The Rumours in St. Petersburg
@King of Danes @Jürgen : hope how I wove the matter of Danish India into the talks makes sense
Soundtrack: Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E Minor - Allegro Molto Apassionato
*Exterior* *St Petersburg* *shots of the Winter Palace, the Admiralty Arch, Kazan Cathedral, and several other notable landmarks*
*Exterior* *shot of a carriage driving towards Palace Square along the Nevsky Prospekt*
*Cut to interior of the Winter Palace* *we see a suite of individuals in full French diplomatic uniform mounting the Jordan Staircase before passing along the various rooms*
*Cut to the Throne Room* *Emperor Nikolai and Empress Alexandra are seated on a dais* *flanked by the Tstsarevich Alexander and Tsetsarevna Amelise of Darmstadt on one side, and their other sons, Grand Duke Konstantin and Nikolai [1] on the other*
Chamberlain: His Excellency, the Ambassador of the Kingdoms of France and Navarre, the duc de Mortemarte.
Mortemarte: *bows to Nikolai* your Majesty, my master sends his congratulations on the birth of your newest granddaughter, and prays that she will grow daily in beauty and intelligence that your Majesty may have a further blessing to bestow upon Europe.
Nikolai: your Excellency is too kind. It is our fondest wish that our dear brother, the king of France, so lately crowned may enjoy not only good health but a long and prosperous reign...that he may see such an eventuality come to pass.
Mortemarte: it is in the spirit of friendship that his Majesty would seek drawing still nearer...through the bonds of holy matrimony between the duc de Bordeaux and a bride of your Majesty's choosing [2].
Nikolai: we are honoured that his Majesty deems our most beloved daughter [Olga Nikolaïevna] as deserving of wearing such a crown.
*Cut to behind closed doors* *Nikolai and Mortemarte are talking*
Nikolai: so let me make sure I understand this correctly...his Majesty wishes for Russia to purchase Serampore and the other places in India from my son-in-law in Denmark, and then include them in Olga's dowry?
Mortemarte: his Majesty apologizes for the subterfuge, sire, but as you are no doubt aware, the situation is such that France would be unable to afford either the purchase of these factories in India nor the war with England that would inevitably result from such a purchase.
Nikolai: but Russia could? Last year when I was in London, the queen so much as accused me of meddling in British affairs in India, or at least intending to.
Mortemarte: but England and Russia are both stable enough that such a war would not topple their monarchy. Should the king of France forfeit England's good will so early in his reign, it would mean disaster for France. England already has ties to the Orléans family and Monsieur Guizot has several allies among the leading liberal elite in London that, should France and England go to war, there is no doubt in the mind of any Frenchman that England would prefer to see a regency for the duc d'Orléans [3] than see a capable government by an adult king on the throne.
Nikolai: and if I weren't to do this? How would his Majesty respond?
Mortemarte: that is not for me to speculate, Majesty. Although the other bidders on the Indian factories - aside from the English - include the king of the Belgians [4], the king of the Netherlands and the Regent of Austria-
Nikolai: the duke of Reichstadt is interested?
Mortemarte: the talk from Austria is rather muddled. There is talk that he wishes to revive the fortunes of the Trieste Company. While according to others, he wishes to buy it from Denmark in exchange for them agreeing to withdraw Holstein from the German Confederation-
Nikolai: a money laundering business then?
Mortemarte: as we understand it in Paris, the king of Denmark is rather intrigued by the offer, since it would enable him to incorporate Holstein fully into Denmark sans the risk of objections from the Confederation.
Nikolai: *nods*
Mortemarte: the other rumour is that he wishes to compensate the king of the Netherlands with those factories - once he has purchased them from Denmark - to agree to cede the duchy of Luxembourg to the duke of Nassau, thus ensuring that no foreign rulers have any stake in Germany.
Nikolai: *after a few moments* he's a crafty one that boy.
Mortemarte: your Majesty could understand how it would be in France and Russia's best interests to...thwart his ambitions.
Nikolai: tell me of the king of the Belgians' offer. What stake does he have?
Mortemarte: after losing face in the late war, the king wishes to...regain some lost honour by expanding Belgian territory abroad. As I understand it, it would be as a privately held enterprise rather than state-backed...the Belgians have no wish for a colonial empire when money can be better spent closer to home.
Nikolai: *nods* now...what would there be to prevent me from telling what you just told me to the English ambassador?
Mortemarte: *smiles evilly* the duc de Bordeaux said your Majesty might suggest that. Then pointed out that you would have nothing to gain from telling England that. They will not think any better of you for it. In fact, they would likely see your Majesty in the same light as they viewed your Majesty's brother of blessed memory: opportunistic and untrustworthy, not to mention unreliable.
Nikolai: *purses lips* *then folds hands* Olga is to be allowed to keep her religion then. She is not to be pressured to convert.
Mortemarte: that would be quite impossible, Majesty. His Majesty the king of France has made it very clear that the marriage must have the pope's blessing- if only to avoid appearing hypocritical by not standig by their beliefs. And since the pope has already refused the dispensation for the duc de Bordeaux to marry a Protestant, a conversion is a neccessary evil. If only for form's sake. The late duc d'Orléans left many an evil taste in the mouth by marrying his heir to a Protestant and not obliging her to convert, and the duc has already broken off his desire to wed the Princess Augusta [of Cambridge] because he was unable to obtain the neccessary dispensation. To marry a grand duchess who would refuse to convert would serve only to antagonize the English.
Nikolai: would he agree to the matter being Olga's choice?
Mortemarte: her choice, sire?
Nikolai: like my sister-in-law in Berlin [5].
Mortemarte: I would have to discuss it with Paris first. And since that is likely to take time...perhaps your Majesty could sound out whether her Imperial Highness would be willing to agree to such terms?
*Cut to Olga's drawing room* *Nikolai is explaining the situation to her* *Olga is looking dreamily at a portrait of Henri*
Nikolai: but finally, Paris would require you to convert.
Olga: convert, Papa? You mean become a Catholic?
Nikolai: *nods*
Olga: *looks at the portrait* *then down at her bare ring finger* *we can see how torn she is on her face [6]* *then at her father* what do you think I should do?
Nikolai: it makes no difference to me, Ollie. Nobody's proposing to me.
Olga: *looks at him nervously* then if it is all the same to you, I should prefer to remain here...with you and Mama...rather than convert.
Nikolai: *nods understandingly [7]* then we shall leave it in God's hands
*Fade to black*
[1] to avoid a Romanov family tree that's too lush, since I gave Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich a surviving son, Aloysha, I made the executive decision to kill of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaïevich
[2] this is the usual diplomatic mating dance. Mortemarte can't come straight out and say he wants a grand duchess to wed (no matter how eager he may be for it, Nikolai might refuse such a request as smacking of desperation).
[3] Louis Philippe's grandson
[4] Léopold I genuinely made an offer OTL according to some sources
[5] Elisabeth of Bavaria's marriage contract stipulated - not unlike Astrid of Sweden's when she wed Léopold III - that she could marry the king, and would convert, but there was no time stamp on it. Think Elise made it to the 1830s/1840s before she coverted
[6] Olga was the last of her sisters to marry OTL and in her memoirs she describes how heavily her still being single weighed on her. She also has a history of failed engagements by this point (to Stephen of Hungary, Fritz of Hesse and Max II of Bavaria), so Henri's proposal but with a conversion requirement is a Godsend and a crown of thorns at once
[7] everything I've read about Nikolai I indicates that he was a softie when it came to his daughters. His response is OTL (only difference was it was after she refused to convert to marry Archduke Albrecht of Teschen)
@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 @सार्थक (Sārthākā)
Merry Christmas
Soundtrack: Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E Minor - Allegro Molto Apassionato
*Exterior* *St Petersburg* *shots of the Winter Palace, the Admiralty Arch, Kazan Cathedral, and several other notable landmarks*
*Exterior* *shot of a carriage driving towards Palace Square along the Nevsky Prospekt*
*Cut to interior of the Winter Palace* *we see a suite of individuals in full French diplomatic uniform mounting the Jordan Staircase before passing along the various rooms*
*Cut to the Throne Room* *Emperor Nikolai and Empress Alexandra are seated on a dais* *flanked by the Tstsarevich Alexander and Tsetsarevna Amelise of Darmstadt on one side, and their other sons, Grand Duke Konstantin and Nikolai [1] on the other*
Chamberlain: His Excellency, the Ambassador of the Kingdoms of France and Navarre, the duc de Mortemarte.
Mortemarte: *bows to Nikolai* your Majesty, my master sends his congratulations on the birth of your newest granddaughter, and prays that she will grow daily in beauty and intelligence that your Majesty may have a further blessing to bestow upon Europe.
Nikolai: your Excellency is too kind. It is our fondest wish that our dear brother, the king of France, so lately crowned may enjoy not only good health but a long and prosperous reign...that he may see such an eventuality come to pass.
Mortemarte: it is in the spirit of friendship that his Majesty would seek drawing still nearer...through the bonds of holy matrimony between the duc de Bordeaux and a bride of your Majesty's choosing [2].
Nikolai: we are honoured that his Majesty deems our most beloved daughter [Olga Nikolaïevna] as deserving of wearing such a crown.
*Cut to behind closed doors* *Nikolai and Mortemarte are talking*
Nikolai: so let me make sure I understand this correctly...his Majesty wishes for Russia to purchase Serampore and the other places in India from my son-in-law in Denmark, and then include them in Olga's dowry?
Mortemarte: his Majesty apologizes for the subterfuge, sire, but as you are no doubt aware, the situation is such that France would be unable to afford either the purchase of these factories in India nor the war with England that would inevitably result from such a purchase.
Nikolai: but Russia could? Last year when I was in London, the queen so much as accused me of meddling in British affairs in India, or at least intending to.
Mortemarte: but England and Russia are both stable enough that such a war would not topple their monarchy. Should the king of France forfeit England's good will so early in his reign, it would mean disaster for France. England already has ties to the Orléans family and Monsieur Guizot has several allies among the leading liberal elite in London that, should France and England go to war, there is no doubt in the mind of any Frenchman that England would prefer to see a regency for the duc d'Orléans [3] than see a capable government by an adult king on the throne.
Nikolai: and if I weren't to do this? How would his Majesty respond?
Mortemarte: that is not for me to speculate, Majesty. Although the other bidders on the Indian factories - aside from the English - include the king of the Belgians [4], the king of the Netherlands and the Regent of Austria-
Nikolai: the duke of Reichstadt is interested?
Mortemarte: the talk from Austria is rather muddled. There is talk that he wishes to revive the fortunes of the Trieste Company. While according to others, he wishes to buy it from Denmark in exchange for them agreeing to withdraw Holstein from the German Confederation-
Nikolai: a money laundering business then?
Mortemarte: as we understand it in Paris, the king of Denmark is rather intrigued by the offer, since it would enable him to incorporate Holstein fully into Denmark sans the risk of objections from the Confederation.
Nikolai: *nods*
Mortemarte: the other rumour is that he wishes to compensate the king of the Netherlands with those factories - once he has purchased them from Denmark - to agree to cede the duchy of Luxembourg to the duke of Nassau, thus ensuring that no foreign rulers have any stake in Germany.
Nikolai: *after a few moments* he's a crafty one that boy.
Mortemarte: your Majesty could understand how it would be in France and Russia's best interests to...thwart his ambitions.
Nikolai: tell me of the king of the Belgians' offer. What stake does he have?
Mortemarte: after losing face in the late war, the king wishes to...regain some lost honour by expanding Belgian territory abroad. As I understand it, it would be as a privately held enterprise rather than state-backed...the Belgians have no wish for a colonial empire when money can be better spent closer to home.
Nikolai: *nods* now...what would there be to prevent me from telling what you just told me to the English ambassador?
Mortemarte: *smiles evilly* the duc de Bordeaux said your Majesty might suggest that. Then pointed out that you would have nothing to gain from telling England that. They will not think any better of you for it. In fact, they would likely see your Majesty in the same light as they viewed your Majesty's brother of blessed memory: opportunistic and untrustworthy, not to mention unreliable.
Nikolai: *purses lips* *then folds hands* Olga is to be allowed to keep her religion then. She is not to be pressured to convert.
Mortemarte: that would be quite impossible, Majesty. His Majesty the king of France has made it very clear that the marriage must have the pope's blessing- if only to avoid appearing hypocritical by not standig by their beliefs. And since the pope has already refused the dispensation for the duc de Bordeaux to marry a Protestant, a conversion is a neccessary evil. If only for form's sake. The late duc d'Orléans left many an evil taste in the mouth by marrying his heir to a Protestant and not obliging her to convert, and the duc has already broken off his desire to wed the Princess Augusta [of Cambridge] because he was unable to obtain the neccessary dispensation. To marry a grand duchess who would refuse to convert would serve only to antagonize the English.
Nikolai: would he agree to the matter being Olga's choice?
Mortemarte: her choice, sire?
Nikolai: like my sister-in-law in Berlin [5].
Mortemarte: I would have to discuss it with Paris first. And since that is likely to take time...perhaps your Majesty could sound out whether her Imperial Highness would be willing to agree to such terms?
*Cut to Olga's drawing room* *Nikolai is explaining the situation to her* *Olga is looking dreamily at a portrait of Henri*
Nikolai: but finally, Paris would require you to convert.
Olga: convert, Papa? You mean become a Catholic?
Nikolai: *nods*
Olga: *looks at the portrait* *then down at her bare ring finger* *we can see how torn she is on her face [6]* *then at her father* what do you think I should do?
Nikolai: it makes no difference to me, Ollie. Nobody's proposing to me.
Olga: *looks at him nervously* then if it is all the same to you, I should prefer to remain here...with you and Mama...rather than convert.
Nikolai: *nods understandingly [7]* then we shall leave it in God's hands
*Fade to black*
[1] to avoid a Romanov family tree that's too lush, since I gave Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich a surviving son, Aloysha, I made the executive decision to kill of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaïevich
[2] this is the usual diplomatic mating dance. Mortemarte can't come straight out and say he wants a grand duchess to wed (no matter how eager he may be for it, Nikolai might refuse such a request as smacking of desperation).
[3] Louis Philippe's grandson
[4] Léopold I genuinely made an offer OTL according to some sources
[5] Elisabeth of Bavaria's marriage contract stipulated - not unlike Astrid of Sweden's when she wed Léopold III - that she could marry the king, and would convert, but there was no time stamp on it. Think Elise made it to the 1830s/1840s before she coverted
[6] Olga was the last of her sisters to marry OTL and in her memoirs she describes how heavily her still being single weighed on her. She also has a history of failed engagements by this point (to Stephen of Hungary, Fritz of Hesse and Max II of Bavaria), so Henri's proposal but with a conversion requirement is a Godsend and a crown of thorns at once
[7] everything I've read about Nikolai I indicates that he was a softie when it came to his daughters. His response is OTL (only difference was it was after she refused to convert to marry Archduke Albrecht of Teschen)
@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 @सार्थक (Sārthākā)
Merry Christmas