I mean what if a Plantagenet had the Capetian heir(s) of France assassinated while the other branches such as the Hungarian, Occitan and Sicilian branches of the Capet are busy in other things what will happen.
I can't think of a single time in history when one King paid to have another King assassinated. When rivals to the same throne were captured they could...go missing, yes. But I honestly don't recall any King being murdered on another King's orders, not by an assassin. The closest I can think of is Louis I of Orleans killing John the Fearless of Burgundy in cold blood but that was different - for a start, they were both vying for the same throne, and so did not believe the other were a rightful King, and secondly it was by Louis' own hand, not by an assassin. Even then it provoked outrage and was a highly dubious action.
I don't think there's any way this would happen. If this kind of thing happened, half the Kings in history would've been murdered by their opponents.
I'm a little confused here. It was John the Fearless who had Louis of Orléans assassinated, and he not only admitted it but even boasted about it. Neither was in any case a king. The comparable case that leaps to my mind is Philip II of Spain offering a huge reward to anyone who would assassinate William the Silent. Philip lucked out twice, as someone did it but was caught and executed in an indescribably brutal manner, so Philip didn't even have to pay up. William the Silent wasn't a king either, but he was a monarch of sorts.
But in general if a monarch was assassinated (it was virtually an occupational hazard in Scotland) it was by his own people, it is true. Perhaps kings hesitated to order the murder of other kings, as two people could play that game, also as it tended to dent the sacrosanct aura of kingship and thus removed a little protection from themselves.
Sigebert I of the Franks by agents of Chilperic I. Also within France itself, William Longsword of Normandy was assassinated by agents of Arnulf I of Flanders. Finally, if the Old Man of the Mountain is considered an independent ruler (which is reasonable because no-one could really control his actions) then the original Assassins provide a few more examples.
None of which is all that crucial -- the assassination POD on this thread can be a first of a kind.
kasumigenx said:I mean what if a Plantagenet had the Capetian heir(s) of France assassinated while the other branches such as the Hungarian, Occitan and Sicilian branches of the Capet are busy in other things what will happen.
Bee said:Sigebert I of the Franks by agents of Chilperic I.
Besides, even with the other branches of the Capetians occupied elsewhere, they would still find time to have the French Crown on their heads. Even the smallest crown can be pretty attractive, and France is a rather big crown...
They can be preoccupied in other land and because the remaining Capets are HRE Vassals or affiliated to HRE like Naples and Hungary, but having the Plantagenêts on the throne that is allied to HRE, I think the remaining Capets will think twice before thinking on getting the throne of France.