Say something happens to Prince Albert before he can marry Victoria - or they never meet (or if they do, there's a mutual antipathy). Who does Victoria marry instead?
Say something happens to Prince Albert before he can marry Victoria - or they never meet (or if they do, there's a mutual antipathy). Who does Victoria marry instead?
Well, then there were the other matches thrown around (i.e. between her and Emperor Alexander II of Russia, and the future Christian IX of Denmark). And then there was also her attraction to her cousin, the duke of Brunswick.
Well there are a few interesting candidates. Three if memory serves. There's Prince William of the Netherlands, Crown Prince George of Hanover and Prince George of Cambridge. I'm unsure which was the most likely candidate after Albert, tough I think that George of Hanover was the one most favored by William IV, to keep the union between Britain and Hanover, so do with that what you will.
A crazy thought
An interesting option might be France; even early in her reign Victoria was very interested in improving relations between London & Paris. The Orleanists were desperately looking for allies, after being turned down by both Russia and Austria, and the prospect of a regency terrified many in the July Monarchy so there was something of a sense of urgency over the matter in Paris. Ferdinand Philippe married Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1837, in what was largely a cordial but loveless marriage that certainly didn't bring any great political advantage to the July Monarchy, however his younger brother Louis IOTL wed Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840, and third-son François married Francisca of Brazil in 1843. There's a possibility of joining either Louis or François to Victoria sometime in the early 1840s if the stars align properly, international European politics, as well as those of both Britain & France, will certainly play a role there.
Wasn't Duke Alexander of Wurttemberg considered? He was her maternal first cousin and his uncle Frederick I had married Princess Charlotte so there were ties to Britain. He married an Orleans princess OTL so he seems destined for a foreign match.
On another note if the only way to get rid of Albert is to kill him wouldn't that make Ferdinand II of Portugal the heir to Saxe-Coburg-Gotha? Ferdinand married before Albert so I don't see his marriage to Maria II being affected. OTL his younger son's never had children of their own so there's a good chance that the Duchy as a secundogeniture would still fall back to the Portuguese crown after a generation. Any major affects for Portugal on such a union? Ramifications for the selection of a Spanish King if the King of Portugal is already perceived to be too close to Germany.
As well it's not like [Victoria] comes from a small family, so there wouldn't be as great of a pressure to be wedded and bedded right away.
She has relatives, but her only eligible cousins are Hanoverian, and Britain doesn't want the union of crowns restored.
So there is pressure, I think.
So George of Cambridge is next and arguably the best choice. The closest one can get to marrying a British subject without angering other noble families and he had the added bonus of living even longer then Victoria, so no decades long mourning.