WI Henry III of France had died at the siege of La Rochelle?

I was reading about the Siege of La Rochelle (1572) and I've found this part:

"Eight assaults of the city were waged from February to June. These attacks, along with cold winter, resulted in large the losses on the royal army's side... The Duke of Anjou was himself wounded several times during these conflicts."

Well, at the time the Duke of Anjou was the future Henry III of France. So, WI he had been wounded more seriously and had died during the siege? Would his brother François d'Alençon be elected king of Poland in his place? Assuming that Charles IX still dies in 1574, how would be the reign of Francis? And what could be the effects of these changes in the French Wars of Religion?
 
Disastrous. Alençon was sickly and easily influenced. He would have been a puppet of the Guises.

Had Alençon became King in 1574, he would have had to marry. Would he have produced a male heir? If so, the Valois dynasty would have continued. If not, Alençon might have accepted to recognise a Catholic (the cardinal of Bourbon, probably) as his heir (OTL's Henri III flatly refused to temper with the law of succession to the throne), thus making it much harder for Henri of Navarre to become King of France.
 
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I'm not sure Francis of Alençon would be elected King of Poland. However, I do not know Polish history very well, so my opinion doesn't really count.

As for his reign... I'm not sure it would be as disastrous as Johnjackos said it would be. Francis of Alençon actually turned out to be quite the schemer OTL, during Henri III's reign. He acted as one of his brother's main opponents , but more because he was jealous of Henri III rather than of a dislike of the latter's policies. He also played a part in the Religious Wars : he negotiated one of the peace treaties (called "Paix de Monsieur"), which was quite favorable to the Protestants if I'm not wrong.

As for the fact he would be a puppet of the Guises, that is far from sure. He actually met and befriended Henri of Navarra in his life, though it happened after the POD. Besides, OTL, there were negotiations to marry him to Elizabeth I of England and it is considered as the last plausible possibility that could have lead Elizabeth marrying. Of course, if Francis becomes King, those negotiations won't happen, but I think it shows he wasn't that much a zealous Catholic.

Besides, if the Guises have their eyes on the French crown, I think Francis would become wary of them, especially considering the state of his succession in 1574. In 1574, Francis III (as he would be called) wouldn't be married and thus have no children : this would cause a problem as his heir would be the Protestant Henri of Navarra. OTL, when Francis died, Henri III had to face a new Religious War because of who was the next in line (the same Henri of Navarra as in this scenario) : it would probably go the same way ITTL with Francis ascending to the throne.
It is probable however that Francis will marry, probably a Catholic princess, to try to secure an heir and have things quiet down a bit.
 
I'm not sure Francis of Alençon would be elected King of Poland. However, I do not know Polish history very well, so my opinion doesn't really count.

IIRC one of the reasons why Henry was made a candidate for the Polish throne because his mother wanted to give him a throne. Catherine de Medici wasn't too fond of Francis, so probably she wouldn't push his name for king of Poland. Of course, then the question would be who the Poles would elect instead?

I agree with you on Francis not acting like a puppet of the Guises, his character IOTL indicates that he wouldn never accept that. For a princess who he could marry, well, what about Catherine de Bourbon, the sister of Henry of Navarre? I think that by 1574 she was still "officially" Catholic, just as Henry, due to the forced conversion after the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day.
 
Granted, "puppet" was too strong a word. Let's just say that I doubt very much that Francis could have displayed the same statemanship as OTL's Henri III.

It took a lot of courage for Henri, a devout Catholic, to go against his church and recognise a Protestant as his legitimate heir. He did so because his duties as King were paramount to him. In an desperate situation, he managed to save the monarchy. France was actually very lucky to have, at this point in History, exceptional individuals like Henri III and Henri IV. Sadly, they are the only two Kings of France to be murdered.
 
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Gonzaga said:
I agree with you on Francis not acting like a puppet of the Guises, his character IOTL indicates that he wouldn never accept that. For a princess who he could marry, well, what about Catherine de Bourbon, the sister of Henry of Navarre? I think that by 1574 she was still "officially" Catholic, just as Henry, due to the forced conversion after the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day.

That could be a good match. It wouldn't be the first time a King marries his cousin, plus it could be seen as a peaceful gesture : the King marrying the Catholic sister of the head of the Protestant faction could be positive.

johnjcakos said:
Granted, "puppet" was too strong a word. Let's just say that I doubt very much that Francis could have displayed the same statemanship as OTL's Henri III.

It took a lot of courage for Henri, a devout Catholic, to go against his church and recognise a Protestant as his legitimate heir. He did so because his duties as King were paramount to him. In an desperate situation, he managed to save the monarchy. France was actually very lucky to have, at this point in History, exceptional individuals like Henri III and Henri IV.

True. Henri III was a good king, even if he's only remembered as a womanly king in France.

As for Francis' ability as King... Well, I'm not really sure I know his life enough to judge.
 
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