Henry Tudor, Heretic and Father of Kings
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Not planning anything because I don’t have the time. But if I were to do it, I’d have England without a monarch (perhaps the Protectorate lasts, I haven’t thought to much on it) and then just see how many exiled royal families I could squish into England.
For the epilogues I’ll probably only do a handful before wrapping it up and returning to Five Thousand Days.
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Epilogue Twenty-Eight - 1903
“1903 saw three different royal families find asylum in England: the Mountbattens, the Ascanians, and the Avis. Apparently in England, Exiled Royal Courts are like peanuts: you can never have just one.
Mountbattens [1] *
King Alexander III was the third King of Greece, his great-grandfather having been given the job almost a hundred years earlier. He had become King as an infant when his grandfather and father died in the same automobile accident. A regency council was formed and with it the beginnings of a more republican form of government.
The five members of the regency council grew in popularity throughout King Alexander’s childhood. King Alexander and his five sisters [2] were kept from the public eye, and so by King Alexander’s eighteenth birthday no one wanted him to rule.
As such the Mountbattens were summarily turned out. But by this point, the homeless Royals of Europe knew where to go. Young King Alexander III, his mother, his five sisters and their husbands all headed to England.
Conscious of the fact that they were not invited, the Mountbattens brought a plethora of artifacts and artwork. [3] While we believe they initially planned to sell the items, they very quickly learned they could offer tours of their collection and home for a fee.
Several years later King Alexander would wed the daughter of Grand Duchess Catherine Romanov, Lady Anne Percy. The two would bond over their religious faith—Eastern Orthodox—and their shared situation. Due to the couple’s seven children and sixty-one grandchildren, there are plenty of Mountbattens alive and well today.
Ascanians
Queen Eleonore Sophia was the sixth Queen of Saxony. She was a queen from a by gone era; Queen Eleonore Sophia was a hard uncompromising woman who saw the Diet as an unnecessary speedbump. She was determined to get her way, and most of the time her way was actually quite good for Saxony.
But good intentions only bought her ten years of rule, after that the people had had enough. War erupted. She lost.
As the Revolutionary Army marched on palace, Queen Eleonore Sophia had to be physically dragged to safety by her Uncle, Johann Victor. [4] After several arguments where it sounded like Queen Eleonore Sophia intended to win back Saxony barehanded, the Ascanians decided that England was their best bet.
Conveniently, Queen Eleonore Sophia’s husband was an Englishman, the son of the Duke of Buckingham. While William Stafford, Duke of Buckingham wasn’t particularly excited with his in-laws coming to stay, he was excited with his grandchildren coming to stay. So, he would allow them to stay in one of the more minor properties.
While most of the Ascanians were quite happy to settle in, Queen Eleonore Sophia was determined to regain her throne. Seven years later, she would depart England and rendezvous with various support for a martial attempt at retaking Saxony.
Instead of retaking Saxony, she would gain notoriety has the last European monarch to die in battle, after being hit by a stray bullet.
The death of Queen Eleonore Sophia galvanized her son Augustus Victor into declaring himself the of Saxony in exile; it had previously been thought that Augustus Victor would allow the claim to die. King Augustus Victor would wed one of the minor Saxon nobles that accompanied the Ascanians and their decedents are still living off the Buckinhams.
Avis
King Joao Leander II wasn’t a particularly bad King, he simply had very bad public relations. He was seen as old and out of touch, and to be fair, he was 82 years old. And the situation worsened, his son Prince Joao Sebastiao grew concerned for his father’s health. So, late in 1903, the House of Avis traveled to England, supposedly to see a particular doctor.
While they were there, revolutions broke out in Portugal and Castile. Since King Joao Leander was absent, he was burned in effigy.
With King Joao Leander’s health continuing to worsen and the revolutions growing in strength, his children made the decision to stay in Engalnd. They would remain in England from 1903 to 1910."
[1] The Mountbattens weren’t actually the Mountbattens when they arrived. They were the Orestes-Battens or the Battenbergs—depending on who you asked. They changed their name in an effort to fit in.
[2] Prince Alexander (son of Alexander II and father to Alexander III) and his wife tried very hard for a son.
[3] The Mountbattens maintain that their collection is not stolen, and each and every item was part of the royal treasury, so they do have so legal backing. And as Princess Helena was fond of pointing out: “The new government neither searched us nor instructed us on what to pack, so how were we to know what they wanted to keep when they kicked us out?”
[4] Johann Victor was apparently the only person brave enough to manhandle the Queen. Henry Stafford, the Prince Concert, apparently stood around wringing his hands.
Out of Universe Footnotes
* Not quite the Mountbattens of OTL, but I was feeling sad about the death of Prince Philip.
Mountbattens [1] *
King Alexander III was the third King of Greece, his great-grandfather having been given the job almost a hundred years earlier. He had become King as an infant when his grandfather and father died in the same automobile accident. A regency council was formed and with it the beginnings of a more republican form of government.
The five members of the regency council grew in popularity throughout King Alexander’s childhood. King Alexander and his five sisters [2] were kept from the public eye, and so by King Alexander’s eighteenth birthday no one wanted him to rule.
As such the Mountbattens were summarily turned out. But by this point, the homeless Royals of Europe knew where to go. Young King Alexander III, his mother, his five sisters and their husbands all headed to England.
Conscious of the fact that they were not invited, the Mountbattens brought a plethora of artifacts and artwork. [3] While we believe they initially planned to sell the items, they very quickly learned they could offer tours of their collection and home for a fee.
Several years later King Alexander would wed the daughter of Grand Duchess Catherine Romanov, Lady Anne Percy. The two would bond over their religious faith—Eastern Orthodox—and their shared situation. Due to the couple’s seven children and sixty-one grandchildren, there are plenty of Mountbattens alive and well today.
Ascanians
Queen Eleonore Sophia was the sixth Queen of Saxony. She was a queen from a by gone era; Queen Eleonore Sophia was a hard uncompromising woman who saw the Diet as an unnecessary speedbump. She was determined to get her way, and most of the time her way was actually quite good for Saxony.
But good intentions only bought her ten years of rule, after that the people had had enough. War erupted. She lost.
As the Revolutionary Army marched on palace, Queen Eleonore Sophia had to be physically dragged to safety by her Uncle, Johann Victor. [4] After several arguments where it sounded like Queen Eleonore Sophia intended to win back Saxony barehanded, the Ascanians decided that England was their best bet.
Conveniently, Queen Eleonore Sophia’s husband was an Englishman, the son of the Duke of Buckingham. While William Stafford, Duke of Buckingham wasn’t particularly excited with his in-laws coming to stay, he was excited with his grandchildren coming to stay. So, he would allow them to stay in one of the more minor properties.
While most of the Ascanians were quite happy to settle in, Queen Eleonore Sophia was determined to regain her throne. Seven years later, she would depart England and rendezvous with various support for a martial attempt at retaking Saxony.
Instead of retaking Saxony, she would gain notoriety has the last European monarch to die in battle, after being hit by a stray bullet.
The death of Queen Eleonore Sophia galvanized her son Augustus Victor into declaring himself the of Saxony in exile; it had previously been thought that Augustus Victor would allow the claim to die. King Augustus Victor would wed one of the minor Saxon nobles that accompanied the Ascanians and their decedents are still living off the Buckinhams.
Avis
King Joao Leander II wasn’t a particularly bad King, he simply had very bad public relations. He was seen as old and out of touch, and to be fair, he was 82 years old. And the situation worsened, his son Prince Joao Sebastiao grew concerned for his father’s health. So, late in 1903, the House of Avis traveled to England, supposedly to see a particular doctor.
While they were there, revolutions broke out in Portugal and Castile. Since King Joao Leander was absent, he was burned in effigy.
With King Joao Leander’s health continuing to worsen and the revolutions growing in strength, his children made the decision to stay in Engalnd. They would remain in England from 1903 to 1910."
Gregory Trent, Homeless Royals.
[1] The Mountbattens weren’t actually the Mountbattens when they arrived. They were the Orestes-Battens or the Battenbergs—depending on who you asked. They changed their name in an effort to fit in.
[2] Prince Alexander (son of Alexander II and father to Alexander III) and his wife tried very hard for a son.
[3] The Mountbattens maintain that their collection is not stolen, and each and every item was part of the royal treasury, so they do have so legal backing. And as Princess Helena was fond of pointing out: “The new government neither searched us nor instructed us on what to pack, so how were we to know what they wanted to keep when they kicked us out?”
[4] Johann Victor was apparently the only person brave enough to manhandle the Queen. Henry Stafford, the Prince Concert, apparently stood around wringing his hands.
Out of Universe Footnotes
* Not quite the Mountbattens of OTL, but I was feeling sad about the death of Prince Philip.
I wonder if any of the former royals that were sent to "retire in England" or their descendents would try to gain political power in England or to use England as a fort while others work on their behalf.
It's one thing to seek asylum in a country, it's another to try and organize a coup/restoration from that country which would implicate England.
A descendent of the various exiled monarchies could potentially run for office, but they would need to renounce foreign claims as to not bring England into conflict.
Knowing how humans are, I'd bet that someone, either connected to the Greek government or not, will try and (a) assassination/kidnap a member of the exiled royal family, (b) steal from the Mountbatten Museum and take it to Greece, or (c) pressure the English Parliament into "extraditing" Alexander while he's alive or send his body when he dies.
It's one thing to seek asylum in a country, it's another to try and organize a coup/restoration from that country which would implicate England.
A descendent of the various exiled monarchies could potentially run for office, but they would need to renounce foreign claims as to not bring England into conflict.
Knowing how humans are, I'd bet that someone, either connected to the Greek government or not, will try and (a) assassination/kidnap a member of the exiled royal family, (b) steal from the Mountbatten Museum and take it to Greece, or (c) pressure the English Parliament into "extraditing" Alexander while he's alive or send his body when he dies.
So was I. I'm glad you did this one
Lovely chapter all round - it's nice seeing England come into its own as an exile for royal families.
Was I the only one who thought of the Greek Republic trying to reclaim the Mountbatten Marbles?
The next epilogue will cover the exiles that tried to get their thrones back.
Oh, yeah there a few attempts at getting their stuff back, but as Princess Helena pointed out, the items were the Mountbatten's property at the time and they weren't told to leave them behind.
How is Anna Dmitriyevna, Queen Consort of Navarre, related to the children of Paul II of Russia?
🤦🏽♀️Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich Romanov was named Dmitry in an earlier draft. So Anna is the daughter of the younger son.
Good catch!
Epilogue Twenty-Nine - Bohemia and Brazil
“While the English Government is happy to host foreign exiled monarchs—to fend off requests for extradition or the return of various artifacts and relics—they have no desire to get embroiled in any attempts to retake countries by force.
This can be seen in the case of the Lucemburskys. In 1893, King Matthias III and his family would flee Bohemia to England. He and his family would remain there for four years until their efforts to regain their throne crossed the English Government’s line.
The Lucemburskys would be asked to leave England. This would cause Matthias Lucembursky to cut a deal with the Bohemian Interim Government. He would be welcome back to Bohemia as a Prince with the accompanying reduction in power and influence.”
“Most of the time when a Royal Family finds themselves in England, they are there to stay. But besides Lucemburskys, one other Royal Family would find temporary sanctuary in England before moving on to brighter pastures: the Avis.
Joao Leander II passed away in 1910. With his death many believed his son, Joao Sebastiao would be offered the throne. But, the countries of Portugal and Castile had since reformed into the Iberian Union and didn’t want anything to do with Joao Sebastiao. But there was a country that wanted Joao Sebastiao to be King.
Brazil, having broken away almost a century earlier, had experienced such a series of revolutions, coups, and insurrections since then that the idea of a King had become synonymous with peace, and the time under Avis rule spoken of as halcyon days.
Joao Sebastiao would rule Brazil for thirty years, and his grandson now rules Brazil.”
[1] The first two being unsuccessful.
This can be seen in the case of the Lucemburskys. In 1893, King Matthias III and his family would flee Bohemia to England. He and his family would remain there for four years until their efforts to regain their throne crossed the English Government’s line.
The Lucemburskys would be asked to leave England. This would cause Matthias Lucembursky to cut a deal with the Bohemian Interim Government. He would be welcome back to Bohemia as a Prince with the accompanying reduction in power and influence.”
“Uninvited” 1st Place Winner of Attlewyde Secondary School Essay Contest
“Most of the time when a Royal Family finds themselves in England, they are there to stay. But besides Lucemburskys, one other Royal Family would find temporary sanctuary in England before moving on to brighter pastures: the Avis.
Joao Leander II passed away in 1910. With his death many believed his son, Joao Sebastiao would be offered the throne. But, the countries of Portugal and Castile had since reformed into the Iberian Union and didn’t want anything to do with Joao Sebastiao. But there was a country that wanted Joao Sebastiao to be King.
Brazil, having broken away almost a century earlier, had experienced such a series of revolutions, coups, and insurrections since then that the idea of a King had become synonymous with peace, and the time under Avis rule spoken of as halcyon days.
Joao Sebastiao would rule Brazil for thirty years, and his grandson now rules Brazil.”
Gregory Trent, Landing on Their Feet: House Avis
[1] The first two being unsuccessful.
Refusing to help exiles retake their throne does help cement England's status as a secure place for exiled nobility and leadership while keeping safe from retaliation. Allowing those to seek asylum to try and take back the throne would implicate the English government and drag the nation into war.
Speaking of Portugal, how does the union of Portugal and Castile affect the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance of 1386? Did the Iberian Union claim continuation of the Portuguese Empire including that alliance or did they renounce old entanglements? Does Brazil claim continuation of the Portuguese Empire including the alliance?
How is England's relation with Wales and Scotland? There haven't been any political unions so the two nations should still exist, but we haven't seen aggression between the two and England so they should be at peace.
By sheer proximity, trade with England would be a large portion of the Welsh and Scottish economy.
The Iberian Union was very much an out with the old, in with the new, so in theory the Anglo-Portuguese ended. In practice England and the Iberian Union have never fought each other in war.
Yes, but no one takes them too seriously and they don't say it too loudly.
So, England incorporated Wales but didn't include them in the name because that's just how England is.
So there is room for improvement even if it won't be the same as before. I do hope that they can maintain good relations since otherwise would create strife in the Iberian Peninsula.
Even if England is not in a political union with the Democratic Kingdom of Brittany and Navarre, there would still be historical ties between the Commonwealth and the (two?) kingdoms. Any acts of aggression between Iberia and Brittany-Navrre could bring England (and possibly Aragon or France of they're feeling opportunistic).
What I said about Iberia could also apply to Brazil in South America if Brazil were to threaten the Duchy of Mendialdean (though I'm unsure if this Duchy is a part of Iberia or is its own nation).
Regardless if they claim to be the continuation of Portugal or not, it would be good to maintain friendly relations that could give them an edge over their neighbors.
That seems about right. In OTL the union between England and Wales was just called the Kingdom of England.
How are relations between England with the UK or Ireland and Scotland?
With the massive butterflies coming from the early 16th century, it's likely that English-Irish relations would be very much different. Scotland has a very long history fighting the English; with the changes so far it's really up in the air if there's still resentment ITTL to the modern day or if they have peaceful relationship.
So, one of the many things I probably won’t get around to covering in full is that this timeline’s Europe almost had a pseudo WW1 but cooler heads than OTL took a look at all the alliances and historical ties and said nah, let’s not.
Mendialdean is separate. It separated during the Second Uprising.
So without the same amount of time of England trying to conquer Ireland, Irish-English relations are much less tense. And Irish-Scottish relations are better than OTL Irish-English relations and there’s almost a blending between the cultures. Still distinct but a lot has blended.
During the reign of Joao Leander II there were three different revolutions, with the third succeeding in ousting the Avis. The Mendialdean colony taking the opportunity to leave.
I don’t have much more than that plotted out; most of the 1800s and 1900s are only vaguely planned. The second uprising would probably be around 1880s but I haven’t actually decided.
The exiled royal families making a living by turning their English homes into museums is a nice touch.
That's an interesting character. Sounds like she was a competent ruler whose overly paternalistic (well, maternalistic in this case) attitude clashed with the zeitgeist, made enemies of the magnates and was probably too overbearing for too many people. Given how her ego and courage would not let her fade away quietly, one imagines that had she been born a man a few centuries earlier she would have either been remembered as a great conqueror or been a memorable speedbump in another great conqueror's path.
That's an interesting character. Sounds like she was a competent ruler whose overly paternalistic (well, maternalistic in this case) attitude clashed with the zeitgeist, made enemies of the magnates and was probably too overbearing for too many people. Given how her ego and courage would not let her fade away quietly, one imagines that had she been born a man a few centuries earlier she would have either been remembered as a great conqueror or been a memorable speedbump in another great conqueror's path.
Brazil got the good ending, nice.