No Edwardian Age

OS fan

Banned
What if the reign of Edward VII of Great Britain was prevented? There should be enough possibilities: His appendix problems before his coronation, his lifestyle, other factors.

The most important changes, of course, would be that the Triple Alliance may not come into existence. Despite his "playboy" image, Edward (who was nicknamed uncle of Europe) was deeply involved in the creation of the alliances with both Russia and France, once Britain's worst enemy.

Who'd take the throne in his stead? Would this lead to Britain's neutrality in World War I, or even to a German-British alliance? Would there be any other important changes?
 
I think a British alignment with France and Russia was more likely than not post 1870. It was always British policy to ally with whatever combination of European powers was necessary to take out any threats to British domination. In the 17 and 18th Century that saw us align with the French against the Spanish, the Austrians against the French, the Prussians against the French and Austrians etc. With Germany's rise we naturally moved to counter them by getting in bed with Russia and France.
 
Who'd take the throne in his stead? Would this lead to Britain's neutrality in World War I, or even to a German-British alliance? Would there be any other important changes?

Most likely King George V. Unlikely under any circumstances there would be an Anglo-German Alliance. The situation in Europe would drive Britain to eventually align itself with some power bloc.
 
What if the reign of Edward VII of Great Britain was prevented? There should be enough possibilities: His appendix problems before his coronation, his lifestyle, other factors.

The most important changes, of course, would be that the Triple Alliance may not come into existence. Despite his "playboy" image, Edward (who was nicknamed uncle of Europe) was deeply involved in the creation of the alliances with both Russia and France, once Britain's worst enemy.

Who'd take the throne in his stead? Would this lead to Britain's neutrality in World War I, or even to a German-British alliance? Would there be any other important changes?

You are over estimating the role a monarch played in British policy by the early 20th century. Edward VII was indeed the last British monarch to play a major role in foreign affairs but he didn't create it. An alliance with France came about because of German naval expansion not because Edward VII loved the French and hated the Germans.
 

OS fan

Banned
Since I started [thread=250608]this thread[/thread] today, I also wonder how these could be combined. What if Edward VII had not defused the tension between Britain and Russia after the dogger bank affair, because he wasn't there?
 
I think a British alignment with France and Russia was more likely than not post 1870. It was always British policy to ally with whatever combination of European powers was necessary to take out any threats to British domination. In the 17 and 18th Century that saw us align with the French against the Spanish, the Austrians against the French, the Prussians against the French and Austrians etc. With Germany's rise we naturally moved to counter them by getting in bed with Russia and France.
True, but even the German general staff was convinced that after 1916 Russia would have industrialised too much for them to be able to launch a one-two attack to knock France out before turning towards them, forcing them instead to dig in and go on the defensive. After that point the Franco-Russians look like the powers most likely to be able to dominate Europe so what does Britain do? At the most basic it seems like it comes down to either switching allies to Germany and Austria-Hungary or withdrawing from the Entente and moving back into a neutral position but making sure that it was publicly known about preserving the balance of power. At that point short of any major changes Britain really does seem to hold the balance of power depending on who they decide to back.
 

OS fan

Banned
A British alliance with France and Russia against Germany was still difficult, since Britain's sphere of interest clashed with those of both powers. Not that the situation with Germany was better.
 
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