What if No Queen Victoria?

As to barring Ernest from the English succession...murder. He was proven guilty in OTL, not punished with more than resigning his commission because he was a son of the King, but no one felt the need to do anything drastic (like barring him) because he was a fifth son, after all. If William (or a large part of Parliament) decides that Ernest on the throne is both likely and unacceptable, they can always dust that one off. (He's alleged to have maintained a lifelong incestuous relationship with his sister Sophia as well, but I can't find any credible evidence on that one so I expect it's libel.) If his brothers felt the need to bar him, they have the ammunition (George IV won't, William IV might).

I agree that a civil war is improbable at this point. The Army and Navy are likely to obey Parliament, and the Orangemen aren't going to be a match for the Regulars. So it's a matter of just how much William and Ernest dislike each other.
 
Top