The Course of Human Events

[Lord Grattan]

The charter of the Federal Bank of Albion came up for renewal in 1862. On April 25, after spirited debate in both chambers, Congress voted to extend the bank's charter for another 25 years (through the end of 1887). A companion bill, an act to “repeal all prior acts authorizing the currency of foreign gold or silver coins within the Kingdom of Albion”, was approved by Congress on May 5. Prior to the enactment of this legislation, foreign coins, such as the Spanish dollar and British Pound were widely used and accepted as legal tender by the Coinage Act of 1801.


In June 1862, Congress adopted the Parker-Blair Tariff Act. Named after its chief sponsors, Representative Archibald Parker of Pennsylvania and Senator Lewis Blair of Massachusetts, the act was signed into law by the King on June 22. The Parker-Blair Tariff was a protective tariff designed to protect and encourage Albish industrial development along with the wages of industrial workers. It replaced the 1853 Russell Tariff, which had, largely due to a wide spread European economic decline in 1855-58 and an 1857-58 decline in Albion's economy, proven itself an inadequate generator of revenue for the federal government. Despite the clear need for tariff revision as the decade unfolded, the several efforts undertaken during the 18th Congress of 1857-61 to revise tariff schedules upward all failed to pass.


During its 1st year in force the Parker-Blair Tariff increased the effective rate collected on dutiable imports by approximately 67%. Before the new rates went into effect Albish tariff rates were among the lowest in the world at around 18% overall, or 22% on dutiable items only. Under the new rate schedule those averages rose immediately to approximately 28% overall or 40% on dutiable item. Though markedly higher, these rates were still significantly lower than those set by Congress in the 1810s to 1830s, which were at times surpassed 50%. The higher rates of 1862 tariff marked the start of a 40 year-long era of Albish trade protectionism.


Even before it went into effect, the new tariff came under harsh criticism in Great Britain. British iron, clothing, and manufactured exports were hit especially hard by the new tariff. The tariff also ran against the prevailing free trade sentiment that dominated British public opinion and government policy of the time. Incensed, Parker-Blair was denounced as a vicious slap in the face, a mean-spirited move, and a retrogressive abomination. Congress responded to the British criticism with its own vitriolic rhetoric. Threats and counter threats were hurled across the Atlantic for several months before the tempest died down.

 

[Turquoise Blue]

Seems like the relationship is worsing between the British and the Albish!

Could you show me a map or some info on New Zealand?

 

[Turquoise Blue]

Did I kill this thread or something?

 

[Lord Grattan]

No, I'm putting together a map and some historic information on "New Zealand". Thanks for asking.

 

[Lord Grattan]

Butterflies and "New Zealand" (through 1860) ...


September 30, 1769 – English explorer James Cook, aboard the Endeavour, makes his 1st visit to the the islands called Nieu Zeeland (or alternatively Nova Zeelandia) by the Dutch. Presuming these islands to be near the hypothesized southern continent Terra Australis, Cook renamed the archipelago the Austral Islands [New Zealand]. Cook names the bay into which he 1st sailed Meager Bay [OTL: Poverty Bay]. During the ensuing months Cook mapped the majority of the Austral Islands' coasts.

July 1773 – James Cook, aboard the Stalwart, makes his 2nd visit to the Austral Islands. On this occasion Cook named the two main islands of the archipelago. The northern one he names St. Andrew (the patron saint of Scotland) [OTL: the North Island] and the southern one he calls St. George (the patron saint of England) [OTL: the South Island].

December 1777 – James Cook, aboard the Resolution and now hailed as "the first navigator in Europe", makes his 3rd and final visit to the Austral Islands. During this expedition Cook discovered that land he thought to be a southern peninsula of St. George Island was in fact an island. Appropriately he names this island, the 3rd largest island in the archipelago, St. Patrick (the patron saint of Ireland) [OTL: Stewart Island/Rakiura].

March 13, 1788 – The British colony of Nova Cambria founded on the east coast of Aurenescia. According to his commission, the colony's new governor is vested with administrative powers over the Austral Islands.

January 1, 1823 – The jurisdiction of Nova Cambria courts is extended to British subjects living on the Austral Islands.

March 6, 1834 – Land laws of Nova Cambria are extended to cover all the Austral Islands.

June 24, 1834 – A loose confederation of Māori tribes from northern St. Andrew Island declare themselves to be an independent nation and petition Great Britain's King William IV to place the nation under royal protection. Though the King affirmed the declaration, the Colonial Office did not, and it was decided that a new policy for the Austral Islands was needed to bring them firmly under British control.

December 10, 1835 – The Austral Islands Association is formed in London. The following year the association changed its name to the Austral Islands Colonization Society, and then changed it again in 1839 to the Austral Islands Company.

May 7, 1840 – Representatives from each of the Austral Islands' Māori tribes along with representatives of the British government sign the Treaty of Waitangi. The signing of this treaty marks the beginning of organized British colonization of the Austral Islands. This date is thus celebrated as the Australian national day.

February 22, 1841 – The Crown Colony of the Austral Islands (completely independent from Nova Cambria) is proclaimed. Williamston [OTL: Russell/Okiato] is estblished as the colony's capital.

May 12, 1845 – The British Parliament passes the Austral Islands Constitutional Act which divided the colony into two provinces: St. Andrew (St. Andrew Island and the smaller islands around it) and St. George (St. George and St. Patrick Islands plus the smaller islands around them. The Austral Islands colony would continue to be governed by a Governor-in-Chief plus a Legislative and Executive Council. Each province would also have its own Governor and Legislative and Executive Council.

1847 – Austral Islands Company suspends its colonization efforts due to financial difficulties.

August 18, 1851 – By action of the British Parliament St. Andrew and St. George provinces become separate self-governing colonies within the British Empire. The capital of St. Andrew is established at Melbourne [OTL: Auckland] and the capital of St. George is established at Kenilworth [OTL: Christchurch].

 

[Darth_Kiryan]

Renaming of New Zealand and everything. That is brilliant man, i am often wondering myself why nothing like that ever happened in OTL.

St Andrew and St George. Brilliant.

 

[Turquoise Blue]

I presume that Nova Cambria is the "St David"?

 

[Lord Grattan]

Renaming of New Zealand and everything. That is brilliant man, i am often wondering myself why nothing like that ever happened in OTL.

St Andrew and St George. Brilliant.

Much appreciated; thank you very much.

 

[Turquoise Blue]

Sigh. Bump...

 

[Historico]

Well, I just wanted to say that I spent the better part of last week reading through this TL, and I must say that you have done a phenomenal job with this TL, enough for me to suggest that you try to get this thing published. Not to may folks on this board, have even got past the 18th Century in their attempts attempts at an American Monarchyon TL, but you have almost made it a full century after Edward Augustus coronation...I do have a few questions on it however

1. So did the American Colonization of free black population to Haiti ITTL, equal to that of Liberia IOTL? It seems to me with the waves of abolition starting in the 1830's, it seems like a lot of the impetus for Blacks to travel to make new lives for themselves might have disapated ITTL. If not, and wedo get a rather large African American Presience on the island, you could see alot of "Anglo-French-Spanish" Cultural conflict on Hispanola much like what happened between the black settlers and african natives during Liberia's Development IOTL.

2. Is there any chance that the Crown of Albion might become more racially/ethnically diverse in the next 150 years, as in the Royal family marrying into Non-European Dynastic Lines? It might weaken the chance of having an unstable King/Queen from all the extended family marriages going on lol. I know you mentioned that the European powers reconginzing the legitamacy Kamehameha Dynasty in Hawaii was a huge step, because it put them on an equal playing field with the Europeans. You may have to be a rench in rampant colonialism to get it, but I just think it be cool to have the House of York marry into the Solomonic Dyasty of Ethiopia

3. Who might Queen Catherine marry once she gets on the throne? She could take the Elizabethan Tradition and not marry as way of consolidiating her power and independence, but that would only make out for a particurarly nasty dynastic dispute/war of succession(one can only hope lol) Or she could marry a minor Prince, Like Monaco for instance(That could be an ironic twist of the Princess Grace story, that a Soverign Albish Queen openly suitting a famous Monegaque Actor who also happens to be a Prince lol). Im definatley intrigued to see where you take the tl from that point.

4. Also what about the occurence of Homosexuality either in the House of York or Albish politics? IOTL, German Sexologists were just about to embark on creating the modern social construct of the Homosexual in the 1860's, so it could be interesting to see it pop up in a big way in Albion(A nice scandal or something lol). If you wanted to get into the House of York lol, you could have someone marry into the Prussian line, since it did seem like a pretty hereditary phenomen atleast in the 17th and 18th Centuries lol

 

[Lord Grattan]

Sigh. Bump...

Thank you for your patience DrTron.

Well, I just wanted to say that I spent the better part of last week reading through this TL, and I must say that you have done a phenomenal job with this TL, enough for me to suggest that you try to get this thing published. Not to may folks on this board, have even got past the 18th Century in their attempts attempts at an American Monarchy TL, but you have almost made it a full century after Edward Augustus coronation.

Thanks very much. I too am amazed that I've been able to keep this going for nearly a century. My original idea was to continue only through the 1817 death of Edward Augustus, as this began really as his Alternate life story.

So did the American Colonization of free black population to Haiti ITTL, equal to that of Liberia IOTL? It seems to me with the waves of abolition starting in the 1830's, it seems like a lot of the impetus for Blacks to travel to make new lives for themselves might have disapated ITTL. If not, and we do get a rather large African American Presience on the island, you could see alot of "Anglo-French-Spanish" Cultural conflict on Hispanola much like what happened between the black settlers and african natives during Liberia's Development IOTL.

Yes, as you note, the impetus for blacks to leave Albion for the tropics or for Africa is not as strong here as in OTL.

Is there any chance that the Crown of Albion might become more racially/ethnically diverse in the next 150 years, as in the Royal family marrying into Non-European Dynastic Lines? It might weaken the chance of having an unstable King/Queen from all the extended family marriages going on lol. I know you mentioned that the European powers reconginzing the legitamacy Kamehameha Dynasty in Hawaii was a huge step, because it put them on an equal playing field with the Europeans. You may have to be a rench in rampant colonialism to get it, but I just think it be cool to have the House of York marry into the Solomonic Dyasty of Ethiopia.

I've thought about this. The "comfort zone" of many of Albion's citizens will soon be broadened as Edward II's son is married to Brazilian/Portuguese, and Catholic, royalty. Perhaps in the late 20th or early 21st centuries a match with a person of non-European ethnicity will come to pass.

Who might Queen Catherine marry once she gets on the throne? She could take the Elizabethan Tradition and not marry as way of consolidiating her power and independence, but that would only make out for a particurarly nasty dynastic dispute/war of succession(one can only hope lol) Or she could marry a minor Prince, Like Monaco for instance(That could be an ironic twist of the Princess Grace story, that a Soverign Albish Queen openly suitting a famous Monegaque Actor who also happens to be a Prince lol). Im definatley intrigued to see where you take the tl from that point.

In TTL George III's 3rd son William never became king. He did, however, have surviving legitimate male descendants. In 1896 Catherine marries his great grandson, David Arthur Welf-Este, Earl of Belfast. The royal house of Albion will thus become, when Catherine dies in 1947, Welf-Este. David becomes Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews in 1907 following his father's death (thus from 1907 to 1910 Catherine is de jure Duchess of Clarence and St. Andrews). In May 1909, TTL's Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain issues letters patent permitting him to relinquish that title, permitting his oldest son David to renounce his succession to the title, and permitting his younger sons to succeed to the title without interruption. These events unfold in 1910 when Catherine succeeds to the Albish throne. In 1912, the Congress of Albion bestows the title First Gentleman upon Prince David Arthur.

Also what about the occurence of Homosexuality either in the House of York or Albish politics? IOTL, German Sexologists were just about to embark on creating the modern social construct of the Homosexual in the 1860's, so it could be interesting to see it pop up in a big way in Albion (A nice scandal or something lol). If you wanted to get into the House of York lol, you could have someone marry into the Prussian line, since it did seem like a pretty hereditary phenomen atleast in the 17th and 18th Centuries.

I have thought about this a little. The youngest son of Augustus I will cause some scandal related to his "sadistic" treatment plebes while an upperclasman at the Royal Military Academy and some personal activities later in life. He will marry Helena Frederica Augusta of Waldeck and Pyrmont. I don't know if it will be woven into the stryline, but Catherine's 3rd son Henry Alexander likely will be gay. I did briefly touch on homosexuality earlier in the TL with regard to the demise of the Hohenzollern-Hechingen male line.

 

[Turquoise Blue]

Thank you for your patience DrTron.
No problem!
Thanks very much. I too am amazed that I've been able to keep this going for nearly a century. My original idea was to continue only through the 1817 death of Edward Augustus, as this began really as his Alternate life story.
Well I am glad you kept this going after Edward Augustus!

I've thought about this. The "comfort zone" of many of Albion's citizens will soon be broadened as Edward II's son is married to Brazilian/Portuguese, and Catholic, royalty. Perhaps in the late 20th or early 21st centuries a match with a person of non-European ethnicity will come to pass.
A Chinese wife for the Crown Prince in 2011?

Viva la Response!

 

[Historico]

Sorry, for no responding to your responding of my questions earlier...But Good Sir,I do look forward to your future updates...

 

[Lord Grattan]

In September 1848, John Preston of Virginia was appointed as Secretary of the Navy by King Edward II. He succeeded Joseph Bliss, who had died unexpectedly the month before. A member of the Patriot Party, Preston was serving his 2nd term in the federal House of Representatives at the time of his appointment. From 1831 to 1836 Preston was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, where he took an active part in the campaign to abolish slavery in the province. His tenure as Navy Secretary came at a time when the Albish navy was progressing through several fundamental transitions. A firm believer in a strong navy as an insurance for peace, Preston's leadership, in spite of his having no naval experience, proved extremely beneficial to the modernization effort underway.

One change taking place was the movement from sail powered ships to steam propelled. Paddle steamer ships came into use for auxiliary and smaller combatant ships in the 1830's. Steam propulsion became suitable for large warships in the 1840s following the development of the screw propeller. Among the early screw propelled ships was the ill fated auxiliary frigate Mercer, which was launched in February 1842 at Norfolk, Virginia. The French Navy introduced steam powered screw propelled ships to its combatant fleet in 1849 with the launch of the 90-gun Intrépide. Great Britain followed suit in 1850 with the launch of the 101-gun Goliath. The Albish navy's 1st combatant steam powered screw frigate, the 90-gun Monongahela, was laid down at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in August 1849 and launched in March 1853. Armed as conventional ships-of-the-line, these ships could reach speeds of 10 to 13 knots, regardless of the wind conditions; a potentially decisive advantage in a naval engagement.

The Monongahela was immediately put into active duty as the flagship of the Home Squadron and was initially commanded by Arthur Foote. The Monongahela's early missions were diplomatic in nature. Just weeks after her launch she sailed for Lisbon, Portugal carrying the new Albish chargé d'affaires (then ambassador) in Portugal, Geoffrey Davis, to his post. In 1856 she conveyed Secretary of State Van Buren to London and Potsdam. Two years later, in April 1858, she transported Chancellor Boyd to St. George, Bermuda. It was during his return voyage that Boyd injured his hand, an injury which led to his untimely death. On August 5, 1862, the Monongahela, now under the command of Robert Wardlow, set sail for Haiti, where she was to join a special expedition tasked with surveying the interior of Panama for the purpose of identifying a potential interoceanic canal route. While sailing through the Bahamas, she struck a reef near Rum Cay due to a navigational error. Everyone on board survived the crash. The wreck, which lies in 30 feet of water, is a popular dive site. The Monongahela, its contents, plus the area around the ship are protected by both provincial and federal laws. The province of the Bahamas maintains the site as an underwater shipwreck museum.

The age of sail, design and construction-wise at least, for the Albish navy came to a close on October 2, 1854 at the Halifax Naval Yard, with the launch of the 201 foot long, 1,500 ton sloop-of-war Aeolus. Commissioned on June 30, 1855, the Aeolus, with Charles B. Crane in command, left Halifax and sailed toward southern Europe, where she would be part of the navy's Mediterranean Squadron. For nearly 3 years Aeolus provided assistance and reassurance to Albish diplomats, merchants, and a growing number of Christian missionaries during what was a very turbulent period in European history. Aeolus, based at navy's Mediterranean home port of Mahon, on the island of Minorca, visited several ports, including: Naples, Trieste, Brindisi, Alexandria, Beirut and Athens. The visit to Athens was made at the request of Albion's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Carson Innis, who requested assistance in dealing with zealous Greek priests who were harassing Albish Protestant missionaries, notably the Rev. Malachi Hansen. Crane and Innis met with Greece's king, Leopold II, who stopped the harassment.

From 1859 through 1863, the Aeolus was the flagship of the navy's African Squadron. During this period she disrupted African slave trade by intercepting 5 slave ships and releasing the imprisoned Africans. She slave ships captured were:
>Thrasher, on September 23, 1859, near Cabinda
>Copperhead, on May 29, 1860, near Kongo
>L'Humanité, on November1, 1860, near Loanda
>Deirdre, August 8, 1861, near Loanda
>Santa Cruz, June 3, 1862, near Mayumba

During the early 1860s, thanks to enforcement of the slave trade ban by Great Britain and Albion, along with a great deal of international diplomacy, declined significantly. The last slave ship to land on Albish soil was the Imelda, which illegally smuggled a number of Africans into Mobile, West Florida in May 1862. Because of this fall-off, the Aeolus was recalled to Albion and for the next several decades its crews carried out various duties such as carrying famine relief stores to Ireland and Haiti, exhibits to various world exhibitions, and diplomats to various lands abroad. She also spent a number of years as a receiving ship (floating naval barracks) and as a practice ship for Naval Academy midshipmen. Decommissioned on February 14, 1927 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register, she was taken to her permanent home, Aeolus Dock, Halifax Harbor, Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Aeolus was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1940. Between 1986 and 1989 she underwent a thorough restoration and in October 2008 made her 1st trip out of Halifax Harbor in over 4 decades, traveling to the Federal City of Americus to participate in the festivities surrounding the investiture of King Michael.

 

[Lord Grattan]

Another change facing the navy in the mid-1800s was the movement from wood ship hulls to ones made of metal. During the 1820s and 1830s, naval munitions experts and weapon designers in Albion, France and Great Britain made significant advancements with regard to weapons capabilities and ammunition potency. Consequently, the size of the canons deployed on naval combatant ships grew steadily during this era, as did the weight of canon shot. Older 18 and 24 pound canons were replaced with newly designed 32 pounders on sailing ships of the line and 68 pounders were installed on steamers. Then in 1841, the Albish navy deployed a naval canon designed specifically to fire explosive shells. These shells were equipped with a fuse which ignited automatically when the gun was fired. The shell would then lodge itself in the wooden hull (or wall) of its target and explode a moment later. The canon and shell were developed by Captain Luke Voorhees, a New Jersey native, who had served aboard the Niagara under captain James Lawrence during the Peninsular War. Voorhees' 1st prototypes were tested in 1823 and 1824, and several trials were conducted a decade later after modifications were made. Foreign interest in this new munition grew quickly, and by the end of the 1840s, Voorhees canons and shells had become standard munitions for several naval powers.


During these same decades, shipbuilders in Albion, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands began experimenting with and considering using various metals to build ship hulls, as an alternative to wood. Elmer Gregory is credited with making the 1st written proposal to the Federal Government regarding the construction of metal hulled vessels in 1813, near the end of the Peninsular War. The navy department took no action on his proposal, In fact, it would be a quarter century before naval planners anywhere would consider building armored ships. The great disinterest shown in armored ships in the early decades of the century, given the varied, extensive and new ways that metals were being forged and used at the time, is surprising. Such a concept was not, after all, a new one. During the 1700s several shipbuilders proposed constructing lead encased ships. Even earlier, the vikings, in the 10th - 12th centuries, lined the sides of their longships with their shields, and, most famously, the Coreans built an iron platted "turtle" ship in the 16th century. None of these efforts really produced any lasting fruit, and in the early 19th century believed that this new effort would either.


The 1st determined step taken by any modern industrialized nation toward metal ships was taken by Albion. The Albish navy's 1st iron hulled ship, the 164 foot long sloop-of-war Vulcan, was assembled at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and launched from there on November 3, 1842. Commissioned the following June, the Vulcan, under the command of Richard Armstrong, was deployed to Rimewki, Waponahki (OTL: Rimouski, Quebec), to guard and maintain the peace along the Albish side of the St. Lawrence River, as tensions there remained high following the 1838-39 Québécois Rebellion due to continued agitation from the Hunter Brothers lodges. Joseph Bliss selected iron for Vulcan's hull “to make use of the immense resource of our country in that most valuable metal” and “to ascertain the practicability and utility of building vessels of so cheap and indestructible a material.”


In March 1854, the Vulcan, now under the command of Rupert Maxwell, was reassigned to the port of Halifax and tasked with enforcing Albish maritime laws and international fishing treaties in the North Atlantic and Gulf of St. Lawrence. During an 1858 encounter with poachers east of the Magdalen Islands, the ship was rammed by a wooden schooner. The offending vessel, the Letitia, was badly damaged in the maneuver and was captured; the Vulcan was unscathed. Three years later, On November 3, 1861, the Vulcan floundered and sank at Sable Island (190 miles SE of the Nova Scotia mainland) during the "1861 Thundersnow" (OTL: nor'easter). The storm developed from an area of low pressure that formed over the lower Ohio Valley and then moved offshore over New England, where it merged with the remnants of an Atlantic hurricane and intensified. The Vulcan had just transported a new crew plus winter provisions to the Sable Island Life-saving Station and was preparing to depart for Halifax when the storm struck. Twelve crew members died attempting to secure the ship and another 4 died during the weeks that followed. While some artifacts from the Vulcan were salvaged by the navy, the ship itself was abandoned and left to the elements. Over the ensuing years the entire vessel, aside from the foremast, which was made into a flagpole for the station, has been crushed and buried by the island's shifting sand.


Two similarly designed iron hulled ships were built by the navy after Vulcan: Bulwark (1846) and Thunderer (1850). The navy had hoped to build an additional trio of armored vessels during the 1850s, but Congress, on multiple occasions, denied funding for the projects. Though its movement toward developing a fleet of iron vessels was stalled, the Navy was eventually, by virtue of 3 successful experiences with metal ships, able to demonstrate the practicability and utility of building such vessels. That endeavor would be undertaken in earnest beginning in the mid-1860s.


Great Britain, following Albion's lead, took its 1st steps toward metal ships in 1847, when the Royal Navy converted 5 aging sail powered wooden ships of the line (Crescent, Devonshire, Glasgow, Purbeck and Victorious) into screw/steam propelled floating batteries. During the conversion process the superstructure of each ship was cut down to a single deck and then covered with thick metal armor. This thick armor (along with their design) is what differentiated these ships, which later came to be popularly known as "metallic guardships" or simply "matallics", from Albion's iron ships. As a comparison, consider the difference between a typical automobile and a Lorry (OTL: tank). They are both made of steel, but the steel body of the automobile isn't really armor, while the lorry's steel is much thicker and is arranged in special ways to deflect shot. Although intended for coast defense, some of these vessels were used offensively, notably in Black Sea War, where they were an integral part of the British fleet. Five additional deteriorating ships of the line were similarly converted beginning in 1855. Between 1852 and 1855, France built 3 iron armored floating battaries, the Montcalm, Richelieu and Gravier. Deployed to the Black Sea in 1856, these vessels were very effective against Russian shore defenses and proved to be very bomb resistant.

 

[Lord Grattan]

The building and deployment these metallic battaries and iron ships, was a significant development in world naval history, one that led directly to the warships of today. "The driving force behind the development of iron skinned and clad ships during this era", wrote naval historian William Foster in his 1961 book, Ships & Seamen: a History of Albion's Navy in Text and Pictures, "was the introduction of the Voorhees canons and shells. The connection between these developments is apparent, and there can be no doubt that the introduction of the shell as a projectile prompted the use of iron for armor." It was after France's navy demonstrated the effectiveness of this new munition in 1846 by sinking several Vietnamese naval ships and demolishing the port of Tourane (now Da Nang) with it, that Great Britain, concerned about the resurgence of French military power, began its metallic battary program. Then during the lead-up to the Black Sea War, when the Russian Navy annihilated an Ottoman naval patrol force at Sinop in October 1856, every European navy took notice and began converting or constructing iron clad ships.

 

[Turquoise Blue]

This timeline is one of the best and I refuse to let it die!

 

[Lord Grattan]

Thanks DrTron! This TL will not die. I have had my RL nose to the grindstone at both home & work. I do have a couple of South America updates in the works. We're going on vacation next week, but I'll try to post something before we go.

 

[Lord Grattan]

Background Piece One:

PRINCESSES ROYAL of GREAT BRITAIN​

The title Princess Royal is customarily granted by a British monarch to his or her eldest daughter, who holds the title for life. There have been 7 Princesses Royal over the past 3½ centuries. Princess Margaret, daughter of King Edward VII, is the incumbent Princess Royal. King Charles I created the title Princess Royal in 1642 at the urging of his wife, Henrietta Maria. The daughter of King Henry IV of France, she wished imitate the way the eldest daughter of the King of France was styled Madame Royale. The following women have held the title Princess Royal:


Mary (1631-1660), 1642 - Charles I; married William II, Prince of Orange
Anne (1709-1759), 1727 - George II; married William IV, Prince of Orange
Charlotte (1766-1828), 1789 - George III; married Frederick of Württemberg
Charlotte (1823-1901), 1839 - William IV; married Frederick of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Alexandrine (1879-1951), 1904 - Elizabeth II; married William Russell, Duke of Bedford
Irene (1948-1994), 1971 - Henry X; married Eustace Percy
Margaret (born 1970), 2003 - Edward VII; married Garrett Moore


Not every eligible princess has been granted the title Princess Royal. Princess Mary (later Queen Mary II), eldest daughter of King James II & VII, Princess Sophia Dorothea, only daughter of King George I, and Princess Louise, only daughter of King George V were eligible to receive this title but did not receive it, as each already held a foreign title of superior rank at the time they became eligible to titled Princess Royal. Mary was Princess of Orange, Sophia Dorothea was Queen in Prussia and Louise was Crown Princess of Norway. Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), eldest daughter of King Henry IX, was never granted the title, as her aunt, Princess Charlotte, held the title throughout the period of her eligibility.

 

[Lord Grattan]

Background Piece Two:

LIST OF THE HEADS OF THE HOUSE OF WELF-ESTE (after 1836):​

William IV, King of Hanover, Great Britain & Ireland …............... 1836-1869
Henry IX, King of Hanover, Great Britain & Ireland …................. 1869-1897
Frederick I, King of Hanover, Duke of Kent & Connacht …......... 1897-1910
Frederick II, King of Hanover, Duke of Kent & Connacht** ........ 1910-1921
William V, King of Hanover*, Duke of Kent & Connacht** …..... 1921-1937
Karl (I), Prince of Hanover, Duke of Kent & Connacht** ............ 1937-1953
Karl (II), Prince of Hanover, Duke of Kent & Connacht** ........... 1953-1984
Edward III, King of Albion …...................................................... 1984-2008
Michael, King of Albion …........................................................... 2008- [incumbent]


* - Abdicated Hanoverian throne in 1923 when kingdom abolished
** - Title suspended under the British Titles and Privileges Suspension Act of 1921.




After the male line of King George IV became extinct in 1984 the Welf-Este House headship passed to the male line descendents of his next oldest brother William, Duke of Clarence & St. Andrews. Albion's present royal family are his senior most descendents.