This is based on a discussion I had with @The_Most_Happy @VVD0D95 @Fehérvári:
OTL Emperor Franz I had no living grandkids until the birth of the future emperor Franz Joseph. However, both he and his wife (Karoline of Bavaria), were very attached to their grandson, "Frankie", the duke of Reichstadt (aka Napoléon II). While the title on the box might sound ASB it's probably not as crazy as it sounds. In his private correspondence, Franz seems to have been monitoring his grandson's education/military education rather closely. Now, one can argue that it's because Frankie is the son of a man who was pretty much Europe's Most Wanted. But what if Franz had a different aim in mind: namely to set his grandson up as potential regent for the feeble King Goodinand?
After Franz died OTL, the government was shared amongst several rather uninspiring archdukes and Metternich. These archdukes seldom agreed on what colour the sky was, and Metternich exploited that. Also, most of the archdukes involved (Johann, Ludwig, and I almost think that the duke of Teschen was involved in some capacity as well), were well into their fifties at the time. The sort of men who didn't want to fiddle with anything too seriously. Telling is that Metternich excluded from this council the one archduke that was actually capable: Palatine Joseph of Hungary.
Now, Franz didn't trust his brothers any further than he could throw them, so I tend to doubt that this was his plan for the regency for Austria. And while he's commonly depicted as a slavish devotee of Metternich, the fact was that by the 1830s he was old, and didn't want conflict.
Enter Frankie. He's young, ambitious (he once declared that he would ascend the throne of God himself if He'd just step aside), and most of all, he's got the emperor's ear. Unfortunately, he died young, and we don't know what would have become of it. But we do get glimpses of it: Metternich advises Franz (in July 1830), to remove Reichstadt to "some distant provinces" the emperor refused. Metternich advises against sending Reichstadt to Italy (and while Franz ultimately doesn't, he gives his grandson a promotion to make up for it), and so on and so forth. Until the duke's death in 1832, every time Metternich says/suggests one thing, the emperor seems to go in the opposite direction.
On Franz:
Now for my idea (the POD obviously being 1826 when Reichstadt contracted tuberculosis): what if Franz decides to kneecap Metternich by naming Frankie to a position in the government wherefrom, should something happen to the emperor, Reichstadt would be the one with the whip hand. This, of course, would be greatly assisted by the fondness that Empress Karoline, the future Emperor Ferdinand, and the famous Archduchess Sophie had for Reichstadt, as well as the apathy they (excepting Sophie) had towards Metternich.
Then there's the other aspect of it: the Viennese loved Reichstadt. Far from being mocked as "short" like his dad has been remembered, Reichstadt was over six-foot tall. His fiery temperament and dedication to the men of his 60th Regiment won him admiration and respect from soldiers
This makes the most likely position in government that Franz names him to the President of the Hofkriegsrat in 1831. While this is potentially a dangerous move in the eyes of Austria's allies, the fact of the matter is that most of them would probably feel more comfortable knowing that Frankie is "nailed to the floor" in Vienna by army duties than angling for the crowns of Belgium, Greece or Poland (all of which he tried for in vain). And, the best part is that, as part of the anti-Metternich faction (this doesn't equal liberals, Metternich was in favour of Charles X, Franz I of Louis Philippe if the comte de Chambord wasn't available), he's got a sort of "ready made" base. One of the anti-Metternich members of the imperial family is the aforementioned Archduke Joseph. Not so much Joseph being anti-Metternich than Metternich convinced Goodinand that Joseph was agitating for an independent Hungary (when nothing I've read on Joseph's character seems to indicate that), and was vehemently opposed to any reforms in Hungary. Joseph and Frankie ending up as allies of convenience - everything I've read on Frankie stresses how conservative he was, "dyed in the wool Habsburg" one biographer calls him - against Metternich. Of course, via Frankie, Joseph would have the ear of both Goodinand (who liked Frankie) and Franz I.
Not to mention that putting a young man in charge of the Hofkriegsrat instead of a man whose last battle was nearly 20 years ago, could do wonders for the Austrian military. Yes, I know Frankie never actually saw active military service, but he'd have served with men who had served in Italy and in other parts of the empire putting down rebellions in 1830. He'd understand that we can't keep running the show in 1835 like it's 1815. Yes, he'll be a pain in the ass to most of his military superiors who'll object to him wanting to change things...but it could mean that, if the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 still erupts, Austria - thanks to 15 years of Frankie's presiding over the army - doesn't need Russia to put it down. In fact, if Frankie's got any say in the matter, he'd be firmly against Russia, since he commented on a book on the 1812 campaign: I should like to see the Russians invade Austria one day, to make them go through a similar retreat, only with the difference that it would be our courage and not the bitter cold that would send them back to their snow.
If not saying that Frankie's gonna be some Wunderkind of statecraft and the army, but given the "lull" that dominated Austria between 1835-1848 (and the dragon's teeth it sowed for later in the century), he could hardly do worse. Bonus points if he actually trains up the future Franz Joseph instead of whoever got that job OTL.
Thoughts
PS: Sorry this got so long
OTL Emperor Franz I had no living grandkids until the birth of the future emperor Franz Joseph. However, both he and his wife (Karoline of Bavaria), were very attached to their grandson, "Frankie", the duke of Reichstadt (aka Napoléon II). While the title on the box might sound ASB it's probably not as crazy as it sounds. In his private correspondence, Franz seems to have been monitoring his grandson's education/military education rather closely. Now, one can argue that it's because Frankie is the son of a man who was pretty much Europe's Most Wanted. But what if Franz had a different aim in mind: namely to set his grandson up as potential regent for the feeble King Goodinand?
After Franz died OTL, the government was shared amongst several rather uninspiring archdukes and Metternich. These archdukes seldom agreed on what colour the sky was, and Metternich exploited that. Also, most of the archdukes involved (Johann, Ludwig, and I almost think that the duke of Teschen was involved in some capacity as well), were well into their fifties at the time. The sort of men who didn't want to fiddle with anything too seriously. Telling is that Metternich excluded from this council the one archduke that was actually capable: Palatine Joseph of Hungary.
Now, Franz didn't trust his brothers any further than he could throw them, so I tend to doubt that this was his plan for the regency for Austria. And while he's commonly depicted as a slavish devotee of Metternich, the fact was that by the 1830s he was old, and didn't want conflict.
Enter Frankie. He's young, ambitious (he once declared that he would ascend the throne of God himself if He'd just step aside), and most of all, he's got the emperor's ear. Unfortunately, he died young, and we don't know what would have become of it. But we do get glimpses of it: Metternich advises Franz (in July 1830), to remove Reichstadt to "some distant provinces" the emperor refused. Metternich advises against sending Reichstadt to Italy (and while Franz ultimately doesn't, he gives his grandson a promotion to make up for it), and so on and so forth. Until the duke's death in 1832, every time Metternich says/suggests one thing, the emperor seems to go in the opposite direction.
On Franz:
Now for my idea (the POD obviously being 1826 when Reichstadt contracted tuberculosis): what if Franz decides to kneecap Metternich by naming Frankie to a position in the government wherefrom, should something happen to the emperor, Reichstadt would be the one with the whip hand. This, of course, would be greatly assisted by the fondness that Empress Karoline, the future Emperor Ferdinand, and the famous Archduchess Sophie had for Reichstadt, as well as the apathy they (excepting Sophie) had towards Metternich.
Then there's the other aspect of it: the Viennese loved Reichstadt. Far from being mocked as "short" like his dad has been remembered, Reichstadt was over six-foot tall. His fiery temperament and dedication to the men of his 60th Regiment won him admiration and respect from soldiers
His commanding officers, Prince Gustaf Vasa (the son of Gustav IV of Sweden), the duke of Nassau (Frankie started his army career in the 29th Infantry under the duke of Teschen's brother-in-law) and Major Antoine de Prokesch-Osten all rated him rather highly. Prokesch-Osten describes that "he knows more about war than the best of our generals serving at the moment", while Vasa wrote that "Every day I am surprised at the liveliness and soundness of his judgement, the clarity of his thought and his practical intelligence". Nor is this just onerous, since everything would suggest that he had the makings of a fine officer(specifically one that Metternich feared).
This makes the most likely position in government that Franz names him to the President of the Hofkriegsrat in 1831. While this is potentially a dangerous move in the eyes of Austria's allies, the fact of the matter is that most of them would probably feel more comfortable knowing that Frankie is "nailed to the floor" in Vienna by army duties than angling for the crowns of Belgium, Greece or Poland (all of which he tried for in vain). And, the best part is that, as part of the anti-Metternich faction (this doesn't equal liberals, Metternich was in favour of Charles X, Franz I of Louis Philippe if the comte de Chambord wasn't available), he's got a sort of "ready made" base. One of the anti-Metternich members of the imperial family is the aforementioned Archduke Joseph. Not so much Joseph being anti-Metternich than Metternich convinced Goodinand that Joseph was agitating for an independent Hungary (when nothing I've read on Joseph's character seems to indicate that), and was vehemently opposed to any reforms in Hungary. Joseph and Frankie ending up as allies of convenience - everything I've read on Frankie stresses how conservative he was, "dyed in the wool Habsburg" one biographer calls him - against Metternich. Of course, via Frankie, Joseph would have the ear of both Goodinand (who liked Frankie) and Franz I.
Not to mention that putting a young man in charge of the Hofkriegsrat instead of a man whose last battle was nearly 20 years ago, could do wonders for the Austrian military. Yes, I know Frankie never actually saw active military service, but he'd have served with men who had served in Italy and in other parts of the empire putting down rebellions in 1830. He'd understand that we can't keep running the show in 1835 like it's 1815. Yes, he'll be a pain in the ass to most of his military superiors who'll object to him wanting to change things...but it could mean that, if the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 still erupts, Austria - thanks to 15 years of Frankie's presiding over the army - doesn't need Russia to put it down. In fact, if Frankie's got any say in the matter, he'd be firmly against Russia, since he commented on a book on the 1812 campaign: I should like to see the Russians invade Austria one day, to make them go through a similar retreat, only with the difference that it would be our courage and not the bitter cold that would send them back to their snow.
If not saying that Frankie's gonna be some Wunderkind of statecraft and the army, but given the "lull" that dominated Austria between 1835-1848 (and the dragon's teeth it sowed for later in the century), he could hardly do worse. Bonus points if he actually trains up the future Franz Joseph instead of whoever got that job OTL.
Thoughts
PS: Sorry this got so long
