Something I noticed while reading over the Hanoverian Kings for my other TL
(hiatus again, sadly - they will all be updated when I get around to it. Sorry.)
Princess Charlotte Augusta, sole child and heir presumptive of the Prince Regent (later George IV of the United Kingdom), considered several suitors for her marriage, the most successful of whom was Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, later King of Belgium. But he was but one of the suitors, and not the most important, by a long stretch.
The first young man to catch her eye - and the one most suited to this timeline - was Hereditary Prince William of Orange. This was a joint project, considered by the Houses of Orange and Hanover, and intended to link their two nations in a dynastic union - partly to give Britain a foothold on the Continent once Charlotte's accession loosed Hanover from the union, and partly to safeguard the Netherlands from future French (or Prussian) incursions. (The union would also take care of the Cape Colony problem - namely, that Britain had been "administrating" the Dutch colonies in the Indies and South Africa for the last twenty years. This union would allow them to be returned as something of a dowry.)
However, disaster struck, when it was revealed that Prince William had a bit of a problem with the booze, and made a bit of a prat of himself at Ascot. This upset Charlotte quite a bit, and she reversed her position on him (whereas until then she'd considered herself engaged to him). When her father tried to force her into marrying William, she ran away from home. (To her mother, though, so not as dramatic as it might seem.) George eventually backed down from his position, and the door was opened for Leopold to win Charlotte's heart.
But what if he'd been a bit more sensible at Ascot, or she'd been a bit more blinded by love?
The implications are obvious - they get married. But weddings aren't secret, especially not ones between the heirs of two large Kingdoms. The future Anglo-Dutch union would have huge effects on the Congress of Vienna, and quite possibly Napoleon's escape would have been butterflied away (it was never that likely, really). The other Powers at Vienna would likely try and counterbalance this coming alliance, seeing it as upsetting the European balance again.
Or not. Maybe. I don't know. Which is why I'm asking you lot. Alternate Congress of Vienna with an Anglo-Dutch union in the cards later - what would this look like?
(hiatus again, sadly - they will all be updated when I get around to it. Sorry.)
Princess Charlotte Augusta, sole child and heir presumptive of the Prince Regent (later George IV of the United Kingdom), considered several suitors for her marriage, the most successful of whom was Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, later King of Belgium. But he was but one of the suitors, and not the most important, by a long stretch.
The first young man to catch her eye - and the one most suited to this timeline - was Hereditary Prince William of Orange. This was a joint project, considered by the Houses of Orange and Hanover, and intended to link their two nations in a dynastic union - partly to give Britain a foothold on the Continent once Charlotte's accession loosed Hanover from the union, and partly to safeguard the Netherlands from future French (or Prussian) incursions. (The union would also take care of the Cape Colony problem - namely, that Britain had been "administrating" the Dutch colonies in the Indies and South Africa for the last twenty years. This union would allow them to be returned as something of a dowry.)
However, disaster struck, when it was revealed that Prince William had a bit of a problem with the booze, and made a bit of a prat of himself at Ascot. This upset Charlotte quite a bit, and she reversed her position on him (whereas until then she'd considered herself engaged to him). When her father tried to force her into marrying William, she ran away from home. (To her mother, though, so not as dramatic as it might seem.) George eventually backed down from his position, and the door was opened for Leopold to win Charlotte's heart.
But what if he'd been a bit more sensible at Ascot, or she'd been a bit more blinded by love?
The implications are obvious - they get married. But weddings aren't secret, especially not ones between the heirs of two large Kingdoms. The future Anglo-Dutch union would have huge effects on the Congress of Vienna, and quite possibly Napoleon's escape would have been butterflied away (it was never that likely, really). The other Powers at Vienna would likely try and counterbalance this coming alliance, seeing it as upsetting the European balance again.
Or not. Maybe. I don't know. Which is why I'm asking you lot. Alternate Congress of Vienna with an Anglo-Dutch union in the cards later - what would this look like?
