WI: Felipe II of Spain dies in 1586?
- Thread starter Kellan Sullivan
- Start date
My first thought was Don Juan, but he is dead by 1578. So yeah...Isabel? But Isabel is only 18 so she might be a hard sell. Perhaps she could marry one of Philip III's maternal uncles, who are also her cousins and right behind the children of Philip II in line for the Spanish throne, and they could be joint regents. Though again I'm not sure if the Spanish nobility would approve.
Why WOULDN'T she be allowed to marry her cousin? Probably just Ernst instead of Rudolf II.
By the 1580s I doubt the Spanish nobility has much in the way of influence in deciding who Isabel gets to marry. Much less that there would be any native candidates acceptable to everybody
Well yes, Ernst would be the obvious candidate for her hand if Rudolf is uninterested. And I was more unsure if the Spanish nobility would approve in regards to a regency by Isabel and her husband, rather than anything to do with their marriage itself.
They'd probably insist on Isabel holding the regency herself, no? Mean her grandmother (Empress Isabella) and her aunt, Juana, had both held regencies of Spain, proving that a woman was more than capable of doing so.
This could be an interesting butterfly, since the question of succession in the Netherlands (is it in union with England or is it a PU with Elizabeth as ruler and when she dies, someone else gets it) is likely to be no less fraught than in England.
More competent? Dudly was a favourite of the queen. I think it is likely that His Incompetentness will still be sent to the Netherlands, even if a greater intervention force is sent.
I agree, Dudley is the most likely to be send and the one who will probably screw it up in any scenario. Might lead to some interesting knock on effects though.
The most important thing Dudley accomplished was to unify the divided provinces to get rid of him as quickly as possible.
Which was important, since the division between the provinces was becoming a problem.
Speaking of "independence" movements, would Felipe II only having been king of Portugal for a few years here mean that Antonio, Prior of Crato tries to go for the crown again? OTL, he didn't, but OTL, Felipe lived nearly another 20 years to solidify the Iberian Union. Here, Felipe has less time, and his successor is both sickly and 9 years old. While it was commonly accepted that Felipe II's claim to Portugal was weak (through his mother who was a sister of the last king), would the half-Austrian Felipe III/Filipe II be able to hang on as securely. Especially since the last child king Portugal had died without issue. Not to mention that Isabel Clara Eugenia's claim to the Portuguese throne would be even weaker, so if something were to happen to her half-brother, would/could Portugal refuse to acknowledge her as queen?
Any thoughts on how Isabel Clara Eugenia (as regent) would approach the French Succession Crisis in 1589, since I very much doubt that much will alter between 1586 and 1589 that will allow Henri III to avoid being assassinated. Even if he isn't assassinated, he could still be killed during one of the battles of the War of the Three Henries.