alternatehistory.com

Just a curious idea that I've been toying with as of late for inclusion in a TL I'm working on...

In the 1670s (before his betrothal to Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria), there were rumors that King Louis XIV planned to have the Grand Dauphin wed his first cousin, Marie-Louise d'Orléans (Monsieur's ill-fated daughter, who later married the unfortunate Carlos II of Spain).

Now, just to throw in yet another monkey wrench, let's assume that Madame Royale survives to adulthood--her mother was very keen on the idea of the girl wedding her dear 'Uncle Carlos'--and as the highest ranked daughter of France, it would be her duty to do so in the grand tradition of her fore-mothers, assuming the brief Franco-Spanish peace is signed around the same time (and we can be sure it most likely will).

So, this means that there are no immanent obstacles to Marie-Louise becoming dauphine. After all, given the sentiments of most of the House of Bourbon at the time, what could be more perfect than a French princess wedding the heir to the French throne?

What are the effects of this? I'm not sure how major they could be, but I figure it's worth a shot at discussion...
Top