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Réne d'Anjou was the Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence, and is pretty well remembered as the last Angevin King of Naples before he was disposed by the Trastamaras of Aragon. He was also married to the heiress of Lorraine who brought those lands to the Capetian House of Anjou. The fortunes of his dynasty decreased as he got older: his son failed to reclaim Naples for his father, his daughter and the Lancastrian Party in England were decisively defeated, too. By time he died in 1480, both his son and grandson were dead and Lorraine passed to the Vaudémont branch of the House of Lorraine and Anjou and Provence were reincorporated into France after the death of Charles of Maine.

Now, what if the fortunes of the Anjou's were reversed in the 1460s? During the Catalonian Civil War, Réne was elected by the Catalonians as King of Aragon over the unpopular John II, who had reigned as a tyrant and had violated several articles of the Ustages of Barcelona, as well as the Constitution of Catalonia and the Fur of Lieda. The biggest issue is that while John II was hated in Catalonia, he had made concessions in Sicily that insured money, but especially grain was available to finance and feed his cause. While Catalonia had revolted against him, the remainder of the Aragonese Empire essentially remained loyal. He was especially popular in Sicily as well as Sardinia, with his base of operations being in Valencia. A second issue is the Consell de Cent never decisively choose someone to oppose John II. During the civil war, Henry IV of Castile, the Constable of Portugal, and Réne were all considered potential kings. The Consell had even considered Louis XI of France before settling on Réne, who sent his son the Duke of Lorraine south to campaign in his name.

With a few tweaks, I think it's possible for the Duke of Lorraine to decisively secure Aragon for his father. If the Consell is more decisive in it's choice of Réne after the death of Peter of Coimbra, we could see the Duke of Lorraine sent south with more substantial French forces. Maybe have the Duke of Lorraine's victory at Vildamat be even more decisive, with the Prince Ferdinand of Aragon being killed in battle. That could buy the Duke of Lorraine some needed time to dislodge John II from Valencia, and could even work in the Duke of Lorraine securing popular support for his family: perhaps through the betrothal of his son Nicholas to Isabella of Castile. John II would probably maintain the rump Aragonese Empire of Sicily and Sardinia.

That alone could have some very interesting knock-off effects. If the Duke of Lorraine is more successful, he wouldn't die of poison in 1470. You'd most certainly save the life of his son, too, whether or not he is married to Isabella. She might accept the marriage though, when it's likely Réne of Anjou will take the Crown of Aragon, and her other suitors are Alfosno V of Portugal (who she already refused) and the syphilitic Duke of Berry, brother of Louis XI. There are also interesting repurcussions regarding Lorraine: I know Burgundy was eying the territory, and Louis XI will probably begin eying Anjou and Maine when it becomes obvious that Réne's grandson will be King of Castile and Aragon. But I could see them retaining Provence. There's also the idea of a resurgent House of Anjou using Aragon and later Castile as a springboard to reclaim Naples: Réne becoming King of Aragon would definitely alter Early Modern Europe's course -- but is it even possible?
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