To Be The Butcher’s Wife?

George II’s favourite son, William, Duke of Cumberland never married (like many of the Hanoverians’ second sons), although there were talks to marry him to King Frederik V of Denmark’s sister. George II toyed with the idea of splitting his realms between Frederick, prince of Wales, and Cumberland. (Ignoring the legality of such a split), surely if this was contemplated, a bride would be required to ensure that Hannover remained separate from Great Britain.


[FONT=&quot]Any thoughts? Suggestions?[/FONT]
 
I think it was Frederick, not George II, who suggested splitting up England and Hanover, which would go to William.

As for a marriage between William and Louise, it could work, perhaps with a minimum amount of butterflies. IOTL she only had one short-lived daughter.
 
I think it was mentioned on another thread, but that Francesco d'Este proposed marrying his granddaughter, the OTL Archduchess Ferdinand of Austria, to a prince of the house of Hannover (due to the shared ancestry). A Catholic marriage would remove Cumberland from Britain's succession, but not be a problem in Germany. Or is this too ASB
 
I think it was mentioned on another thread, but that Francesco d'Este proposed marrying his granddaughter, the OTL Archduchess Ferdinand of Austria, to a prince of the house of Hannover (due to the shared ancestry). A Catholic marriage would remove Cumberland from Britain's succession, but not be a problem in Germany. Or is this too ASB

You mean her?:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d'Este,_Duchess_of_Massa

She was only 15 years old at the time of William's death in 1765. Too young for the marriage to produce any heirs.
 
You mean her?:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatrice_d'Este,_Duchess_of_Massa

She was only 15 years old at the time of William's death in 1765. Too young for the marriage to produce any heirs.

I guess the poster meant one of George II's grandsons rather than sons, or that when it became clear that Ercole and his wife wouldn't be having a son, to marry Cumberland off to his oldest surviving daughter.

That said, who else might be seen as a good match for Cumberland?
 
Quick Cumberland question: I read somewhere that the duke sustained an injury on campaign that left him injured in the parts needed for the production of heirs. But I can't remember where I read this, or if they were talking about George II's son, his grandson or George III's son. Can anybody verify/refute this? Also, what might be the effects of there being a legitimate cadet line of the royal family? For instance, does Geo.III still pass the Royal Marriages Act?
 
Another question about Cumberland's marriage: would a Catholic wife eliminate him from being elector of Hannover? Since I heard somewhere that another consideration at one point (this sounds like a Pombal idea, though), was an infanta of Portugal (sister to Maria I).
 
Another question about Cumberland's marriage: would a Catholic wife eliminate him from being elector of Hannover? Since I heard somewhere that another consideration at one point (this sounds like a Pombal idea, though), was an infanta of Portugal (sister to Maria I).

Bump bumpity bump.

Is there a reason the cartoon shown on Cumberland's wiki page for the 1749 Act of Parliament shows him alongside a Savoyard (i.e. Catholic and Stuart related) mistress? Since the duke of Savoy's three unwed sisters could help for an earlier seperation of Britain from Hannover due to Cumberland and his heirs being excluded by his marriage to a Catholic.
 
Potential Brides:
- Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria, daughter of Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Amalia of Austria
- Duchess Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Seventh of fourteen children of Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg
- Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
- Duchess Louise Frederica of Württemberg, daughter of Frederick Louis, Hereditary Prince of Württemberg
- Elisabeth Auguste of Sulzbach, eldest granddaughter of the Elector of the Palatinate Charles III Philip
- Maria Louise Albertine was a daughter of Count Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Falkenburg-Heidesheim
- Princess Ulrike Friederike Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel, daughter of Landgrave Maximilian of Hesse-Kassel
 
Potential Brides:
- Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria, daughter of Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Amalia of Austria
- Duchess Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Seventh of fourteen children of Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg
- Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
- Duchess Louise Frederica of Württemberg, daughter of Frederick Louis, Hereditary Prince of Württemberg
- Elisabeth Auguste of Sulzbach, eldest granddaughter of the Elector of the Palatinate Charles III Philip
- Maria Louise Albertine was a daughter of Count Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Falkenburg-Heidesheim
- Princess Ulrike Friederike Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel, daughter of Landgrave Maximilian of Hesse-Kassel

The two Brunswick girls are out - as stated above, I'm under the (possibly mistaken) impression that Brunswick and Hannover were at sixes and sevens - a proposed double marriage for George III and his sister, Auguste of Wales, with the duke and his sister (OTL Margravine of Bayreuth), was intended to smooth that over.

Luise Friederike could make for a way of getting new blood into the family. Although I'm not sure whether her OTL childlessness was the fault of her or her husband.

Ulrike might be seen as too much in the Prussian camp (Prussia and Hannover were at odds for most of the 1730s), but she could be used to clean up that mess, particularly since she's not Prussianbut with connections to Prussia.

Elisabeth Auguste I think might be a bit out of left-field. Her grandfather decided pretty early on that she and her sisters were gonna marry their Wittelsbach cousins, after it became clear that she wouldn't have a brother. Although, again, her sister Maria Franziska (Max I of Bavaria's mom), is the only one of the three girls to have had a successful childbearing history: Elisabeth Auguste was married for 20 years before she gave birth to a shortlived son; and Maria Anna had four children of which none lived longer than a few months. So, perhaps Maria Franziska instead?

Maria Antonia might make for an interesting candidate. She was cultured, intelligent, talented. She'd actually make a pretty good foil for Cumberland's militaristic bombastic nature - although I'm not sure how we could get such a match to happen. Bavaria was in the French camp, and England-Hannover and France are at each others throats as many times a week as there are days ending with a 'y'. I could easily see the duchess of Cumberland as being the leader of the cultural (if not the political) trends in mid-18thc London.

Luise Albertine I'm afraid I don't know enough about to comment.:eek:
 
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