Romanov Hungary?

Had the Russian empire supported Hungary in 1848 and created a independent Hungary, could they place a Romanov on the Hungarian throne? And who would be the best candidate?
 
Had the Russian empire supported Hungary in 1848 and created a independent Hungary, could they place a Romanov on the Hungarian throne? And who would be the best candidate?

Do the Romanovs even have a Catholic branch? The of the other Holstein-Gotthorps have plenty of Protestants, so if you wanted go up the patrilinial portion of the line I'm sure you could find a distant cousion, but their attachment to the Romanovs (who more or less mandate Eastern Orthodoxy) would be slim at best. If, however, we're assuming the Czar had the kind of stroke required to flip his personality so much as to want to further destabilize the Consort of Europe he so adimently defended rather than shore it up, I suppose anything is possible...

Still, more likely they borrow a minor German Prince in order to not overly agrivate the other great powers,especially since the inevitable collapse of the Habsburgs that would be the result of Hungarian Independence at this juncture would be raising alarm bells in every court in Europe as to the balance of power collapsing and another great series of hegemony wars being on the horizon if Russia expands too much
 
They could place Maximilian de Beauharnais, duke of Leuchtenberg who is
A) married to a Romanov Grand Duchess
but also
B) Catholic,
C) not a "direct" Romanov, which makes it easier for other powers to accept the new situation, and
D) a member of the Napoleonic dynasty - and remember who just became President in 1848...this could go a long way towards fostering cooperation between Russia and France.

So basically an ideal candidate for the throne of a pro-Russian independent Hungary.
 
Why do they need a Catholic? While the Catholics made up a majority of Hungary, a significant part of these was Greek Catholics, and more than a quarter of the population was Protestants in 1848 and Protestantism was closely connected to the national movements of Hungary (Calvinism to Hungarian national identity and Lutheranism to Slovakian national identity. A thought maybe the Romanov could use another Oldenburg branch, by pushing a Augustenburg as the new royal family of Hungary to get rid of Danish succession crisis.
 
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