Chapter 190
April, 1821
London
Though the young Queen had effectively reigned for several months, Queen Frederica decided to wait until warmer weather to be formally crowned in Westminster. She also wanted her family, namely her aunts and uncles from around Europe, to attend.
Naturally, Uncle William (the former Regent), Duke of Clarence was there as were her two other uncles resident in Britain, the Dukes of Cumberland and Sussex.
From Sweden came King Frederick (Duke of York), Queen Louise and her cousins (and their wives, the Granddaughters of Czar Paul). From Hanover came Uncle Edward, Duke of Kent, where he governed as Viceroy for Uncle Frederick. Similarly, Uncle Octavius, Duke of Suffolk, arrived from Pomerania and Uncle Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge from Finland (his assignment from Frederick when Alfred, Duke of Richmond, was given Courland). Rumor had it that uncle Ernst of Cumberland wanted one of Frederick's nations to govern but Frederick refused.
Eventually, Ernst would be given an honorable posting in Havana, where he would be out of the way.
The handful of married aunts would soon return as well. Sadly, none of them beyond the late Aunt Amelia of Denmark would have children due to Queen Charlotte's resistance to giving up her daughters.
Various heads of state arrived, including the King of France, Philippe. The King and Queen of Ireland were invited but politely declined with the excuse that the Queen (a daughter of King Philippe) was heavily pregnant and could not travel. It saved embarrassment on both sides should the reigning House of Stuart set foot upon British soil again (as they did by accident over a decade prior).
At least dozen royal family's of Germany arrived, including the Dukes of Mecklenburg and the Royal Houses of Brunswick, Lippe and Waldeck. These last two would prove quite important.
While Queen Frederica had not mentioned marriage any time soon, her sisters, with nothing in particular to look forward to, were seeking their futures. Neither desired remaining maids kept by their sister's allowance. While they were close, both Charlotte and Elizabeth wanted to set their own path.
Among the visitors were the eldest son of the Prince of Lippe, Leopold, and the Prince of Waldeck, George. Both were young, not yet to thirty, and unmarried. Realizing that a dynastic alliance with Britain may work out in their favor (if only for the potential to borrow money), both Princes tarried with the attractive eighteen year old Princesses. Within the year, Princess Charlotte married Leopold (they remained for two years in Britain until Leopold was called back to Lippe) and Elizabeth (still the sickly one of the trio) married the reigning Prince of Waldeck. Neither line was particularly closely related to the House of Hanover and it was considered a good thing for the bloodlines. George and Elizabeth returned immediately to Waldeck.
The public welcomed these marriages as they met all expectations: foreign (meaning having no domestic political affiliations) protestants of Princely blood whom obviously did not intend to leach off of the public exchequer. Charlotte and Elizabeth were 1st and 2nd, respectively, in line for the thrones and it was always a good idea to have a direct succession. Granted, this would not likely be required as Queen Frederica parents came from families with a strong history of reproduction and the Queen was likely to be fertile herself. But backups were always nice. The next in line, King Frederick of Sweden-Norway-Finland-Hanover-Pomerania, had been pressed to abdicate his rights to the British throne to prevent any merger of Kingdoms. Britain had no desire for such an alliance. Frederick refused, of course, but the prospect was not nil. Many Britons were relieved that the King's two sons were married to the Granddaughters of the Czar (the daughter of Prince Alexander and his sister, the Duchess of Mecklenburg).
Next in line was Edward, Duke of Kent, and he was something of a dunce in some ways (though one with four children already).
The public would definitely prefer that Frederica spawned. Failing that, it would be for her sisters to produce a viable line without significant foreign interference (theoretically, their children would also be heirs to the little states of Lippe and Waldeck).
Everyone assumed that Her Majesty would select among the various princes present, most younger sons without any realistic chance for a throne themselves. Others whispered that the Duke of Gloucester's son may be the candidate or even one of the exiled Dutch Princes from the House of Orange. In the end, the Queen was in no hurry.
Philadelphia
President John Copley walked the length of the Presidential Mansion, recently completed by Mr. Brunel, and noted the sheer quantity of his father's paintings. The most illustrious painter in American history, John Singleton Copley (well, the President had the same name but dropped the Singleton to be differentiated from his father) had painted virtually every American politician of note from 1770 to the time of his death in 1815. He saw the portraits by his father of Franklin, Washington, Jay and Madison. Unfortunately, father died before painting Madison in the Presidential mansion but had painted Madison before as Governor of Virginia.
There were also paintings of American heroes like General O'Hara, General Arnold, even General Gage from his colonial days. Copies of portraits of Jefferson, Monroe, Adams, etc were common throughout the nation.
Once again, many people were shocked (especially abroad) that a political figure would voluntarily give up power just because he lost an election. Just in the last two months, two of the successor states of New Spain, Hidalgo and Nuevo Viscaya, had commenced civil war when the incumbent lost an election. Another nation avoided that problem when their "President" pronounced himself President for life and that there would be no more elections. That didn't look like it was going over any better than the other nations.
But Aaron Burr, whom was from the "Centralist-leaning" part of the Federationist Party admitted that Copley was probably closer to his own politics than many of the main contenders in the Federationist Primary like Simon Snyder or William Crawford. There would be no problems with the handover. He ordered his own Secretaries and department heads to meet with their successors in order to smooth the transition.
For this, President Copley would be forever grateful. Indeed, Burr even made several speeches (though not at the inauguration) congratulating his successor on his victory. Federationist candidate John Quincy Adams wrote a politely worded note, resigned as Secretary of State, and returned to Massachusetts to sulk in defeat.
Copley vowed to make no alterations to the Emancipation Act. Most of the slaves of South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland had already been freed. The rest would be freed without compensation by Christmas of this year.