We've had a number of threads about Queen Victoria either not being
born or dying as an infant, leaving Ernest Augustus as King of
Britain. However, I was thinking on how things much go if Victoria was
sterile.
In OTL, Victoria was *incredibly* fertile. Her oldest, the Princess
Victoria was born nine and a half months after Queen Victoria's
wedding at age 20 (February, 1840) and Edward, her eventual successor
just under a year after his older sister. By Queen Victoria's and
Prince Albert's Tenth wedding anniversary, Queen Victoria is pregnant
with their seventh child, Prince Arthur. All nine (4 boys, 5 girls) of
her children survived until at least age 35 and all but one of them
(Louise) had children. A nation which in the 1820s had been concerned
about having anyone in the line of succession now had a bumper crop.
In the ATL, Victoria is sterile. Her marriage with Albert is still a
happy one, but by the 1850 there is concern over her inability to bear
children (she is 30 at this point). First consideration, unless there
is some *obvious* outward sign, doctors would be unable to tell if the
problem was with Victoria or Albert or some combination. I think that
Victoria would stridently resist any attempt to have her divorce
Albert.
In 1851, Ernst Augustus dies, leaving his son and Victoria's cousin
George V as King of Hanover. Unlike OTL where George V has dropped to
8th in line for the British throne, in the ATL, he is heir
presumptive. Fifteen years later in OTL, George V is without a throne,
with Hanover being annexed as part of the Unification of Germany after
the Austro-Prussian war. Would the British try to help Hanover and
Austria? Would it make any difference if they did? (The war was only 7
weeks, had no naval component and as far as I know the Russians were
willing to sell food and other supplies to the Prussians). (OTOH,
perhaps this might have convinced George V to stay neutral, which
might have saved them)
Assuming that they either don't or that it makes no difference, you
have a blind ex-king with a bad record of working with the Hanoverian
parliment who presumably makes his way to Britain as the heir
apparent. When *he* dies in 1878, his son, Ernst Augustus II becomes
heir apparent and ultimately succeeds Victoria.
While in OTL, Ernst Augustus II reconciled with the German Royalty to
the point where the British stripped him of his titles there (as Duke
of Cumberland), but in this TL, you have a man who spent his childhood
in Hanover, had as his first language German and lost the kingdom he
expected to have as a child only to get the British crown at age 56
(Presuming Victoria dies at the same age). His relationship with the
German leadership should be interesting...