *tries to be sunny* the camerlengo has informed me that his Holiness will see you now.
*it's a sedate party - gloomy even - that walks towards the Scala Regia to the Vatican*
Madame Royal: *pauses in front of the massive equestrian statue* *looks up* *quietly* please, Charlemagne [9], protect your heir. If he stumbles, do not let him fall. Not when he has so much left to still do. Do not let the knaves and the tricksters overwhelm him. I ask this not for myself, I am old, and I have nothing left to either need or want, but for the millions in France who still believe in God, in Henri, in miracles. *crosses herself* in nomine Patri, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, amen.
*fade to black*
[1] OTL, she wished/begged to be allowed to go to her great-aunts in Rome from Vienna, but while Franz II was in favour of it, Louis XVIII and Empress Maria Teresa were not. Officially it was because Italy was too unstable, but really it was because neither Louis nor the Empress (for different reasons) wanted to put her in the way of her aunt, Maria Karoline. Also, they feared the influence her great-aunt would have on her. She also wanted to go there in 1832,when they left Edinburgh, but again she was overruled. So for her, finally getting to Rome at nearly 70yo is like the little girl who always wanted to do something when she grew up but couldn't because everyone always told her no. Then she grew up and life got in the way, and she put the dream on her bucket list, but maybe never had any hope of it actually happening. She may have traveled around northern Italy some with Goodinand's coronation in Venice, perhaps as far down as Florence, but she wasn't at Louise's wedding to Ferdinando or anything like that.
[2] this is not to say they weren't fashionable, but I could see that being in exile and essentially not really going out, the Angoulêmes are like many retired persons that still dress like they did when they were younger and still working or dress for leisure because "I'm retired, this is as dressed up as I get"
[3] I have no idea if this is true or not, but it sounds pretty plausible (to me, at least) that Karl and his brothers both witnessed a tragedy like that when young, and that was the reason neither married or had children.
[4] no idea how likely this is, but I could see Frankie pushing the emperor to create Karl Egon "duke of Ratibor, Prince of Corvey" after lands the Austrian scored in the war, both as a way of preventing Prussia nullifying the gains without backlash from London or Hannover as well as to appease Ernst August (who likely blames Frankie - Furstenberg's business partner, and Furstenberg is also acting as Frankie's de facto regent in Reichstadt for the nonce)
[5] there's an optical illusion with these fonts that make them look smaller (and closer to the ground) than they actually are, since the baby-faced cherubs holding the fonts are actually two meters tall
[6] this is the sort of double-speak/saying something without actually saying that Napoléon III was famous for OTL. He doesn't actually answer Angoulême's question, but rather tells him that "my cousin is loyal to your Majesty, I am loyal to my cousin". He doesn't actually answer whether he is loyal to Henri.
[7] iota - the dot above the lowercase "i" - and tittle - the stroke through the lowercase "f" and "t" - from the Gospel of Matthew 5:18, to signify the "smallest" matter
[8] the Simons, the cobbler and his wife who took in and brutalized Louis XVII; Samson, the executioner of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and Madame Élisabeth; and Louvel, the assassin of the duc de Berri
[9] the equestrian statue at the foot of the Scala Regia is actually Emperor Constantine (by Bernini), the statue of Charlemagne is at the other end of the portico. But even with tourist guides nowadays (back then as well, according to Lord Byron's journal) people get them mixed up. As to the prayer she offers, I'm going with the idea that (courtesy of her time in Austria and being the "heir" to a French dynasty), Madame Royal is one of those Catholics who regards Charlemagne as a saint, As to the prayer and the title, yes, it was inspired by Esmeralda's scene in Hunchback of Notre Dame. Little known fact is that she was the first Disney "princess" to ask for something for someone else, and not for herself (the line "I ask for nothing, I can get by / but I know so many, less lucky than I"
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*exterior* *Rome* *we see a carriage passing through the streets of the Holy City* *while Madame Royal is doing her best not to gawk we can see she is both awed and amazed at the sight of the city[1]*
*she blushes as the carriage stops at Saint Peter's square and there's a throng of street children waiting at the door shouting "Viva il Re di Francia! Viva la Regina!"*
Madame Royal: *seeing Anhoulême is a bit surprised and nervous* *thanks the street children in perfectly accented Tuscan*
Angoulême: *slightly more relaxed* *climbs out of the coach* *followed by his wife and sister-in-law*
*all of them look a bit different to how we ordinarily would recognize them* *they're dressed au courant with the latest fashions[2]*
*following them is a pregnant Archduchess Hermine, the Duchess of Brunswick*
Madame Royal: *almost giddy as a schoolgirl as she refuses the sedan chair and crosses the piazza on foot* *if this were 2022, she'd probably be the old lady tourist taking blurry selfies*
Hermine: her Majesty looks happy
Angoulême: she's had so little in her life to be happy about. - I hope our inviting ourselves along caused you and your husband no inconvenience.
Hermine: nonsense. I'm glad of the company. Otherwise, after the crown princess of Modena left us at Ravenna, I'd have had no one to talk to all the way from there to Rome.
Caroline: does Karl [of Brunswick] always travel by separate coach?
Hermine: since I became pregnant, yes. He is so... paranoid about anything happening. He has bad memories of his sister who was stillborn. His mother dying. Its- he says- why he always scared to get married. I... didn't know this, but it seems he and his brother were the only witnesses aside from the accoucheur who could be found... So... He saw her dying. And then to marry a woman whose mother died giving birth to her, you can no doubt understand how this makes him... Uneasy [3]
Angoulême: *nods sagely*
Hermine: not that I mind. All that talk of business in his coach gives me a headache. Just because I understand business doesn't mean I want to be bored to death by hearing about it. I'd be surprised if Karl paid any attention to anything outside his coach past Merano.
Angoulême: some of his ideas- Like establishing a fund to pay out if a worker is injured or to his widow if he is dead-I think are a little fanciful. But I do agree with his feeding and medical schemes for the workers.
Hermine: the fund was he and the duke of Ratibor's [4] idea. Between them and Albrecht [of Teschen] and Pista [her twin brother] I'm not sure who is madder. *this is said affectionately though*
Caroline: *smiles*why the duke of Reichstadt, of course.
Madame Royal: *joins them* *practically beaming*
*inside St. Peter's* *the group is walking around, admiringly looking at it* *Caroline has been to Rome, St. Peter's, before, but the other three are absolutely amazed* *they're busy chuckling as they see a child attempting to reach the Holy Water fonts[5] when two men appear behind them* *one man is in Austrian military uniform, the other in ordinary clothes* *both are wearing long black cloaks*
Angoulême: *still watching the child* you may speak, Monsieur le Comte de Triel. No need to skulk around like a brigand.
Comte de Triel [aka OTL Napoléon III]: *steps forward* *bows* your Majesties, your Royal Highnesses. My deepest apologies for interrupting what is no doubt been an otherwise enjoyable interlude. But I have news from France that is... Rather urgent.
Caroline/Madame Royal: *in unison* did something happen to Henri?
Triel: no, mesdames. But when you hear what my brother [Morny] and cousin [Walewski] write me... Perhaps you would regard that as... preferable.
Caroline: what could be more preferable to that?
*other man steps forward*
Triel: your Majesty, may I present, his Grace, Count Pepoli.
Caroline: your wife is the called Grand Duke of Berg's sister is she not?
Pepoli: she is, Majesty. And we are roundly ashamed of the dishonor that he has brought on our family. We have wasted no time in attempting to assure our cousin, the emp- *Triel steps on his foot* the duke of Reichstadt of our loyalty.
Triel: *prompting*and it is in the name of that loyalty that you bring this news to them?
Angoulême: out of curiosity, Monsieur le Comte, who are the Bonaparte, the Murats, the Beauharnais and all the rest of this strange cabal loyal to? I have always wondered.
Triel: the older amongst us, like my father and uncle, are loyal to an idea, to a world that no longer exists. Not unlike Prince Metternich, they live in an opium fuelled dream world. Where anything that is different is little more than a terror induced by the same opium. I cannot speak for my...many cousins, but what I can assure your Majesty of is my brothers [i.e. Including Morny] are loyal to my cousin, and his unquestioning loyalty to the duc de Bordeaux [6]
Angoulême: *looks at Triel as though to say "I've got my eye on you"* let us hear your news from France then.
Triel: the duc d'Orléans has ordered that a copy of Monseigneur le Duc de Bordeaux's manifesto and will be distributed to the foreign press in places such as London, Vienna, Berlin and St. Petersburg.
Madame Royal: that is good, surely? Then there can be no confusion about Henri's intentions.
Triel: in ideal circumstances, Majesty, yes. Unfortunately, there was some...editing.
Angoulême: *angrily* *voice rising* Orléans dares edit the words of the king of France?
Madame Royal: *smiles at people looking at them for the outburst* Antoine, darling...perhaps it would be better if we discussed this in private-
Angoulême: no, tell me how he dares to change one iota or tittle [7]of what Henri wrote.
Triel: it's not so much that he changed it, Majesty, as he omitted sections of what was published in France.
Caroline: which parts did he omit?
Triel: the parts that said if he were to die without heirs, the crown would got to D. Carlos, conditional on his renunciation of Spain.
Caroline: why would that be a problem.
Triel: Orléans removed the part about the renunciation. Which would mean that, as the foreign courts would understand it, if Henri had no son, France and Spain would end up in personal union as prohibited by Utrecht. And then, the king has omitted the rest of the line of succession from the will after D. Carlos to skip straight to the duke of Reichstadt. Thus implying that if the allies were to attack in order to enforce Utrecht, they would be caught in a web that would mean they support a Bonaparte on the throne of France.
Madame Royal: the vile snake!
Triel: in short, the king has made it that if Henri is successful, not only will he be an absolute monarch, but he will also rule against the wishes of every other crown in Europe.
Caroline: hedging his bets in other words. Making sure that even if they don't support him, they don't support Henri.
Triel: your Royal Highness has summed it up far better than I ever could.
Caroline: and your news, Pepoli?
Pepoli: Madame, my son is currently serving as secretary to the Sardinian ambassador in Vienna- at the duc de Reichstadt's recommendation, to atone for my brother-in-law's crimes. He was instructed to report back "anything interesting" to the duc -and he was at a meeting between Prince Metternich and the ambassador.
Madame Royal: what does this have to do with Henri?
Pepoli: Prince Metternich has taken credit for writing the manifesto.
Caroline: but he played no part in it. We don't even receive him at Frohsdorf, and we avoid him in public-
Pepoli: I am only relaying what Gioacchino told me, Madame. That Prince Metternich told the Sardinian ambassador that the manifesto was his idea, that Henri is his "most adept pupil" in statecraft, and that the manifesto was simply him organizing the...random thoughts...that the boy had spouted.
Caroline: why is this of any importance to Henri?
Triel: because it is all the newspapers in France have been printing for the last week. Henri's being called "the Austrian puppet". He is seen as a mere pawn of Metternich, as the duc de Reichstadt once was.
Madame Royal: *turning a fetching shade of puce* Damn Metternich! Curse him to the fiery innards of Hell! Let him burn alongside Orléans, the Simons, Samson and Louvel [8] ! He has so good as killed Henri. No help from outside France, no help from inside. *starts sobbing*
Hermine: *arrives on the scene she left that was laughing when she left* *to find them looking stunned, horrified and sad* *tries to be sunny* the camerlengo has informed me that his Holiness will see you now.
*it's a sedate party - gloomy even - that walks towards the Scala Regia to the Vatican*
Madame Royal: *pauses in front of the massive equestrian statue* *looks up* *quietly* please, Charlemagne [9], protect your heir. If he stumbles, do not let him fall. Not when he has so much left to still do. Do not let the knaves and the tricksters overwhelm him. I ask this not for myself, I am old, and I have nothing left to either need or want, but for the millions in France who still believe in God, in Henri, in miracles. *crosses herself* in nomine Patri, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, amen.
*fade to black*
[1] OTL, she wished/begged to be allowed to go to her great-aunts in Rome from Vienna, but while Franz II was in favour of it, Louis XVIII and Empress Maria Teresa were not. Officially it was because Italy was too unstable, but really it was because neither Louis nor the Empress (for different reasons) wanted to put her in the way of her aunt, Maria Karoline. Also, they feared the influence her great-aunt would have on her. She also wanted to go there in 1832,when they left Edinburgh, but again she was overruled. So for her, finally getting to Rome at nearly 70yo is like the little girl who always wanted to do something when she grew up but couldn't because everyone always told her no. Then she grew up and life got in the way, and she put the dream on her bucket list, but maybe never had any hope of it actually happening. She may have traveled around northern Italy some with Goodinand's coronation in Venice, perhaps as far down as Florence, but she wasn't at Louise's wedding to Ferdinando or anything like that.
[2] this is not to say they weren't fashionable, but I could see that being in exile and essentially not really going out, the Angoulêmes are like many retired persons that still dress like they did when they were younger and still working or dress for leisure because "I'm retired, this is as dressed up as I get"
[3] I have no idea if this is true or not, but it sounds pretty plausible (to me, at least) that Karl and his brothers both witnessed a tragedy like that when young, and that was the reason neither married or had children.
[4] no idea how likely this is, but I could see Frankie pushing the emperor to create Karl Egon "duke of Ratibor, Prince of Corvey" after lands the Austrian scored in the war, both as a way of preventing Prussia nullifying the gains without backlash from London or Hannover as well as to appease Ernst August (who likely blames Frankie - Furstenberg's business partner, and Furstenberg is also acting as Frankie's de facto regent in Reichstadt for the nonce)
[5] there's an optical illusion with these fonts that make them look smaller (and closer to the ground) than they actually are, since the baby-faced cherubs holding the fonts are actually two meters tall
[6] this is the sort of double-speak/saying something without actually saying that Napoléon III was famous for OTL. He doesn't actually answer Angoulême's question, but rather tells him that "my cousin is loyal to your Majesty, I am loyal to my cousin". He doesn't actually answer whether he is loyal to Henri.
[7] iota - the dot above the lowercase "i" - and tittle - the stroke through the lowercase "f" and "t" - from the Gospel of Matthew 5:18, to signify the "smallest" matter
[8] the Simons, the cobbler and his wife who took in and brutalized Louis XVII; Samson, the executioner of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and Madame Élisabeth; and Louvel, the assassin of the duc de Berri
[9] the equestrian statue at the foot of the Scala Regia is actually Emperor Constantine (by Bernini), the statue of Charlemagne is at the other end of the portico. But even with tourist guides nowadays (back then as well, according to Lord Byron's journal) people get them mixed up. As to the prayer she offers, I'm going with the idea that (courtesy of her time in Austria and being the "heir" to a French dynasty), Madame Royal is one of those Catholics who regards Charlemagne as a saint, As to the prayer and the title, yes, it was inspired by Esmeralda's scene in Hunchback of Notre Dame. Little known fact is that she was the first Disney "princess" to ask for something for someone else, and not for herself (the line "I ask for nothing, I can get by / but I know so many, less lucky than I"
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Madame Royal seconds this opinion. But where would be the fun in instant gratification?
Irony of course being that it wasn't that Orléans/Metternich even "put their heads together" about this. Sure, Metternich might have mentioned it to Sambuy knowing it would get passed along to Louis Philippe. But Louis Philippe couldn't have known Metternich would react like that, indeed, he might know that Metternich has no "in" with the Bourbons. Difference being that it suits his purposes to wave that around in France "you think I'm bad? The alternatives are a Bonaparte murderer and a Metternich puppet".
you think Henri wouldn't stoop to smearing his rivals if possible? He's already indicated that he has no objection cutting them out of the succession if they piss him off
Ramontxo
Donor
Madame Royal seconds this opinion. But where would be the fun in instant gratification?
VVD0D95
Banned
Oh he’s definitely smear them. Thing is he’d actually have a point. And give. Louis Philippe is shit at positioning…Madame Royal seconds this opinion. But where would be the fun in instant gratification?
Irony of course being that it wasn't that Orléans/Metternich even "put their heads together" about this. Sure, Metternich might have mentioned it to Sambuy knowing it would get passed along to Louis Philippe. But Louis Philippe couldn't have known Metternich would react like that, indeed, he might know that Metternich has no "in" with the Bourbons. Difference being that it suits his purposes to wave that around in France "you think I'm bad? The alternatives are a Bonaparte murderer and a Metternich puppet".
you think Henri wouldn't stoop to smearing his rivals if possible? He's already indicated that he has no objection cutting them out of the succession if they piss him off
VVD0D95
Banned
Case of he’s sent this manifesto edited around different courts, but henri has a friend in londob who has access to printing presses and government ministers. All it would take is one convo and henris will unedited can be out there with the backing of the British press machine.similarly in Vienna, the two sicilies and maybe even within Spain also.
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Well, I want see them die soon of a bad deathMadame Royal seconds this opinion. But where would be the fun in instant gratification?
and either wouòld be ten times better than him
Usually Henry do NOT fabricated things for put himself in a good light and his enemies in a bad one, but use true things for reaching that objective… And the Orleans are traitors who deserve to be excluded from the succession to a Crown who they usurped (plus the treatment reserved to both Henri and his mother)
Jubilee
Soundtrack: Beethoven: Cantata on the Accession of Leopold II - Heil! Stürzet nieder, Millionen [1]
*exterior* *Cologne* *while the city is clearly not in the best shape, it's decked out in what passes for it's best* *in fact, the citizens seem almost "optimistic" about it* *we pass a shop front and the shop-keeper is busy setting out a display of commemorative plates and mugs in the window* *these all have a portrait of Emperor Franz on them* *with the motto above "Gerechtigkeit ist das Fundament des Reich[2]"* *and underneath his portrait are the words "Unser Kaiser: 1792-1842"* *a title card tells us that these will become collectors' items in the future* *and the originals much prized* *while many copies/fakes will exist from later dates, those manufactured at the original Augarten Porcelain Works include Franz's motto and 1792-1842, those produced at Nymphenburg or Meissen are either with the words "Für Vaterland und Kaiser" above (if they say anything) or 1815-1842*
*cut to a magnificent procession to Cologne Cathedral* *bareheaded and on foot* *leading the procession is Maximilian Joseph of Austria-d'Este, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order in full order regalia* *behind Maximilian Joseph walks left-to-right the kings of Bavaria, Saxony and Prussia (looking decidedly grumpy)* *behind these three kings walk Emperor Franz I and Empress Karoline on his right* *to the right of Karoline walks Clemens August Droste zu Fischering, Archbishop of Cologne* *to the left of Franz walks Petrus Leopold Kaiser, recently re-elevated to Archbishop of Mainz* *both in full choir dress* *then comes Goodinand and Maria Anna* *followed by every last archduke - even those of the emperor's brothers *cough* Archduke Johann *cough* Archduke Ludwig *cough* he isn't feeling too kindly about at the moment - and archduchess arranged in order of precedence behind him* *behind the archdukes and their wives [morganatic wives need not apply] walk other princes likewise arranged in order of precedence*
*the procession's caboose is Frankie*
*the population of Cologne watches this degree of pomp and circumstance - especially the faux-medieval costumes [3]- in slack-jawed amazement*
*cut to the interior of the cathedral* *it is full high mass to celebrate not only the assemblage of these potentates in Cologne, but also the return of peace and the emperor's fifty years on the throne* *if anyone objects to counting since 1792, they aren't saying anything*
*the emperor for his part, pledges to assist in funding the completion of the cathedral [4]* *of course, not wanting to be overshadowed, several other princes agree to such schemes*
Frankie: *to Vasa* hope they get it in writing. I promise you that half of them will forget about their pledge as soon as they leave Cologne.
Vasa: *dressed in mourning* you don't think this is a little premature?
Frankie: I planned it for July, Gustaf, I can't help it that it took until October for them to agree to a truce. Besides, how much do you think all that porcelain cost me? The medals? The outfits? I should just keep it for next July and we can celebrate my grandfather having fifty-one years on the throne?
Vasa: *smiles* they're pissed about that. Some say you're trying to "restore" the Holy Roman Empire.
Frankie: I wouldn't want to restore it even if I could. But my grandfather has been emperor for fifty years, regardless of by whose reckoning. *motions to Franz* how much longer do you think the man's got? Next July he might not even be here. That's why I'm having it now. November and December will be too cold for him to travel. It's too cold already for him, I saw it last night. But by God the man has lived through two wars like this, he deserves to be happy.
Vasa: so that's the reason you didn't invite Metternich.
Frankie: I invited him *far too innocently* it's hardly my fault that he came down with the shits before we left Vienna.
Vasa: why do I get the feeling that that wasn't entirely what happened?
Frankie: oh...you know how it is. Some new appointee in the kitchens puts something in the food that disagreed with the man.
Vasa: you have a man in his kitchens?
Frankie: the problem with being in power - like Metternich has - for thirty years is that you do make a lot of people angry. There's a whole list from here to Paris of people who could've put something in his food that...loosened his bowels.
Vasa: just to keep him away from here?
Frankie: Metternich's plan is to turn this into a second congress of Vienna. When we all saw how...horrifically that turned out.
Vasa: so this is your congress?
Frankie: hardly. I was three, but if you were there, do you remember the chaos laid on for months while Metternich went on an ego trip?
Vasa: and this treaty will settle everything permanently
Frankie: when has a treaty ever settled anything permanently, Gustaf? Name one treaty that hasn't been broken inside ten years?
Vasa: *looks like "fair point"*
Frankie: but the world of Metternich's silly little congress diplomacy is the same as the world of a Holy Roman Empire: it's finished. It's why I didn't allow your brother-in-law to walk in front of my grandfather.
Vasa: what's Leopold got to do with it?
Frankie: he's pretty much the only prince who's been on team Austria since this business began. Everyone else needed prodding. I was thinking of nominating him for successor to my grandfather as Minister-Präsident of the Bund.
Vasa: I thought that the Minister-Präsidency is reserved for Austria.
Frankie: the terms arrived at in Vienna's last days are...vague. Blame Metternich. The Articles grant Austria the leadership but it doesn't define it as an inalienable right. If Prussia has any brains, he'll challenge Ferdinand before my grandfather's even buried. That's why I've been chipping away at Prussia. Lands to Nassau, Darmstadt and Kassel, Frankfurt, Saxony...those powers aren't going to want to put a man in charge who they owe money to.
Vasa: *looks at Frankie in surprise*
Frankie: the 11th infantry is currently at Mainz, the 28th Infantry has just cleared the French from Rastatt. I have the 1st Feldjager garrisoning Frankfurt, in case the Prussians pull a fast one. The 14th will be joining them in the new year. The 8th and the 30th infantries are currently helping to rebuild Hamburg. The 60th is at Kassel. A battalion of Tyrolese Jagers is at Lübeck. The 4th Chevaux-Legers were part of the force that helped the new duke of Oldenburg get into his capital. [5]
Vasa: so this is more intimidation than a vote.
Frankie: no intimidation. Kolowrat and I can order the troops back and the Prussians will simply swarm in to take our place. Since none of these princes want that to happen, Austria's basically the only security they've got. We're...standing up for the little guy, as it were. -Speaking of little guys, congratulations to Willy and Marie, I hear they just had a son.
Vasa: Karl Wilhelm Gustav Emil Stephan, mouthful if I do say so myself.
Frankie: *half pouting* and there was no room in there for a "Franz"?
Vasa: I'll tell them to start working on a new baby right away that they can name Franz just for you.
Frankie: no need to go to any trouble on my account.
Vasa: you were still saying about asking Leopold [of Baden] to be präsident?
Frankie: he's respected, got the right credentials, the right connections - liberal but not radical, pro-Austrian but not a bootlicker, son is marrying a Russian grand duchess, daughter is married to the prince of Orange, nephew to the king of Hannover's daughter - and most importantly, didn't take anything from Prussia for this.
Vasa: why not yourself?
Frankie: I can see the German princes having a field day on that. Even ones who like the Habsburgs will be against it. So it boils down to Baden or Weimar. Weimar has two daughters in the Prussian camp, unfortunately. His brother would be a better candidate. But I'm guessing that's where Willy got his "I don't want to" streak from. Which makes Baden more likely.
Vasa: I have no doubt Sophie [his sister] *looks at her* would kill to be the first lady in Germany...but what if he says no?
Frankie: then I'm back to square one. I need someone who has enough land in the empire that they won't go trying to grab land from anyone else, and not enough land so that the balance tilts too much one way or another. Hannover, Schleswig-Holstein, Nassau, Bavaria, Prussia, Saxony...they all have interests outside the empire that makes them...unsuitable. Kassel's new ruler is essentially as foreign as you or I, and Darmstadt is...a mess. I wish Mathilde [grand princess of Darmstadt] would just get pregnant, but her husband ignores her like [6]...even Albert [of Coburg] isn't so bad.
Vasa: what about his father?
Frankie: for what?
Vasa: for presidency.
Frankie: to nominate him for president is to nominate the king of the Belgians. And given the man's as slippery as a barrel of eels, and how pro-French he seems, he'd be a bad fit. Baden it is.
Vasa: why not give it to someone like...the duke of Teschen?
Frankie: much as I respect the man, the fact is that we'll need a new präsident in a few years again. Baden's at least closer to Ferdinand's age.
Vasa: he's also illegitimate.
Frankie: exactly, so no one can accuse us of favouring pedigree.
Vasa: you assume Leopold will just surrender it to Ferdinand when he dies?
Frankie: I don't want him to surrender it to Ferdinand. *looks at Franz [Joseph]* I want him to surrender it to Franzi. And Franzi's thirteen-
Vasa: old enough. Joseph I was elected at age nine.
Frankie: except Joseph didn't have a job to do. Franzi's young, inexperienced, they'll tear him to shreds.
*cut to Schloss Augustenburg the next day* *Franz is in the dining room with all the adult archdukes* *Frankie is absent* *this is obviously a family conference*
Franz: gentlemen, first and foremost, I would like to thank you for your attendance at the service yesterday. Also for you the services you have rendered me over the course of the war.
Karl, Duke of Teschen: to the health of the emperor and a lasting peace!
Franz: *smiles benignly as the toast is echoed* *waits for silence* but there is little that makes a man feel his age so much as to look around at the empty chairs where our friends and allies once sat. It is for that reason that we wish to make the following announcement. When I die-
*table starts making protests about how the emperor will live a long while yet*
Franz: *raps fist on table for silence* when I die, if Franzi is not old enough to succeed me...I know that Prince Metternich has his plans for this. I know that there are plans afoot in Berlin to take advantage of this exact opportunity. But the events over the past two years have showed me that I can rely neither on Metternich to choose wisely for Austria, or Berlin to not act when she smells Austria is weak. That is why I wish to broach this now. Before I am dead, and trust that you gentlemen will stand by the word you give here tonight.
*murmurs from the table*
Franz: should I die before Franzi turns twenty one [7], it is my wish that Frankie serve as regent of Austria.
*utter chaos at the table* *especially from the circle around Archdukes Ludwig and Johann* *Karl of Teschen and Joseph of Hungary sitting there in silence* *you can see neither is happy about it* *but at the same time, they can "recognize" the wisdom in what Franz is saying*
Ludwig: you would cut out your own son?
Franz: Ferdinand will still rule. But the power will be concentrated in the duke of Reichstadt's hands, not in some *pointedly* college or tribunal of archdukes as Prince Metternich proposes.
Johann: do you truly trust us, so little, your Majesty? That you would impose a foreigner over us?
Karl: shut up Brucklhans [8]. You think his Majesty doesn't know about the honeyed words that Metternich has been dripping into your ears?
Johann: and of course, der Edle Ritter Karl wants nothing to do with it. You would rather see the son of your greatest enemy given charge over us willingly when his father failed to do it by force?
Karl: *narrows eyes dangerously* it seems odd that now my greatest enemy seems to be my own brother.
Johann: *opens mouth to speak*
Franz: *bangs on the table* this is why I don't support Prince Metternich's plan. You lot can barely agree on the colour of the sky. Now you want to decide matters of state.
Ludwig: he's a boy, your Majesty
Franz: a boy? He's thirty-one. While you were sitting in your palais in Vienna hiding your sausage in your mistress' pantry, he was out in the Rhineland fighting for us.
Ludwig: so were Albrecht and Stephan *looks at Karl/Joseph for support* you wouldn't have Silesia if it wasn't for them. Fritz [of Teschen], Leopold and Ernst [Rainer's sons] and Ferdinand [of Modena] were fighting for you in Italy. Don't say it's because he fought. He wasn't the only one.
Franz: and you would support them, Lutz? The same way you clearly don't support Frankie?
Ludwig: *after a beat* at least it would be a Habsburg.
Franz: that's why I chose him. He's not a Habsburg. His decisions will be for how the situation looks, not viewed from the prison of a dynasty-
Ludwig: are we now to be the Habsburg-Bonapartes, isntead of the Habsburg-Lorraines?
Franz: what is your real objection to him? That Prince Metternich promised you that you'd be in charge? Or that he's actually capable? Or that he murdered his brother?
Ludwig: *silent*
Franz: Prince Metternich might promise you that, Lutz, but he'll be the one in charge. He's arranged it all. I've seen how he's plumping Baron von Kübeck [9] for positions he has to resign from. You think you'll be powerful, but you won't get even a whiff of it. Metternich will guard his powers as jealously as a father guards his daughter's virginity. Frankie will not be shackled by dynastic debt to Metternich the same way as we are. Now...can I have a vote?
*title card says that Goodinand, Karl, Joseph, Stephan, Albrecht, Friedrich all voted for Frankie,* *they were opposed by Johann, Ludwig, Rainer and Karl Ferdinand of Teschen* *Rainer's two sons then add their votes to the pro-Frankie pile, albeit in a fashion like they're scared their dad's gonna be mad at them*
Franz: motion carries. We're all in agreement that Frankie is to be regent then.
*fade to black*
[1] one of Beethoven's earliest works for the Habsburgs, commissioned by his then patron, Archduke Maximilian, Archbishop Elector of Cologne. Although it was not performed in Beethoven's lifetime
[2] this was Franz's motto OTL
[3] think what they were designing for opera sets around this time
[4] Protestant Prussia did this OTL in September 1842, but with the war, everyone's been a little busy.
[5] except for the 4th Chevaux-Legers (who were at Gottingen, not Oldenburg), this is pretty much OTL
[6] I can't find what the cause was for Darmstadt and Mathilde's childlessness
[7] according to Habsburg house law, this was majority age, regardless of what individual territories said
[8] "Bridge John", this was Johann's nickname in Vienna for having lost the bridge at some battle he fought and in general being a bad commander.
[9] Karl Friedrich, Baron von Kübeck, a contemporary and crony of Metternich's who later eclipsed Schwarzenberg and laid the foundations for the neo-absolutism of Franz Joseph's reign by abandoning several of Schwarzenberg's more "liberal"/reform minded policies.. Kübeck's appointment to Metternich's old spot also saw the resignation of several more "free-thinking" members like jurist Anton von Schmerling and financier Karl Ludwig von Bruck
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*exterior* *Cologne* *while the city is clearly not in the best shape, it's decked out in what passes for it's best* *in fact, the citizens seem almost "optimistic" about it* *we pass a shop front and the shop-keeper is busy setting out a display of commemorative plates and mugs in the window* *these all have a portrait of Emperor Franz on them* *with the motto above "Gerechtigkeit ist das Fundament des Reich[2]"* *and underneath his portrait are the words "Unser Kaiser: 1792-1842"* *a title card tells us that these will become collectors' items in the future* *and the originals much prized* *while many copies/fakes will exist from later dates, those manufactured at the original Augarten Porcelain Works include Franz's motto and 1792-1842, those produced at Nymphenburg or Meissen are either with the words "Für Vaterland und Kaiser" above (if they say anything) or 1815-1842*
*cut to a magnificent procession to Cologne Cathedral* *bareheaded and on foot* *leading the procession is Maximilian Joseph of Austria-d'Este, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order in full order regalia* *behind Maximilian Joseph walks left-to-right the kings of Bavaria, Saxony and Prussia (looking decidedly grumpy)* *behind these three kings walk Emperor Franz I and Empress Karoline on his right* *to the right of Karoline walks Clemens August Droste zu Fischering, Archbishop of Cologne* *to the left of Franz walks Petrus Leopold Kaiser, recently re-elevated to Archbishop of Mainz* *both in full choir dress* *then comes Goodinand and Maria Anna* *followed by every last archduke - even those of the emperor's brothers *cough* Archduke Johann *cough* Archduke Ludwig *cough* he isn't feeling too kindly about at the moment - and archduchess arranged in order of precedence behind him* *behind the archdukes and their wives [morganatic wives need not apply] walk other princes likewise arranged in order of precedence*
*the procession's caboose is Frankie*
*the population of Cologne watches this degree of pomp and circumstance - especially the faux-medieval costumes [3]- in slack-jawed amazement*
*cut to the interior of the cathedral* *it is full high mass to celebrate not only the assemblage of these potentates in Cologne, but also the return of peace and the emperor's fifty years on the throne* *if anyone objects to counting since 1792, they aren't saying anything*
*the emperor for his part, pledges to assist in funding the completion of the cathedral [4]* *of course, not wanting to be overshadowed, several other princes agree to such schemes*
Frankie: *to Vasa* hope they get it in writing. I promise you that half of them will forget about their pledge as soon as they leave Cologne.
Vasa: *dressed in mourning* you don't think this is a little premature?
Frankie: I planned it for July, Gustaf, I can't help it that it took until October for them to agree to a truce. Besides, how much do you think all that porcelain cost me? The medals? The outfits? I should just keep it for next July and we can celebrate my grandfather having fifty-one years on the throne?
Vasa: *smiles* they're pissed about that. Some say you're trying to "restore" the Holy Roman Empire.
Frankie: I wouldn't want to restore it even if I could. But my grandfather has been emperor for fifty years, regardless of by whose reckoning. *motions to Franz* how much longer do you think the man's got? Next July he might not even be here. That's why I'm having it now. November and December will be too cold for him to travel. It's too cold already for him, I saw it last night. But by God the man has lived through two wars like this, he deserves to be happy.
Vasa: so that's the reason you didn't invite Metternich.
Frankie: I invited him *far too innocently* it's hardly my fault that he came down with the shits before we left Vienna.
Vasa: why do I get the feeling that that wasn't entirely what happened?
Frankie: oh...you know how it is. Some new appointee in the kitchens puts something in the food that disagreed with the man.
Vasa: you have a man in his kitchens?
Frankie: the problem with being in power - like Metternich has - for thirty years is that you do make a lot of people angry. There's a whole list from here to Paris of people who could've put something in his food that...loosened his bowels.
Vasa: just to keep him away from here?
Frankie: Metternich's plan is to turn this into a second congress of Vienna. When we all saw how...horrifically that turned out.
Vasa: so this is your congress?
Frankie: hardly. I was three, but if you were there, do you remember the chaos laid on for months while Metternich went on an ego trip?
Vasa: and this treaty will settle everything permanently
Frankie: when has a treaty ever settled anything permanently, Gustaf? Name one treaty that hasn't been broken inside ten years?
Vasa: *looks like "fair point"*
Frankie: but the world of Metternich's silly little congress diplomacy is the same as the world of a Holy Roman Empire: it's finished. It's why I didn't allow your brother-in-law to walk in front of my grandfather.
Vasa: what's Leopold got to do with it?
Frankie: he's pretty much the only prince who's been on team Austria since this business began. Everyone else needed prodding. I was thinking of nominating him for successor to my grandfather as Minister-Präsident of the Bund.
Vasa: I thought that the Minister-Präsidency is reserved for Austria.
Frankie: the terms arrived at in Vienna's last days are...vague. Blame Metternich. The Articles grant Austria the leadership but it doesn't define it as an inalienable right. If Prussia has any brains, he'll challenge Ferdinand before my grandfather's even buried. That's why I've been chipping away at Prussia. Lands to Nassau, Darmstadt and Kassel, Frankfurt, Saxony...those powers aren't going to want to put a man in charge who they owe money to.
Vasa: *looks at Frankie in surprise*
Frankie: the 11th infantry is currently at Mainz, the 28th Infantry has just cleared the French from Rastatt. I have the 1st Feldjager garrisoning Frankfurt, in case the Prussians pull a fast one. The 14th will be joining them in the new year. The 8th and the 30th infantries are currently helping to rebuild Hamburg. The 60th is at Kassel. A battalion of Tyrolese Jagers is at Lübeck. The 4th Chevaux-Legers were part of the force that helped the new duke of Oldenburg get into his capital. [5]
Vasa: so this is more intimidation than a vote.
Frankie: no intimidation. Kolowrat and I can order the troops back and the Prussians will simply swarm in to take our place. Since none of these princes want that to happen, Austria's basically the only security they've got. We're...standing up for the little guy, as it were. -Speaking of little guys, congratulations to Willy and Marie, I hear they just had a son.
Vasa: Karl Wilhelm Gustav Emil Stephan, mouthful if I do say so myself.
Frankie: *half pouting* and there was no room in there for a "Franz"?
Vasa: I'll tell them to start working on a new baby right away that they can name Franz just for you.
Frankie: no need to go to any trouble on my account.
Vasa: you were still saying about asking Leopold [of Baden] to be präsident?
Frankie: he's respected, got the right credentials, the right connections - liberal but not radical, pro-Austrian but not a bootlicker, son is marrying a Russian grand duchess, daughter is married to the prince of Orange, nephew to the king of Hannover's daughter - and most importantly, didn't take anything from Prussia for this.
Vasa: why not yourself?
Frankie: I can see the German princes having a field day on that. Even ones who like the Habsburgs will be against it. So it boils down to Baden or Weimar. Weimar has two daughters in the Prussian camp, unfortunately. His brother would be a better candidate. But I'm guessing that's where Willy got his "I don't want to" streak from. Which makes Baden more likely.
Vasa: I have no doubt Sophie [his sister] *looks at her* would kill to be the first lady in Germany...but what if he says no?
Frankie: then I'm back to square one. I need someone who has enough land in the empire that they won't go trying to grab land from anyone else, and not enough land so that the balance tilts too much one way or another. Hannover, Schleswig-Holstein, Nassau, Bavaria, Prussia, Saxony...they all have interests outside the empire that makes them...unsuitable. Kassel's new ruler is essentially as foreign as you or I, and Darmstadt is...a mess. I wish Mathilde [grand princess of Darmstadt] would just get pregnant, but her husband ignores her like [6]...even Albert [of Coburg] isn't so bad.
Vasa: what about his father?
Frankie: for what?
Vasa: for presidency.
Frankie: to nominate him for president is to nominate the king of the Belgians. And given the man's as slippery as a barrel of eels, and how pro-French he seems, he'd be a bad fit. Baden it is.
Vasa: why not give it to someone like...the duke of Teschen?
Frankie: much as I respect the man, the fact is that we'll need a new präsident in a few years again. Baden's at least closer to Ferdinand's age.
Vasa: he's also illegitimate.
Frankie: exactly, so no one can accuse us of favouring pedigree.
Vasa: you assume Leopold will just surrender it to Ferdinand when he dies?
Frankie: I don't want him to surrender it to Ferdinand. *looks at Franz [Joseph]* I want him to surrender it to Franzi. And Franzi's thirteen-
Vasa: old enough. Joseph I was elected at age nine.
Frankie: except Joseph didn't have a job to do. Franzi's young, inexperienced, they'll tear him to shreds.
*cut to Schloss Augustenburg the next day* *Franz is in the dining room with all the adult archdukes* *Frankie is absent* *this is obviously a family conference*
Franz: gentlemen, first and foremost, I would like to thank you for your attendance at the service yesterday. Also for you the services you have rendered me over the course of the war.
Karl, Duke of Teschen: to the health of the emperor and a lasting peace!
Franz: *smiles benignly as the toast is echoed* *waits for silence* but there is little that makes a man feel his age so much as to look around at the empty chairs where our friends and allies once sat. It is for that reason that we wish to make the following announcement. When I die-
*table starts making protests about how the emperor will live a long while yet*
Franz: *raps fist on table for silence* when I die, if Franzi is not old enough to succeed me...I know that Prince Metternich has his plans for this. I know that there are plans afoot in Berlin to take advantage of this exact opportunity. But the events over the past two years have showed me that I can rely neither on Metternich to choose wisely for Austria, or Berlin to not act when she smells Austria is weak. That is why I wish to broach this now. Before I am dead, and trust that you gentlemen will stand by the word you give here tonight.
*murmurs from the table*
Franz: should I die before Franzi turns twenty one [7], it is my wish that Frankie serve as regent of Austria.
*utter chaos at the table* *especially from the circle around Archdukes Ludwig and Johann* *Karl of Teschen and Joseph of Hungary sitting there in silence* *you can see neither is happy about it* *but at the same time, they can "recognize" the wisdom in what Franz is saying*
Ludwig: you would cut out your own son?
Franz: Ferdinand will still rule. But the power will be concentrated in the duke of Reichstadt's hands, not in some *pointedly* college or tribunal of archdukes as Prince Metternich proposes.
Johann: do you truly trust us, so little, your Majesty? That you would impose a foreigner over us?
Karl: shut up Brucklhans [8]. You think his Majesty doesn't know about the honeyed words that Metternich has been dripping into your ears?
Johann: and of course, der Edle Ritter Karl wants nothing to do with it. You would rather see the son of your greatest enemy given charge over us willingly when his father failed to do it by force?
Karl: *narrows eyes dangerously* it seems odd that now my greatest enemy seems to be my own brother.
Johann: *opens mouth to speak*
Franz: *bangs on the table* this is why I don't support Prince Metternich's plan. You lot can barely agree on the colour of the sky. Now you want to decide matters of state.
Ludwig: he's a boy, your Majesty
Franz: a boy? He's thirty-one. While you were sitting in your palais in Vienna hiding your sausage in your mistress' pantry, he was out in the Rhineland fighting for us.
Ludwig: so were Albrecht and Stephan *looks at Karl/Joseph for support* you wouldn't have Silesia if it wasn't for them. Fritz [of Teschen], Leopold and Ernst [Rainer's sons] and Ferdinand [of Modena] were fighting for you in Italy. Don't say it's because he fought. He wasn't the only one.
Franz: and you would support them, Lutz? The same way you clearly don't support Frankie?
Ludwig: *after a beat* at least it would be a Habsburg.
Franz: that's why I chose him. He's not a Habsburg. His decisions will be for how the situation looks, not viewed from the prison of a dynasty-
Ludwig: are we now to be the Habsburg-Bonapartes, isntead of the Habsburg-Lorraines?
Franz: what is your real objection to him? That Prince Metternich promised you that you'd be in charge? Or that he's actually capable? Or that he murdered his brother?
Ludwig: *silent*
Franz: Prince Metternich might promise you that, Lutz, but he'll be the one in charge. He's arranged it all. I've seen how he's plumping Baron von Kübeck [9] for positions he has to resign from. You think you'll be powerful, but you won't get even a whiff of it. Metternich will guard his powers as jealously as a father guards his daughter's virginity. Frankie will not be shackled by dynastic debt to Metternich the same way as we are. Now...can I have a vote?
*title card says that Goodinand, Karl, Joseph, Stephan, Albrecht, Friedrich all voted for Frankie,* *they were opposed by Johann, Ludwig, Rainer and Karl Ferdinand of Teschen* *Rainer's two sons then add their votes to the pro-Frankie pile, albeit in a fashion like they're scared their dad's gonna be mad at them*
Franz: motion carries. We're all in agreement that Frankie is to be regent then.
*fade to black*
[1] one of Beethoven's earliest works for the Habsburgs, commissioned by his then patron, Archduke Maximilian, Archbishop Elector of Cologne. Although it was not performed in Beethoven's lifetime
[2] this was Franz's motto OTL
[3] think what they were designing for opera sets around this time
[4] Protestant Prussia did this OTL in September 1842, but with the war, everyone's been a little busy.
[5] except for the 4th Chevaux-Legers (who were at Gottingen, not Oldenburg), this is pretty much OTL
[6] I can't find what the cause was for Darmstadt and Mathilde's childlessness
[7] according to Habsburg house law, this was majority age, regardless of what individual territories said
[8] "Bridge John", this was Johann's nickname in Vienna for having lost the bridge at some battle he fought and in general being a bad commander.
[9] Karl Friedrich, Baron von Kübeck, a contemporary and crony of Metternich's who later eclipsed Schwarzenberg and laid the foundations for the neo-absolutism of Franz Joseph's reign by abandoning several of Schwarzenberg's more "liberal"/reform minded policies.. Kübeck's appointment to Metternich's old spot also saw the resignation of several more "free-thinking" members like jurist Anton von Schmerling and financier Karl Ludwig von Bruck
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you don't think a lot of people will dismiss Albert as "covering" for his friend?
I did consider leaving Orléans alive long enough to end up executed if Henri retakes the throne, but wondered if that wouldn't be a bit barbaric. Hopefully you'll approve of how Franz plans to pull the rug under Metternich here.
agreed on both points
Great chapter (and Metternich can get comfortable in the grave who he dug for himself).
And really people would do better to remember who a) nobody would have tolerated Leon for longer than Frankie had and b) who Leon wanted kill Frankie and practically forced his half-brother to kill him
And really people would do better to remember who a) nobody would have tolerated Leon for longer than Frankie had and b) who Leon wanted kill Frankie and practically forced his half-brother to kill him