Johan Friso, Prince of Orange, drowned in the Hollands' Diep on his way to the Hague to go sign a treaty with the king of Prussia concerning Willem III's will. He left behind a pregnant wife and a daughter. His wife later gave birth to Stadtholder Willem IV. What if he hadn't drowned? Say he's persuaded to wait for the other barge instead of being impatient and hopping in his coach on the first. The coach fell over into the water, and while his companion survived, the prince, caught in the coach, had drowned. Or at least, the servant manages to pull him out - OTL what happened was that the servant couldn't pull him out, and lost his grip as the coach sank deeper into the water.
Could Johan Friso and Marie Luise's attitudes as stadtholder and stadtholderin prevent the United Provinces from slipping into the profound lethargy that they did for the rest of the century? Also, could Johan Friso get a better deal on the Orange inheritance in 1711 from Friedrich I than what their sons did in the late 1720s/early1730s? How might the history of the Netherlands/Europe be affected?
Could Johan Friso and Marie Luise's attitudes as stadtholder and stadtholderin prevent the United Provinces from slipping into the profound lethargy that they did for the rest of the century? Also, could Johan Friso get a better deal on the Orange inheritance in 1711 from Friedrich I than what their sons did in the late 1720s/early1730s? How might the history of the Netherlands/Europe be affected?