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alternatehistory.com
Oh, in some other universe the sun is shining bright And in it dynasties grand for domination fight; The Bourbons and the Hapsburgs rule with some mighty clout. But it is not so in this one; the mighty fam’lies have struck out.
We see, from time to time, questions about Bourbon or Hapsburg domination of Europe, or a different War of Spanish or Austrian or even French Succession. But, given Hapsburg genetics due to inbreeding and bad luck from the Bourbons, each had trouble making it.
What if both die out at the same time in the male line, along with some others? This one’s less developed, and a little hard for me with all the dynastic marriages and little duchies and such, but the weather was ridiculous for weeks here this past summer so I had time with work coming in slowly again to flesh some things out. I figured since it’s going to get really cold nextg week and I’m not out too much I’ll at least start this. And, I’m at a stopping point where if I would get busy again and have to stop (very likely) it won’t be too hard on readers. (And, I would even let someone else take it as I don’t have a place I really want to take it beyond 1700.) I hope it’ll be fun for you.
Anne of Austria had already had 3 miscarriages. A fourth wouldn’t have been a surprise; she could have always had another child. But, what happened was seen as a dire emergency for Louis XIII. Sure, he had heirs, his brother Gaston and some others (though Gaston had no sons), but Louis was under the influence of Cardinal Richelieu, and there was a big rivalry.
So it was that when Anne of Austria brought her fourth child to term in early 1631(1), it was a boy! However, she died of complications(2).
Gaston became more determined to overthrow Richelieu. If Louis XIII died, this child could have a very long regency under Richelieu, meaning more power for the Cardinal. And, Louis XIII could be guided by Richelieu to marry a healthier, younger wife, meaning more offspring. Whereas now, Gaston was next in line to the throne, and could be Louis’ heir yet if the dauphin died, and if the sometimes sickly Louis died, Gaston could be the regent.
Gaston was determined enough to continue his rebellion for longer rather than fleeing. He died in his attempted revolt in 1632, as did the Count of Soissons, in a 1641 attempt to oust Richelieu and depose the king.(3)
Louis XIII wanted another wife. It wasn’t vital with the Dauphin living. But, Richelieu had a plan to help France by bringing in more territory. Louis agreed to it, and ordered an invasion of Lorraine in 1633.(4) Nicole, Duke Charles IV’s wife, had been left Lorraine by her father, but a supposed earlier will by a ruler who’d died in 1508 forbade its passing to a female. Louis’ troops occupied Lorraine, and he planned to bring the Hapsburg-supporting Duchy into personal union with France by marrying Nicole; Charles wanted an annulment, anyway. The Pope wouldn’t grant an annulment, but Louis could wait.
Nicholas, Charles’ younger brother, had felt pressure to resign his position as cardinal to marry and be Duke of Lorraine. Louis – advised by Richelieu of course – forbade it, calling their ascendancy to the Duchy null and void, and saying Lorraine was Nicole’s. Still, he promised if he and Nicole had no issue, a son of Charles’ would become Duke of Lorraine.
It was a ploy devised by Richelieu. Louis had Charles imprisoned for plotting with Gaston and threatened to do so to Nicholas if he left the Church. Charles would die without heirs. In 1636, the annulment was granted. Louis XIII and Nicole married. The marriage produced one child who survived past a few days, a daughter, Elisabeth, born in 1641.(5)
In Lorraine, the male line of Antoine the Good – the oldest surviving son of the supposed testament writer Rene II of Vaudemont – would soon die out. The Dukes of Guise still had a claim to Lorraine, being from Rene’s other surviving son with issue, Claude. But, they were in exile in Italy under Medici protection So, everyone accepted – some grudgingly - when Nicole passed it to Louis, and his will passed Lorraine to the new King of France.
That would not be who they expected, though. Unfortunately, not only did he not produce any male heirs with Nicole, the Dauphin died on “The Christmas That France Mourned.” in 1637. Louis XIII died in 1643 with only elisabeth surviving.
His successor, Henri de Conti, became Henri V. His son, in his mid-20s, was one of the best generals in France. Given expectation that he would be a great king and general who would provide much glory for France, Henri V was dubbed “Henri the Placeholder,” by detractors, but even his supporters figured he was just a pause before the next great French king, Louis XIV.
The man who would become Louis XIV had been pushed starting in the mid-1630s to marry. This, however, was complicated. When Louis XIII had a certain heir, Richelieu’s niece was chosen. However, once the dauphin died, she wasn’t high up enough; with more in line before Conde it would be different.(6)
Conde was more agnositic than anything, but he hated Catholics. He grudgingly accepted – and Henri agreed – that his brother Armand, closer in age to Richelieu’s niece, could marry her. He understood his importance and wanted someone of higher rank. Richelieu’s niece would produce a son (b. 1643) and daughter (b. 1645, d. 1647 of smallpox) with Armand.
Henri suggested Luisa Cristina of Savoy,(7) though some said given the situation, they didn’t need a marriage to put pressure on Savoy. Louis XIII’s sister Christine was regent of Savoy, and Conde and Luisa could help, giving Conde valuable experience. The future Louis XIV wasn’t skilled at diplomacy or statesmanship, though in the last few years they’d tried to train him in both. A struggle brewed with other potential regents - Luisa’s uncles Maurice, a cardinal, and Thomas Francis - for the young duke Francis Hyacinth and later for his younger brother Charles Emmanuel II, would be a way for France to gain an upper hand in preventing Spanish influence; something desired for different reasons, Richelieu because it was his policy and Louis XIII’s sister was acting too independent of French control, Henri because of his distrust of hardline Catholics.(8)
Conde’s suggestions for brides ran the gamut when it came to viability. Others listened politely – he would one day be king – but informed him that his choices indicated an occasional lack of foresight. For instance, there was the “Marry someone so a Hapsburg can’t” plan. He suggested Anna de Medici, since a Tyrolese Hapsburg also pursued her – he could strike a blow to the Hapsburgs that way. Richelieu strongly lectured the future Louis XIV about politics and how much Louis XIII had hated the Medicis; this turned into a giant shouting match audible throughout the palace. There was also Anna Catherine Constance Vasa, who would cement a relationship with Poland, on Austria’s north. Her father was seeking the crown of France’s ally, Sweden, though, which would understandably upset the Swedes, another thing Conde wasn’t considering when it came to choice of mate.
One of John Casimir, Count Palatine’s, daughters was considered, the sisters of the future Charles X Gustav of Sweden; born in 1625 and 1626, each seemed like good candidates. France being a Catholic state raised concerns there. Anne Gonzaga’s name was tossed about; she was related to the Dukes of Guise. Her father had tried to claim the Mantuan throne but that city was so torn by war and plague it would never recover, so it wasn’t like Louis would get a major ally Still, her sister was a very possible match for the King of Poland so it might work and help to cement an alliance with Poland. He just didn’t totally trust the Guises. (Her sister, already in her early 30s, was deemed too old.)
Elizabeth of the Palatinate - daughter of Elizabeth of Bohemia and her husband the Winter King and also granddaughter of England’s King James - was considered a possibility; her sister, Louise Hollandine, had in fact approached a French ambassador about marrying Conde.(8) Elizabeth had been considered as a bride for the King of Poland but she’d refused to ever marry a Catholic king. However, Conde’s grandfather had been on the Protestant side in France, so the future Henri V counted her a possibility even if she didn’t. He was, like Mazarin later, trying to keep peace and advance French interests, though Mazarin was greatly concerned about the Jansenists. His improved position as possibly the next king meant that Edward, Count of Palatinate Simmern was considered to marry his daughter Anne Genevieve de Bourbon.(9)
Extreme Catholics were quite opposed to Elizabeth and her interests in leniency toward all branches of Christianity. So, if Poland wasn’t helpful – and the Queen of Sweden had no interest – she wouldn’t be. Still, she would keep in contact with him. England’s Princess Mary would take way too long for the marriage to be able to be consummated and was already promised to William of Orange. Le Grande Mademoiselle – Anne Marie Louise of Orleans, Gaston’s only child – said she wished to marry him because he stood up so well to the man who she blamed for his father’s death. She did possess lots of land, and they could keep it all in French hands, but the others preferred an overseas arrangement. She would come into play in a major way later, however.
France also wanted the Spanish Netherlands; now that they had cut off the Spanish Road in the areas they had; they also wanted Franch-Comte eventually. They just had to avoid overstretching themselves like the Hapsburgs were. But, all of that could wait till later; even Louis knew they couldn’t do it all at once.
The only problem was that the marriage couldn’t be consummated before 1642 or so if he married Luisa Cristina. Still, Louis de Conde was very vigorous and healthy. Armand was around, too. It was figured that this line of Bourbons would be a stable one; after all, they had many more years to produce a few male heirs, and they would, right?
(2) It’s not uncommon in women who have had numerous miscarriages, and she had a close relative who died in childbirth.
(3) OTL Gaston fled and later reconciled, but then tried again, too. The Count of Soisson died OTL in 1641 in an attempt to oust the king.
(4) This is a year earlier than in OTL because of his need to find a wife, and Richelieu sensing that it would be a good way to enter the Thirty Years’ War to avoid letting the Hapsburgs get too powerful; it would also be before a Cardinal’s abdication of that position to become Duke.And yet, not many months earlier it doesn’t impact the war substantially.
(5) It’s hard to tell if she was barren since she and her husband quickly became distant. Her one sibling bore several unhealthy children and one healthy son – albeit to her cousin. Nicole is older, so giving her just one surviving daughter is a good plan..
(6) OTL months before the actual marriage, Louis, Philippe, and Gaston were all living, the last (maybe even the king) could produce more heirs and Louis’ sons were young and vibrant; so there were lots of possible people before Conde in line. It’s true that the agreement had been made before Louis had a child, but Gaston was still around then in OTL; and she does end up marrying his brother in TTL so it’s not like she’s shut out.
(7) She’s not much younger than his OTL wife, who was only 13 at the time of marriage. She married her uncle in OTL who left the clergy and had to be released from his vows to marry as part of an agreement ending the Savoyard crisis.
(8) In OTL, she fled the family and became Catholic about 15 years later. It’s unknown why, but it’s likely she harbored some resentment or Catholic feelings this early. A marriage to a French king, one whose grandfather had fought alongside Huguenots, might appear to her family an acceptable marriage, allowing her to convert later.
(9) OTL Edward married Anne of Gonzaga several years later. Whether she did marry him or things go as OTL won’t matter much, at least at this time. If it does there’ll then be no need to go back and change it.