I've been reading through the TL, The Prince of the Peace. AGAIN (because it's awesome).
Anyhow, so the Habsburg situation outlined there is as follows. In the 1550s-1580s alt-Maximilian II has only two kids - a son, Albrecht, and a daughter. Albrecht predeceases Maximilian, leaving only two daughters, one of which succeeds her grandpa as Queen of Hungary. Meanwhile, alt-Rudolf II is married to alt-Queen Elizabeth I's eldest daughter. He's homosexual, and in spite of this, he and his half-Tudor wife are expecting their first child at a later point.
Now, let's transpose this situation on OTL. Maximilian II had a raft of kids (mostly boys) with his first cousin. Eldest of these, Rudolf II succeeded Max as emperor, never married, and became the Habsburg that even his family didn't like. Now, Max died relatively young (in comparison to his male cousin/brother-in-law, or his brothers), so I figure if he lasts one or two more years, Rudolf could be forced to marry. If Rudolf succeeds married, but only has daughters, I could see him being as oddball enough to not be bothered about having no son. The other Habsburgs might've had other ideas, however.
What would the future of these archduchesses be? Could there be a succession war between the male line Habsburgs and these girls' husbands? OTL, Maria Amalie of Austria (daughter of Josef I) saw her husband, Karl of Bavaria claim the crown of Bohemia as well as the imperial diadem through her.
Anyhow, so the Habsburg situation outlined there is as follows. In the 1550s-1580s alt-Maximilian II has only two kids - a son, Albrecht, and a daughter. Albrecht predeceases Maximilian, leaving only two daughters, one of which succeeds her grandpa as Queen of Hungary. Meanwhile, alt-Rudolf II is married to alt-Queen Elizabeth I's eldest daughter. He's homosexual, and in spite of this, he and his half-Tudor wife are expecting their first child at a later point.
Now, let's transpose this situation on OTL. Maximilian II had a raft of kids (mostly boys) with his first cousin. Eldest of these, Rudolf II succeeded Max as emperor, never married, and became the Habsburg that even his family didn't like. Now, Max died relatively young (in comparison to his male cousin/brother-in-law, or his brothers), so I figure if he lasts one or two more years, Rudolf could be forced to marry. If Rudolf succeeds married, but only has daughters, I could see him being as oddball enough to not be bothered about having no son. The other Habsburgs might've had other ideas, however.
What would the future of these archduchesses be? Could there be a succession war between the male line Habsburgs and these girls' husbands? OTL, Maria Amalie of Austria (daughter of Josef I) saw her husband, Karl of Bavaria claim the crown of Bohemia as well as the imperial diadem through her.