OTL after the death of Wilhelm der Reiche they sort of went to custard (yes, I know his son, Johann Wilhelm succeeded him, but he doesn't seem to have been overly effective at ruling). Now Wilhelm had contracted two (and planned for a third) very advantageous matches for himself, yet after his death, the wealth he had accrued for the duchy was scattered to the four winds by the War of the Julich Succession between Protestant Brandenburg and Catholic Pfalz-Neuberg.
OTL, Wilhelm managed a match with Jeanne, Queen of Navarre, and after that was annulled, he married an Austrian archduchess. He'd married his one sister off to the king of England (despite the marriage later being annulled) and hoped for a match with the king of England's daughter, Mary Tudor. Hence my questions of what if:
a) Wilhelm had stayed married to Jeanne and they'd had kids? PU with Navarre could be interesting for the United Duchies (although I see one always being sacrificed for the other)
b) Wilhelm had managed to pull off the double marriage between himself and Mary Tudor and his sister and Henry VIII? (handwavium necessary perhaps, but I think a de la Marck England could be fun, especially with England having territory in Europe again, although I foresee England and the United Duchies ending up in a similar situation to a PU with Navarre in a)).
c) His son by Marie of Austria, Karl Friedrich - reportedly the brighter and better of the two boys, survives.
How does Europe fare with there being no Succession War in the 1610s to act as a sort of dress-rehearsal for the 30YW (not my words, and not my opinion, I just read the one writer that called it that)? And how do the United Duchies move into the future?
OTL, Wilhelm managed a match with Jeanne, Queen of Navarre, and after that was annulled, he married an Austrian archduchess. He'd married his one sister off to the king of England (despite the marriage later being annulled) and hoped for a match with the king of England's daughter, Mary Tudor. Hence my questions of what if:
a) Wilhelm had stayed married to Jeanne and they'd had kids? PU with Navarre could be interesting for the United Duchies (although I see one always being sacrificed for the other)
b) Wilhelm had managed to pull off the double marriage between himself and Mary Tudor and his sister and Henry VIII? (handwavium necessary perhaps, but I think a de la Marck England could be fun, especially with England having territory in Europe again, although I foresee England and the United Duchies ending up in a similar situation to a PU with Navarre in a)).
c) His son by Marie of Austria, Karl Friedrich - reportedly the brighter and better of the two boys, survives.
How does Europe fare with there being no Succession War in the 1610s to act as a sort of dress-rehearsal for the 30YW (not my words, and not my opinion, I just read the one writer that called it that)? And how do the United Duchies move into the future?