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What if Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders accepted the invitation to become Domnitor of Romania in 1866?
Kings and Queens of Romania
1866 - 1905: Filip I (House of Flanders) [1]
1905 - 1923: Leopold I (House of Flanders) [2]
1923 - 1934: Filip II (House of Flanders) [3]
1934 - 1941: Louisa I (House of Wittelsbach) [4]
1941 - 1952: Emmanuel I (House of Orleans-Vendome) [5]
1952 - 1953: Charlotte I (House of Orleans-Vendome) [6]
1953 - 1973: Adrian (House of Orleans-Vendome) [7]
1973 - 2015: Henri (House of Orleans-Vendome) [7]
[7] Adrian of Romania was the eldest son of Adrian of Vendome, second son of Henrietta of Romania and Emmanuel, the Duke of Vendome. As such he was a great grandson of King Filip I, nephew of King Emmanuel and 'cousin' of Queen Charlotte.
He was born in 1927 and was 25 when he became King. His first course of action was to have his sister Henrietta marry Ludwig of Belgium, a man that some still considered the rightful King of Romania and that the pre-emptive abdication forced upon him by his father and the government illegal. The marriage had the effect of nullifying the abdication - bringing his children back into the line of succession as it would descend through Princess Henrietta and not through Ludwig of Belgium.
He was still King of Belgium after Leopold III produced no surviving issue and the crown then descended via the Romanian monarchy to Ludwig, as he had not been forced to abdicate his Belgian claim.
In turn, Adrian married Princess Isabelle, a daughter of King Henry-Robert of France (b. 1908) who by the time of Adrians coronation had been on the throne for two decades. She was a distant relation as they were both descended from King Louis-Phillipe. This meant that the royal families of Brazil, Belgium, France and Romania were all tightly interlocked - and the possibility existed (however unlikely) that a single person could occupy all three thrones. This panicked the German states and the British monarchy and a temporary ceasefire was declared to hold the Treaty of Hong Kong which stated that should a monarch of a country find that they inherit the throne of another country, they must abdicate their claim to one of the countries.
Reluctantly it gained ascent from all major countries, including Ludwig of Belgium, Adrian of Romania, Pedro V of Brazil, and Henry-Robert of France as well as Margaret of Britain.
After the conference, the Great War swung back into ongoing hostilities whilst never actually erupting into outright combat. Was this even really a war, the people started to ponder, or just the status quo?
Adrian broke the curse of short reigns in the Romanian monarchy, ruling for twenty years. However, his death in 1973 was at the wheel of a race car whilst visiting the royal family of Monaco and the age of 45, father of five (eldest born 1954), he was replaced by Prince Henri.
[8] Born in 1954, as the eldest son and child of Adrian of Romania and Princess Isabelle of France. He succeeded his father at the age of 19, to add new blood to the family, he would marry into the German royal house of Hohenzollern, by marrying Princess Angela. The marriage would be a happy and fruitful on.
His reign would see the cold war tension in Europe cool even more, with a strong economy, diverse community and advanced living standers, bringing Romania into par with countries such as Spain, Italy and Sweden.
Henri's reign would be the longest in Romanian history, ruling for 42 years, until his death on 28 July 2015 at the age of 61, following a long battle with cancer.
Kings and Queens of Romania
1866 - 1905: Filip I (House of Flanders) [1]
1905 - 1923: Leopold I (House of Flanders) [2]
1923 - 1934: Filip II (House of Flanders) [3]
1934 - 1941: Louisa I (House of Wittelsbach) [4]
1941 - 1952: Emmanuel I (House of Orleans-Vendome) [5]
1952 - 1953: Charlotte I (House of Orleans-Vendome) [6]
1953 - 1973: Adrian (House of Orleans-Vendome) [7]
1973 - 2015: Henri (House of Orleans-Vendome) [7]
[1] Philippe of Belgium was the second surviving son of King Leopold I of Belgium, born 1837 and created Count of Flanders in 1840. In early March of 1866, he was invited to be Domnitor or Prince of Romania - formerly Moldavia and Wallachia - after the forced abdication of his predecessor. Romania was still technically a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, but in 1877, the country declared itself fully independant and in 1881 it declared itself as the Kingdom of Romania. Filip I (he had styles his regnal name in the Romanian fashion) transitioned from Prince of Romania to King of Romania as the independence of his country was established.
A year after becoming Prince of Romania, he married Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in Bucharest. She was the sister of Karl of Hoenzollern-Sigmaringen, the man who probably would have been made Prince had Filip refused.
The couple had five children - and for a few years, there remained the possibility that Filip or one of his sons might inherit the Belgian throne. However, his brother Leopold II had a son, Leopold, Duke of Brabant, who survived to adulthood and replaced his father on the Belgian throne as Leopold III.
He encouraged modernisation and helped construct a rail network and several bridges over the Danube (the first, the Queen Marie Bridge connecting Muntenia and Dobruja was ordered as a tenth wedding present for the Princess Consort in 1877), easing travel and industrialisation. Unlike his brother-in-law, he was less formal and encouraged the development of a people's constitution in 1881 when the Kingdom of Romania was declared.
After the declaration of the Kingdom of Romania, the country became a major player in the region and the transport links authorised by King Filip and his Parliament made him popular. However, eventually Filip died in 1905 at the Peles Castle near Sinaia in Romania, leaving the throne to his son, Leopold of Romania.
[2] Leopold I of Romania was the third child and second son of King Filip, and was born in 1870. Afflicted with a distinct limp via a much shorter right leg, he wore specially made heels to ensure no one saw the problems he dealt with. With the death of his brother in 1891, Leopold took position of heir to the Throne at 21. Within the next 5 years, he had married the sister of his brother's fiance, and with his new wife, Clara of Bavaria, he had the first of 8 children. He would have 4 sons and 4 daughters.
The King of Romania and his sons. Left to Right: King Leopold, Prince Filip, Prince Albert, Prince Charles and Prince Victor Leopold. (c.1921)
His rule lasted 18 years, and little was accomplished, but when the King of Romania died at the age of 53, he died a hero. This was due to one factor: the Great War. Beginning in 1917, Germany invaded Belgium due to trade disputes, and thus Romania began to support their ally. In 1918, England and France entered the fight, and by 1920, 57 countries across the globe were taking part in the ongoing war. That was why, in 1922, the King of Romania, a man who had recently learnt to fly an aeroplane, decided to take part. Against the wishes of his family and country, he went into the war, and was shot down in 1923. His body was never recovered, and it wasn't until 1924 that he was officially recorded as dead. His was succeeded by his son Crown Prince Filip, Count of Flanders.
[3] Filip of Romania, born 1900 and made Count of Flanders by his father in 1921 after the death of his brother, Prince Albert, became Prince Regent in 1923 and was officially proclaimed King a year later. He had a short reign, but never married, his marriage to Princess Maud of Norway, sister of the future Olaf V of Norway, had been planned for 1935 but Filip died in a mountaineering accident with his youngest brother, Charles of Romania. Much like his father, his reign was preoccupied with the ongoing nature of the Great War, the slow but inevitable collapse and fracturing of the German Empire into it's constituent city states and the surprise resurrection of the French monarchy under King Henry-Robert and the House of Paris as an attempt to stave off the encroachment of the power and territory hungry Germanic states. With his death, and having no children of his own, the Romanian crown moved sideways to his Elder sister; Louisa Innocentia, The Duchess-Consort-in-Bavaria.
[4] The Eldest child of Leopold I of Romania, Princess Louisa married for love rather than politics and so took the Wittelsbach Duke-in-Bavaria, Augustus Ludwig, as her husband and largely resided in Munich alongside her husband existing as noble Socialites.
Such a life existed until 1934, with the Death of Filip II, and Louisa being requested by the Romanian Parliament as the most senior heir, to take the Romanian Throne, which she accepted and so travelled to Romania with her husband and young son.
The short reign of Louisa would last a mere seven years, and yet it would be a golden few. The Romanian Navy expanded mercilessly, and soon became a premier power of the Black sea, so much so that Romanian Troops would intervene in the Armenian Uprising of 1937, alongside the Ailing Ottomans.
Sadly Louisa would fall from her horse in a military parade, and would pass the day after. The throne of Romania passed to Emmanuel of Vendome.
[5] Queen Louisa had only a single child, a young son called Ludwig after his father, who was - thought the Romanians - rather difficult. So when his mother died, Ludwig would have been the new King at only ten years old, and a Regency required for the following eight years under his Bavarian father or a relative via Filip I, who would also be Heir Presumptive until Ludwig married and provided an heir. Given that the widowed Bavarian consort was not that popular, and his son a trouble making tearaway, the decision was made to request his abdication whilst his mother was having critical medical treatment. His father decided that it would probably be for the best, and the crown jumped (as except Louisa, the children of Leopold had all died and had no issue) over to Emmanuel, the eldest son of Kinh Leopolds sister, Henrietta the Duchess of Vendome, and a distant relation to Henry-Robert, the still ruling King of France.
Emmanuel was born in 1902, which meant that he was 39 upon being made King of Romania. The ongoing war ground further onwards, the independent Germanic states had been pacified by stalwart opposition, the Ottoman Empire had collapsed into a number of independent countries - it seemed like the age of the vast Empires was over, even Britain was forced to give up it's imperial pretensions and cede independence to its former colonies such as India and Australia. He had married Maria Francisca of Brazil in 1934, she was grand daughter of the former Empress Isabella, daughter of the former Emperor Pedro III, sister of the current Emperor Pedro IV and sister of Princess Isabelle, Queen Consort of France.
Emmanuel didn't last long on the throne either, passing away in 1952 of lung cancer - with six monarchs in six decades, jokes were being made about the royal family being cursed (plane crash, climbing accident, falling from a horse, lung cancer). But Emmanuel had at the very least, been determined to live long enough to see his eldest daughter, Charlotte-Louisa attain majority and take the throne and avoid the complexity that a Regency would bring to the country.
Charlotte-Louisa Marguerite Henrietta de Orleans-Vendome, Countess of Flanders (c.1951)
[6] Charlotte-Louisa Marguerite Henrietta de Orleans-Vendome was crowned Queen Charlotte I of Romania on the 8th of June, 1952, and abdicated January 4th, 1953. She reigned just long enough to see her father have a full state funeral, find an heir, and then was able to leave the country of Romania in order to marry the King of Portugal. Young Charlotte-Louisa was just 19 when she was crowned, and had been secretly engaged to Manuel IV of Portugal, going as far as to have him placed in an adjoining suite when he arrived for the state funeral of her father. Thus, she left her position within 6 months, and had to name an heir. The decision was made that her many younger sisters would be passed over, due to their extreme youth (Charlotte-Louisa had been followed by 3 miscarriages and a brother who had died young before her siblings had begun to be born healthy).
Maria Francisca of Brazil, Queen Dowager of Romania, walks behind the funeral procession of her husband with her younger children. Left to Right: the Princess Marie-Francoise Claudette de Orleans-Vendome, the Queen Dowager, the Princess Helene Catherine Nicole de Orleans-Vendome (baby), the Princess Victorie Dido Antoinette de Orleans-Vendome (front), the Princess Therese Eleanor Alys de Orleans-Vendome (back) and the Princess Joan Marianne Isabelle de Orleans-Vendome (head in bottom-right corner).
The crown was thus passed onto ____, and Charlotte-Louisa would return to Romania in 1988, after the annulment of her marriage due to adultery on her side with the King of England. She died in 2003, of bowel cancer.
A year after becoming Prince of Romania, he married Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in Bucharest. She was the sister of Karl of Hoenzollern-Sigmaringen, the man who probably would have been made Prince had Filip refused.
The couple had five children - and for a few years, there remained the possibility that Filip or one of his sons might inherit the Belgian throne. However, his brother Leopold II had a son, Leopold, Duke of Brabant, who survived to adulthood and replaced his father on the Belgian throne as Leopold III.
He encouraged modernisation and helped construct a rail network and several bridges over the Danube (the first, the Queen Marie Bridge connecting Muntenia and Dobruja was ordered as a tenth wedding present for the Princess Consort in 1877), easing travel and industrialisation. Unlike his brother-in-law, he was less formal and encouraged the development of a people's constitution in 1881 when the Kingdom of Romania was declared.
After the declaration of the Kingdom of Romania, the country became a major player in the region and the transport links authorised by King Filip and his Parliament made him popular. However, eventually Filip died in 1905 at the Peles Castle near Sinaia in Romania, leaving the throne to his son, Leopold of Romania.
[2] Leopold I of Romania was the third child and second son of King Filip, and was born in 1870. Afflicted with a distinct limp via a much shorter right leg, he wore specially made heels to ensure no one saw the problems he dealt with. With the death of his brother in 1891, Leopold took position of heir to the Throne at 21. Within the next 5 years, he had married the sister of his brother's fiance, and with his new wife, Clara of Bavaria, he had the first of 8 children. He would have 4 sons and 4 daughters.
The King of Romania and his sons. Left to Right: King Leopold, Prince Filip, Prince Albert, Prince Charles and Prince Victor Leopold. (c.1921)
His rule lasted 18 years, and little was accomplished, but when the King of Romania died at the age of 53, he died a hero. This was due to one factor: the Great War. Beginning in 1917, Germany invaded Belgium due to trade disputes, and thus Romania began to support their ally. In 1918, England and France entered the fight, and by 1920, 57 countries across the globe were taking part in the ongoing war. That was why, in 1922, the King of Romania, a man who had recently learnt to fly an aeroplane, decided to take part. Against the wishes of his family and country, he went into the war, and was shot down in 1923. His body was never recovered, and it wasn't until 1924 that he was officially recorded as dead. His was succeeded by his son Crown Prince Filip, Count of Flanders.
[3] Filip of Romania, born 1900 and made Count of Flanders by his father in 1921 after the death of his brother, Prince Albert, became Prince Regent in 1923 and was officially proclaimed King a year later. He had a short reign, but never married, his marriage to Princess Maud of Norway, sister of the future Olaf V of Norway, had been planned for 1935 but Filip died in a mountaineering accident with his youngest brother, Charles of Romania. Much like his father, his reign was preoccupied with the ongoing nature of the Great War, the slow but inevitable collapse and fracturing of the German Empire into it's constituent city states and the surprise resurrection of the French monarchy under King Henry-Robert and the House of Paris as an attempt to stave off the encroachment of the power and territory hungry Germanic states. With his death, and having no children of his own, the Romanian crown moved sideways to his Elder sister; Louisa Innocentia, The Duchess-Consort-in-Bavaria.
[4] The Eldest child of Leopold I of Romania, Princess Louisa married for love rather than politics and so took the Wittelsbach Duke-in-Bavaria, Augustus Ludwig, as her husband and largely resided in Munich alongside her husband existing as noble Socialites.
Such a life existed until 1934, with the Death of Filip II, and Louisa being requested by the Romanian Parliament as the most senior heir, to take the Romanian Throne, which she accepted and so travelled to Romania with her husband and young son.
The short reign of Louisa would last a mere seven years, and yet it would be a golden few. The Romanian Navy expanded mercilessly, and soon became a premier power of the Black sea, so much so that Romanian Troops would intervene in the Armenian Uprising of 1937, alongside the Ailing Ottomans.
Sadly Louisa would fall from her horse in a military parade, and would pass the day after. The throne of Romania passed to Emmanuel of Vendome.
[5] Queen Louisa had only a single child, a young son called Ludwig after his father, who was - thought the Romanians - rather difficult. So when his mother died, Ludwig would have been the new King at only ten years old, and a Regency required for the following eight years under his Bavarian father or a relative via Filip I, who would also be Heir Presumptive until Ludwig married and provided an heir. Given that the widowed Bavarian consort was not that popular, and his son a trouble making tearaway, the decision was made to request his abdication whilst his mother was having critical medical treatment. His father decided that it would probably be for the best, and the crown jumped (as except Louisa, the children of Leopold had all died and had no issue) over to Emmanuel, the eldest son of Kinh Leopolds sister, Henrietta the Duchess of Vendome, and a distant relation to Henry-Robert, the still ruling King of France.
Emmanuel was born in 1902, which meant that he was 39 upon being made King of Romania. The ongoing war ground further onwards, the independent Germanic states had been pacified by stalwart opposition, the Ottoman Empire had collapsed into a number of independent countries - it seemed like the age of the vast Empires was over, even Britain was forced to give up it's imperial pretensions and cede independence to its former colonies such as India and Australia. He had married Maria Francisca of Brazil in 1934, she was grand daughter of the former Empress Isabella, daughter of the former Emperor Pedro III, sister of the current Emperor Pedro IV and sister of Princess Isabelle, Queen Consort of France.
Emmanuel didn't last long on the throne either, passing away in 1952 of lung cancer - with six monarchs in six decades, jokes were being made about the royal family being cursed (plane crash, climbing accident, falling from a horse, lung cancer). But Emmanuel had at the very least, been determined to live long enough to see his eldest daughter, Charlotte-Louisa attain majority and take the throne and avoid the complexity that a Regency would bring to the country.
Charlotte-Louisa Marguerite Henrietta de Orleans-Vendome, Countess of Flanders (c.1951)
[6] Charlotte-Louisa Marguerite Henrietta de Orleans-Vendome was crowned Queen Charlotte I of Romania on the 8th of June, 1952, and abdicated January 4th, 1953. She reigned just long enough to see her father have a full state funeral, find an heir, and then was able to leave the country of Romania in order to marry the King of Portugal. Young Charlotte-Louisa was just 19 when she was crowned, and had been secretly engaged to Manuel IV of Portugal, going as far as to have him placed in an adjoining suite when he arrived for the state funeral of her father. Thus, she left her position within 6 months, and had to name an heir. The decision was made that her many younger sisters would be passed over, due to their extreme youth (Charlotte-Louisa had been followed by 3 miscarriages and a brother who had died young before her siblings had begun to be born healthy).
Maria Francisca of Brazil, Queen Dowager of Romania, walks behind the funeral procession of her husband with her younger children. Left to Right: the Princess Marie-Francoise Claudette de Orleans-Vendome, the Queen Dowager, the Princess Helene Catherine Nicole de Orleans-Vendome (baby), the Princess Victorie Dido Antoinette de Orleans-Vendome (front), the Princess Therese Eleanor Alys de Orleans-Vendome (back) and the Princess Joan Marianne Isabelle de Orleans-Vendome (head in bottom-right corner).
The crown was thus passed onto ____, and Charlotte-Louisa would return to Romania in 1988, after the annulment of her marriage due to adultery on her side with the King of England. She died in 2003, of bowel cancer.
[7] Adrian of Romania was the eldest son of Adrian of Vendome, second son of Henrietta of Romania and Emmanuel, the Duke of Vendome. As such he was a great grandson of King Filip I, nephew of King Emmanuel and 'cousin' of Queen Charlotte.
He was born in 1927 and was 25 when he became King. His first course of action was to have his sister Henrietta marry Ludwig of Belgium, a man that some still considered the rightful King of Romania and that the pre-emptive abdication forced upon him by his father and the government illegal. The marriage had the effect of nullifying the abdication - bringing his children back into the line of succession as it would descend through Princess Henrietta and not through Ludwig of Belgium.
He was still King of Belgium after Leopold III produced no surviving issue and the crown then descended via the Romanian monarchy to Ludwig, as he had not been forced to abdicate his Belgian claim.
In turn, Adrian married Princess Isabelle, a daughter of King Henry-Robert of France (b. 1908) who by the time of Adrians coronation had been on the throne for two decades. She was a distant relation as they were both descended from King Louis-Phillipe. This meant that the royal families of Brazil, Belgium, France and Romania were all tightly interlocked - and the possibility existed (however unlikely) that a single person could occupy all three thrones. This panicked the German states and the British monarchy and a temporary ceasefire was declared to hold the Treaty of Hong Kong which stated that should a monarch of a country find that they inherit the throne of another country, they must abdicate their claim to one of the countries.
Reluctantly it gained ascent from all major countries, including Ludwig of Belgium, Adrian of Romania, Pedro V of Brazil, and Henry-Robert of France as well as Margaret of Britain.
After the conference, the Great War swung back into ongoing hostilities whilst never actually erupting into outright combat. Was this even really a war, the people started to ponder, or just the status quo?
Adrian broke the curse of short reigns in the Romanian monarchy, ruling for twenty years. However, his death in 1973 was at the wheel of a race car whilst visiting the royal family of Monaco and the age of 45, father of five (eldest born 1954), he was replaced by Prince Henri.
[8] Born in 1954, as the eldest son and child of Adrian of Romania and Princess Isabelle of France. He succeeded his father at the age of 19, to add new blood to the family, he would marry into the German royal house of Hohenzollern, by marrying Princess Angela. The marriage would be a happy and fruitful on.
His reign would see the cold war tension in Europe cool even more, with a strong economy, diverse community and advanced living standers, bringing Romania into par with countries such as Spain, Italy and Sweden.
Henri's reign would be the longest in Romanian history, ruling for 42 years, until his death on 28 July 2015 at the age of 61, following a long battle with cancer.
What if Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders accepted the invitation to become Domnitor of Romania in 1866?
Kings and Queens of Romania
1866 - 1905: Filip I (House of Flanders) [1]
1905 - 1923: Leopold I (House of Flanders) [2]
1923 - 1934: Filip II (House of Flanders) [3]
1934 - 1941: Louisa I (House of Wittelsbach) [4]
1941 - 1952: Emmanuel I (House of Orleans-Vendome) [5]
1952 - 1953: Charlotte I (House of Orleans-Vendome) [6]
1953 - 1973: Adrian (House of Orleans-Vendome) [7]
1973 - 2015: Henri (House of Orleans-Vendome) [8]
2015 - Present: Emmanuel II (House of Orleans-Vendome) [9]
[9] Emmanuel II, the eldest son of Henri of Romania, took the throne at age 45. A long time playboy prince who had never married, speculation about his private life was always tabloid fodder, however in just a year of the King's reign, Emmanuel II publicly came out as bisexual and began dating long-time friend, and as revealed on-again/off-again lover, Radu Zenani. This stunning revelation was the source of no small amount of scandal and demands from the more conservative quarters of the nation for the King to either end the relationship, or abdicate in favor of his brother, Prince Filip.
Emmanuel II however did neither, instead in 2016 same-sex marriage was legalized in Romania so His Majesty and Mr. Zenani could marry, Zenani was granted the title of Prince-Consort and the style of His Majesty. Despite condemnations from many of the Christian churches in Romania for his actions, Emmanuel II has publicly confirmed that he wouldn't' be happy without the Prince-Consort at his side.
While the more liberal-inclined in Romania have found cause to support the monarchy, the more religiously conservative have made noises about making Romania a republic, though many seem mollified that currently Prince Filip and his children are likely to inherit the throne in the future.
His Majesty Emmanuel II (the right) and His Majesty Radu the Prince-Consort (the left) during a state visit to Brazil.
Kings and Queens of Romania
1866 - 1905: Filip I (House of Flanders) [1]
1905 - 1923: Leopold I (House of Flanders) [2]
1923 - 1934: Filip II (House of Flanders) [3]
1934 - 1941: Louisa I (House of Wittelsbach) [4]
1941 - 1952: Emmanuel I (House of Orleans-Vendome) [5]
1952 - 1953: Charlotte I (House of Orleans-Vendome) [6]
1953 - 1973: Adrian (House of Orleans-Vendome) [7]
1973 - 2015: Henri (House of Orleans-Vendome) [8]
2015 - Present: Emmanuel II (House of Orleans-Vendome) [9]
[1] Philippe of Belgium was the second surviving son of King Leopold I of Belgium, born 1837 and created Count of Flanders in 1840. In early March of 1866, he was invited to be Domnitor or Prince of Romania - formerly Moldavia and Wallachia - after the forced abdication of his predecessor. Romania was still technically a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, but in 1877, the country declared itself fully independant and in 1881 it declared itself as the Kingdom of Romania. Filip I (he had styles his regnal name in the Romanian fashion) transitioned from Prince of Romania to King of Romania as the independence of his country was established.
A year after becoming Prince of Romania, he married Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in Bucharest. She was the sister of Karl of Hoenzollern-Sigmaringen, the man who probably would have been made Prince had Filip refused.
The couple had five children - and for a few years, there remained the possibility that Filip or one of his sons might inherit the Belgian throne. However, his brother Leopold II had a son, Leopold, Duke of Brabant, who survived to adulthood and replaced his father on the Belgian throne as Leopold III.
He encouraged modernisation and helped construct a rail network and several bridges over the Danube (the first, the Queen Marie Bridge connecting Muntenia and Dobruja was ordered as a tenth wedding present for the Princess Consort in 1877), easing travel and industrialisation. Unlike his brother-in-law, he was less formal and encouraged the development of a people's constitution in 1881 when the Kingdom of Romania was declared.
After the declaration of the Kingdom of Romania, the country became a major player in the region and the transport links authorised by King Filip and his Parliament made him popular. However, eventually Filip died in 1905 at the Peles Castle near Sinaia in Romania, leaving the throne to his son, Leopold of Romania.
[2] Leopold I of Romania was the third child and second son of King Filip, and was born in 1870. Afflicted with a distinct limp via a much shorter right leg, he wore specially made heels to ensure no one saw the problems he dealt with. With the death of his brother in 1891, Leopold took position of heir to the Throne at 21. Within the next 5 years, he had married the sister of his brother's fiance, and with his new wife, Clara of Bavaria, he had the first of 8 children. He would have 4 sons and 4 daughters.
The King of Romania and his sons. Left to Right: King Leopold, Prince Filip, Prince Albert, Prince Charles and Prince Victor Leopold. (c.1921)
His rule lasted 18 years, and little was accomplished, but when the King of Romania died at the age of 53, he died a hero. This was due to one factor: the Great War. Beginning in 1917, Germany invaded Belgium due to trade disputes, and thus Romania began to support their ally. In 1918, England and France entered the fight, and by 1920, 57 countries across the globe were taking part in the ongoing war. That was why, in 1922, the King of Romania, a man who had recently learnt to fly an aeroplane, decided to take part. Against the wishes of his family and country, he went into the war, and was shot down in 1923. His body was never recovered, and it wasn't until 1924 that he was officially recorded as dead. His was succeeded by his son Crown Prince Filip, Count of Flanders.
[3] Filip of Romania, born 1900 and made Count of Flanders by his father in 1921 after the death of his brother, Prince Albert, became Prince Regent in 1923 and was officially proclaimed King a year later. He had a short reign, but never married, his marriage to Princess Maud of Norway, sister of the future Olaf V of Norway, had been planned for 1935 but Filip died in a mountaineering accident with his youngest brother, Charles of Romania. Much like his father, his reign was preoccupied with the ongoing nature of the Great War, the slow but inevitable collapse and fracturing of the German Empire into it's constituent city states and the surprise resurrection of the French monarchy under King Henry-Robert and the House of Paris as an attempt to stave off the encroachment of the power and territory hungry Germanic states. With his death, and having no children of his own, the Romanian crown moved sideways to his Elder sister; Louisa Innocentia, The Duchess-Consort-in-Bavaria.
[4] The Eldest child of Leopold I of Romania, Princess Louisa married for love rather than politics and so took the Wittelsbach Duke-in-Bavaria, Augustus Ludwig, as her husband and largely resided in Munich alongside her husband existing as noble Socialites.
Such a life existed until 1934, with the Death of Filip II, and Louisa being requested by the Romanian Parliament as the most senior heir, to take the Romanian Throne, which she accepted and so travelled to Romania with her husband and young son.
The short reign of Louisa would last a mere seven years, and yet it would be a golden few. The Romanian Navy expanded mercilessly, and soon became a premier power of the Black sea, so much so that Romanian Troops would intervene in the Armenian Uprising of 1937, alongside the Ailing Ottomans.
Sadly Louisa would fall from her horse in a military parade, and would pass the day after. The throne of Romania passed to Emmanuel of Vendome.
[5] Queen Louisa had only a single child, a young son called Ludwig after his father, who was - thought the Romanians - rather difficult. So when his mother died, Ludwig would have been the new King at only ten years old, and a Regency required for the following eight years under his Bavarian father or a relative via Filip I, who would also be Heir Presumptive until Ludwig married and provided an heir. Given that the widowed Bavarian consort was not that popular, and his son a trouble making tearaway, the decision was made to request his abdication whilst his mother was having critical medical treatment. His father decided that it would probably be for the best, and the crown jumped (as except Louisa, the children of Leopold had all died and had no issue) over to Emmanuel, the eldest son of Kinh Leopolds sister, Henrietta the Duchess of Vendome, and a distant relation to Henry-Robert, the still ruling King of France.
Emmanuel was born in 1902, which meant that he was 39 upon being made King of Romania. The ongoing war ground further onwards, the independent Germanic states had been pacified by stalwart opposition, the Ottoman Empire had collapsed into a number of independent countries - it seemed like the age of the vast Empires was over, even Britain was forced to give up it's imperial pretensions and cede independence to its former colonies such as India and Australia. He had married Maria Francisca of Brazil in 1934, she was grand daughter of the former Empress Isabella, daughter of the former Emperor Pedro III, sister of the current Emperor Pedro IV and sister of Princess Isabelle, Queen Consort of France.
Emmanuel didn't last long on the throne either, passing away in 1952 of lung cancer - with six monarchs in six decades, jokes were being made about the royal family being cursed (plane crash, climbing accident, falling from a horse, lung cancer). But Emmanuel had at the very least, been determined to live long enough to see his eldest daughter, Charlotte-Louisa attain majority and take the throne and avoid the complexity that a Regency would bring to the country.
Charlotte-Louisa Marguerite Henrietta de Orleans-Vendome, Countess of Flanders (c.1951)
[6] Charlotte-Louisa Marguerite Henrietta de Orleans-Vendome was crowned Queen Charlotte I of Romania on the 8th of June, 1952, and abdicated January 4th, 1953. She reigned just long enough to see her father have a full state funeral, find an heir, and then was able to leave the country of Romania in order to marry the King of Portugal. Young Charlotte-Louisa was just 19 when she was crowned, and had been secretly engaged to Manuel IV of Portugal, going as far as to have him placed in an adjoining suite when he arrived for the state funeral of her father. Thus, she left her position within 6 months, and had to name an heir. The decision was made that her many younger sisters would be passed over, due to their extreme youth (Charlotte-Louisa had been followed by 3 miscarriages and a brother who had died young before her siblings had begun to be born healthy).
Maria Francisca of Brazil, Queen Dowager of Romania, walks behind the funeral procession of her husband with her younger children. Left to Right: the Princess Marie-Francoise Claudette de Orleans-Vendome, the Queen Dowager, the Princess Helene Catherine Nicole de Orleans-Vendome (baby), the Princess Victorie Dido Antoinette de Orleans-Vendome (front), the Princess Therese Eleanor Alys de Orleans-Vendome (back) and the Princess Joan Marianne Isabelle de Orleans-Vendome (head in bottom-right corner).
The crown was thus passed onto ____, and Charlotte-Louisa would return to Romania in 1988, after the annulment of her marriage due to adultery on her side with the King of England. She died in 2003, of bowel cancer.
[7] Adrian of Romania was the eldest son of Adrian of Vendome, second son of Henrietta of Romania and Emmanuel, the Duke of Vendome. As such he was a great grandson of King Filip I, nephew of King Emmanuel and 'cousin' of Queen Charlotte.
He was born in 1927 and was 25 when he became King. His first course of action was to have his sister Henrietta marry Ludwig of Belgium, a man that some still considered the rightful King of Romania and that the pre-emptive abdication forced upon him by his father and the government illegal. The marriage had the effect of nullifying the abdication - bringing his children back into the line of succession as it would descend through Princess Henrietta and not through Ludwig of Belgium.
He was still King of Belgium after Leopold III produced no surviving issue and the crown then descended via the Romanian monarchy to Ludwig, as he had not been forced to abdicate his Belgian claim.
In turn, Adrian married Princess Isabelle, a daughter of King Henry-Robert of France (b. 1908) who by the time of Adrians coronation had been on the throne for two decades. She was a distant relation as they were both descended from King Louis-Phillipe. This meant that the royal families of Brazil, Belgium, France and Romania were all tightly interlocked - and the possibility existed (however unlikely) that a single person could occupy all three thrones. This panicked the German states and the British monarchy and a temporary ceasefire was declared to hold the Treaty of Hong Kong which stated that should a monarch of a country find that they inherit the throne of another country, they must abdicate their claim to one of the countries.
Reluctantly it gained ascent from all major countries, including Ludwig of Belgium, Adrian of Romania, Pedro V of Brazil, and Henry-Robert of France as well as Margaret of Britain.
After the conference, the Great War swung back into ongoing hostilities whilst never actually erupting into outright combat. Was this even really a war, the people started to ponder, or just the status quo?
Adrian broke the curse of short reigns in the Romanian monarchy, ruling for twenty years. However, his death in 1973 was at the wheel of a race car whilst visiting the royal family of Monaco and the age of 45, father of five (eldest born 1954), he was replaced by Prince Henri.
[8] Born in 1954, as the eldest son and child of Adrian of Romania and Princess Isabelle of France. He succeeded his father at the age of 19, to add new blood to the family, he would marry into the German royal house of Hohenzollern, by marrying Princess Angela. The marriage would be a happy and fruitful on.
His reign would see the cold war tension in Europe cool even more, with a strong economy, diverse community and advanced living standers, bringing Romania into par with countries such as Spain, Italy and Sweden.
Henri's reign would be the longest in Romanian history, ruling for 42 years, until his death on 28 July 2015 at the age of 61, following a long battle with cancer.
A year after becoming Prince of Romania, he married Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in Bucharest. She was the sister of Karl of Hoenzollern-Sigmaringen, the man who probably would have been made Prince had Filip refused.
The couple had five children - and for a few years, there remained the possibility that Filip or one of his sons might inherit the Belgian throne. However, his brother Leopold II had a son, Leopold, Duke of Brabant, who survived to adulthood and replaced his father on the Belgian throne as Leopold III.
He encouraged modernisation and helped construct a rail network and several bridges over the Danube (the first, the Queen Marie Bridge connecting Muntenia and Dobruja was ordered as a tenth wedding present for the Princess Consort in 1877), easing travel and industrialisation. Unlike his brother-in-law, he was less formal and encouraged the development of a people's constitution in 1881 when the Kingdom of Romania was declared.
After the declaration of the Kingdom of Romania, the country became a major player in the region and the transport links authorised by King Filip and his Parliament made him popular. However, eventually Filip died in 1905 at the Peles Castle near Sinaia in Romania, leaving the throne to his son, Leopold of Romania.
[2] Leopold I of Romania was the third child and second son of King Filip, and was born in 1870. Afflicted with a distinct limp via a much shorter right leg, he wore specially made heels to ensure no one saw the problems he dealt with. With the death of his brother in 1891, Leopold took position of heir to the Throne at 21. Within the next 5 years, he had married the sister of his brother's fiance, and with his new wife, Clara of Bavaria, he had the first of 8 children. He would have 4 sons and 4 daughters.
The King of Romania and his sons. Left to Right: King Leopold, Prince Filip, Prince Albert, Prince Charles and Prince Victor Leopold. (c.1921)
His rule lasted 18 years, and little was accomplished, but when the King of Romania died at the age of 53, he died a hero. This was due to one factor: the Great War. Beginning in 1917, Germany invaded Belgium due to trade disputes, and thus Romania began to support their ally. In 1918, England and France entered the fight, and by 1920, 57 countries across the globe were taking part in the ongoing war. That was why, in 1922, the King of Romania, a man who had recently learnt to fly an aeroplane, decided to take part. Against the wishes of his family and country, he went into the war, and was shot down in 1923. His body was never recovered, and it wasn't until 1924 that he was officially recorded as dead. His was succeeded by his son Crown Prince Filip, Count of Flanders.
[3] Filip of Romania, born 1900 and made Count of Flanders by his father in 1921 after the death of his brother, Prince Albert, became Prince Regent in 1923 and was officially proclaimed King a year later. He had a short reign, but never married, his marriage to Princess Maud of Norway, sister of the future Olaf V of Norway, had been planned for 1935 but Filip died in a mountaineering accident with his youngest brother, Charles of Romania. Much like his father, his reign was preoccupied with the ongoing nature of the Great War, the slow but inevitable collapse and fracturing of the German Empire into it's constituent city states and the surprise resurrection of the French monarchy under King Henry-Robert and the House of Paris as an attempt to stave off the encroachment of the power and territory hungry Germanic states. With his death, and having no children of his own, the Romanian crown moved sideways to his Elder sister; Louisa Innocentia, The Duchess-Consort-in-Bavaria.
[4] The Eldest child of Leopold I of Romania, Princess Louisa married for love rather than politics and so took the Wittelsbach Duke-in-Bavaria, Augustus Ludwig, as her husband and largely resided in Munich alongside her husband existing as noble Socialites.
Such a life existed until 1934, with the Death of Filip II, and Louisa being requested by the Romanian Parliament as the most senior heir, to take the Romanian Throne, which she accepted and so travelled to Romania with her husband and young son.
The short reign of Louisa would last a mere seven years, and yet it would be a golden few. The Romanian Navy expanded mercilessly, and soon became a premier power of the Black sea, so much so that Romanian Troops would intervene in the Armenian Uprising of 1937, alongside the Ailing Ottomans.
Sadly Louisa would fall from her horse in a military parade, and would pass the day after. The throne of Romania passed to Emmanuel of Vendome.
[5] Queen Louisa had only a single child, a young son called Ludwig after his father, who was - thought the Romanians - rather difficult. So when his mother died, Ludwig would have been the new King at only ten years old, and a Regency required for the following eight years under his Bavarian father or a relative via Filip I, who would also be Heir Presumptive until Ludwig married and provided an heir. Given that the widowed Bavarian consort was not that popular, and his son a trouble making tearaway, the decision was made to request his abdication whilst his mother was having critical medical treatment. His father decided that it would probably be for the best, and the crown jumped (as except Louisa, the children of Leopold had all died and had no issue) over to Emmanuel, the eldest son of Kinh Leopolds sister, Henrietta the Duchess of Vendome, and a distant relation to Henry-Robert, the still ruling King of France.
Emmanuel was born in 1902, which meant that he was 39 upon being made King of Romania. The ongoing war ground further onwards, the independent Germanic states had been pacified by stalwart opposition, the Ottoman Empire had collapsed into a number of independent countries - it seemed like the age of the vast Empires was over, even Britain was forced to give up it's imperial pretensions and cede independence to its former colonies such as India and Australia. He had married Maria Francisca of Brazil in 1934, she was grand daughter of the former Empress Isabella, daughter of the former Emperor Pedro III, sister of the current Emperor Pedro IV and sister of Princess Isabelle, Queen Consort of France.
Emmanuel didn't last long on the throne either, passing away in 1952 of lung cancer - with six monarchs in six decades, jokes were being made about the royal family being cursed (plane crash, climbing accident, falling from a horse, lung cancer). But Emmanuel had at the very least, been determined to live long enough to see his eldest daughter, Charlotte-Louisa attain majority and take the throne and avoid the complexity that a Regency would bring to the country.
Charlotte-Louisa Marguerite Henrietta de Orleans-Vendome, Countess of Flanders (c.1951)
[6] Charlotte-Louisa Marguerite Henrietta de Orleans-Vendome was crowned Queen Charlotte I of Romania on the 8th of June, 1952, and abdicated January 4th, 1953. She reigned just long enough to see her father have a full state funeral, find an heir, and then was able to leave the country of Romania in order to marry the King of Portugal. Young Charlotte-Louisa was just 19 when she was crowned, and had been secretly engaged to Manuel IV of Portugal, going as far as to have him placed in an adjoining suite when he arrived for the state funeral of her father. Thus, she left her position within 6 months, and had to name an heir. The decision was made that her many younger sisters would be passed over, due to their extreme youth (Charlotte-Louisa had been followed by 3 miscarriages and a brother who had died young before her siblings had begun to be born healthy).
Maria Francisca of Brazil, Queen Dowager of Romania, walks behind the funeral procession of her husband with her younger children. Left to Right: the Princess Marie-Francoise Claudette de Orleans-Vendome, the Queen Dowager, the Princess Helene Catherine Nicole de Orleans-Vendome (baby), the Princess Victorie Dido Antoinette de Orleans-Vendome (front), the Princess Therese Eleanor Alys de Orleans-Vendome (back) and the Princess Joan Marianne Isabelle de Orleans-Vendome (head in bottom-right corner).
The crown was thus passed onto ____, and Charlotte-Louisa would return to Romania in 1988, after the annulment of her marriage due to adultery on her side with the King of England. She died in 2003, of bowel cancer.
[7] Adrian of Romania was the eldest son of Adrian of Vendome, second son of Henrietta of Romania and Emmanuel, the Duke of Vendome. As such he was a great grandson of King Filip I, nephew of King Emmanuel and 'cousin' of Queen Charlotte.
He was born in 1927 and was 25 when he became King. His first course of action was to have his sister Henrietta marry Ludwig of Belgium, a man that some still considered the rightful King of Romania and that the pre-emptive abdication forced upon him by his father and the government illegal. The marriage had the effect of nullifying the abdication - bringing his children back into the line of succession as it would descend through Princess Henrietta and not through Ludwig of Belgium.
He was still King of Belgium after Leopold III produced no surviving issue and the crown then descended via the Romanian monarchy to Ludwig, as he had not been forced to abdicate his Belgian claim.
In turn, Adrian married Princess Isabelle, a daughter of King Henry-Robert of France (b. 1908) who by the time of Adrians coronation had been on the throne for two decades. She was a distant relation as they were both descended from King Louis-Phillipe. This meant that the royal families of Brazil, Belgium, France and Romania were all tightly interlocked - and the possibility existed (however unlikely) that a single person could occupy all three thrones. This panicked the German states and the British monarchy and a temporary ceasefire was declared to hold the Treaty of Hong Kong which stated that should a monarch of a country find that they inherit the throne of another country, they must abdicate their claim to one of the countries.
Reluctantly it gained ascent from all major countries, including Ludwig of Belgium, Adrian of Romania, Pedro V of Brazil, and Henry-Robert of France as well as Margaret of Britain.
After the conference, the Great War swung back into ongoing hostilities whilst never actually erupting into outright combat. Was this even really a war, the people started to ponder, or just the status quo?
Adrian broke the curse of short reigns in the Romanian monarchy, ruling for twenty years. However, his death in 1973 was at the wheel of a race car whilst visiting the royal family of Monaco and the age of 45, father of five (eldest born 1954), he was replaced by Prince Henri.
[8] Born in 1954, as the eldest son and child of Adrian of Romania and Princess Isabelle of France. He succeeded his father at the age of 19, to add new blood to the family, he would marry into the German royal house of Hohenzollern, by marrying Princess Angela. The marriage would be a happy and fruitful on.
His reign would see the cold war tension in Europe cool even more, with a strong economy, diverse community and advanced living standers, bringing Romania into par with countries such as Spain, Italy and Sweden.
Henri's reign would be the longest in Romanian history, ruling for 42 years, until his death on 28 July 2015 at the age of 61, following a long battle with cancer.
[9] Emmanuel II, the eldest son of Henri of Romania, took the throne at age 45. A long time playboy prince who had never married, speculation about his private life was always tabloid fodder, however in just a year of the King's reign, Emmanuel II publicly came out as bisexual and began dating long-time friend, and as revealed on-again/off-again lover, Radu Zenani. This stunning revelation was the source of no small amount of scandal and demands from the more conservative quarters of the nation for the King to either end the relationship, or abdicate in favor of his brother, Prince Filip.
Emmanuel II however did neither, instead in 2016 same-sex marriage was legalized in Romania so His Majesty and Mr. Zenani could marry, Zenani was granted the title of Prince-Consort and the style of His Majesty. Despite condemnations from many of the Christian churches in Romania for his actions, Emmanuel II has publicly confirmed that he wouldn't' be happy without the Prince-Consort at his side.
While the more liberal-inclined in Romania have found cause to support the monarchy, the more religiously conservative have made noises about making Romania a republic, though many seem mollified that currently Prince Filip and his children are likely to inherit the throne in the future.
His Majesty Emmanuel II (the right) and His Majesty Radu the Prince-Consort (the left) during a state visit to Brazil.
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For what it's worth my plan was to have a daughter of Henri (Andrea) marry back into the Belgian side of the family by marrying a grandson of Henrietta of Romania and Ludwig of Belgium (let's call him Leopold V) - but Andrea dies before Henri, leaving his eighteen year old granddaughter as Heir (and her younger sister as heir to the Belgian crown, as per the Treaty of Hong Kong) and therefore an actual Wittlesbach (not just by marriage, like Louisa) sits on the Romanian throne.
That could still happen, after all there is a Prince Filip with children I didn't outline, and King Emmanuel II isn't exactly in a position to have children right now.
What if the Monmouth Rebellion had be successful?
King of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland
1685 - 1695: James III & VIII (House of Stuart-Monmouth) [1]
Monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
1695 - 1707: James I (House of Stuart-Monmouth) [1]
[1]
James III & VIII, the Victor of the Monmouth Revolution, the King of England and Scotland, first monarch of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
James III & VIII, born the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II, raised Protestant and granted the Duchy of Monmouth by his father, James Scott (as he came to be called prior to the Revolution) led the great revolution against James II and VII, the Catholic King who had been diligently working to shift the Kingdoms of the British Isles back into Popery. At first the Revolt seemed doomed to failure, however James II made a number of critical errors that caused discontent with his rule to explode even moreso into the open.
By 1686 most of England and Scotland was in full revolt, and James II fled with his wife to Ireland to regroup, and with French support he was able to retain the Irish isle.
Despite the loss of Ireland, James Scott, Duke of Monmouth was the victor and was crowned at Westminster as James III and VIII of England and Scotland (and Ireland and France but those claims were symbolic in nature).
The new Kings reign was fraught with problems, despite the anger at Catholic rule, there was much popular sympathy for James II, the situation made worse with the birth of James II of Ireland's only son, Prince James Francis Edward (the future James III of Ireland). However James III had three children by his wife, Queen Anne Scott, the Duchess of Buccleuch to insure the continuation of his dynasty, however James II's Protestant daughters, Anne and Mary would prove to be a major thorn in James III's side.
Anne traveled with her husband to the new world and successfully secured the loyalty of the American colonies in the name of her father, though in practice she would rule as Monarch of 'Irish' America in all but name. Mary, who was married to the Prince of Orange successfully convinced a large number of European nations to refuse to recognize James III as the legitimate monarch of the British Kingdoms, which meant that James III had a difficult time arranging marriages for his two sons Prince James and Prince Henry, sadly his daughter Princess Anne died in 1687 unwed. However brides were found and the House of Stuart-Monmouth would continue to continue.
Despite the non recognition of France, Spain, Denmark, and a smattering of German states in the HRE, James III held on to much of England's expanding overseas empire, the biggest loss being the North American mainland. However due to 'Irish' sympathies for James II and his son, James III's reign was tense, two 'Irish Risings' took place in James III's reign, which were put down violently, and James III survived an assassination plot in 1689.
In 1691, James III and VIII began his 'great work', truly unifying the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single, united Kingdom, it was a plan fraught with tensions and leftover English/Scottish rivalry, and caused the 'Second Irish Rising' against James III and VIII, however much of the Protestant political elites were convinced of the wisdom of the plan and in 1695 England and Scotland (and legally Ireland, though in practice it stayed independent) merged into the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and James III and VIII was coronated as King James I of Great Britain.
In 1701 the War of the Spanish Succession broke out, and James I was convinced to join the 'Holy Alliance' against the Bourbon succession of Philip V to the Spanish throne, and this lead to first attempt by France to 'restore' James II of Ireland to the England and Scottish thrones, a number of French troops traveled to Ireland to join Irish forces in an invasion of the British isles, however the First Franco-Irish War resulted in a naval victory for Britain at the Battle of the Irish Sea (1702) and most of the French ships were sunk before they even reached Ireland, forcing both sides to abort the whole plan.
James I died at age 58 of gout in 1707, the Stuart-Monmouth's hold on Great Britain internally still fragile but stronger than in the beginning, James I was succeeded by ____.
King of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland
1685 - 1695: James III & VIII (House of Stuart-Monmouth) [1]
Monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
1695 - 1707: James I (House of Stuart-Monmouth) [1]
[1]
James III & VIII, the Victor of the Monmouth Revolution, the King of England and Scotland, first monarch of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
By 1686 most of England and Scotland was in full revolt, and James II fled with his wife to Ireland to regroup, and with French support he was able to retain the Irish isle.
Despite the loss of Ireland, James Scott, Duke of Monmouth was the victor and was crowned at Westminster as James III and VIII of England and Scotland (and Ireland and France but those claims were symbolic in nature).
The new Kings reign was fraught with problems, despite the anger at Catholic rule, there was much popular sympathy for James II, the situation made worse with the birth of James II of Ireland's only son, Prince James Francis Edward (the future James III of Ireland). However James III had three children by his wife, Queen Anne Scott, the Duchess of Buccleuch to insure the continuation of his dynasty, however James II's Protestant daughters, Anne and Mary would prove to be a major thorn in James III's side.
Anne traveled with her husband to the new world and successfully secured the loyalty of the American colonies in the name of her father, though in practice she would rule as Monarch of 'Irish' America in all but name. Mary, who was married to the Prince of Orange successfully convinced a large number of European nations to refuse to recognize James III as the legitimate monarch of the British Kingdoms, which meant that James III had a difficult time arranging marriages for his two sons Prince James and Prince Henry, sadly his daughter Princess Anne died in 1687 unwed. However brides were found and the House of Stuart-Monmouth would continue to continue.
Despite the non recognition of France, Spain, Denmark, and a smattering of German states in the HRE, James III held on to much of England's expanding overseas empire, the biggest loss being the North American mainland. However due to 'Irish' sympathies for James II and his son, James III's reign was tense, two 'Irish Risings' took place in James III's reign, which were put down violently, and James III survived an assassination plot in 1689.
In 1691, James III and VIII began his 'great work', truly unifying the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single, united Kingdom, it was a plan fraught with tensions and leftover English/Scottish rivalry, and caused the 'Second Irish Rising' against James III and VIII, however much of the Protestant political elites were convinced of the wisdom of the plan and in 1695 England and Scotland (and legally Ireland, though in practice it stayed independent) merged into the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and James III and VIII was coronated as King James I of Great Britain.
In 1701 the War of the Spanish Succession broke out, and James I was convinced to join the 'Holy Alliance' against the Bourbon succession of Philip V to the Spanish throne, and this lead to first attempt by France to 'restore' James II of Ireland to the England and Scottish thrones, a number of French troops traveled to Ireland to join Irish forces in an invasion of the British isles, however the First Franco-Irish War resulted in a naval victory for Britain at the Battle of the Irish Sea (1702) and most of the French ships were sunk before they even reached Ireland, forcing both sides to abort the whole plan.
James I died at age 58 of gout in 1707, the Stuart-Monmouth's hold on Great Britain internally still fragile but stronger than in the beginning, James I was succeeded by ____.
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That could still happen, after all there is a Prince Filip with children I didn't outline, and King Emmanuel II isn't exactly in a position to have children right now.
I've got an idea to put up later if nobody should post another Japanese installment, revolving around Elizabeth Woodville dying long before marrying Edward IV meaning England gets another Queen Eleanor (Butler).
I was thinking of a son of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York restoring a Yorkist/Burgundian rule by curing Henry the VII of life.
Oh, I like the idea of a House of Burgundy. England with Burgundys merchant fleet would be rather formidable.
What if the Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield had given birth to a son in 1819?
Kings of the United Kingdom and Hanover
1837 - 1871: Victor (House of Kent) [1]
[1] Alexander Victor was the son of Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and had been, for much of his life, the heir to the British throne. After the death of his father in 1820, Alexander became Duke of Kent and Strathearn and was placed exclusively under the care of his mother and Sir John Conroy. Until he was 11 when his uncle, the ruling King, William IV, sent him to join the Royal Navy despite the protestations of his mother and Conroy who wanted to try and mould him into an individual they could control.
But they could hardly deny military service to the future King. Alexander served in the Channel Fleet for a few years, before being brought back to the UK to live with William and his wife. He did agree to his mother's suggestion of marriage to his cousin, Victoria (via his mother's brother Ferdinand) who was three years younger and amenable to converting to protestantism (her father, the Duke of Kohary had only converted to Catholicism in 1818), though the marriage was scheduled for after her 18th birthday after he had already been on the throne for 4 years and had taken the regnal name of Victor to avoid dual regnal numbering given the previous Kinh Alexanders of Scotland.
The pair had three children and Victoria was relatively unremarkable - as the Duke of Cumberland was heard to mutter after the wedding ceremony that "she would do very well as a Duchess, but she will never do as a Queen ..." The Duke was then sent to be Governor of Australia much to his frustration. She died in 1857 at the age of 35, with none of her children having yet achieved majority.
Victor lived to 1871, living to the same age as his father, and seeing all three of his children (two sons and a daughter) marry with his first child being Prince of Wales, his second being Duke of Edinburgh, and the third becoming the Princess Royal.
He died after catching pneumonia whilst out rowing with his daughter on a lake, and was replaced by ...
Kings of the United Kingdom and Hanover
1837 - 1871: Victor (House of Kent) [1]
[1] Alexander Victor was the son of Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and had been, for much of his life, the heir to the British throne. After the death of his father in 1820, Alexander became Duke of Kent and Strathearn and was placed exclusively under the care of his mother and Sir John Conroy. Until he was 11 when his uncle, the ruling King, William IV, sent him to join the Royal Navy despite the protestations of his mother and Conroy who wanted to try and mould him into an individual they could control.
But they could hardly deny military service to the future King. Alexander served in the Channel Fleet for a few years, before being brought back to the UK to live with William and his wife. He did agree to his mother's suggestion of marriage to his cousin, Victoria (via his mother's brother Ferdinand) who was three years younger and amenable to converting to protestantism (her father, the Duke of Kohary had only converted to Catholicism in 1818), though the marriage was scheduled for after her 18th birthday after he had already been on the throne for 4 years and had taken the regnal name of Victor to avoid dual regnal numbering given the previous Kinh Alexanders of Scotland.
The pair had three children and Victoria was relatively unremarkable - as the Duke of Cumberland was heard to mutter after the wedding ceremony that "she would do very well as a Duchess, but she will never do as a Queen ..." The Duke was then sent to be Governor of Australia much to his frustration. She died in 1857 at the age of 35, with none of her children having yet achieved majority.
Victor lived to 1871, living to the same age as his father, and seeing all three of his children (two sons and a daughter) marry with his first child being Prince of Wales, his second being Duke of Edinburgh, and the third becoming the Princess Royal.
He died after catching pneumonia whilst out rowing with his daughter on a lake, and was replaced by ...
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What if the Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield had given birth to a son in 1819?
Kings of the United Kingdom and Hanover
1837 - 1871: Victor I (House of Kent) [1]
1871 - 1893: George V (House of Kent) [2]
King George V of the United Kingdom (c.1875)
[2] George V of the United Kingdom and Hanover is an important historical figure for two reasons: he formally split the United Kingdom and Hanover by granting the Hanover to his younger brother during his 1873 abdication, and he saw the collapse of the colonial Commonwealth Kingdom into various squabbling Kingdoms across the globe that left the global economy in shambles. But, when he ascended to the throne in 1871, he was a 28 year old man, with a ready built family including a son and two daughter, and a wife in the form of Marie Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, daughter of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Amalie Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, a match that ended with her running away with German painted Richard Lauchert. But the beautiful Marie Victoria was the Princess the Prince had fallen in love with, and thus he married the impoverished and scandalous young woman, who would bring with her a portrait painted by her mother's lover of herself as a child, holding her father's portrait. The painting was to become scandalous in it's own right, and only the Queen's insistence allowed to to be displayed. The Queen would thus be known to the family, outside of her husband himself, as Madame Tree.
The Princess Marie Victoria Margaret of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. (c.1852)
The new King began his reign riding high. His wife, while sometimes faintly scandalous, was just the type of regal yet approachable consort a young monarch needed, and in 1875, the two would begin a 3 year travel of the Commonwealth, joined by their two elder daughters, the new Grand-Duke of Hanover (a title given in order to distinguish the King's brother from his cousins in England) and, in 1877, a newborn baby boy, who was to be named the Duke of Kent and kept in the royal court's travels. The Queen would dote on this child as her favourite, probably since the close confines of travelling meant she was forced to interact with him as an infant more than she had her elder children during her time as Princess of Wales. The royal family was to return to England in 1878, having fully appreciated the scope of their rule, and in 1879, they celebrated the Grand-Duke of Hanover's marriage to Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, known to the family as Tilda.
Speaking of royal family members notable during this time, George's sister, the Princess Alexandra of the United Kingdom, known as Moon for her startlingly round face, had in 1862, at the age of 18, married Frederick of Germany, future German Emperor and a man who, at 31, had waited for this match only after his first choice for a bride, Madame Tree's elder sister Elisabeth Suzanna of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, had died in 1855, at the age of 19, and thus the German Prince had been convinced that the 11 year old Princess Alexandra would be her perfect replacement. His father had pushed for the match, and in 1859, during a visit to England, the then 29 year old Frederick had fallen in love with the 15 year old English Princess. Their matrimony was held off due to an illness of the bride in 1860, but in 1862, she was sufficiently recovered and became the future German Empress.
Alexandra Georgiana Victoria of the United Kingdom, Princess of Germany and Prussia (c.1870)
But all the royal connections in the world would mean nothing at all when, in 1780, India rebelled. The first of over 100 seperate major and minor rebellions across the commonwealth, they demanded their own independence and their own King, and in the case of Australia, did, lifting up currently visiting George, Duke of Cambridge, to the title of King of New North Wales (New North Wales = about 2/3 of OTL Queensland), as one of 12 Kingdoms the country sprouted up. In Canada, they simply elected a President and refused to pay their taxed. By 1890, the Commonwealth was in shambles, and the King chose, instead of trying a widespread attack, to simply focus on the main ones. India, in particular, would be his focus, with the Indian Wars beginning in 1887, and continuing past his death.
The King's health during this time was poor. He had grow thin over time, and with his wife's insistence on an active court meaning that he was to lead at least one major social event a week to ensure her happiness, he grew weaker. Eventually, he was put on permanent rest in 1886, but as the Indian Wars began and he was pulled into the various items of bringing his Empire in line, he continued to put himself second, and when his family was to rejoin themselves in 1892, for the marriage of his eldest daughter Mary Christina (known as Tini) to the Duke of Hesse, he was noted as being quite ill, although at the time, his eldest son was not called to London, missing his sister's wedding while he toured Scotland.
The Royal Family celebrates the wedding of the Grand-Duke and Grand-Duchess of Hesse. From left to right: the Grand-Duchess Karoline Mathilde of Hanover (front), the Grand-Duke Alexander of Hanover (back), the Princess Charlotte Louise and the King of the United Kingdom (back), the Princesses Georgiana Beatrice and Julianna Henrietta (front) and the Grand-Duke Louis and Grand-Duchess Alice Helena of Hesse (back). (c.1892).
The King would die in 1893, at the age of 50, leaving his son _____ to take up the issues he had left.
Kings of the United Kingdom and Hanover
1837 - 1871: Victor I (House of Kent) [1]
1871 - 1893: George V (House of Kent) [2]
[1] Alexander Victor was the son of Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and had been, for much of his life, the heir to the British throne. After the death of his father in 1820, Alexander became Duke of Kent and Strathearn and was placed exclusively under the care of his mother and Sir John Conroy. Until he was 11 when his uncle, the ruling King, William IV, sent him to join the Royal Navy despite the protestations of his mother and Conroy who wanted to try and mould him into an individual they could control.
But they could hardly deny military service to the future King. Alexander served in the Channel Fleet for a few years, before being brought back to the UK to live with William and his wife. He did agree to his mother's suggestion of marriage to his cousin, Victoria (via his mother's brother Ferdinand) who was three years younger and amenable to converting to protestantism (her father, the Duke of Kohary had only converted to Catholicism in 1818), though the marriage was scheduled for after her 18th birthday after he had already been on the throne for 4 years and had taken the regnal name of Victor to avoid dual regnal numbering given the previous Kinh Alexanders of Scotland.
The pair had three children and Victoria was relatively unremarkable - as the Duke of Cumberland was heard to mutter after the wedding ceremony that "she would do very well as a Duchess, but she will never do as a Queen ..." The Duke was then sent to be Governor of Australia much to his frustration. She died in 1857 at the age of 35, with none of her children having yet achieved majority.
Victor lived to 1871, living to the same age as his father, and seeing all three of his children (two sons and a daughter) marry with his first child being Prince of Wales, his second being Duke of Edinburgh, and the third becoming the Princess Royal.
He died after catching pneumonia whilst out rowing with his daughter on a lake, and was replaced by son, Victor George William, Prince of Wales.
But they could hardly deny military service to the future King. Alexander served in the Channel Fleet for a few years, before being brought back to the UK to live with William and his wife. He did agree to his mother's suggestion of marriage to his cousin, Victoria (via his mother's brother Ferdinand) who was three years younger and amenable to converting to protestantism (her father, the Duke of Kohary had only converted to Catholicism in 1818), though the marriage was scheduled for after her 18th birthday after he had already been on the throne for 4 years and had taken the regnal name of Victor to avoid dual regnal numbering given the previous Kinh Alexanders of Scotland.
The pair had three children and Victoria was relatively unremarkable - as the Duke of Cumberland was heard to mutter after the wedding ceremony that "she would do very well as a Duchess, but she will never do as a Queen ..." The Duke was then sent to be Governor of Australia much to his frustration. She died in 1857 at the age of 35, with none of her children having yet achieved majority.
Victor lived to 1871, living to the same age as his father, and seeing all three of his children (two sons and a daughter) marry with his first child being Prince of Wales, his second being Duke of Edinburgh, and the third becoming the Princess Royal.
He died after catching pneumonia whilst out rowing with his daughter on a lake, and was replaced by son, Victor George William, Prince of Wales.
King George V of the United Kingdom (c.1875)
[2] George V of the United Kingdom and Hanover is an important historical figure for two reasons: he formally split the United Kingdom and Hanover by granting the Hanover to his younger brother during his 1873 abdication, and he saw the collapse of the colonial Commonwealth Kingdom into various squabbling Kingdoms across the globe that left the global economy in shambles. But, when he ascended to the throne in 1871, he was a 28 year old man, with a ready built family including a son and two daughter, and a wife in the form of Marie Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, daughter of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Amalie Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, a match that ended with her running away with German painted Richard Lauchert. But the beautiful Marie Victoria was the Princess the Prince had fallen in love with, and thus he married the impoverished and scandalous young woman, who would bring with her a portrait painted by her mother's lover of herself as a child, holding her father's portrait. The painting was to become scandalous in it's own right, and only the Queen's insistence allowed to to be displayed. The Queen would thus be known to the family, outside of her husband himself, as Madame Tree.
The Princess Marie Victoria Margaret of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. (c.1852)
The new King began his reign riding high. His wife, while sometimes faintly scandalous, was just the type of regal yet approachable consort a young monarch needed, and in 1875, the two would begin a 3 year travel of the Commonwealth, joined by their two elder daughters, the new Grand-Duke of Hanover (a title given in order to distinguish the King's brother from his cousins in England) and, in 1877, a newborn baby boy, who was to be named the Duke of Kent and kept in the royal court's travels. The Queen would dote on this child as her favourite, probably since the close confines of travelling meant she was forced to interact with him as an infant more than she had her elder children during her time as Princess of Wales. The royal family was to return to England in 1878, having fully appreciated the scope of their rule, and in 1879, they celebrated the Grand-Duke of Hanover's marriage to Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, known to the family as Tilda.
Speaking of royal family members notable during this time, George's sister, the Princess Alexandra of the United Kingdom, known as Moon for her startlingly round face, had in 1862, at the age of 18, married Frederick of Germany, future German Emperor and a man who, at 31, had waited for this match only after his first choice for a bride, Madame Tree's elder sister Elisabeth Suzanna of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, had died in 1855, at the age of 19, and thus the German Prince had been convinced that the 11 year old Princess Alexandra would be her perfect replacement. His father had pushed for the match, and in 1859, during a visit to England, the then 29 year old Frederick had fallen in love with the 15 year old English Princess. Their matrimony was held off due to an illness of the bride in 1860, but in 1862, she was sufficiently recovered and became the future German Empress.
Alexandra Georgiana Victoria of the United Kingdom, Princess of Germany and Prussia (c.1870)
But all the royal connections in the world would mean nothing at all when, in 1780, India rebelled. The first of over 100 seperate major and minor rebellions across the commonwealth, they demanded their own independence and their own King, and in the case of Australia, did, lifting up currently visiting George, Duke of Cambridge, to the title of King of New North Wales (New North Wales = about 2/3 of OTL Queensland), as one of 12 Kingdoms the country sprouted up. In Canada, they simply elected a President and refused to pay their taxed. By 1890, the Commonwealth was in shambles, and the King chose, instead of trying a widespread attack, to simply focus on the main ones. India, in particular, would be his focus, with the Indian Wars beginning in 1887, and continuing past his death.
The King's health during this time was poor. He had grow thin over time, and with his wife's insistence on an active court meaning that he was to lead at least one major social event a week to ensure her happiness, he grew weaker. Eventually, he was put on permanent rest in 1886, but as the Indian Wars began and he was pulled into the various items of bringing his Empire in line, he continued to put himself second, and when his family was to rejoin themselves in 1892, for the marriage of his eldest daughter Mary Christina (known as Tini) to the Duke of Hesse, he was noted as being quite ill, although at the time, his eldest son was not called to London, missing his sister's wedding while he toured Scotland.
The Royal Family celebrates the wedding of the Grand-Duke and Grand-Duchess of Hesse. From left to right: the Grand-Duchess Karoline Mathilde of Hanover (front), the Grand-Duke Alexander of Hanover (back), the Princess Charlotte Louise and the King of the United Kingdom (back), the Princesses Georgiana Beatrice and Julianna Henrietta (front) and the Grand-Duke Louis and Grand-Duchess Alice Helena of Hesse (back). (c.1892).
The King would die in 1893, at the age of 50, leaving his son _____ to take up the issues he had left.
What if the Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield had given birth to a son in 1819?
Kings of the United Kingdom and Hanover
1837 - 1871: Victor I (House of Kent) [1]
1871 - 1893: George V (House of Kent) [2]
1893 - 1920: Richard IV (House of Kent) [3]
[3] Richard had been born 3 years before his father had become King. He had been created Duke of Clarence at birth, and then Prince of Wales at 18 when he reached majority. Both his father and grandfather had married back into the family line but Richard insisted he would look elsewhere, settling on Mildred Bowes-Lyon, daughter of the 13th Earl of Strathmore, and the marriage occurring in 1888, five years before Richard became King when both were 20 years old.
Mildred produced two children within the following five years, But died in 1897 after only three years as Queen. This left Richard as King and single father by 30 years old, with pressure on him from his family and government to seek a new wife. Richard resisted, and yielded an attempt to claim further territories in India following the Treaty of Antwerp in 1901 - "What good are all the jewels of the Empire when they pale in comparison to my dear lost Mildred ..."
The British Empire had shrunk further despite his father's attempt at preventing entropy. He had influence on his cousin, Ferdinand, the German Emperor to encourage transition into a constitutional monarchy and the process had commenced in 1908 when Ferdinand was assassinated. With the German Empire in the hands of a five year old and a British Regent, the Duke of Hesse, the Grand Duke of Hanover and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfield maneuveres to assume the position of Emperor. The German Civil War commenced officially in 1910 with the young Emperor fleeing Germany for the safety of England and the Duke of Hesse occupying the Imperial Palace.
Britain positioned itself as impartial in the dispute, having familial links to all three parties (the Kings sister was the Duchess of Hesse, his cousin's son was the deposed Emperor, the Grand Duke of Hanover was a cousin, as was the Duke of Saxe-Coburg Saalield), but their support for the deposed child Emperor wasn't a secret. In the end, following an eight year conflict which endes in 1918, the Duke of Hesse was named Emperor of the Germans and the constitutional monarch.
The deposed Emperor was given a British title and set up with a handsome allowance, created as Duke of Avondale and changed his Germanic name Ferdinand Hohenzollern to Frederick Strathaven, named after a castle in the Scottish county of South Lanarkshire.
Richard continued the curse of the rulers of the House of Kent to die in their early fifties, after his great grandfather and grandfather died of pneumonia and his father of exhaustion, Richard would pass away after crashing the car he had been gifted for his recent birthday.
His heir would be ....
Kings of the United Kingdom and Hanover
1837 - 1871: Victor I (House of Kent) [1]
1871 - 1893: George V (House of Kent) [2]
1893 - 1920: Richard IV (House of Kent) [3]
[1] Alexander Victor was the son of Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and had been, for much of his life, the heir to the British throne. After the death of his father in 1820, Alexander became Duke of Kent and Strathearn and was placed exclusively under the care of his mother and Sir John Conroy. Until he was 11 when his uncle, the ruling King, William IV, sent him to join the Royal Navy despite the protestations of his mother and Conroy who wanted to try and mould him into an individual they could control.
But they could hardly deny military service to the future King. Alexander served in the Channel Fleet for a few years, before being brought back to the UK to live with William and his wife. He did agree to his mother's suggestion of marriage to his cousin, Victoria (via his mother's brother Ferdinand) who was three years younger and amenable to converting to protestantism (her father, the Duke of Kohary had only converted to Catholicism in 1818), though the marriage was scheduled for after her 18th birthday after he had already been on the throne for 4 years and had taken the regnal name of Victor to avoid dual regnal numbering given the previous Kinh Alexanders of Scotland.
The pair had three children and Victoria was relatively unremarkable - as the Duke of Cumberland was heard to mutter after the wedding ceremony that "she would do very well as a Duchess, but she will never do as a Queen ..." The Duke was then sent to be Governor of Australia much to his frustration. She died in 1857 at the age of 35, with none of her children having yet achieved majority.
Victor lived to 1871, living to the same age as his father, and seeing all three of his children (two sons and a daughter) marry with his first child being Prince of Wales, his second being Duke of Edinburgh, and the third becoming the Princess Royal.
He died after catching pneumonia whilst out rowing with his daughter on a lake, and was replaced by son, Victor George William, Prince of Wales.
King George V of the United Kingdom (c.1875)
[2] George V of the United Kingdom and Hanover is an important historical figure for two reasons: he formally split the United Kingdom and Hanover by granting the Hanover to his younger brother during his 1873 abdication, and he saw the collapse of the colonial Commonwealth Kingdom into various squabbling Kingdoms across the globe that left the global economy in shambles. But, when he ascended to the throne in 1871, he was a 28 year old man, with a ready built family including a son and two daughter, and a wife in the form of Marie Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, daughter of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Amalie Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, a match that ended with her running away with German painted Richard Lauchert. But the beautiful Marie Victoria was the Princess the Prince had fallen in love with, and thus he married the impoverished and scandalous young woman, who would bring with her a portrait painted by her mother's lover of herself as a child, holding her father's portrait. The painting was to become scandalous in it's own right, and only the Queen's insistence allowed to to be displayed. The Queen would thus be known to the family, outside of her husband himself, as Madame Tree.
The Princess Marie Victoria Margaret of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. (c.1852)
The new King began his reign riding high. His wife, while sometimes faintly scandalous, was just the type of regal yet approachable consort a young monarch needed, and in 1875, the two would begin a 3 year travel of the Commonwealth, joined by their two elder daughters, the new Grand-Duke of Hanover (a title given in order to distinguish the King's brother from his cousins in England) and, in 1877, a newborn baby boy, who was to be named the Duke of Kent and kept in the royal court's travels. The Queen would dote on this child as her favourite, probably since the close confines of travelling meant she was forced to interact with him as an infant more than she had her elder children during her time as Princess of Wales. The royal family was to return to England in 1878, having fully appreciated the scope of their rule, and in 1879, they celebrated the Grand-Duke of Hanover's marriage to Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, known to the family as Tilda.
Speaking of royal family members notable during this time, George's sister, the Princess Alexandra of the United Kingdom, known as Moon for her startlingly round face, had in 1862, at the age of 18, married Frederick of Germany, future German Emperor and a man who, at 31, had waited for this match only after his first choice for a bride, Madame Tree's elder sister Elisabeth Suzanna of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, had died in 1855, at the age of 19, and thus the German Prince had been convinced that the 11 year old Princess Alexandra would be her perfect replacement. His father had pushed for the match, and in 1859, during a visit to England, the then 29 year old Frederick had fallen in love with the 15 year old English Princess. Their matrimony was held off due to an illness of the bride in 1860, but in 1862, she was sufficiently recovered and became the future German Empress.
Alexandra Georgiana Victoria of the United Kingdom, Princess of Germany and Prussia (c.1870)
But all the royal connections in the world would mean nothing at all when, in 1780, India rebelled. The first of over 100 seperate major and minor rebellions across the commonwealth, they demanded their own independence and their own King, and in the case of Australia, did, lifting up currently visiting George, Duke of Cambridge, to the title of King of New North Wales (New North Wales = about 2/3 of OTL Queensland), as one of 12 Kingdoms the country sprouted up. In Canada, they simply elected a President and refused to pay their taxed. By 1890, the Commonwealth was in shambles, and the King chose, instead of trying a widespread attack, to simply focus on the main ones. India, in particular, would be his focus, with the Indian Wars beginning in 1887, and continuing past his death.
The King's health during this time was poor. He had grow thin over time, and with his wife's insistence on an active court meaning that he was to lead at least one major social event a week to ensure her happiness, he grew weaker. Eventually, he was put on permanent rest in 1886, but as the Indian Wars began and he was pulled into the various items of bringing his Empire in line, he continued to put himself second, and when his family was to rejoin themselves in 1892, for the marriage of his eldest daughter Mary Christina (known as Tini) to the Duke of Hesse, he was noted as being quite ill, although at the time, his eldest son was not called to London, missing his sister's wedding while he toured Scotland.
The Royal Family celebrates the wedding of the Grand-Duke and Grand-Duchess of Hesse. From left to right: the Grand-Duchess Karoline Mathilde of Hanover (front), the Grand-Duke Alexander of Hanover (back), the Princess Charlotte Louise and the King of the United Kingdom (back), the Princesses Georgiana Beatrice and Julianna Henrietta (front) and the Grand-Duke Louis and Grand-Duchess Alice Helena of Hesse (back). (c.1892).
The King would die in 1893, at the age of 50, leaving his son Richard, Duke of Clarence, Prince of Wales, to take up the issues he had left.
But they could hardly deny military service to the future King. Alexander served in the Channel Fleet for a few years, before being brought back to the UK to live with William and his wife. He did agree to his mother's suggestion of marriage to his cousin, Victoria (via his mother's brother Ferdinand) who was three years younger and amenable to converting to protestantism (her father, the Duke of Kohary had only converted to Catholicism in 1818), though the marriage was scheduled for after her 18th birthday after he had already been on the throne for 4 years and had taken the regnal name of Victor to avoid dual regnal numbering given the previous Kinh Alexanders of Scotland.
The pair had three children and Victoria was relatively unremarkable - as the Duke of Cumberland was heard to mutter after the wedding ceremony that "she would do very well as a Duchess, but she will never do as a Queen ..." The Duke was then sent to be Governor of Australia much to his frustration. She died in 1857 at the age of 35, with none of her children having yet achieved majority.
Victor lived to 1871, living to the same age as his father, and seeing all three of his children (two sons and a daughter) marry with his first child being Prince of Wales, his second being Duke of Edinburgh, and the third becoming the Princess Royal.
He died after catching pneumonia whilst out rowing with his daughter on a lake, and was replaced by son, Victor George William, Prince of Wales.
King George V of the United Kingdom (c.1875)
[2] George V of the United Kingdom and Hanover is an important historical figure for two reasons: he formally split the United Kingdom and Hanover by granting the Hanover to his younger brother during his 1873 abdication, and he saw the collapse of the colonial Commonwealth Kingdom into various squabbling Kingdoms across the globe that left the global economy in shambles. But, when he ascended to the throne in 1871, he was a 28 year old man, with a ready built family including a son and two daughter, and a wife in the form of Marie Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, daughter of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Amalie Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, a match that ended with her running away with German painted Richard Lauchert. But the beautiful Marie Victoria was the Princess the Prince had fallen in love with, and thus he married the impoverished and scandalous young woman, who would bring with her a portrait painted by her mother's lover of herself as a child, holding her father's portrait. The painting was to become scandalous in it's own right, and only the Queen's insistence allowed to to be displayed. The Queen would thus be known to the family, outside of her husband himself, as Madame Tree.
The Princess Marie Victoria Margaret of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. (c.1852)
The new King began his reign riding high. His wife, while sometimes faintly scandalous, was just the type of regal yet approachable consort a young monarch needed, and in 1875, the two would begin a 3 year travel of the Commonwealth, joined by their two elder daughters, the new Grand-Duke of Hanover (a title given in order to distinguish the King's brother from his cousins in England) and, in 1877, a newborn baby boy, who was to be named the Duke of Kent and kept in the royal court's travels. The Queen would dote on this child as her favourite, probably since the close confines of travelling meant she was forced to interact with him as an infant more than she had her elder children during her time as Princess of Wales. The royal family was to return to England in 1878, having fully appreciated the scope of their rule, and in 1879, they celebrated the Grand-Duke of Hanover's marriage to Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, known to the family as Tilda.
Speaking of royal family members notable during this time, George's sister, the Princess Alexandra of the United Kingdom, known as Moon for her startlingly round face, had in 1862, at the age of 18, married Frederick of Germany, future German Emperor and a man who, at 31, had waited for this match only after his first choice for a bride, Madame Tree's elder sister Elisabeth Suzanna of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, had died in 1855, at the age of 19, and thus the German Prince had been convinced that the 11 year old Princess Alexandra would be her perfect replacement. His father had pushed for the match, and in 1859, during a visit to England, the then 29 year old Frederick had fallen in love with the 15 year old English Princess. Their matrimony was held off due to an illness of the bride in 1860, but in 1862, she was sufficiently recovered and became the future German Empress.
Alexandra Georgiana Victoria of the United Kingdom, Princess of Germany and Prussia (c.1870)
But all the royal connections in the world would mean nothing at all when, in 1780, India rebelled. The first of over 100 seperate major and minor rebellions across the commonwealth, they demanded their own independence and their own King, and in the case of Australia, did, lifting up currently visiting George, Duke of Cambridge, to the title of King of New North Wales (New North Wales = about 2/3 of OTL Queensland), as one of 12 Kingdoms the country sprouted up. In Canada, they simply elected a President and refused to pay their taxed. By 1890, the Commonwealth was in shambles, and the King chose, instead of trying a widespread attack, to simply focus on the main ones. India, in particular, would be his focus, with the Indian Wars beginning in 1887, and continuing past his death.
The King's health during this time was poor. He had grow thin over time, and with his wife's insistence on an active court meaning that he was to lead at least one major social event a week to ensure her happiness, he grew weaker. Eventually, he was put on permanent rest in 1886, but as the Indian Wars began and he was pulled into the various items of bringing his Empire in line, he continued to put himself second, and when his family was to rejoin themselves in 1892, for the marriage of his eldest daughter Mary Christina (known as Tini) to the Duke of Hesse, he was noted as being quite ill, although at the time, his eldest son was not called to London, missing his sister's wedding while he toured Scotland.
The Royal Family celebrates the wedding of the Grand-Duke and Grand-Duchess of Hesse. From left to right: the Grand-Duchess Karoline Mathilde of Hanover (front), the Grand-Duke Alexander of Hanover (back), the Princess Charlotte Louise and the King of the United Kingdom (back), the Princesses Georgiana Beatrice and Julianna Henrietta (front) and the Grand-Duke Louis and Grand-Duchess Alice Helena of Hesse (back). (c.1892).
The King would die in 1893, at the age of 50, leaving his son Richard, Duke of Clarence, Prince of Wales, to take up the issues he had left.
[3] Richard had been born 3 years before his father had become King. He had been created Duke of Clarence at birth, and then Prince of Wales at 18 when he reached majority. Both his father and grandfather had married back into the family line but Richard insisted he would look elsewhere, settling on Mildred Bowes-Lyon, daughter of the 13th Earl of Strathmore, and the marriage occurring in 1888, five years before Richard became King when both were 20 years old.
Mildred produced two children within the following five years, But died in 1897 after only three years as Queen. This left Richard as King and single father by 30 years old, with pressure on him from his family and government to seek a new wife. Richard resisted, and yielded an attempt to claim further territories in India following the Treaty of Antwerp in 1901 - "What good are all the jewels of the Empire when they pale in comparison to my dear lost Mildred ..."
The British Empire had shrunk further despite his father's attempt at preventing entropy. He had influence on his cousin, Ferdinand, the German Emperor to encourage transition into a constitutional monarchy and the process had commenced in 1908 when Ferdinand was assassinated. With the German Empire in the hands of a five year old and a British Regent, the Duke of Hesse, the Grand Duke of Hanover and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfield maneuveres to assume the position of Emperor. The German Civil War commenced officially in 1910 with the young Emperor fleeing Germany for the safety of England and the Duke of Hesse occupying the Imperial Palace.
Britain positioned itself as impartial in the dispute, having familial links to all three parties (the Kings sister was the Duchess of Hesse, his cousin's son was the deposed Emperor, the Grand Duke of Hanover was a cousin, as was the Duke of Saxe-Coburg Saalield), but their support for the deposed child Emperor wasn't a secret. In the end, following an eight year conflict which endes in 1918, the Duke of Hesse was named Emperor of the Germans and the constitutional monarch.
The deposed Emperor was given a British title and set up with a handsome allowance, created as Duke of Avondale and changed his Germanic name Ferdinand Hohenzollern to Frederick Strathaven, named after a castle in the Scottish county of South Lanarkshire.
Richard continued the curse of the rulers of the House of Kent to die in their early fifties, after his great grandfather and grandfather died of pneumonia and his father of exhaustion, Richard would pass away after crashing the car he had been gifted for his recent birthday.
His heir would be ....
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What if the Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield had given birth to a son in 1819?
Kings of the United Kingdom and Hanover
1837 - 1871: Victor I (House of Kent) [1]
1871 - 1893: George V (House of Kent) [2]
1893 - 1920: Richard IV (House of Kent) [3]
1920 - 1985: Mary III (House of Kent) [4]
Queen Mary and Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor[4] Princess Mary Louise Victoria Kent was born in 1890. She was not made Princess Royal in that title still was held by her great aunt, the dowager Empress of Germany, Alexandria, who was the British born regent of her grandson, Kaiser Ferdinand II. When they fled to Britain in 1910 she was 66. She died at the ripe old age of 81, long after Princess Mary had become Queen.
Mary's only sibling was her younger sister, Charlotte Elizabeth Mildred Kent, born in 1892. The two princesses were raised in isolation from the public with a strict education. Their main caregiver was a distant cousin, Princess Mary of Teck, also descended from George III, as their mother died young and their father was depressed from then on. (Mary of Teck was the one that many in the royal circle wanted the king to marry, but he refused, but the king agreed for her to take the royal task of raising his daughters.) Mary became very close to the older Princess who never married and devoted herself instead to raising the royal princesses. The younger Mary became close to the older Mary's nephew, Edward Ernest of Teck, two years her senior, and they married in a great royal wedding in 1910. In fact it was that wedding that was the excuse for the Empress Dowager, her daughter-in-law (a friendly but not very intelligent woman not fit to be regent), and the child Emperor to be in London, where they just remained.
Prince Edward was a prince of Teck in his own right, but Richard granted him also the title Duke of Windsor and the title of Prince Consort.
As Queen, Mary, was very much the Queen her 'auntie' Princess Mary of Teck wanted her to be. She was very duty oriented, always proper in her behavior, and a figure head of the Kingdom who remained above politics. During her long reign the last vestiges of the dissolving Empire became independent, with the Bahamas the last one to do so in 1966. By then many South Asians and African-Caribbeans had immigrated to Britain, mainly London, and become British subjects.
Queen Mary saw the kingdom through the Pacific War in the 1940s against the Japanese Empire. It was during this war that the British colonies of Hong Kong and Singapore were conquered by Japan and when liberated were made part of the Republic of China and the Republic of Malaysia instead of being returned to the British Empire.
Queen Mary was the first monarch to give a speech to the kingdom over the radio, to speak in filmed newsreels with sound, and to appear on television.
The Queen and the Duke of Windsor had already had three children before she became queen and had four more afterwards. In 1934 they welcomed their first grandchild. They eventually had fourteen grandchildren. They welcomed their first great-grandchild in 1961 and the first great-great-grandchild in 1983. At her death the Queen had 25 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren. The Duke died in 1984 at the age of 96 and the Queen followed him in death the next year at the age of 95. Most British subjects had never known any monarch except Queen Mary when she died and the entire nation was in shock. For some reason many thought she'd live forever it seems. Her "auntie" Princess Mary of Teck had died in 1969 at the ripe old age of 101. Her sister, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth, died relatively young compared to her older sister and "auntie" at the age of 57 in 1949.
She was succeeded by ..................
Kings of the United Kingdom and Hanover
1837 - 1871: Victor I (House of Kent) [1]
1871 - 1893: George V (House of Kent) [2]
1893 - 1920: Richard IV (House of Kent) [3]
1920 - 1985: Mary III (House of Kent) [4]
[1] Alexander Victor was the son of Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and had been, for much of his life, the heir to the British throne. After the death of his father in 1820, Alexander became Duke of Kent and Strathearn and was placed exclusively under the care of his mother and Sir John Conroy. Until he was 11 when his uncle, the ruling King, William IV, sent him to join the Royal Navy despite the protestations of his mother and Conroy who wanted to try and mould him into an individual they could control.
But they could hardly deny military service to the future King. Alexander served in the Channel Fleet for a few years, before being brought back to the UK to live with William and his wife. He did agree to his mother's suggestion of marriage to his cousin, Victoria (via his mother's brother Ferdinand) who was three years younger and amenable to converting to protestantism (her father, the Duke of Kohary had only converted to Catholicism in 1818), though the marriage was scheduled for after her 18th birthday after he had already been on the throne for 4 years and had taken the regnal name of Victor to avoid dual regnal numbering given the previous Kinh Alexanders of Scotland.
The pair had three children and Victoria was relatively unremarkable - as the Duke of Cumberland was heard to mutter after the wedding ceremony that "she would do very well as a Duchess, but she will never do as a Queen ..." The Duke was then sent to be Governor of Australia much to his frustration. She died in 1857 at the age of 35, with none of her children having yet achieved majority.
Victor lived to 1871, living to the same age as his father, and seeing all three of his children (two sons and a daughter) marry with his first child being Prince of Wales, his second being Duke of Edinburgh, and the third becoming the Princess Royal.
He died after catching pneumonia whilst out rowing with his daughter on a lake, and was replaced by son, Victor George William, Prince of Wales.
King George V of the United Kingdom (c.1875)
[2] George V of the United Kingdom and Hanover is an important historical figure for two reasons: he formally split the United Kingdom and Hanover by granting the Hanover to his younger brother during his 1873 abdication, and he saw the collapse of the colonial Commonwealth Kingdom into various squabbling Kingdoms across the globe that left the global economy in shambles. But, when he ascended to the throne in 1871, he was a 28 year old man, with a ready built family including a son and two daughter, and a wife in the form of Marie Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, daughter of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Amalie Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, a match that ended with her running away with German painted Richard Lauchert. But the beautiful Marie Victoria was the Princess the Prince had fallen in love with, and thus he married the impoverished and scandalous young woman, who would bring with her a portrait painted by her mother's lover of herself as a child, holding her father's portrait. The painting was to become scandalous in it's own right, and only the Queen's insistence allowed to to be displayed. The Queen would thus be known to the family, outside of her husband himself, as Madame Tree.
The Princess Marie Victoria Margaret of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. (c.1852)
The new King began his reign riding high. His wife, while sometimes faintly scandalous, was just the type of regal yet approachable consort a young monarch needed, and in 1875, the two would begin a 3 year travel of the Commonwealth, joined by their two elder daughters, the new Grand-Duke of Hanover (a title given in order to distinguish the King's brother from his cousins in England) and, in 1877, a newborn baby boy, who was to be named the Duke of Kent and kept in the royal court's travels. The Queen would dote on this child as her favourite, probably since the close confines of travelling meant she was forced to interact with him as an infant more than she had her elder children during her time as Princess of Wales. The royal family was to return to England in 1878, having fully appreciated the scope of their rule, and in 1879, they celebrated the Grand-Duke of Hanover's marriage to Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, known to the family as Tilda.
Speaking of royal family members notable during this time, George's sister, the Princess Alexandra of the United Kingdom, known as Moon for her startlingly round face, had in 1862, at the age of 18, married Frederick of Germany, future German Emperor and a man who, at 31, had waited for this match only after his first choice for a bride, Madame Tree's elder sister Elisabeth Suzanna of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, had died in 1855, at the age of 19, and thus the German Prince had been convinced that the 11 year old Princess Alexandra would be her perfect replacement. His father had pushed for the match, and in 1859, during a visit to England, the then 29 year old Frederick had fallen in love with the 15 year old English Princess. Their matrimony was held off due to an illness of the bride in 1860, but in 1862, she was sufficiently recovered and became the future German Empress.
Alexandra Georgiana Victoria of the United Kingdom, Princess of Germany and Prussia (c.1870)
But all the royal connections in the world would mean nothing at all when, in 1780, India rebelled. The first of over 100 seperate major and minor rebellions across the commonwealth, they demanded their own independence and their own King, and in the case of Australia, did, lifting up currently visiting George, Duke of Cambridge, to the title of King of New North Wales (New North Wales = about 2/3 of OTL Queensland), as one of 12 Kingdoms the country sprouted up. In Canada, they simply elected a President and refused to pay their taxed. By 1890, the Commonwealth was in shambles, and the King chose, instead of trying a widespread attack, to simply focus on the main ones. India, in particular, would be his focus, with the Indian Wars beginning in 1887, and continuing past his death.
The King's health during this time was poor. He had grow thin over time, and with his wife's insistence on an active court meaning that he was to lead at least one major social event a week to ensure her happiness, he grew weaker. Eventually, he was put on permanent rest in 1886, but as the Indian Wars began and he was pulled into the various items of bringing his Empire in line, he continued to put himself second, and when his family was to rejoin themselves in 1892, for the marriage of his eldest daughter Mary Christina (known as Tini) to the Duke of Hesse, he was noted as being quite ill, although at the time, his eldest son was not called to London, missing his sister's wedding while he toured Scotland.
The Royal Family celebrates the wedding of the Grand-Duke and Grand-Duchess of Hesse. From left to right: the Grand-Duchess Karoline Mathilde of Hanover (front), the Grand-Duke Alexander of Hanover (back), the Princess Charlotte Louise and the King of the United Kingdom (back), the Princesses Georgiana Beatrice and Julianna Henrietta (front) and the Grand-Duke Louis and Grand-Duchess Alice Helena of Hesse (back). (c.1892).
The King would die in 1893, at the age of 50, leaving his son Richard, Duke of Clarence, Prince of Wales, to take up the issues he had left.
[3] Richard had been born 3 years before his father had become King. He had been created Duke of Clarence at birth, and then Prince of Wales at 18 when he reached majority. Both his father and grandfather had married back into the family line but Richard insisted he would look elsewhere, settling on Mildred Bowes-Lyon, daughter of the 13th Earl of Strathmore, and the marriage occurring in 1888, five years before Richard became King when both were 20 years old.
Mildred produced two children within the following five years, But died in 1897 after only three years as Queen. This left Richard as King and single father by 30 years old, with pressure on him from his family and government to seek a new wife. Richard resisted, and yielded an attempt to claim further territories in India following the Treaty of Antwerp in 1901 - "What good are all the jewels of the Empire when they pale in comparison to my dear lost Mildred ..."
The British Empire had shrunk further despite his father's attempt at preventing entropy. He had influence on his cousin, Ferdinand, the German Emperor to encourage transition into a constitutional monarchy and the process had commenced in 1908 when Ferdinand was assassinated. With the German Empire in the hands of a five year old and a British Regent, the Duke of Hesse, the Grand Duke of Hanover and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfield maneuveres to assume the position of Emperor. The German Civil War commenced officially in 1910 with the young Emperor fleeing Germany for the safety of England and the Duke of Hesse occupying the Imperial Palace.
Britain positioned itself as impartial in the dispute, having familial links to all three parties (the Kings sister was the Duchess of Hesse, his cousin's son was the deposed Emperor, the Grand Duke of Hanover was a cousin, as was the Duke of Saxe-Coburg Saalield), but their support for the deposed child Emperor wasn't a secret. In the end, following an eight year conflict which endes in 1918, the Duke of Hesse was named Emperor of the Germans and the constitutional monarch.
The deposed Emperor was given a British title and set up with a handsome allowance, created as Duke of Avondale and changed his Germanic name Ferdinand Hohenzollern to Frederick Strathaven, named after a castle in the Scottish county of South Lanarkshire.
Richard continued the curse of the rulers of the House of Kent to die in their early fifties, after his great grandfather and grandfather died of pneumonia and his father of exhaustion, Richard would pass away after crashing the car he had been gifted for his recent birthday.
His heir would be his oldest daughter, Princess Mary.
But they could hardly deny military service to the future King. Alexander served in the Channel Fleet for a few years, before being brought back to the UK to live with William and his wife. He did agree to his mother's suggestion of marriage to his cousin, Victoria (via his mother's brother Ferdinand) who was three years younger and amenable to converting to protestantism (her father, the Duke of Kohary had only converted to Catholicism in 1818), though the marriage was scheduled for after her 18th birthday after he had already been on the throne for 4 years and had taken the regnal name of Victor to avoid dual regnal numbering given the previous Kinh Alexanders of Scotland.
The pair had three children and Victoria was relatively unremarkable - as the Duke of Cumberland was heard to mutter after the wedding ceremony that "she would do very well as a Duchess, but she will never do as a Queen ..." The Duke was then sent to be Governor of Australia much to his frustration. She died in 1857 at the age of 35, with none of her children having yet achieved majority.
Victor lived to 1871, living to the same age as his father, and seeing all three of his children (two sons and a daughter) marry with his first child being Prince of Wales, his second being Duke of Edinburgh, and the third becoming the Princess Royal.
He died after catching pneumonia whilst out rowing with his daughter on a lake, and was replaced by son, Victor George William, Prince of Wales.
King George V of the United Kingdom (c.1875)
[2] George V of the United Kingdom and Hanover is an important historical figure for two reasons: he formally split the United Kingdom and Hanover by granting the Hanover to his younger brother during his 1873 abdication, and he saw the collapse of the colonial Commonwealth Kingdom into various squabbling Kingdoms across the globe that left the global economy in shambles. But, when he ascended to the throne in 1871, he was a 28 year old man, with a ready built family including a son and two daughter, and a wife in the form of Marie Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, daughter of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Amalie Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, a match that ended with her running away with German painted Richard Lauchert. But the beautiful Marie Victoria was the Princess the Prince had fallen in love with, and thus he married the impoverished and scandalous young woman, who would bring with her a portrait painted by her mother's lover of herself as a child, holding her father's portrait. The painting was to become scandalous in it's own right, and only the Queen's insistence allowed to to be displayed. The Queen would thus be known to the family, outside of her husband himself, as Madame Tree.
The Princess Marie Victoria Margaret of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. (c.1852)
The new King began his reign riding high. His wife, while sometimes faintly scandalous, was just the type of regal yet approachable consort a young monarch needed, and in 1875, the two would begin a 3 year travel of the Commonwealth, joined by their two elder daughters, the new Grand-Duke of Hanover (a title given in order to distinguish the King's brother from his cousins in England) and, in 1877, a newborn baby boy, who was to be named the Duke of Kent and kept in the royal court's travels. The Queen would dote on this child as her favourite, probably since the close confines of travelling meant she was forced to interact with him as an infant more than she had her elder children during her time as Princess of Wales. The royal family was to return to England in 1878, having fully appreciated the scope of their rule, and in 1879, they celebrated the Grand-Duke of Hanover's marriage to Karoline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, known to the family as Tilda.
Speaking of royal family members notable during this time, George's sister, the Princess Alexandra of the United Kingdom, known as Moon for her startlingly round face, had in 1862, at the age of 18, married Frederick of Germany, future German Emperor and a man who, at 31, had waited for this match only after his first choice for a bride, Madame Tree's elder sister Elisabeth Suzanna of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, had died in 1855, at the age of 19, and thus the German Prince had been convinced that the 11 year old Princess Alexandra would be her perfect replacement. His father had pushed for the match, and in 1859, during a visit to England, the then 29 year old Frederick had fallen in love with the 15 year old English Princess. Their matrimony was held off due to an illness of the bride in 1860, but in 1862, she was sufficiently recovered and became the future German Empress.
Alexandra Georgiana Victoria of the United Kingdom, Princess of Germany and Prussia (c.1870)
But all the royal connections in the world would mean nothing at all when, in 1780, India rebelled. The first of over 100 seperate major and minor rebellions across the commonwealth, they demanded their own independence and their own King, and in the case of Australia, did, lifting up currently visiting George, Duke of Cambridge, to the title of King of New North Wales (New North Wales = about 2/3 of OTL Queensland), as one of 12 Kingdoms the country sprouted up. In Canada, they simply elected a President and refused to pay their taxed. By 1890, the Commonwealth was in shambles, and the King chose, instead of trying a widespread attack, to simply focus on the main ones. India, in particular, would be his focus, with the Indian Wars beginning in 1887, and continuing past his death.
The King's health during this time was poor. He had grow thin over time, and with his wife's insistence on an active court meaning that he was to lead at least one major social event a week to ensure her happiness, he grew weaker. Eventually, he was put on permanent rest in 1886, but as the Indian Wars began and he was pulled into the various items of bringing his Empire in line, he continued to put himself second, and when his family was to rejoin themselves in 1892, for the marriage of his eldest daughter Mary Christina (known as Tini) to the Duke of Hesse, he was noted as being quite ill, although at the time, his eldest son was not called to London, missing his sister's wedding while he toured Scotland.
The Royal Family celebrates the wedding of the Grand-Duke and Grand-Duchess of Hesse. From left to right: the Grand-Duchess Karoline Mathilde of Hanover (front), the Grand-Duke Alexander of Hanover (back), the Princess Charlotte Louise and the King of the United Kingdom (back), the Princesses Georgiana Beatrice and Julianna Henrietta (front) and the Grand-Duke Louis and Grand-Duchess Alice Helena of Hesse (back). (c.1892).
The King would die in 1893, at the age of 50, leaving his son Richard, Duke of Clarence, Prince of Wales, to take up the issues he had left.
[3] Richard had been born 3 years before his father had become King. He had been created Duke of Clarence at birth, and then Prince of Wales at 18 when he reached majority. Both his father and grandfather had married back into the family line but Richard insisted he would look elsewhere, settling on Mildred Bowes-Lyon, daughter of the 13th Earl of Strathmore, and the marriage occurring in 1888, five years before Richard became King when both were 20 years old.
Mildred produced two children within the following five years, But died in 1897 after only three years as Queen. This left Richard as King and single father by 30 years old, with pressure on him from his family and government to seek a new wife. Richard resisted, and yielded an attempt to claim further territories in India following the Treaty of Antwerp in 1901 - "What good are all the jewels of the Empire when they pale in comparison to my dear lost Mildred ..."
The British Empire had shrunk further despite his father's attempt at preventing entropy. He had influence on his cousin, Ferdinand, the German Emperor to encourage transition into a constitutional monarchy and the process had commenced in 1908 when Ferdinand was assassinated. With the German Empire in the hands of a five year old and a British Regent, the Duke of Hesse, the Grand Duke of Hanover and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfield maneuveres to assume the position of Emperor. The German Civil War commenced officially in 1910 with the young Emperor fleeing Germany for the safety of England and the Duke of Hesse occupying the Imperial Palace.
Britain positioned itself as impartial in the dispute, having familial links to all three parties (the Kings sister was the Duchess of Hesse, his cousin's son was the deposed Emperor, the Grand Duke of Hanover was a cousin, as was the Duke of Saxe-Coburg Saalield), but their support for the deposed child Emperor wasn't a secret. In the end, following an eight year conflict which endes in 1918, the Duke of Hesse was named Emperor of the Germans and the constitutional monarch.
The deposed Emperor was given a British title and set up with a handsome allowance, created as Duke of Avondale and changed his Germanic name Ferdinand Hohenzollern to Frederick Strathaven, named after a castle in the Scottish county of South Lanarkshire.
Richard continued the curse of the rulers of the House of Kent to die in their early fifties, after his great grandfather and grandfather died of pneumonia and his father of exhaustion, Richard would pass away after crashing the car he had been gifted for his recent birthday.
His heir would be his oldest daughter, Princess Mary.
Queen Mary and Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor
Mary's only sibling was her younger sister, Charlotte Elizabeth Mildred Kent, born in 1892. The two princesses were raised in isolation from the public with a strict education. Their main caregiver was a distant cousin, Princess Mary of Teck, also descended from George III, as their mother died young and their father was depressed from then on. (Mary of Teck was the one that many in the royal circle wanted the king to marry, but he refused, but the king agreed for her to take the royal task of raising his daughters.) Mary became very close to the older Princess who never married and devoted herself instead to raising the royal princesses. The younger Mary became close to the older Mary's nephew, Edward Ernest of Teck, two years her senior, and they married in a great royal wedding in 1910. In fact it was that wedding that was the excuse for the Empress Dowager, her daughter-in-law (a friendly but not very intelligent woman not fit to be regent), and the child Emperor to be in London, where they just remained.
Prince Edward was a prince of Teck in his own right, but Richard granted him also the title Duke of Windsor and the title of Prince Consort.
As Queen, Mary, was very much the Queen her 'auntie' Princess Mary of Teck wanted her to be. She was very duty oriented, always proper in her behavior, and a figure head of the Kingdom who remained above politics. During her long reign the last vestiges of the dissolving Empire became independent, with the Bahamas the last one to do so in 1966. By then many South Asians and African-Caribbeans had immigrated to Britain, mainly London, and become British subjects.
Queen Mary saw the kingdom through the Pacific War in the 1940s against the Japanese Empire. It was during this war that the British colonies of Hong Kong and Singapore were conquered by Japan and when liberated were made part of the Republic of China and the Republic of Malaysia instead of being returned to the British Empire.
Queen Mary was the first monarch to give a speech to the kingdom over the radio, to speak in filmed newsreels with sound, and to appear on television.
The Queen and the Duke of Windsor had already had three children before she became queen and had four more afterwards. In 1934 they welcomed their first grandchild. They eventually had fourteen grandchildren. They welcomed their first great-grandchild in 1961 and the first great-great-grandchild in 1983. At her death the Queen had 25 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren. The Duke died in 1984 at the age of 96 and the Queen followed him in death the next year at the age of 95. Most British subjects had never known any monarch except Queen Mary when she died and the entire nation was in shock. For some reason many thought she'd live forever it seems. Her "auntie" Princess Mary of Teck had died in 1969 at the ripe old age of 101. Her sister, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth, died relatively young compared to her older sister and "auntie" at the age of 57 in 1949.
She was succeeded by ..................
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No specific reason - just a change, as Victor would have been Duke of Kent for eighteen years before he became King, he may have decided to take that forward.
Ferdinand II didn't get reinstated as the German Emperor in 1918 at the end of the German Civil War, the Duke of Hesse was made German Emperor and Ferdinand changed his name to Frederick Strathaven, Duke of Avondale.