Soundtrack: Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda - Ouverture No.12 in D-major, Op.145

*Exterior* *Venice* *we see Frankie standing at the alrar of St. Mark's in full military uniform* *the doors of the basilica are open and we see the public spectating from the piazza* *we see the figure of the bride slowly - hesitantly even - afvancing up the aisle* *trailed by Karoline and Therese as her trainbearers* *the girls look alternately sad and confused as why the bride is hesitating* *finally though, the bride comes to approach the altar and the wedding service commences* *the bride's answers are muted* *even Frankie - to his credit - looks as if he is having second thoughts about this* *but finally the priest intones the words "in nomine Patri, et Fili, et in Spiritu Sanctae" I now pronounce you man and wife"* *the bride lets out a sob as she hears this* *Frankie - almost tenderly - lifts the veil from her face and we see that the bride is Auguste of Tuscany* *he kisses her cheek chastely *
*cut to the bedroom of the Palazzo Correr* *crowded with courtiers, diplomats and a clerical blessing the marriage bed* *Frankie sits next to Auguste on the bed and, with ill-concealed impatience, waits for the patriarch of Venice to finish the blessing* *then he takes a small scissors from the bedside table and cuts along the seam of Auguste's stocking* *then holds up the split garment to the room [1]* *they retire* *and Frankie climbs out of bed with a sigh*
Frankie: thank God that farce is over.
Auguste: *sitting on the bed* *still seems a bit deer in the headlights*
Frankie: everything alright, your Majesty?
Auguste: *fiddles unsurely with the split stocking* what is he like? The...my husband?
Frankie: a gentleman. Honourable. Intelligent. Curious. Nothing of the womanizer his father was. I could not have arranged a more worthy match.
Auguste: forgive me, Monsieur François, but you could just as easily be describing a painting or a statue.
Frankie: well let us hope you will not find him a man of marble, then.
Auguste: *smiles nervously*
Frankie: one last piece of advice-
Auguste: *as if reciting a creed* I know, I know...conform to their customs, never denigrate anything, find everything splendid, do not tell them "but we do this better in Venice", and [2]-
Frankie: be kind and respectful to your new mother-in-law. Her life has...not been easy. But it is the surest way of winning your husband's affections.

*Cut to the next day* *we see a barge full of luggage being loaded in front of the Ca' Rezzonico* *we see Auguste taking a wistful look at her home* *there are her fellow students practically hanging out of the windows, if not swarming her in a bid to say "goodbye"* *there are tears from some of the older girls as well, like la Belle Françoise* *finally, Auguste steps into the imperial barge with Archduke Friedrich at the helm* *she takes her seat opposite Frankie and the barge pulls away* *it rows out to a waiting frigate that is flying a white cross on a blue and gold ground, with the cross being stamped with fleurs-de-lis [3]*

*Cut to the ship's deck* *Auguste is welcomed aboard by the ship's crew smartly turned out to greet her* *at the head of the line stands the new admiral of France [4], François, Prince de Joinville and his wife, Janvière*
Joinville: *removes his hat and bows when Frankie and Auguste arrive in front of him* your Majesty, your Serene Highness. We of the Néréide are honoured to have you aboard for your journey.
Auguste: *starts to curtsey* *but Frankie forces her to remain upright* we thank your Royal Highness for your kindness and we are most looking forward to our journey.
*cut to a dinner held on deck* *it's about as civil as you can expect among people who don't know one another* *and in the case of Joinville and Frankie - have no reason to trust one another* [5] *still, we see Janvière's face light up when Auguste speaks Portuguese to her*
*cut to Frankie taking his leave* *we see Auguste being led off while he is standing at the railings waiting for his boat to arrive*
Frankie: take good care of her Majesty, your Royal Highness. She is as dear to us as our own daughter. And we would be...most distressed were we to hear that something untoward had happened.
Joinville: *clearly resenting the implication* of course, *disdainfully* your Serene Highness. *whatever his next words were, they're drowned out by the booms of the cannons firing a salute* *returned by the guns on land as Frankie climbs down the ship's side*

*cut to Frankie's office at the Ca' Rezzonico* *with Leopold, he walks over to a map of the world* *we see there are several figurines standing in various places like Vienna, Lisbon, Berlin, Paris, London, Madrid, Naples* *but rather a large amount standing on Venice* *in fact, they rather cover the whole Northern Adriatic* *he looks through them and selects a figurine wearing a red-white-red striped dress* then he gives it to Leopold*
Frankie: now, show me where's Bisceglie?
Leopold: *looks for a moment then puts the figure down on the bottom of Italy*
Frankie: and now Catania?
Leopold: *unsurely moves the figurine down to Rome*
Frankie: *gently* that's Campagna. *guides his hand to Sicily* Catania is here. Then she goes to Livorno *moves his son's hand up the Italian coast* Genoa, Marseilles...you know where Valencia is?
Leopold: here *puts figure down on Spanish coast*
Frankie: then from Valencia they go to Seville, Lisbon. From Lisbon they take a jump *picks Leopold up* over the Atlantic* to Recife, and she should be in Rio de Janeiro by early June *puts figurine down on Rio de Janeiro*
Leopold: can we go visit Tante Gustl and Tante Melie [6]?
Frankie: I hope so.

*cut to a drawing room in the palazzo the next day* *Frankie is sitting there with Grand Duchess Charlotte*
Frankie: may I be the first to express my congratulations to your Imperial Highness on the birth of your first grandchild [7]. I'm sure that little Lolotte will have a bright future ahead of her.
Charlotte: it is hardly my granddaughter's future that concerns me at the moment. Rather my daughters'. Given the...lack of prospects, for the Grand Duchess Olga, the emperor has delayed answering on Lili [Elizabeth]'s match to the duke of Nassau. Inviting the boy to Russia in the hopes of pairing him with Olga, now that the prince of Hesse has decided on Adini [Alexandra Nikolaïevna]' rather than Olga...the empress is rather concerned about her daughter becoming an old maid.
Frankie: has the emperor made any response to the proposal from Dresden for Katenka?
Charlotte: there are concerns on his part, he doesn't wish to offend the Prussians by appearing...too eager.
Frankie: it's hardly as though he could marry Katenka there, surely...she's too old for Prince Wilhelm's son.
Charlotte: I suspect there is a large portion of anti-Polish sentiment to it as well. The emperor is afraid that the Wettins will start "getting ideas" about trying to reclaim Poland.
Frankie: is he not fortunate that the Habsburgs will like that idea no more than he does.
Charlotte: your Serene Highness or the Habsburgs? Since I understand that nowadays - since the bill passed in Hungary - that is not necessarily the same thing. They say you say one thing and Vienna does something else.
Frankie: Prince Metternich does something else. And I have no truck with his eagerness to restore good relations with Prussia.
Charlotte: but Austria and Prussia must come to an accord, surely?
Frankie: of course. But it is to be on Austria's terms, not Prussia. I have told my grandfather to refuse the offer of Prince Wilhelm's daughter [Luise] for the Archduke Franzi for the simple reason that Metternich wishes to agree that the Prussians cession of lands in Silesia be her dowry. Why would we accept to be paid with our coin then?
Charlotte: the emperor, the duchess of Weimar and the queen of Holland are all offended by that sentiment, they seem to believe that it is driven by your disdain for Russia.
Frankie: if I were as disdainful of Russia as Prince Metternich likes to spout, I would not be endorsing your Imperial Highness' daughters' marriages to Saxony or Baden. When I have more than enough archduchesses to offer for such positions.
Charlotte: but not Nassau?
Frankie: I think the emperor is right in that he wishes to wait, although, my sources tell me that it's not because he hopes to land something as trivial as Nassau for Olga.
Charlotte: who then?
Frankie: *sharkishly* France. The comte de Chambord is young, single and the most eligible bachelor in Europe. The tsar has always wished for a daughter to wear the crown of Marie Antoinette. For France it would be a major coup, given how the duc d'Orléans - *sombre voice* so sad what has happened to him. To lose his sight at this point in his life [7] - could not even land a Russian proxy in the current queen of Greece.
Charlotte: then your sources are wrong, since Madame Royal will never accept a Russian match for her nephew.
Frankie: as I said to the Swedish envoy when he wished to tell me that she would never accept a match with Sweden, never is an awfully long time.
Charlotte: she is willing to endorse a match to a Bernadotte?
Frankie: France has a traditional alliance with Stockholm after all. It would not be unthinkab-
*men wearing Austrian army uniform are shown into the room*
Frankie: is there a problem, gentlemen?
Commander: Franz, Herzog von Reichstadt, Graf von Pettau, you are hereby to be placed under arrest for treason towards the emperor and the empire, for actively and knowingly conspiring with the enemies of the state to ensure the fall of the house of Austria, for the senseless murder of countless Austrians.
Frankie: on the emperor's orders? My grandfather would never-
Commander: *grabs him roughly* *turns him around* *puts him in irons* the emperor is dead. *leads him out of the room* these are on the orders of the chancellor, Prince Metternich.
Charlotte: *watches in horror as she follows* *we see that they've already arrested a by now heavily pregnant Amalie, Karoline and Therese are watching fearfully*
*the rest of the pupils are looking worriedly at the procession*
Charlotte: *slaps one of the soldiers through the face after he brought the butt of his rifle down on Leopold's shoulder* *the little boy was trying to stop them pulling Eugène - who was biting another soldier's hand - off*

*fade to black*

[1] in a proxy marriage, this was regarded as a "symbol" of the consummation
[2] I could honestly see this as being one of the things that Frankie impresses on his "pupils". As for the difference between Auguste sobbing in the church and her attitude here, it's less that the tears were for show and more like "suddenly the pressure's off"
[3] basically this is what the French naval jack looks like
R%C3%A9g_de_Roy-La_Marine_1669.png

Angoulême's left the tricoleur in place, even though it isn't the king's personal standard - this was a compromise suggested but ultimately rejected in 1830. After all, having been restored by "force" and the recent rebellion of the National Guard, he might have a better leg to stand on to refuse the demands TTL. Since, obviously, there's going to be a debate about the French flag. The naval jack is "less touchy" and the ships that were anti-republican may have started flying something other than the tricolour anyway.
[4] this honour formerly belonged to the duc d'Angoulême, but the granting of the rank to Joinville rather than one of Henri's supporters may be a "test" of loyalty as much as a mark of favour. Joinville would likely know that one misstep and he gets permanently beached. It might also be because Henri doesn't have any "suitable" candidates - most of the royalist admirals would be well into their sixties, and any who fought with him are going to be a soldier/administrator rather than a sailor.
[5] the Orléanist relationship with the Bonapartes was always iffier than the Bonapartes relations with the Bourbons. I've never quite figured out why, but it predates the Second Empire/Napoléon III's seizure of their properties. I suspect that even without a seizure of their properties by a Bonaparte, Frankie's influence on Henri is going to make the Orléans equally skittish around him.
[6] Aunt Amelie [de Beauharnais]. Why is France providing the transport when Austria has a navy? This is a bit of a "good will tour" by La Royale. Joinville is appointed to lead it since a) he's admiral de France and b) he's the emperor of Brasil's brother-in-law. He was likely going on this tour anyway, so they just decided to ride-share with Auguste rather than fitting out a whole new flotilla to escort her. Which also makes the French government look good/generous to the Brasilians and Tuscans
[7] this would be the pairing of Charlotte's eldest daughter, Maria Mikhailovna, and the Hereditary Prince of Baden (future Friedrich I)

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I am wondering how Metternich can order the arrest of Franz, when he is a) a close relative of the Imperial family and b) the designated regent of Austria. Only Ferdinand I could, in theory, order such arrest NOT Metternich. And I believe who such coup will fail and be the end of Metternich as Ferdinand and most of the archdukes had agreed on Frankie as regent and are unlikely to change idea.

Still I hope to see Metternich executed for his undeniable high treason against the House of Austria very soon
 
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I am wondering how Metternich can order the arrest of Franz, when he is a) a close relative of the Imperial family and b) the designated regent of Austria. Only Ferdinand I could, in theory, order such arrest NOT Metternich. And I believe who such coup will fail and be the end of Metternich as Ferdinand and most of the archdukes had agreed on Frankie as regent and are unlikely to change idea.

Still I hope to see Metternich executed for his undeniable high treason against the House of Austria very soon
Metternich was known OTL for "getting creative". This might have been a "old" arrest warrant that he kept filed in a drawer somewhere "just in case" (for instance in 1830 when there was a very real fear that Frankie would go against Austrian interests) that Emperor Franz did sign (more just as a "sop to Cerberus" to placate French concerns). He's just updated (and maybe even published) the arrest warrant. As for how Metternich does this: this a man with his own secret police and rigid censorship, it's not impossible that he ordered news of the emperor's death be withheld and sent people to Venice to arrest Frankie before this. Alternately, it's not impossible that Metternich slipped the arrest warrant in among a bunch of other papers the Emperor had to sign and the man didn't bother checking to see what it is.

Also, Frankie's words to Charlotte - to not accept Silesia as the dowry for Luise of Prussia's being betrothed to Franzi but as a prize of war - would be enough for Metternich to portray Frankie as being the obstacle to making peace. Goodinand was characterized as a feather in the breeze, pulled this way and that by the factions at court, so it wouldn't be a far jump for Metternich to say "sire, your nephew is an obstacle to making peace" to "sire, your nephew doesn't want to make peace because he wants to usurp your throne". It doesn't hurt that Frankie is (outside of the Wittelsbach party at court) pretty much sans allies of influence in Vienna: he's pissed off his mother, pissed off Archduke Rainier who likely co-operated with Metternich, Archdukes Johann and Ludwig haven't been fans of Frankie's either, likely stepped on more than a few toes in the name of his "education ministry"...and the people who could defend him (Prince Dietrichstein and Prince Schwarzenberg) were likely sent packing or a flimsy excuse was used to get them out of town.

Metternich has been playing politics longer than Frankie has been alive, and after his reaction to that cartoon, it's not unthinkable that Metternich has come to the conclusion that "better to strike than be struck". He knows he's made too much of an enemy of Frankie over the years for there to be a "truce" between them.

Besides, did anyone think after what Stephan said to Franzi (likening Metternich to Robespierre) that he wouldn't try something like this?
 
Metternich was known OTL for "getting creative". This might have been a "old" arrest warrant that he kept filed in a drawer somewhere "just in case" (for instance in 1830 when there was a very real fear that Frankie would go against Austrian interests) that Emperor Franz did sign (more just as a "sop to Cerberus" to placate French concerns). He's just updated (and maybe even published) the arrest warrant. As for how Metternich does this: this a man with his own secret police and rigid censorship, it's not impossible that he ordered news of the emperor's death be withheld and sent people to Venice to arrest Frankie before this. Alternately, it's not impossible that Metternich slipped the arrest warrant in among a bunch of other papers the Emperor had to sign and the man didn't bother checking to see what it is.

Also, Frankie's words to Charlotte - to not accept Silesia as the dowry for Luise of Prussia's being betrothed to Franzi but as a prize of war - would be enough for Metternich to portray Frankie as being the obstacle to making peace. Goodinand was characterized as a feather in the breeze, pulled this way and that by the factions at court, so it wouldn't be a far jump for Metternich to say "sire, your nephew is an obstacle to making peace" to "sire, your nephew doesn't want to make peace because he wants to usurp your throne". It doesn't hurt that Frankie is (outside of the Wittelsbach party at court) pretty much sans allies of influence in Vienna: he's pissed off his mother, pissed off Archduke Rainier who likely co-operated with Metternich, Archdukes Johann and Ludwig haven't been fans of Frankie's either, likely stepped on more than a few toes in the name of his "education ministry"...and the people who could defend him (Prince Dietrichstein and Prince Schwarzenberg) were likely sent packing or a flimsy excuse was used to get them out of town.

Metternich has been playing politics longer than Frankie has been alive, and after his reaction to that cartoon, it's not unthinkable that Metternich has come to the conclusion that "better to strike than be struck". He knows he's made too much of an enemy of Frankie over the years for there to be a "truce" between them.

Besides, did anyone think after what Stephan said to Franzi (likening Metternich to Robespierre) that he wouldn't try something like this?
The point is who as soon Franz is dead, Frankie is the man in charge, meaning who Metternich can NOT order to arrest him (and if Franz had signed the order, that would be invalidated by his death and I am not sHRE who Ferdinand could sign the order to arrest his regent)
 
The point is who as soon Franz is dead, Frankie is the man in charge, meaning who Metternich can NOT order to arrest him (and if Franz had signed the order, that would be invalidated by his death and I am not sHRE who Ferdinand could sign the order to arrest his regent)
It's still VERY infuriating.
I'm sure when people find out about it, they're gonna object. After all, it wasn't just his kids they arrested Frankie in front of, there was Francisca of Brasil, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, the queen of Spain's stepsiblings, the duc de Choiseul-Praslin's former governess, whose former charge is now the princesse de la Trémoïlle. Lots of people that Metternich can't touch who have a "pen and a phoneline" to some very important people (Nikolai I, Henri de Chambord, Prince Albert, Isabel II, Maria II) who are likely all going to be "lobbying" on Frankie's behalf. Not to mention Teschen/Palatine Joseph and Prince Esterházy's private army. I think much like Louis Philippearresting Henri, Metternich will likely realize that this was kind of a bad decision.
 
I'm sure when people find out about it, they're gonna object. After all, it wasn't just his kids they arrested Frankie in front of, there was Francisca of Brasil, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, the queen of Spain's stepsiblings, the duc de Choiseul-Praslin's former governess, whose former charge is now the princesse de la Trémoïlle. Lots of people that Metternich can't touch who have a "pen and a phoneline" to some very important people (Nikolai I, Henri de Chambord, Prince Albert, Isabel II, Maria II) who are likely all going to be "lobbying" on Frankie's behalf. Not to mention Teschen/Palatine Joseph and Prince Esterházy's private army. I think much like Louis Philippearresting Henri, Metternich will likely realize that this was kind of a bad decision.
Oh, no doubt, Metternich will have a shitstorm coming his way for this, every politicians worst nightmare come true.
 
Untying a Gordian Knot [1]
Hope this answers any queries as how to Metternich was able to do what he did:

Scountrack: Mendelssohn - Funeral March

*exterior* *Vienna* *all the pomp and pageantry that accompanies a Habsburg funeral* *the mourning crowds watch the Emperor's Switzers march down the street* *then the Trabanters, then the Hartschiere [2]* *followed by the colonel in chief of each regiment of the Habsburg army* *swords drawn, facing downwards in one hand, the regimental colours in the other* *then comes the hearse drawn by twelve black horses [3] draped in black* *the first place behind the hearse - after a respectable distance - is taken by Archduke Franz Karl and Archduchess Sophie* *then their sons walk three abreast behind them* *behind the hearse snakes a procession of archdukes, bareheaded and on foot* *in many cases accompanied by their wives* *behind the archdukes walk the clergy, led by his Eminence, the new Cardinal-Archbishop of Trier, Archduke Sigismund [son of Archduke Rainer] in full choir dress* *behind the clergy, walk the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Maximilian Karl d'Este and his cohort* *followed by foreign royalties: led by none other than Henri de Chambord, followed by Juan de Montizon and his pregnant wife, followed by D. Carlos, D. Sebatiao II, D. Miguel, Prince William of Weimar and his pregnant wife, the Prince of Capua, Victor Emanuele II of Savoy [4], Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich and Grand Duchess Charlotte* *then come the German princes, led by the Grand Duke and Duchess of Baden* *followed by the Crown Prince of Bavaria, the king and queen of Saxony, Prince and Princess Wilhelm of Prussia* *then come the king of Hannover, the king of Württemberg, the elector of Hesse, and countless other German princes* *finally, bringing up the rear, walks Frankie [5]* *while he keeps his eyes front and his lip and posture stiff, his face is gaunt from crying* *there's no insouciance to his gait* *he looks like a man walking to his execution*
*behind the royals - on horseback - ride Metternich, and the other - past and present - of the Hofrat [6] and courtiers*
*we see the varying expressions of the crowd* *from throwing flowers into the street, waving Habsburg flags or shouting things like "God bless His Majesty!" and "the Empire is dead"* *there's a respectful silence observed over the archdukes* *Henri is the only one of the foreign potentates who receives anything more than a muted cheer from the Viennese who quickly subside into a wary quiet watching the other rulers' representatives pass* *finally, Frankie walks past* *and the cheers are the equivalent of a star player walking onto the field* *Frankie seems to be shaken from his "stupor" enough to smile at them* *which of course, only makes them cheer louder* *it's loud enough to even make one or two of the royals - like Ernst August of Hannover and Wilhelm of Prussia - hearing it break protocol and turn to look*
*we see Metternich preening at the cheers* *only to be rudely shocked when the cheers turn to jeers and hisses*

*cut to the interior of the Stephansdom*
Albrecht of Teschen: *quietly* *after looking back to where Frankie is consigned to sit near the back row* how is anyone fine with what was...essentially a coup, father?
Teschen: because it wasn't a coup. It was voted on. In the family council.
Albrecht: *shocked* you voted for this?
Teschen: *looks at Metternich* no, I voted against this. I was overruled.
Albrecht: by whom?
Teschen: in the council, a quorum of five votes is needed for an assent. Metternich held the council, then got them to overturn the emperor's decision to name Frankie as regent.
Albrecht: who were the five votes?
Teschen: the emperor's vote counts for two, then we have the usual suspects *glares at Archdukes Johann, Ludwig and Rainer*
Albrecht: the emperor voted against Frankie?
Teschen: Metternich got the emperor to nominate his sister, the French Empress, as his proxy.
Albrecht: Kruzifix!
Teschen: *lightly reproving* not so loud. *calmly* Metternich has bribed them. Johann is to get the regency of Germany, Rainer Italy and Ludwig is to take Joseph's place in Hungary.
Albrecht: and Bohemia, Silesia?
Teschen: *looks poisonously at Marie Louise* I gather the French Empress was very happy to sign over her responsibilities as "queen-regent of Bohemia" to Metternich in exchange for being accorded equal precedence to her sister-in-law in Vienna.
Albrecht: *disgustedly* that's all it took?
Teschen: this is a woman who couldn't stand up for her own son in 1815, do you think that she would stand up to Metternich now? Besides, her husband's brother [Bombelles] is one of Metternich's strongest allies in the Hofrat.
Albrecht: and the emperor?
Teschen: Metternich tells him that we are all in accord that Reichstadt is "unfit" for the job and the poor boy's doubts are silenced by Metternich's assurances that...this is for the best.
Albrecht: you've not tried to speak to him.
Teschen: Metternich controls who speaks to the emperor and who sees him. My letters of protest have been returned unopened by the man. Not even the seals broken by Metternich's cabinet noir [6]
Albrecht: and you're just fine with this?
Teschen: no. And I know your Uncle Joseph isn't fine with this. But we all know what Metternich will do if we object. The Hungarian army marching on Vienna will be an excuse to send the Austrian army into Hungary and really make it an Austrian province. Which is what Metternich has been wanting for the last thirty years. He views the Hungarians as far too independent. And that they should be run from Vienna.
Albrecht: the army won't obey him.
Teschen: the army won't have a choice, since otherwise, they'll be mutineers.

*cut to other side of the church*
D. Miguel: *looks at Metternich* this is a stupid move by him.
Sebastião: *half sarcastically* you don't say, your Majesty.
D. Miguel: he should've waited. Let Bonaparte return to Vienna, take up the post and then throw something against him. You heard that crowd in the streets. How they were cheering for him? Metternich would've done better to leave him absent from the cortège entirely.
Sebastião: which would've only served to confirm their suspicions
Juan de Montizon: it looked like he was Metternich's prisoner anyway. All that was missing was the shackles around his wrists and ankles. They could've at least let him shaved before dragging him out *looks at Frankie* *the beard looks unkempt, which is a contrast to how well-trimmed Frankie normally keeps his facial hair*
Sebastião: I suspect that was a ploy to undermine his credibility. If he can't take care of himself, how will he take care of the kingdom?
D. Miguel: considering that the man who raised him as his own son just died, it's understandable. You should've seen how my father acted when yours died, Sebastião. There were courtiers in Brasil who were concerned he was just as mad as my grandmother.
Sebastião: *quiet*
Juan: you can't be serious about wanting Metternich to take action against him, though, Uncle.
D. Carlos: why not? He's a Bonaparte. Europe will never be safe while he breathes.
Henri: Europe will be even less safe if he's dead, Monsieur l'Infante. France has just put one Fronde to bed. If Reichstadt is dead, that means the imperial claim transmits to his Uncle Joseph, then to his Uncle Louis-
D. Carlos: I cannot believe your Majesty acknowledged his "incognito" as an official title. That there is now an actual Comte de Survilliers.
Henri: strategy, Monsieur l'Infante. The comte has a vast fortune, this gives the kingdom of France control over the ratification of his will. It means that he can only leave his inheritance to his legitimate children, the late comtesse de Saint-Leu [Charlotte] and the princesse de Canino [Zénaïde]. Not to his bastard son as he was hoping to. If he does - which I have no doubt he will - the king of France can refuse to ratify it and confiscate the moneys.
D. Carlos/D. Miguel: *both look at Henri in shock* *not shock like they can't believe he would do this* *but shock like they're impressed at the "thought" Henri has put into it*
Henri: the comte de Survilliers will likely not return from America before he dies, but his wife may return to France if she so wishes. And she will certainly not wish to see her husband's fortune bestowed on a bastard instead of her grandchildren. -Now, as for Prince Metternich's actions, I disagree with D. Miguel. He should've allowed Monsieur François to assume his rightful place as regent in the procession. I suspect that him placing him at the back was to underline his "minimal importance". And it backfired. If Metternich has any brains, he will walk back from this decision. It's destabilizing for the rest of Europe, if not outright dangerous.
D. Carlos: your Majesty cannot mean this?
Henri: Prince Metternich is acting as Lafayette. A jumped up lackey who thinks because he was of some service to the Americans in their Revolution, he is still of service in 1830 and is capable of ordering kings around. If the man were still alive, I should've had him executed by firing squad. Metternich is showing ministers everywhere that they can override the crown's say with impunity, so long as they have sufficient members of the Hofrat on their side. it undermines the power of the crown and passes it to a chancellor, who is only appointed by the king. Soon the king will no longer appoint the chancellor, and we shall be exactly where my aunt's father was in 1791. At the mercy of a Lafayette and his mob.

*cut to audience room at the Hofburg* *Henri is sitting across from Metternich*
Henri: your Excellency, I am sure that you can see the error of your treatment of the duke of Reichstadt. And the longer you persist in such an objective, the more ire you will incur. Not just from him, but from otherwise...friendly...governments.
Metternich: is that a threat, your Majesty?
Henri: Royal Highness, Majesty is my Uncle, the King of France.
Metternich: the question stands.
Henri: it is not a threat, your Excellency. I simply wish to prevent you doing anything that cannot be walked back from.
Metternich: such as?
Henri: I spoke with the Grand Duke of Baden, and he is concerned about what your actions mean for him and the präsidency in Germany. Whether you will respect his appointment that was agreed by the German princes-
Metternich: due to the duke of Reichstadt's duplicity.
Henri: regardless of how he accomplished it, Excellency, accomplish it he did. And surely you can understand that it would win Austria no friends were you to do so.
Metternich: I assure your Royal Highness, it is only until Austria is finally able to accomplish a reasonable treaty with Prussia.
Henri: which is where the king of Saxony is worried. He fears that you will renounce the treaty of Pillnitz in favour of peace with Prussia.
Metternich: there is no need for his concern, sir-
Henri: there is much, unfortunately. In order to make peace with Prussia, Austria will need to cede territory as a "good faith". Your citizens will revolt if you restore the lands in Silesia to them, so where better to cede lands than places that do not cost Austria anything: the territories conquered from Prussia attached to the Bavarian Palatinate, Nassau, Kassel, Saxony- as your Excellency can see, Saxony is not alone in his concerns.
Metternich: and your Royal Highness is their spokesman?
Henri: I am not their spokesman. I simply wished to hear all the facts before I came to see you, Excellency.
Metternich: *perches on desk* if I may offer your Royal Highness some advice...it is not wise for a king to not be content in enjoying their own fair garden with strong walls, but troubling their heart unnecessarily with their neighbours' gardens. A wise king should be able to live in his own small corner or peace and quiet. Once the treaty with Prussia is signed, the duke of Reichstadt will be allowed to return to Reichstadt should he so choose.
Henri: and if he does not?
Metternich: I've no doubt that he will.
Henri: *clearly unconvinced* I would also like to ask after the Countess von Pettau and Reichstadt's children.
Metternich: they are perfectly well.
Henri: forgive me if I do not take your word for it, Excellency. The fact that you saw fit to arrest a pregnant woman and children would suggest otherwise. When I spoke with the Grand Duchess Mikhail she told me there had been...force used to secure the children. I would like to have Doctors Vivenot or Staudenheim to examine them.
Metternich: there is no need for such. Doctor Malfatti is more than-
Henri: negligible. That was how the duke of Reichstadt described him. He neglected reporting any illnesses to the emperor to enforce the boy's health. Either Vivenot or Staudenheim.
Metternich: again, your Royal Highness, if I may make a recommendation: you are interfering with something which is...at its heart...a family matter. I would remind you that in your own squabbles with the duc d'Orléans, Austria did not impose itself.
Henri: and which side would she have chosen if she had?
Metternich: *doesn't answer*
Henri: the countess and the children - all six: Karoline, Therese and the four boys - are to be waiting at the duke's palais on the Strauchgasse when I arrive with Doctor Vivenot this afternoon. And by God if there's so much as a hair short on their heads, I will hold you personally responsible.
Metternich: that will be difficult, your Royal Highness. Since they are not a day's journey from Vienna.
Henri: very well then. How long will it take?
Metternich: these things take time-
Henri: *tightens grip on chair arms* enough of the bullshit, you loathsome swine, now give me an answer without equivocating.
Metternich: *reproving* such language for the heir to the throne of France.
Henri: *calmly* the boys are French aristocrats, I would hate to have to report to my uncle that it is necessary for France to involve itself...more directly...because of an Austrian affront to French sensibilities.
Metternich: again, if your Royal Highness wishes to threaten, he should come out and say it.
Henri: so that you can run to your controlled papers and say that the heir to France has insulted Austria? Remember Prince Metternich, you took credit for "teaching me everything I know" to the Savoyard ambassador. *stands up* if the countess and those children are not at the palais on the Strauchgasse by sundown, you will find out what I do when I decide to do something you didn't teach me.
Metternich: *swallows* and Reichstadt?
Henri: *flippantly* do with him what you want. It's no concern of mine - interfering in a family matter, remember? - But I imagine it will be a concern of yours whatever you decide to do, Prince. [7]
*walks out whistling Wenn Alle Untreu Werden [8]*

*fade to black*

[1] Talleyrand's quote: You must not cut the Gordian knot that you can untie.
[2] these are the three imperial household guard: the Swiss Guard (most European monarchies had them), the Trabanters (halberdiers, usually commoners) and Hartschiere ("archers", who carried glaives, who were noblemen)
[3] kings get eight horses, emperors get ten or twelve
[4] this is in the traditional diplomatic order of precedence - France, Spain, Portugal, England, Sicily, Scotland, Hungary, Navarre, Savoy-Cyprus, Bohemia, Poland, Denmark. - rather than Talleyrand's "discrimination of age" (where the order was determined by how long you'd been in power) established in index 17 of the Congress of Vienna. Henri attending himself is not to show deference, but rather respect for Franz II, and while I have no doubt there were likely considerable objections to it (him not having a wife and kids and all), to send a member of the Orléans clan as a representative is an insult and the presence of Montizon means Cadix might turn it into a family squabble. Sebastiao II is there to represent his wife (Franz II's granddaughter), William of Weimar and Marie of Baden are there to represent England, Capua is substituting for his brother and sister-in-law because Louise is heavily pregnant (might be the excuse for Albert not attending either - Victoria might be close to due and would hardly do for the "regent" to be out of the country as well). Victor Emanuele II of Savoy is attending because he's the son of one archduchess and married to another.
[5] I suspect that even if technically under arrest, the amount of pressure that would be brought to bear if he were openly excluded from his grandfather's funeral would be immense. Not to mention that, after organizing his grandfather's jubilee, Frankie was probably planning the man's funeral procession (not in a "I can't wait for you to die" way, just a case of ordering things to cause minimal fuss), so the "notices/invitations" were already issued. And Metternich loves a stage
[6] the cabinet noir was a sort of "communications police". Any letters that arrived in Vienna were first delivered there, they were unsealed, copied out, then resealed and delivered to their addressee's without them being any the wiser. Karl pointing out that not even the communication police looked at it indicates that Metternich doesn't even bother.
[7] Henri isn't throwing Frankie under the bus. He's telling Metternich "try me". While it would be very beneficial for Henri if Frankie were to end up dead, the fact remains that Henri is well-aware of how much he owes Frankie. And as he points out to his Spanish and Portuguese cousins, while Frankie is alive and "head of house" Bonapartism can be controlled, since he isn't interested in France (for now). Should Frankie die, headship would pass to men who are not likely to be enamoured of Henri or the Bourbons. Henri acknowledging Joseph as "comte de Survilliers" is a way of getting a return on the nearly 6 or 7 million francs that the man left in his estate. After all, no matter how valid Joseph's will may be under American law, he is not an American citizen, so his will is still subject to French law. He'll try to find loopholes, but it's doubtful he'll come up with any. Henri's made those moneys/property attached to the title. And he's limited the title to "heirs male, legitimately born". Joseph has no legitimate sons, that means the property reverts to the crown. Since most of that money - if not all - was ill-gotten gains from embezzlement and bribes Joseph took while in office, Henri's ensuring it returns to the French treasury without confiscating it. There'll be a portion set aside for Julie, but anything else will be on Henri's suffrance. And, TBH, given Frankie's "strained" relationship with his uncle, he probably didn't so much as lift a finger to stop this.
[8] when all others prove unfaithful / we never shall
based on the song from the French Vendée known as the Chant de la Fidelité:
The men with a vile soul / Hunting the scepter and the cross / Have imposed in our cities / The denial of the Law.


@The_Most_Happy @isabella @VVD0D95 @Jan Olbracht @Ramontxo @HortenseMancini @Anarch King of Dipsodes @Dragonboy @kaiidth @SavoyTruffle @Wendell @nathanael1234 @Fehérvári @Guatemalan Nat-Synd @Valena @maw @LordMartinax @EmmettMcFly55
 
Metternich will need to make a very bad end very soon for the good of Austria… His fixation/love for Prussia has put him on a road who can bring ONLY to execution block (or to the complete ruin of Austria) but he is too stupid for understand it
 
This gets worse For Metternich by the minutes, the fallout Will be catasthrophic foto him! And i'm all For it!
Metternich will need to make a very bad end very soon for the good of Austria… His fixation/love for Prussia has put him on a road who can bring ONLY to execution block (or to the complete ruin of Austria) but he is too stupid for understand it
Problem is Metternich is at this point now where if he turns back, there's no hope that Frankie will say "let's let bygones be bygones"
 
The Birth and Death of the Day
For @isabella @Dragonboy @nathanael1234 , hope this "solution" to the Metternich problem satisfies you:

Soundtrack: Meyerbeer - Struensée - Ouverture

*exterior* *Vienna* *we see a the forecourt of Prince Metternich's home* *there are soldiers in green-and-gold uniforms busy loading boxes and trunks into wagons and carriages* *the general air is of a somewhat hurried departure*
Marmont: *on horseback* *to one of the soldiers who drops a trunk* *we hear it rattle* careful with that you buffoon!
Soldier: sorry sir. Won't happen again, sir.
Marmont: see that it doesn't.
*we see Princess Metternich come hurrying out of the house with her children, stepson and stepgrandson [1]* *she climbs into the coach with them and, with a clearly armed escort of the soldiers in green-gold, it leaves*
*Metternich comes out of the palace* *hurriedly giving last minute instructions to his chamberlain, who nods in agreement* *then he climbs into a second waiting carriage and again, with a clearly armed escort, it leaves*
*the wagons start lurching after it, each with an armed guard*
Marmont: *watches them go with an air of indifference* *until the last one* *the one with the trunk that rattled* *to the cart driver* take that one by a different route.
Cart Driver: *a soldier dressed in green-and-gold* yes sir.
Standejsky: you think this will work?
Marmont: ask me in the morning *rides off after the other cart as he watches an identical cart with identical trunks join the convoy*

*title card shows "the next night"* *we see the train the Metternichs are on being stopped at the Bavarian border*
Metternich: this is most irregular.
Train Guard: my apologies, your Excellency. But it is custom. And since the emperor rescinded your diplomatic immunity, we are obliged to search.
Metternich: *sighs* go ahead.
Guards: *open the trunks* *clothes* *toys* *what's clearly rolled up paintings and wrapped up knickknacks*
Train Guard: what's in these? *gestures to trunks with locks on*
Metternich: family heirlooms, I assure you. Nothing tha-
Guard: *smashes lock open with butt of rifle* then you won't mind if we take a look.
Metternich: I shall be delivering a strongly-worded report to the king of Bavaria.
Train Guard: do that then.
Guards: *open the trunk lid*
Guard: *to the commandant* nothing in here but dirt.
Guards: *a few of them stab their bayonets into the dirt to make sure* *then open the rest of the trunks* *all except one are likewise filled with dirt* *the last one has a solitary chesspiece lying in the bottom* *and a letter attached to the inside of the lid* *addressed to Klemens von Metternich, Prince of Munster*
Guard: just a chesspiece. And a letter.
Metternich: *now very white in the face opens the letter with trembling hands and reads*
Frankie: *voice-over* my dearest Prince Metternich. I am so frightfully sorry that I was unable to come and see you off. As you are no doubt well aware, things in Vienna are rather...hectic at the moment. I am glad you are well and wish you to have a pleasant journey to visit Munster, where I hope you will enjoy a comfortable retirement surrounded by your children and grandson, doing things you enjoy. If you are reading this, you have no doubt discovered that the money you wished to depart from Vienna with is missing. For that inconvenience, I sincerely apologize, but, as you always taught me to think of the state first. These moneys were obtained by you under false pretenses and peddling your influence with the emperor. As a result, these moneys [insert figure] rightfully belong to the Austrian treasury. I hope you can understand and find that the incomes from your lands on the Rhine will be more than adequate for you to live in the style to which you have become accustomed. To the chesspiece, I couldn't resist the imagery, you have lost your king, so you have lost the game. Wishing you a happy and peaceful retirement, your affectionate pupil: Frankie Bonaparte.
Metternich: *crumples letter in a rage* *we hear a train whistle sounding*
Train Guard: we trust you will have a pleasant journey *motions to guards to exit the train*

*cut to Paris* *there is a debate going on in the Palais Bourbon* *it's about the matter of the king's civil list*
Hyppolite Passy [2]: -which is why I feel that his Royal Highness, the duc de Bordeaux's inheritance from the prince de Condé, should be more than sufficient for the entire royal family rather than allowing this chamber to decide to take still more money from the treasury in order to pay for the upkeep of the crown at this time when it is clear to all that France is in need of rebuilding.
Finance Minister, Antoine Roy [3]: how long will his Royal Highness' inheritance last if you wish him to pay for the king, queen, the entire Orléans clan out of 66 million francs? A year, two?
Sylvain Dumon [4]: it will teach the king to manage his money, lest the king think it is in within his remit to reward any peer who comes before him with a sad story about lands he lost in 1830 [5].
Roy: yet you would content yourself by having the king appear a beggar before Europe.
Passy: there is also the matter that the king still owes the rents due to the duke of Reichstadt for the last ten years. Are we to watch as French money is funneled into Austrian pockets? Since if we do not repay those debts, I assure this chamber that the policy of France will be dictated not from Paris but from the Hofburg!
*cheers from chamber*
Roy: *brandishes paper* I have here a quittance. Signed by the duke of Reichstadt, that he regards the amounts as paid and paid in full!
Dumon: Reichstadt is a vagabond. Look at how he has robbed his mother in the past. And how he has robbed Prince Metternich and his uncle of late! Who is to say he will not demand repayment in due course!
Roy: Messieurs, how can you rob your inheritance from yourself? Those things which he took from his mother were his to start with. I do not recall this honourable chamber raising such objections when we wished to deprive him of his rightful inheritance in favour of his bastard half-brother and forced him to such thievery.
*hall is guiltily silent now*
Guilherme-Isidore de Montbel [6]: or that they raised such objections when the Duc d'Orléans wished to present a false will for the late prince de Condé. Or when they settled an annuity on the duc de Nemours, Monsieur Passy [7]. An annuity, we may remind the chamber, that is, as of last month, still being paid. And now they wish to crow about not wishing the king and queen to have an income suited to their rank. But rather they must go, hat in hand, to beg money from their nephew. Is it not shameful enough that we have already obliged them to pay for the last few months since their arrival in Paris. Imagine if they were any of your parents who had fed you, clothed you, cared for you, and now you would drive past them while they cry out for alms from the gutter. We do this nation a great disservice, Messieurs. After all, the [insert figure] that the duke of Reichstadt supposedly stole from Prince Metternich was money that the man had taken in bribes to influence the government. Do we wish that the king and queen of the oldest daughter of the church should be reduced to such...chicanery.
*hall is filled with murmurs*
Roy: the king and queen are not greedy. They simply wish to receive a commeasurable income to what the duc d'Orléans was voted in 1832. They do not wish to demand back payments since July 1830. I will remind the chambers that *reads from paper* when the Chambers voted the duc the extravagant sum of money in 1832, it represented half of the moneys allocated to the maintenance of the roads, canals, bridges and ports of the king; double the budget allocated to the ministry of foreign affairs, and a third more than all salaries paid to the staff at the ministry of justice. Their Majesties are even willing to forego the first payment until a year from their arrival in Paris - so for a further six months. The king asks that the queen be cared for in the event that he predeceases her, the amount he asks for is that amount that she had saved in the banks between 1815 and 1830 that he wishes returned to her, he does not ask for anything more, like having it adjusted for the fourteen years that have passed since. He asks that the chateau de Saint-Cloud be returned to her, since it was her inheritance from her sainted mother. Furthermore, the king asks that the royal residences - on the list distributed to you [8] - be set apart for the king's use. These residences were granted to the duc d'Orléans, why is there a sudden reluctance of these chambers to grant these to the king now? What has changed?
Passy: and what of his Royal Highness' inheritance from the Condé? The Orléans family?
Roy: his Royal Highness has resolved that that inheritance is to be managed separately - as it was under the duc d'Orléans. As for the Orléans, their income is to be garnered from the same places they held in 1830: the dukedom of Orléans, Valois, Chartres and Nemours: the counties of Dourdan and Soissons - less Romorantin which is to be returned to the comte de Chambord - the marquisates of Coucy and Folembray, the seigneury of Montargis, La Fère, Marle, Ham, Saint-Gobain, the Hôtel Duplessis-Châtillon in Paris, their various country chateaux, less the Chateau de l'Arrouaise which belonged to the prince de Condé and was willed to the comte de Chambord.
*few murmurs/grumbles at this* *perhaps because they realize how they were duped in 1832 through Louis Philippe's legal shenanigans*

*cut to the king's study at Rambouillet*
Angoulême: *is sitting at his desk* *there are countless books open in front of him* *bookmarks sticking out of the closed ones* *we see he's busy analyzing a Law passed by Louis Philippe in 1831* *and he keeps flipping between books to find what he's looking for* *then scratching notes on a pad*
Footman: Her Majesty, the Queen.
Madame Royal: *sweeps into the room* *she looks very different to the whole "I'm retired this is as dressed up as I get" look she had at Frohsdorf* *in fact, she actually looks very much like a queen* Henri sent a letter, he and Monsieur Barrande have just arrived in Strasbourg. Your parents' coffins are a day behind them at Karlsruhe.
Angoulême: *puts pen down* that's good. *sighs as he rubs his eyes* I'm a terrible person aren't I? That I was glad when the emperor died because it meant I could send Henri to Vienna instead of to Algiers like he wants.
Madame Royal: it's understandable. Even Caroline doesn't want him to go to Algiers until he's wedded and bedded.
Angoulême: which is a headache in and of itself.
Madame Royal: he's the heir to the throne of France, why is this so difficult?
Angoulême: we are in hardly a better position to choose a bride than the duc d'Orléans was. In fact, in many ways, a great deal worse. Thank God that Monsieur François got us in to invest in those railways, factories, mines and shipyards of his when he did, since otherwise, I'd still have another headache trying to figure out how we'd pay that debt off. [9]
Madame Royal: *smiles teasingly at him* I don't recall that that was what you said about it at the time.
Angoulême: well, it's let us keep the wolves from the door by waiving the civil list until September. Makes us look...charitable, generous, I guess.
Madame Royal: *quietly* offering them the same list as my father did in 1790, and the same amounts was a risk.
Angoulême: *pulls a piece of paper from in the middle of a stack of books* *hands it to her* a risk that paid off.
Madame Royal: it was approved by 361 votes?
Angoulême: to 203. That's better than the fifty-fifty I was hoping for. But worse than the 373 to 8 win when they tried to push that the power to declare war should rest with them and not with the king [10]
Madame Royal: can you imagine the chaos if that had happened? We'd go to war every time the government changed.
Angoulême: *gives her an "exactly" look* still, I'm glad that we didn't have to threaten war with Austria to get Metternich to release Monsieur François. There were enough other angry voices that we didn't have to get involved. Vienna was shouting the loudest once they knew about what he'd done to the François' children, Henri says.
Madame Royal: *off-handedly* there's a special circle of Hell reserved for men who imprison little children. -has everything there returned to normal?
Angoulême: normal is relative. Metternich has left the capital is disgrace after the mob threw stones through his windows and at his coach. Minus his lifetime's supply of ill-gotten gains-
Madame Royal: *smirking* My heart bleeds for that poor man.
Angoulême: if it hadn't been for François' Macedonic Regiment [11], Prince Metternich would've been torn to pieces by the mob. *sighs* but, there'll be a...house cleaning now. I can't see François being comfortable with his great-uncles who sided against him any more than he was against his uncles who did.
Madame Royal: I heard, from the comte de Saint-Leu, that the comte de Survilliers is returning to Paris. Apparently he wishes to "sort all this out".
Angoulême: he means bribe me to acknowledge his son as his legitimate heir.
Madame Royal: and is it going to work?
Angoulême: *scoffs* Joseph Bonaparte is trying to bribe me with what will eventually come to the crown anyway. His wife has already agreed to a pension and his son-in-law has indicated no desire to take up residence in France, despite me offering him the title. So the title will go extinct, the lands attached thereto - Mortefontaine will make a lovely wedding gift for Henri and whomever he marries, don't you think?
Madame Royal: the evil house [Malmaison], fountain of death [Mortefontaine], why do the Bonapartes choose all these...depressing names for their homes?
Angoulême: you'll have to ask the comte that when he arrives.
Madame Royal: speaking of titles, did you and Orléans figure out what to do about the little dauphin problem?
Angoulême: the boy will be retitled "duc de Chartres" until his grandfather dies - which...having seen my father go in such an addled state...I cannot say that I envy the duchesse - and then he will become "Monsieur le Comte de Soissons". No need to confuse his brother too by letting him become "duc d'Orléans".
Madame Royal: you speak of a wedding gift for Henri, who are the candidates for Madame la Comtesse de Chambord?
Angoulême: *pulls another list out*
Madame Royal: you are thorough.
Angoulême: Henri helped. Those are the ones he's willing to consider. [12]
Madame Royal: *takes pen from her husband* *draws line through two of the names*
Angoulême: because?
Madame Royal: Amélia of Brasil is too young and the princess of Salerno's daughter- well, Caroline, Louise, the duchesse d'Orléans...I don't need to feel like I'm walking down the streets of Naples every time I go to a court function.
Angoulême: I'd have thought you'd find the Russian options objectionable.
Madame Royal: it'll founder the way a Russian marriage to a Catholic always founder. Remember in 1815 when the czar proposed the queen of Holland for your brother. They couldn't agree on which ceremony should take place first.
Angoulême: the grand duchess has requested permission to come and visit her father in Paris. Mentioned that she would like to stay for the coronation.
Madame Royal: you say it as though I would find it objectionable.
Angoulême: I merely thought I'd let you know.
Madame Royal: it's a woman coming to visit her father. What could possibly be objectionable about that? In fact, perhaps we should invite Paul for dinner at the Elysée. Something small. - it will be good to catch up.[13]

*fade to black*

[1] this would be Metternich's third wife, née Countess Zichy. Her three kids, Melanie, Paul and Lothar. Her stepson, Richard (later the Austrian ambassador to Paris under the Second Empire), son of Metternich's second wife. The stepgrandson is Metternich's deceased eldest son's bastard son.
[2] Minister of Finance in 1834, 1836 and 1839-1840. A moderate liberal and opposed to the Bourbons
[3] Minister of Finance 1815-1818, 1819-1820, 1820-1821; 1828-1829
[4] Minister of Finance 1847-1848 (and Louis Philippe's last finance minister TTL)
[5] this is a grenade at Roy himself. He had bought the lands at Evreux formerly belonging to the duc de Bouillon, but the Consulate confiscated them, then sued him for another 2 million francs for having "mismanaged" the duc's finances.He lost in court first in 1802 and in 1813. Roy's granddaughter is the marquise de Talhouët, wife of Henri's secretary
[6] Charles X's last appointed minister of finance in 1830. An ardent royalist and close friend of the Comte de Villèle
[7] Passy was the big mover and shaker in getting this done
[8] the list is:
  • The Louvre-Tuileries, and "that the Champs Elysées must be regarded as a necessary continuation of the Tuileries Gardens, and his only object in this is to preserve a pleasant promenade for the public, which contributes essentially to the beauty, of this side, of the Capital."
  • Vincennes and La Muette (for hunting)
  • Louveciennes
  • Versailles, Marly, Rosny, Meudon, Saint-Germaine and the "houses, forests and lands that depend on them, present a set of contiguous properties and likely to be contained in large part within the enclosure of a same fence"
  • Fontainebleau, Compiègne and Rambouillet
  • The lands of Le Pin - in Normandy - and Pompadour - in Limousin - and their accompanying royal studfarms "which have been established there for his Majesty's private use, and which can only be useful to these provinces."
  • Chateau de Pau "which produces no revenue; it is impossible for me not to share the wish of the inhabitants of Béarn, so that the place where Henri IV was born, remains always in the hands of his children"
  • Manufacture of Sevres
  • Manufacture des Gobelins
  • Beauvais factory
  • Bois de Boulogne
  • Bois de Vincennes
  • Senart Forest
  • also incomes from the imports at Strasbourg and Bordeaux
which, excepting Le Pin/Limousin and Louveciennes (none of which are exactly what can be called "income producing") and Rambouillet (which was deemed too expensive to maintain), Strasbourg and Bordeaux, these were all granted to Louis Philippe in 1832 anyway. Angoulême is really not being greedy (IMO) by asking for the exact same things they voted to Louis Philippe. And Louis Philippe already had massive amounts of land and at least ten different chateaux scattered around the countryside. Only reason that Angoulême asking for this looks so "extravagant" is because of how "comparatively tiny" the royal family is (he, the queen, the duchesse de Berri and Henri). He's even willing to wait until French finances/industries are "straightened out" before they start paying, he's not being as extravagant as they're accusing him of being.
[9] when Frankie began to "support" the Bourbons in the 1830s, he didn't know how long it was going to be for. So, I have this idea that he offered them "room on the ground floor" in his business ventures, or perhaps even started ventures under their name, to ensure that he would at least recoup some of his losses. Thanks to the war and several industries (like mines and railways) booming as a result, Frankie has been able to make back the money that he supported them on (possibly twice over already). Anything else they've made is profit. So they've got a tidy little nest-egg stored abroad (Madame Royal's mistake in 1830 was that she housed her savings in French banks and Louis Philippe confiscated them in 1831 - perhaps the very law that Angoulême is currently reviewing - and having fled Paris three times in her life with nothing, I suspect she's going to make sure it doesn't happen a fourth time). That nest-egg is why they can waive the matter of a civil list until September. The chambers don't know about it, just that the queen is still giving to charity and the king is still contributing to the rebuilding out of "what they've got". While the fund isn't bottomless, I do think that, at the moment, Angoulême and Madame Royal are in a far better financial position than the Orléans.
[10] Second Republic's constitution really did leave that power to the legislative rather than the executive branch of the government OTL.
[11] Royal and Imperial Macedonian Regiment was a light infantry unit staffed by Greeks, Serbs and Albanians still hired by Maria Theresia and Joseph II as late as the 7 Years War and one of the Russo-Turkish Wars in Joseph's reign. I'm guessing that much like the Neapolitan version, they were "nationalized" in the Napoleonic War. Frankie's re-established them in the Austrian army as of here. They're under command of the Emperor but they were likely the soldiers defending Venice during the war in Italy (when Marmont or Standejsky was likely appointed their commander)
[12] thanks to @isabella for the list (just swapped Katenka Mikhailovna for Olga Nikolaïevna):
Auguste of Saxony
Francisca of Portugal
Amelia of Brazil
Olga Nikolaïevna
Elizaveta Mikhailovna
Maria Carolina of Salerno
Auguste of Württemberg
Louise of the Netherlands
[13] Madame Royal hasn't become "religion blind" here, and I think that while she was definitely firmly Catholic, my impression of her from what I've read about her early years influenced by her mother's friendship with the Protestant Hesse-Darmstadt girls, and one of whom's daughters (the queen of Prussia and Prince Paul of Württemberg's - who she wishes to invite for dinner - mother-in-law, the duchess of Hildburghausen) played a part in her "fugitive years" after leaving France when they sheltered her and her family. I think she's giving Paul the "benefit of the doubt" for that reason and that reason alone. Plus, she hasn't been "as insular" in her exile as what she was OTL, so she's become less of a shut-in. Besides, she has no reason to actively dislike Paul (who was living in Paris during the Restauration already, since AFAI can make out, Charlotte and her sister, the duchess of Nassau, made their debut at Louis XVIII/Charles X's court, which implies their dad had been received at court)

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GOD! It felt so good to read about the downfall of the man dragging Austria and Frankie down! Frankie will be calling the shoots in vienna now! Yay!

And nice list of candidates for the future Queen of France.
 
Great update!

Ngl, I thought the final showdown with Metternich would span more chapters. By any chance, will what went down be elaborated in some manner in the future?
 
Great update!

Ngl, I thought the final showdown with Metternich would span more chapters. By any chance, will what went down be elaborated in some manner in the future?
i think it will. Since Frankie will have to deal with his great-uncles. But right now, Vienna's still in mourning so he can't rock the boat too much yet. He's first gotta "settle in" if Franz's death was as sudden as it was OTL
 
Is it ASB to imagine that one of the laws that Angoulême "introduces" /"revives" is that the king chooses the cabinet ministers, not the Corps Legislatif? The ministers are responsible to the king alone, however, they are not his equals in decision making, they are advisors only. The ministers' jobs is to carry out the king's will, they do not have legislative power (that remains with the Corps Legislatif) and the executive power is exercised by the king and the king alone
 
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