King of America - a new timeline

Possible weirdness

USA becomes a monarchy under Henry of Prussia !

Napoleon kills himself in 1814

Victoria is shot by a boy out hunting

Konstantine is in St Petersburg when the Decembrists strike
he ends up "elected" Tsar

-----------------------

-1- How would the USA deal with being a monarchy from the early stages of Independence ? Would King Henry I of America continue to be gay, or would he marry for the sake of his line and office?

-2- No Napoleonic legacy, his suicide means no memoirs, no glorious return, no myth of invincibility

-3- There would be a long period whereby Ernest is obviously the heir to William, lasting from the mid 1820s until his accession in 1837, unless moves are made to prevent it

-4- Konstantine ends up as Tsar, but with a debt to the revolutionaries, a purge of the army, a quasi-independent Poland, and a pledge to institute democratic reforms

- - -

This is all very well but if the American Revolution was monarchical how would the French one go? If we assume that Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton etc, stay loyal to an American KING, then what course does the French Revolution take ?

It may well be that it takes an OTL course but on an OTL schedule, a later overthrow of the monarchy, an attempt first to get abdications for the Orleans line, then a coup against them maybe by Joubert and Carnot. Later this in turn is overthrown by General Bonaparte, aided by Kleber. Maybe things take a different course, a different time-frame so that its maybe 1810 before he declares himself Emperor.

US history would need to be inter-meshed with this - Henry died OTL in 1802; he HAD married in 1752 but had no kids (cos he was gay). Maybe he would have divorced her in the USA and remarried, but to whom? By 1786 he was around sixty, as would have been his wife. A divorce and remarriage would have worked and made sense, to all.

The alternative would be an elected monarchy, as per the Poles. This may well have looked a realistic option. On King Henry's death in 1802, there would have been a candidate lined up, maybe several... There would be a vote in Congress, but a period of inter-regnum.

They would be looking for a Protestant N European prince, certainly not from Britain! If a Prussian option is chosen, then Prince Karl, born 1781, a younger brother of Frederick William III (acceded 1797) would be the option.

There is no Danish option (the line of succession is so narrow), whilst the Swedes may well NOT go for Bernadotte in this world, and stick with the SINGLE Vasa heir. There is also no Dutch heir from the ruling line for the same reason.

Whilst there may be other German princelings, the Prussian option seems most logical. I don't know buggery about Karl - he lived until 1846. In this timeline, with an American heritage always dangled before him and acceded to when he was 21, then he would make an advantageous marriage with his American kingship in mind. Unlike his predecessor, this marriage is likely to have heirs, and whilst the US kingship may be elective, it will become like the Danish or the HRE - ie election is confirmation of hereditary

If we assume he has a kid in around 1805, then he secures his line. His wife would no doubt come from a secondary German power (Anhalt etc).

- - -

Such as Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton are thus Prime Ministers or such to the King of the Americas - oh, they may HAVE the title of President, as until now it does not denote top-level independent ruler

Washington and Hamilton may well be rivals, and a term of Washington be succeeded by a term of Hamilton's. The first president of King Charles I of America's reign also could well be Alexander Hamilton.

A two-party system could well have evolved with leaders and Burr is the Opposition leader to Hamilton's administration. There would be no Washingtonian example of a two-term limit, and it would be more like the system later to evolve in Britain.

- - -

1818 sees the defeat of Napoleon's empire and his despairing sucide

Louis XVIII enters Paris as a puppet of the Allies

As a note on French dynastics - their own people executed the Orleans line, whilst the Conde line survived and was never assassinated. Louis-Philippe (II of Orleans) would have become King Louis XVII on the deposition on Louis XVI. Later the Dauphin of the latter would have died in custody, whilst Louis XVII and his 3 sons (Louis Philippe, Antoine Philippe and Louis Charles) were executed after the turn of the century

The 9th Prince of Conde died in 1830 in OTL his son and heir having been executed by Napoleon in 1804. In terms of enumeration, the 8th Prince dies in 1818, the 9th in 1830 and in this ATL the 10th prince born in 1772 accedes to the title in 1830 at the age of 58. Conde however is further from the succession than Orleans was, and has the Spanish and Parma lines in between. It is, however, a handy reserve line.

- - -

What role does the USA take in the wars?

Up until 1802 King Henry is not going to want to go against the land of his birth, whilst Washington, Arnold and Jefferson want to keep the USA out of the wars in Europe.

Upon the accession of King Charles I in 1802, aged 21, things will get more complicated.

Henry I was uncle to the King of Prussia until 1797, great-uncle thereafter. Upon his accession, King Charles is brother of the extant king, Frederick William III

Prussia is first humbled under Joubert-Carnot, but is finally crushed by Napoleon, probably around 1806, a stepping stone on the road to declaring himself Emperor in 1810, after Kleber's death

Butterflies mean no Egyptian expedition in the late 1790s, BUT after Prussia's defeat, and before Napoleon's accession as Emperor, Russia may well agree to come on board with the division of the Ottoman Empire as the price, and Kleber could well be the Marshal who leads this expedition.

Naval affairs would not be so disastrous in this French Revolution, as this started out as a monarchial revolution, only later over-throwing the alternative monarchy. The navy remains strong, fights in far-off seas etc, and its first disaster is in supporting Kleber when Napoleon's plans for an invasion of Britain, by dragging the RN across the Atlantic and back, serve mainly to keep the French occupied, but allow a second British fleet to enter the Med, pass through to the East and repeat Actium almost exactly by destroying Kleber's fleet at sea.

In this ATL, Napoleon can be assumed to have won the support of Esterhazy who becomes King of Hungary, broken away from the Habsburg empire

As per OTL, Napoleon's downfall is Russia, but in this ATL he is supported by Vasa Sweden and by Esterhazy's Hungary and it is a 3-year war which eventually ends with his defeat in 1817 after Britain knocks out Sweden navally, plus landings at Gothenburg and Stockholm, and . . . something else

- - -

We need to work out the USA and Spain and Portugal in this other world. Joubert and Carnot's regime is unlikely to play hardball with Spain, whilst Napoleon upon his take-over is going to need to rely on Madrid to control a major flank of his naval and defensive policy. Probably only after the failuire of his Invasion (of Britain) plans, and Kleber's defeat and death in Egypt, would Spain attempt a breakaway - maybe the USA is invading Florida at this time, and Madrid is trying to save it by disengaging from the war.

So around 1810 Napoleon invades Spain and triggers the OTL type series of events. With a king in Philadelphia, there is of course a different differential in the New World, and we could well see a revolution in Mexico ask a Catholic prince to become king, whilst maybe Peru declares loyalty to the deposed king and invites a direct Regent, whom in this ATL is appointed from the royal family.

Perhaps the flight of the Portuguese royal family still happens, just a bit later than OTL.

Would Napoleon appoint his brothers to kingships as per OTL ? Since here he doesn't become emperor til 1810, the chances and system available to him is limited and different. The period of his joint rule with Kleber, would see other generals appointed as dictators in other states - eg Murat in Naples, Desaix in the Netherlands.

Once crowned Emperor, Napoleon would begin to change his approach - eg Murat as his bro in law would rise from dictator to King of Naples (but not Sicily which the British fleet defends)

Louis could well end up as King of the Netherlands, Jerome even as King of Westphalia, but Spain would be a reach, so he could well be looking to govern remotely at first (as per OTL) and only overthrow the Borbons when they look likely to desert the alliance. I guess Joseph is the best option here, as his older brother,

We are after all looking for CONVERGENCE and not wild divergence here, looking to ride the horse of history across unfamiliar pastures rather than to change our mount

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
In 1786 as the Constitutional Convention was being planned, a group of senior members of the Continental Congress, Alexander Hamilton, Nathaniel Gortham, the presiding officer of the Congress, and James Monroe, who would become a future president, wrote to Prince Henry of Prussia, the younger brother of King Frederick the Great , inviting him to become King of the United States

If he had accepted promptly it might have been too awkward later to turn him down when the Convention considered the issue in depth.


This is the basis of the timeline, and for whatever reason Henry accepts with alacrity, and hurries to the Americas.

Having a king is not going to change international relations much in the pre-1800 period since whether or not they have a king, these people are still rebels against Britain, albeit now settled with, and they are still owing their victory to their European allies.

But the President is not going to be the ultimate in politics, he has a king above him who, whilst limited in power, is a greater symbol of the nation. It will be Henry who appears on coins, whose name is first in documents, whilst Washington may be as great as Pitt or Liverpool, but never as over-arcing as George III or IV.

Hamilton is going to be even more different, as one of those who invited the Prussian prince to become king. His star will not wane, his outlook will remain.

Washington was elected 1788, took office in 1789, lost the election in 1792, left office 1793

88-92 Washington
92-96 Hamilton
96-00 Hamilton
00-04 Hamilton

New King Charles would want to set his own mark on the country, respect Hamilton perhaps, but look more to Burr as the leader of the Opposition (in a more British sense of how these things work). Whilst restrained from full involvement, the king can still influence things, and the thrusting ambitious Burr is a symbol for the new age.

There is no San Ildefonso in this timeline, and Louisiana remains Spanish. It thus also remains, and becomes more of, a bone of contention between the USA and Spain. Tensions will rise, especially after Napoleon's rise when Spain is tied even more closely to France. US armed forces would be fighting the Seminole, over the borders into Florida, whilst US settlers would be pressing into W Florida, the least easily defensible area of Spain's possessions. At the same time, American pressure on New Orleans and the Mississippi is going to become very hard for the Spanish Governor to resist, and add to the tensions that lead to war.

This war, perhaps in 1808-09 could lead to moves in Madrid to break away from the French alliance and make a peace with the USA, and these moves lead to direct French intervention, the overthrow of the Borbons and attempts to impose Joseph on the throne. French initial success has a knock-on in Portugal which also collapses, and sees the exodus of the royal fleet.

The British fight back may well be under Sir John Moore rather than Wellington, no earlier campaign there meaning no earlier death. Moore would also be enobled (maybe Earl of Glasgow?) and would fight the major campaigns across Iberia.

The USA would find itself formally at war with FRANCE after 1810, probably completing the conquest of the Floridas whilst fighting Franco-Spanish armies in New Orleans. I would imagine that Napoleon after his coronation would seek to extract himself from this war, but King Charles would be more difficult to convince. Spain, split and in the midst of war, is a complicated matter, with Joseph's government in Madrid facing off against royalist forces based overseas - Tenerife perhaps.

A Franco-American Treaty in 1812 would give the USA the Floridas, and navigation, trading rights etc on the Mississippi and in New Orleans.

Mexico under a Spanish emigre prince as first Regent, later as King as he has to fight to defend the vice-royalty against American encroachments. Louisiana would look to Mexico in its defence.

Peru would be a more extreme version of this, and as per OTL there would be British-supported insurections, such as Bolivar's. Whilst Peru would be more chaotic, facing British-inspired revolt from the North, they would end up more loyal in the long-run as the Regent sticks with the legitimate king, not needing to resort to drastic measures such as declaring himself king

- - -

Napoleon would only embark on an invasion of Russia when he felt confident in himself - peace with the USA, even if a pseudo-war continues, peace with the Ottomans (after the defeat, a treaty is signed), subversion of Vasa Sweden and Esterhazy Hungary as allies in the invasion.

The war IS long and devastating to Russia, more so by far than OTL with only a desperate fightback a la WW2 meaning eventual victory, a victory driven to a large part by Britain, its navy in the Baltic, its invasion of Sweden, S Finland and landings in Estonia etc.

A Polish national uprising could well help here, furthering the later autonomy within a union with Russia under Alexander I, and with Konstantine as Regent. Thus when Alexander dies, and the Decembrists rise up, Konstantine has an even stronger position than OTL

However, he also has a weaker position than Alexander once he accepts power. He is in hock to the revolutionaries, and also to the Poles, and his hold over the military can only be established by a combination of purges and a war that binds them to him.

1825 is only 7 year after Napoleon's death, it is about five after the young Victoria was accidentally shot by a young lad out hunting whose wayward shot went through the nursery window. Charlotte is dead, Britain is destined to Ernest in the long-run, but as yet it is the LONG run, as George IV lives, his brother William also.

Konstantine COULD fight Sweden, or Prussia or Austria or the Ottomans. Regarding Prussia, a weaker Russia, means a greater likelihood that Prussia retains more of Poland. Sweden defeated would mean Finland lost. Hungary defeated would mean a resumption of Austrian rule, and thus borders that favour them, though Galicia-Krakow would have been lost to the Polish sub-kingdom of the Romanovs. This would orientate the sub-kingdom away from lands lost more permanently to Prussia.

It would make most sense for Konstantine's war to be against the Ottomans, constant enemies, joint enemy of the Poles as much as of the Russians, and a focus for his rule.

- - -

The 1826 war would involve Russian aggression, Ottoman defeat, Serbian victory and Jannisary reform all in one, lasting probably til 1830 but quite likely avoiding the Greek war since a previous war, built on a past of its own, achieves its own dynamics

Konstantine would win this war, acquire some hegemony over the Ottomans, some territory in the S Caucasus, dominance in the Principalities etc

Britain is going to be increasingly screwed, with Goerge IV's death in 1830 followed by William IV's increasingly erratic rule and Ernest's accession on the horizon. There won't BE civil war, but the fear of it coming.

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
How to play with the interplay of forces?

America under King Charles would emerge from the wars with an aggressive front, an expedition across the North-West to the Pacific (a la Lewis and Clark), wars against the Indians in the (Old) North-West, and adventures West across the Mississippi in defiance of Spanish theoretical rule, or as it develops Mexican rule, from the Borbon king in Mexico city.

An independent Kingdom of Mexico under a Borbon is really going to put the pigeon among the cats. Its going to wrestle Louisiana away from Spain, and maybe Cuba, but this would probably be amicable, in the sense that taking my panties without my permission is amicable if I don't complain

The Mexican-American War is coming sooner, and harder than in OTL, it will pitch near-equals against each other, across a wide expanse where there are three parties occupying it – the Mexican authorities, the illegal American settlers, with their militias, and the Indians, more powerful here than in OTL.

The Kingdom of America is going to have things even more complicated by not having fought the Shawnee. Tecumseh may well still be alive, older, calmer and with a different kind of powerbase. The Shawnee probably acknowledge the King in Philadelphia as an overlord, but not the government as having direct power. Things are probably a lot more complicated than OTL, and Harrison quite possibly had a different rise than in OTL – he was extremely young in OTL, here he probably does not rise so fast. Calmer, more steady hands would be the ones dealing with the Shawnee, and the lack of the Louisiana Purchase and the subsequent tensions all along the Mississippi probably also work to the Shawnee’s advantage. American settlers would be pressing the Western border, as much as the North-West, with tensions and the risk of war always present along the West.

This war would come in the early 1820s – 1821-22, perhaps, a couple years after Mexican independence is formalized after the defeat of Napoleon, and his subsequent suicide. The Mexican-American War is going to be long and hard, perhaps 1822-1827, overlapping with the major Russo-Ottoman War in Europe, which is probably 1825/6-1827.

The LONG Mexican-American War is going to see the formalisation of many up to that point informal things. US militias, state armed formations etc are going to get over-taken by national regiments, raised by the President in the king’s name.

Who is the president? I am assuming we have 2 terms of Burr, from 1804-8 and 1808-12, but party politics is a difficult beast to ride, and whilst his administration gains the treaty of 1812 bringing the Floridas with it, intra-party politics, defections and ambitious men jockeying for position all mean Burr is ousted in 1812 by an alliance of factions uniting under Monroe.

Monroe is a one-administration president, defeated by a re-assertion of party politics that leaves his mix-of-all isolated on both sides. The 1816 election is won by Burr, the first time a former President manages a comeback to reclaim the office.

In retrospect his winning for America of Florida is a great thing, whilst the on-going war in Europe against Napoleon at the time of his election is still an uncertain thing. Midway through his presidency his attempts at a rapprochement with France collapse completely as the war in Europe turns irrevocably against Napoleon and by 1818 his reputation is bankrupt, with Britain and Russia in the ascendancy, France defeated and Napoleon dead.

The 1818 election sees Burr’s absolute defeat by an overwhelming vote. John Quincy Adams is very much a compromise candidate, the best for rival factions, but emerges as a great president, winning a second term in 1822 and taking America into the war against Mexico.

It is hard fought, and by 1826 is beginning to seem an impossible war, draining of the economy, exhausting of the national will, splitting the body politic and destroying morale. After two terms, JQA is defeated by Andrew Jackson, a wounded one-legged hero of the first half of the war, and seen as a messianic figure by many for his alliance with Indian factions to defeat the bulk of the Indian alliance in Louisiana. A non-racist, as evinced by his agreement in the field to ex-slaves serving in all-black units (and rumours in private about his love life), Jackson appears to be all things to all men.

Taking office in Spring 1827, Jackson’s administration sees the war with Mexico through to a successful conclusion, although warning signs abound as he is quick to resort to extra-judicial means of forcing it through. Penalties are increased, volunteer and militia forces are forcibly brought into the federal system and kept on beyond their agreed terms, and taxes on a wide range of goods are raised to pay for this.

- - -

Great Britain is caught during all this between three stools – on the one hand it has to defend Canada, its borders with the USA and its interests in the disputed regions. On the second hand it looks to new markets in the newly-independent Mexico and the emerging complexities of Central and Southern America, and on the third hand a lot of its attention is focused on Russian actions and ambitions in its war against the Ottoman Empire.

British politics has probably got even more screwed up than US political history in this timeline, with 3 more years of war against Napoleon acting as a strong counter, whilst the different plot of European history, or French history especially, would have meant a different evolution in British history as a result.

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
pt 4

Britain is in a situation of confusion, with George III's sons jockeying for position and eventual succession. George IV has reigned since 1820, and dies in 1830; his brother William had a couple of short-lived children, around the time that the next brother Edward also did - Princess Alexandrina Victoria, killed by a stray shot from a young boy out hunting. Edward has died since, but William lives, as heir to his brother.

Ernest Augustus is the heir to the heir, born in 1771, with a son born in 1819. Now this seems like covergence, etc, but one possible outcome is as good as any other - I could postulate different children of different dates, maybe not a blind son, but why should I? What happened in reality is as likely as what could have happened - any option has an equal chance, they only seem unlikely in comparison to the other possibilities when the latter are bulked together. 1 in 1000 is always the same, the alternative is not 999 in 1000 but 999 1-in-1000s. (and does anyone know how Rick Robinson is, I've not seen him around for a good while?)

So, I'm going with reality - a blind son, George to the fourth George who is about to escape from his mortal coil.

Britain's position in the Americas is looking decidedly dodgy outside of Canada, with the Kingdom of America having defeated Mexico. Whilst British mercantile interests elsewhere compete with Spanish (in Peru) and French etc, there is now the prospect of a strong, rising power in the USA, though many in Europe still view this as scaremongering and exaggeration – but those are just the qualities to rise during a fraught political crisis at home.

The war against Napoleon was longer, harder for Britain than in OTL, and social cohesion went further towards breakdown before peace at last was made. Conflict in Ireland raising its head, also complicates things as Ernest Augustus is deep into the Orange Orders and their lodges and promoting their spread into England. There would be a harder battle for Catholic Emancipation, and by 1830 it would still seem to be an impossibility to many.

The question of political reform is also aggravated by how far radical elements went against the establishment in the closing years of the war (1815-1818) and am much greater polarization as a result. In many ways, the political establishment is paralysed, awaiting the imminent death of George IV, and knowing that William will only be a stop-gap. Ernest is the real heir, and many, many people have reason to hate and fear him.

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Pt 5

OK so how go things longer term ?

Butterflies will really begin to bite after the 1840s so names will begin to matter less and less, until they matter nought

A weaker Russia winning, but a real Congress Poland, and a Tsar Konstantine mean that Russia is going to be a vastly different country

As in all things its a dice-toss - why did Konstantine and his second, morganatic wife, not have kids? Could they have had in more propitious circumstances? Here, I grant them that boon, and since he becomes Tsar after his second marriage, he's going to make sure that she becomes Tsaritsa, and that the morganatic aspect is irrelevant, and thus their child will be heir

Paul, the father of both Aleksandr I and now Konstantine I, in his reign introduced a succession law barring females, and restricting succession to the male line, but this was contrary to previous Romanov (sic) practice, and is not bedded down, so if he and his wife have a daughter, then there would be an expectation amongst his supporters that this heir would succeed, and not the boorish military brother Nikolai, a man whom Konstantine's supporters would have reason to fear, though not whilst he still lives.

Thus if we shake a dice and give Konstantine until 1835 to live, his daughter and heir is an adolescent - let us call her Alexandra, after his late brother and predecessor. Konstantine's supporters will have made sure that measures were in place to ensure her succession, but reactionary elements would still group around Nikolai and play the main chance. I see Nikolai as caught between two stools - on the one hand loyal to his brother as Tsar, and not wanting to be associated with revolt, and on the other hating the liberal democratic elements who supported Konstantine, and opposed to a female ruler. I think the latter would move him - he would convince himself that if Konstantine had had a male heir, he would have remained loyal, despite his feelings, but he cannot remain loyal to a woman.

So civil war is what greets Konstantine's death in 1835

- - -

By this time Britain is not much better! William IV's increasing senility is driving the political classes mad, and Ernest's waiting in the wings is leading to violent clashes up and down the country. Ireland is in a state of virtual permament civil war, and Hannoverian forces have been drafted in to keep order.

The pressures on William would be greater than historically, and so he dies in 1836, despairing of the throne. Ernest comes to kingship backed by the Orange Order up and down the United Kingdom, and Hannoverian troops in British pay in Ireland.

Within a year, Britain is crashing into civil war

- - -

In France, Louis XVIII's rule turned out better than OTL as there was no chance of a Napoleonic Readeption with his having committed suicide, so the political pact made on France's surrender in 1818 lasts, and former revolutionaries and Napoleonic commanders readjust to the new old regime.

Charles of Artois has less of a following and has to tread more carefully, not least because familial ties to Austria have been long broken, and the curious Napoleonic link does not exist (perhaps in this OTL Napoleon divorced Josephine for Maria Waleska but their children live in exile perhaps in Sweden and play no political role).

With Russia in chaos, Britain in chaos, and France strong, the Greek Revolt is crushed at length by Egyptian intervention, with Hellenic romanticism a side-note in history. We can posit a longer lead-in and a longer lead-out without Navarino, but in the end, Egypt prevails and the Sultan makes Ibrahim ruler of Greece.

This actually bolsters Mohammed Ali's position in Egypt, as primogeniture is not the rule of succession, and the heirs to himself are not the same as the heirs to Ibrahim, even tho Ibrahim may succeed him a while.

- - -

The Kingdom of America partakes from time to time in international affairs, joining France in the early 1830s in its war against the Barbary States, landing forces and winning naval battles, that establish a presence, and a permanent squadron in the Mediterranean.

Victory over Mexico results in the early 1830s in a series of successor campaigns more by individual generals and settler populations than by the royal government. Jackson retired at the end of his second term in 1834, and by 1835 the compromise president is a relative unknown (a butterfly player as it were, someone who in OTL died before his rise to prominence, and here someone we can elevate to the top job. . . Elijah Hope!)

But President Hope's administration is weakened by Jackson's near-total control of the military, even in retirement, such is his influence, and by the increasing polarisation of national politics between North and South with leaders emerging from both factions that control votes in the House and Senate, and render him effectively lame.

Jackson's victory in the Med, added to his victory against Mexico, have made the one-legged war hero president untouchable, and President Hope's half-hearted attempts to move against him get nowhere.

King Charles of America is uninclined to get involved - after all Jackson has more or less doubled the expanse of his royal realm, whilst the victory against the Barbary States has more or less made America a world power. With Britain crashing into civil war, around the same time that Russia is too, the king would see America as shining as a golden light.

That the frontier generals and settler populations are pushing this, he would not see. Their victories against a fractured Mexican state, defeating provincial warlords and weakened royal generals, would seem like repeated glories in Philadelphia, but President Hope would be able to see the reality - an army, and a settler population on the frontier, that was now outside of political control.

Hope's period in office would be one of weakness, where the generals rise to prominence, and where Northern and Southern leaders manoevre in the House and Senate, by-passing him.

1838 would see him annihilated, swept away by a popular vote for a successful general, let us conjure a man out of thin air as the butterflies are now getting more vicious - General Alexander Johnson. Victor over the Mexican caudillo ruler of Tejas, he has advanced the borders of America to, and beyond the Nueces, until they lie on the Rio Grande. The royal court in Mexico City does not recognise any of this, but the first act of President Alexander's rule is to have Congress pass a bill defining the borders of the kingdom, and stating that the Southern border lies upon the Rio Grande.

By this time, the British Civil War is coming to a bloody end, with a Chartist Republican Army sweeping aside the Hannoverians. Ernest is killed attempting to board a ferry for France, whilst his blind son George is captured in hiding in the West Country, and tho initially treated well, dies in a prison cell a year or so later from neglect. With the Duke of Sussex's suicide, the line of descent falls upon the Duke of Cambridge who has himself crowned King of Hannover, and builds up his German forces, awaiting the call to return and claim the British inheritance.

Things are not easy for the British Republic, and it faces a Royalist rising in Canada that requires the dispatch of much of the Army of the Republic, whilst the navy is built up and relied upon to prevent a Hannoverian landing. Ireland remains in uneasy alliance with the Republic, but a Congress of Irish leaders in Dublin demands home rule, and the establishment of an Irish Republican Army, and the Chartist Grand Council in London is split on this issue.

The British Republic benefits enormously from the Kingdom of America's preoccupation with Mexico, and with its internal difficulties, and despite great initial difficulties, succeeds in defeating the Royalists in the Canadas, and in establishing a unitary body to bring the provinces together, abolishing the Hudson Bay Company, and creating an embryonic Dominion Parliament at Montreal.

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
France allies with Hannover, Louis XIX having succeeded his father Charles X in 1837. He and King Adolphus of Hannover meet in Wolfenbuttel and sign a formal alliance, soon bringing in Prussia and Sweden, against the republican scum in London.

France promises naval aid, if Hannover and Prussia will provide the bulk of the army, and Adolphus mortgages his kingdom (of Hannover) to provide this.

1840 sees President Johnson launch an all-out resumption of the war against Mexico, Mexico City having denounced the border proclamation, continued to support rebels, and being still the formal overlord in the West where American settlers are steadily pushing

1840 also sees the Alliance fall upon Great Britain, defeating the Republican Navy in a series of hard-fought battles, and making a successful landing in East Anglia. With the bulk of the standing army still in Canada, the Chartist Grand Council attempts to rely upon a levee-enmasse, but the association of that tactic with Napoleonic desperation from his latter years is so strong that many people assume it means that the Republic is already defeated and melt away. The survivors of the Orange Lodges come out of hiding with a series of terrorist attacks upon militia bases and armouries, and on the newfangled railways, seriously undermining Republican attempts to gather their forces.

Adolphus takes London, mainly thanks to his Prussian allies, and has himself crowned in a Westminster Abbey severely damaged by a fire that retreating Republican troops set in the neighbouring Palace of Westminster which spread in the wind. He is crowned beneath open skies and blackened beams, but the symbolism remains, and the newspapers soon spread the news, without the negative details.

Ireland's declaration of independence, in defiance of the British Republic is more or less the last nail in the coffin, as it shows up Chartist weakness, and associates by default the Republic with Irish independence. The Battle of Liverpool marks the last stand of the Chartist leadership, whilst mopping up operations in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee take another year, but by 1842 King Adolphus I is in secure possession of his kingdom...but not of Ireland

France refuses to have anything to do with an attack upon Ireland, whilst Prussia withdraws its contingent after the Battle of Edinburgh sees the death of the last Republican leader of great consequence, and the last army of professional status.

Meanwhile, the Republican army marooned in Canada sees some units shipped home to fight and lose in the war, but the bulk has no transport, and after the Battle of Liverpool, no desire to return. Instead, under force of arms, the Dominion Parliament in Montreal is declared to be the Parliament of the Independent Republic of Canada

With America deep into another Mexican War, there is none to dispute this declaration

- - -

Russia's civil war ends around 1840 with a victory for the progressive, liberalist faction, those backing Empress Alexandra I, backed by strong nationalist Polish armies, and defeating the reactionary armies in a series of battles across the South as the denouement to the war.

Nikolai is killed at Poltava, and his son and heir Aleksandr leads the last-ditch defence of Simferopol as the Empress' forces close in and wipe him, and his little brothers out, the latter killed when the baggage encampment is fired by victorious Poles. This unlooked for result means that the succession is now wholly female based, in the person of the Empress herself, Nikolai's daughters, and in the daughters of the only surviving male dynast, Grand Duke Michael, a supporter of Konstantine's will, and a governor in the North, a man who only has daughters as heirs himself.

Empress Alexandra marries a Polish prince, in the minds of many re-emphasising her role as monarch of Poland as well as Empress of Russia. They are soon blessed with a son, named Alexander, and shortly after a daughter, named Konstanta.

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1842 sees President Alexander Johnson re-elected and the war against Mexico pressed to a victorious conclusion. In return for recognising Mexican rule over California (plus Nevada and Arizona bar the NE portion - ie the lands West of the Rockies), Johnson attains Mexican cession of the East coast down as far as Vera Cruz and of the Rockies (New Mexico, Utah, Colorado).

This constitutes a huge land mass won in the last twenty years and though American settler populations will continue to push the envelope, especially as regards California, Johnson, with the backing of the retired Jackson, is able to control the generals and ensure that settler difficulties no longer lead to military incursions.

Beyond this, King Charles' death in 1846 weakens the cohesion of the nation, and the divisive forces between North and South that have been competing in the new territories come to the fore in 1846, not only the year of a new king, but of a presidential election, fought in victory, but fought over the issue which splits the North and South most asunder-that of slavery.

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King Adolphus eventually makes peace with the Irish, but not until 1847 after he has tried and failed in two successive landings. By now London's appetite to rule in Dublin has been severely blunted, and the expense of further endeavours outweighs pride and history. The king is pleased to instruct his Prime Minister to sign, and Russell puts pen to paper and signs into existence the Republic of Ireland.

Louis XIX of France has passed away in 1845 without children, succeeded by his brother, Charles XI, who attends the Independence Ceremony in Dublin, and rubs shoulders with Prince Henry of Great Britain, second son of King Adolphus, and a man of his own mind who accepted the Irish invitation to attend despite the misgivings of his father, and the request of the Prime Minister not to. Prince Henry, Duke of York, is very much his own man, born in 1822 and now looking for a role in the world as a second son, determined to be more than the "spare" of rhyme.

Charles XI, almost seventy by this time, strikes up an incongruous friendship with the young British royal, and Prince Henry breaks all protocol the following year by visiting the French king in Paris on his own behalf.

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Independence for Ireland is followed in 1848 by British recognition of independence for Canada, and Prince Henry again pops up, accompanied to Montreal by his namesake, Henri, Duc d'Artois, younger brother of the Dauphin Louis, and son of King Charles XI of France. THE TWO HENRIES as the newspapers dub them, get on famously, and are the stars of the show. The Kingdom of America, disapproving of the republican nature of its Northern neighbour, has only sent the Secretary of State, so at the celebrations the two sons of kings are the stars of the show.

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Upon the death of King Charles I of America in 1846, his son Charles ascended as King Charles II.

Things are not so clearcut as regards the presidency and there occurs a three-way split between Northern abolitionists/puritans, Southern slave-owners/aristocracy and Western adventurers/imperialists.

Unfortunately for the kingdom, when the vote goes to the House, the weight of North-Eastern industrialised votes swings it, and President let's make up another guy in this world of butterflies, Benjamin Samuels of New York gets in.

By 1848 things are at a deadlock between North and South, with the West having to choose sides. After the celebration of Canadian independence, the Secretary of State is assassinated shortly after his return, as he walks down the street.

Alabama newspapers print the confession of a pro-slavery vigilante militia, claiming that the administration is selling them, and the Southern way of life, down the river...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
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