WI: Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine Has A Surviving Son?

Inspired by my question regarding Eduard of Simmern's son surviving, I decided to look at another Pfalz prince who also lost a son that could've had an interesting effect on the European chessboard: Eduard's distant cousin, Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine of the Rhine.

Now, JW was a notorious horndog and unfortunately had syphilis, which, while I'm not sure about his first wife, he apparently did pass it on to his second wife, Anna Maria Luisa de Medici (sister of the last grand duke of Tuscany). Anna Maria was delivered of a stillborn son in 1692, but, courtesy of her husband giving her syphilis, she never had another child. Now, let's assume that the boy is born hale and hearty (let's call him Johann Wilhelm Edmund (it's a random name, I'll admit, but there was a Count of Sinzendorf who married Bianca Maria Sforza (a descendant of Ludovico il Moro) with the same name - they only had a daughter who had the same name as her mother, and married into the Doria family)). Either way, Johann Wilhelm Edmund is going to be 21 years old when his uncle, Ferdinandino de Medici dies. Could he eventually be seen as heir to Tuscany as well as the Palatinate? He would have a far better claim than his cousin, Isabel Farnese (hell, he might even marry La Farnese). What about in Germany? He'd succeed there before he would (if at all) in Florence.
 
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So, I've been thinking. How would the emperor react to his cousin inheriting Tuscany? Better still, will France have anything to say about it? And would this see a Wittelsbach Tuscany? Or would there be a territorial swap of Italian territories as what often happened in the 18th century?
 
Since I'm guessing a PU between the Palatinate and Tuscany is unlikely. So, I'm guessing Johann Wilhelm Edmund marries either a) one of Josef I/Karl VI's sisters (Austria has a vested interest in Tuscany) or b) one of the Régent's daughters (Charlotte Aglaë/Philippine Charlotte seems most likely) or c) once it becomes clear that he's going to inherit Tuscany, an Italian girl (i.e. Benedetta/Amelia Giuseppina d'Este, Isabella Farnese). I wonder if c) isn't the most likely option.

That said, if he has at least two sons by the time Cosimo III dies in 1722 (I'm assuming the rest of the world moves on as OTL, feel free to suggest changes), that one (probably the younger of the two), is sent to Florence where he's recognized as heir to his decrepit uncle, Giovan' Gastone.
 
Since I'm guessing a PU between the Palatinate and Tuscany is unlikely. So, I'm guessing Johann Wilhelm Edmund marries either a) one of Josef I/Karl VI's sisters (Austria has a vested interest in Tuscany) or b) one of the Régent's daughters (Charlotte Aglaë/Philippine Charlotte seems most likely) or c) once it becomes clear that he's going to inherit Tuscany, an Italian girl (i.e. Benedetta/Amelia Giuseppina d'Este, Isabella Farnese). I wonder if c) isn't the most likely option.

That said, if he has at least two sons by the time Cosimo III dies in 1722 (I'm assuming the rest of the world moves on as OTL, feel free to suggest changes), that one (probably the younger of the two), is sent to Florence where he's recognized as heir to his decrepit uncle, Giovan' Gastone.

Elisabetta Farnese is an intesting choice as wife plus she is surely fertile and yes they need to have at least two sons plus daughters: the eldest son will be the heir of Palatinate, the other the Gran Duke of Tuscany and Duke of Parma (and maybe also Duke of Urbino if they can recover it from the Papal States)
 
Elisabetta Farnese is an intesting choice as wife plus she is surely fertile and yes they need to have at least two sons plus daughters: the eldest son will be the heir of Palatinate, the other the Gran Duke of Tuscany and Duke of Parma (and maybe also Duke of Urbino if they can recover it from the Papal States)

Would the dukedom of Urbino be recoverable, though? I understood it that the moveable possessions went to Vittoria della Rovere, while the land went back to the pope. But I like the prospect of a "kingdom of Etruria/Italy" emerging in central Italy. Still more it being a non-papal, Wittelsbach Italy.
 
Would the dukedom of Urbino be recoverable, though? I understood it that the moveable possessions went to Vittoria della Rovere, while the land went back to the pope. But I like the prospect of a "kingdom of Etruria/Italy" emerging in central Italy. Still more it being a non-papal, Wittelsbach Italy.
Not easy to recover after all this time, but maybe in some war the pope backed the wrong guy or tried to take Parma and lost the war (and maybe Modena also was on the winning side and take back Ferrara)...
In theory Vittoria was the heiress of everything but her closest relatives were all women and much Catholics so the annexion went uncontested at the time
 
Not easy to recover after all this time, but maybe in some war the pope backed the wrong guy or tried to take Parma and lost the war (and maybe Modena also was on the winning side and take back Ferrara)...
In theory Vittoria was the heiress of everything but her closest relatives were all women and much Catholics so the annexion went uncontested at the time

Why did Modena never try to take back Ferrara OTL? It always struck me as kinda weird that no Modenese duke ever seems to have tried to get it back? Maybe a pro-Imperial Wittelsbach Tuscany-Parma and d'Este Modena launch a joint offensive against a pro-Bourbon papacy in the War of the Austrian Succession and managed to take some land back.
 
Why did Modena never try to take back Ferrara OTL? It always struck me as kinda weird that no Modenese duke ever seems to have tried to get it back? Maybe a pro-Imperial Wittelsbach Tuscany-Parma and d'Este Modena launch a joint offensive against a pro-Bourbon papacy in the War of the Austrian Succession and managed to take some land back.
Because the father of Cesare of Este (the first ruler of only Modena and Reggio) was an illegitimate son of Alfonso I of Este who was later legitimized and when the childless Alfonso II named his cousin as heir the Emperor accepted the succession and confirmed the possesion of Modena and Reggio (who were Imperial's fiefs) to new Duke while the Pope refuted that and annexed Ferrara (who instead was a Papal fief) so they had little grounds for claiming Ferrara but being on the winning side of a war they can have it back as punishment for the Pope (and Tuscanty/Parma can ask back also some lands of Parma who were either sold or given to the Pope as garancy for a loan who was not paid back in time and so annexed)
 
Because the father of Cesare of Este (the first ruler of only Modena and Reggio) was an illegitimate son of Alfonso I of Este who was later legitimized and when the childless Alfonso II named his cousin as heir the Emperor accepted the succession and confirmed the possesion of Modena and Reggio (who were Imperial's fiefs) to new Duke while the Pope refuted that and annexed Ferrara (who instead was a Papal fief) so they had little grounds for claiming Ferrara but being on the winning side of a war they can have it back as punishment for the Pope (and Tuscanty/Parma can ask back also some lands of Parma who were either sold or given to the Pope as garancy for a loan who was not paid back in time and so annexed)

Sounds reasonable. But by the 18th century was the papacy still getting involved in politics (as in going to war) as it had in earlier times?
 
Well, by the date I'm proposing (Johann Wilhelm and Mlle de Medici's only pregnancy was in 1692 IIRC), Xanten's passed more than a half century prior so no change (in theory). However, the Prusso-Palatine conflict over the Cleves inheritance of the 1740s might take a different turn. Particularly if said boy is raised to identify as more Italian than German
Any thoughts on this?
 
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