No King John III of Poland

John Sobieski was elected as King of Poland. He became King John III and reigned 1674 to 1696.
Suppose John Sobieski had not been elected king.
Who shall be elected to be the King of Poland?
 
Charles of Lorraine was a candidate but lost out to John. He'd probably be a good king and could probably still be in the military service of the Habsburgs.
 
Does he now?

Also be aware that the Prince of Conde and the Elector Palatine were also prominent candidates, potentially just as interesting, for the pro-French szlachta.

Is the Prince of Conde also the Prince of Conti? Which prince was the candidate?
Who would be the Elector Palatine who was a candidate?
 
Is the Prince of Conde also the Prince of Conti? Which prince was the candidate?
Who would be the Elector Palatine who was a candidate?

Conti was a junior branch of Conde, both descended from the Bourbons. The candidate in 1674 was Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Conde, AKA 'Le Grand Conde'. In 1697, one of the candidates was his nephew, Francois Louis, Prince of Conti, AKA 'Le Grand Conti'. History is confusing sometimes, ey? :rolleyes:

The Elector Palatine in 1674 was Philipp Wilhelm of the Neuburg branch of the House of Wittelsbach, a son-in-law of Zygmunt Waza. He basically split the French-aligned vote. Dissuade either of these from standing and Charles of Lorraine has significant opposition, not only from the French supporters but also from the so-called 'Piast' party, which favoured a Polish born nobleman. IOTL, they chose Jan Sobieski, but if he dies before 1674 (or whatever your PoD is) then they are obviously going to choose another of their number. The previous king, Michal, was one of their as well. I have no idea who they would pick in the absence of Sobieski, or even (off-hand) who their leaders were, but I would assume that Michal Kazimierz Radziwill would have been a possibility, given his military and patriotic background, wealth, and relation to the now-dead Sobieski. If he stands, his race (he was Lithuanian) will count against him, allowing the throne to go to the foreign guys that you are more interested in.
 
Suppose Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Conde, was elected King.
He takes Casimir V as his regnal name.

Yeah, the only polish monarchs to take regnal names were August II and III, who dropped the 'Friedrich' part of their names, and Jogaila, who took the name Wladyslaw. All the others used their proper names, including the Prince of Conti during the couple of months when he was 'legally' King. Even in Britain, only Robert III of Sctoland (John), Victoria (Alexandrina), Edward VII (Albert) and George VI (Albert) didn't take their first name as their regnal name.

More to the point, if he won the election, would he have the force to press his claim? The 'Piasts' and the Habsburgs were much closer and denied the throne to French candidates IOTL in 1697 and 1734.
 
I have found the article in Wiki. It says:
Hetman Jan Sobieski did not express interest in Polish crown, and before the election stated that he did wish to be elected... French diplomats later stated that Sobieski himself hesitated between running in the election, and supporting the Grand Conde.
 
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