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In 1194, Henry II was attempting to gain the support of secular princes to allow his son Frederick II inherit the title of Holy Roman Empire. Henry was able to gain the support of many of them, as well as several eccleisiastical princes, for the idea. Henry's problem was that the position of Emperor was an elective one; and ultimately he failed to gain either the support of the princes or the Pope in his ambitions.

But what if he had succeeded? Would Otto IV have gone on to become Duke of York and then King of Scotland, as Richard II had planned? Would Philip of Swabia have had a greater role in the Empire's affairs after Henry's death in 1197? Would Frederick II have wound up in a better position to deal with Pope Innocent IV?
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