Queen Charlotte I

Louis-Philippe's son, the Duke of Nemours was popularly considered before Leopold, but the Great Powers weren't sure because he was French. Louis-Philippe also rejected the offer on his son's behalf.

Since the problems of chosing Nemours ITTL are still the same, I think that a good candidate would be Leopold's eldest brother, Prince Ferdinand Georg of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was already a Catholic at the time of the Belgian Revolution (having converted 15 years earlier in order to marry a rich Hungarian heiress) and had important political connections with the Habsburgs too.

Interesting enough, IOTL his eldest son - also named Ferdinand - married Maria II of Portugal, becoming king-consort of that country. ITTL he would be the heir of the Belgian crown, and so wouldn't be married to her. We probably would see his younger brother August marrying her instead, or a prince from other noble house would be chosen as king-consort of Portugal and install his dynasty there.
 
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Sure, but I think that Charles falls in the same problem as Nemours (who actually was elected by the Belgian National Congress as their king, but was forced to refuse it). The British wanted someone not from an important dynasty in order to not attach Belgium to continental powers. However, at the same time they wanted someone closer to them. Under these conditions Leopold was the perfect choice IOTL, that's why I think his brother would be an option ITTL.
 
Sure, but I think that Charles falls in the same problem as Nemours (who actually was elected by the Belgian National Congress as their king, but was forced to refuse it). The British wanted someone not from an important dynasty in order to not attach Belgium to continental powers. However, at the same time they wanted someone closer to them. Under these conditions Leopold was the perfect choice IOTL, that's why I think his brother would be an option ITTL.

Wouldn't that be in this case a problem for the French? Having someone so close to the British throne king of Belgium?
 
Wouldn't that be in this case a problem for the French? Having someone so close to the British throne king of Belgium?

Nah, the July Monarchy was fairly pro-British, they were both liberal constitutional monarchies. They only really clashed one time, and that was during the Eastern crisis as Egypt was a close French ally and the British were backing the Turks. But even then, France cut it's obligations to Egypt and supported Britain. Louis-Philippe and his government will accept whatever is in the interest of the great powers -- after the July Revolution, the French didn't want to give any impression that they were aspiring to Napoleonic glory. This is probably the biggest reason Louis-Philippe rejected the throne on behalf of his son.
 
I've done some reading up and Ferdinand and will concede that he is quite a good candidate and probably would have been acceptable to the Habsburgs instead of Archduke Charles. On a note about his descendants, I think it likely that his heir would not marry the Portuguese Heiress, and Ferdinand's grandson may not become the Tsar of Bulgaria if Ferdinand takes the Belgian throne.
 
Back to the original topic, which kind of influences could the absence of William IV and the reign of Charlotte I (and Leopold as Prince-Consort) have on British politics and foreign relations?
 
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