William III Killed In Ireland

A couple of days before the Battle of the Boyne, William had gone up to the river to reconnoitre, and Tyrconnel had recognised him and ordered his cannon to open fire. One shot grazed William's shoulder.

So, what happens if that cannon's trajectory is just a little different and instead rips his head off like a champagne cork? Bear in mind that the King's death would have coincided with a disastrous naval defeat at Beachy Head, which left the French in command of the Channel, so that invasion was at least a possibility.
 
OK, then we have no problems. England is not in internal turmoil and France has no chance of invading the Isles without a local strongpoint. Ireland might escape the personal union with England.

Uh...France has just defeated the English navy for the last time in its history, plus the deposed king is in Ireland, awaiting French troops (who I'm guessing LXIV will send over - OTL I think he wanted a sign of victory before he sent troops (ICR), here, he'd take Willem losing his head as nothing short of a sign from God and send probably any troops he can spare).
 
Oh, if the French want to commit more than they did in OTL (encouraged by this) with more than just powder and some token support, than that's a different story. It should be noted that many of (even Protestant!) nobles Scotland were not thrilled with the Glorious revolution but decided if English nobles thought it was a good idea, maybe we should try out William (and the Protestant nobles could easily be swayed by their English counterparts about the whole "no Papists" thing). I think the external threat to England from France is less than the Spanish Armada against Elizabeth, but if the French can link up with James's supoorters things could get interesting. Few Irish were for William, they were either for James or for a stable status quo that pays them money (which... OK was William since he had the Channel, Dublin, and London under control).
 
Oh, if the French want to commit more than they did in OTL (encouraged by this) with more than just powder and some token support, than that's a different story. It should be noted that many of (even Protestant!) nobles Scotland were not thrilled with the Glorious revolution but decided if English nobles thought it was a good idea, maybe we should try out William (and the Protestant nobles could easily be swayed by their English counterparts about the whole "no Papists" thing). I think the external threat to England from France is less than the Spanish Armada against Elizabeth, but if the French can link up with James's supoorters things could get interesting. Few Irish were for William, they were either for James or for a stable status quo that pays them money (which... OK was William since he had the Channel, Dublin, and London under control).
And now he’s dead and the channels lost, oh things are about to get very interesting
 
The Irish all lining up for a Restoration I can easily see. As I said, they either were for James or for a paycheck (the winning side). The Old Pretender had quite a bit of support in Scotland, so an early "15" might be possible. England is the problem. The Glorious Revolution succeeded largely because of a smear campaign by James II's opponents (lest we forget he was popular even in England for a few years after his conversion) so the English Angelians, the largest population block, are still opposed.
 

samcster94

Banned
Uh...France has just defeated the English navy for the last time in its history, plus the deposed king is in Ireland, awaiting French troops (who I'm guessing LXIV will send over - OTL I think he wanted a sign of victory before he sent troops (ICR), here, he'd take Willem losing his head as nothing short of a sign from God and send probably any troops he can spare).
A pro-French Ireland?
 
I was just thinking. Henry Purcell's birthday ode for Mary II of 1689 contains the line "No more shall we the great Eliza[beth] boast, for her great name in greater Mary's will be lost". Mary was the dutiful wife and is often overshadowed by her cold fish, asthmatic Dutch husband. It was at his instruction that she appeared in London as happy as "to a wedding" after deposing her father and brother. Although the story about her bouncing on the beds at Hampton Court (possibly apocryphal) testifies to her exuberance (which is commented on by several people, both before and during her marriage).

How would Mary's policy differ from Willem's? OTL, the only place she managed after 1688 was Church of England affairs, although she was considerably more popular, despite derisive nicknames such as "Tullia" (hubby got the nickname of the "Dutch abortion/miscarriage") for her deposing of her father, from the opposition. Would she remarry? How would her relationship with Anne be affected? And would she be as bellicose as Willem? Or simply fight a defensive war against a French invasion?
 
How would Mary's policy differ from Willem's? OTL, the only place she managed after 1688 was Church of England affairs, although she was considerably more popular, despite derisive nicknames such as "Tullia" (hubby got the nickname of the "Dutch abortion/miscarriage") for her deposing of her father, from the opposition. Would she remarry? How would her relationship with Anne be affected? And would she be as bellicose as Willem? Or simply fight a defensive war against a French invasion?
Although William had his own reasons for conducting an anti-French policy, Mary's policy wouldn't differ much. The whole legitimacy of her rule is been challenged by Louis XIV and as long as the sunking supports her brother's claim, there can be no real peace between her country and France. That change of diplomatic orientation of England as a result of the Glorious Revolution can't be undone.
 
Although William had his own reasons for conducting an anti-French policy, Mary's policy wouldn't differ much. The whole legitimacy of her rule is been challenged by Louis XIV and as long as the sunking supports her brother's claim, there can be no real peace between her country and France. That change of diplomatic orientation of England as a result of the Glorious Revolution can't be undone.

So her foreign policy remains more or less unchanged. How does her domestic policy differ? It's one thing when she'd know that she's gotta please-explain any and all of her actions to hubby when he gets home, would we see differences in how she handles things at home? How'd she deal with any unrest coming from Bill losing his head (because I'm sure there are going to be pockets that will declare for James II once the news goes public)?
 
So her foreign policy remains more or less unchanged. How does her domestic policy differ? It's one thing when she'd know that she's gotta please-explain any and all of her actions to hubby when he gets home, would we see differences in how she handles things at home? How'd she deal with any unrest coming from Bill losing his head (because I'm sure there are going to be pockets that will declare for James II once the news goes public)?
I don't see much extra trouble domestically, compared to OTL. It is Mary who holds the claim, not William.
But, and this is a big but, when William went to England, he brought with him a large highly trained army paid by the Dutch Republic. He also had enough influence in the republic to get this army to Ireland to support his cause. The big question is, if William died, will the Staten Generaal in the Republic keep paying the bills for these mercenaries? William's successor as stadholder of five of the seven states of the republic would probably be Henry Casimir II, if the five states would choose that path(!!!) Even then would it take several years to really build up Casimir's power base there. In the meantime there will be many representatives from cities of Holland, who will argue that the money could be better spend on the Dutch Navy to protect the commerce (they constantly did that in the past) or at least pull these troops back to Dutch Territory (to please the eastern states of the Republic). Mary and the english parliament have to pull out all the stops to influence the Staten Generaal to keep supporting their cause.

How prominent was that support for James II post-Glorious Revolution in England proper? Like who were their chief supporters?
Catholics and then especialy Catholic nobility, but their number and influence is quite limited. They also knew their place after the many setbacks of the previous 150 years.
 
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I don't see much extra trouble domestically, compared to OTL. It is Mary who holds the claim, not William.
But, and this is a big but, when William went to England, he brought with him a large highly trained army paid by the Dutch Republic. He also had enough influence in the republic to get this army to Ireland to support his course. The big question is, if William died, will de Staten Generaal in the Republic keep paying the bills for these mercenaries. William's successor as stadholder of five of the seven states of the republic would probably be Henry Casimir II, if the five states would choose that path(!!!) Even then would it take several years to really build up his power base there. In the meantime there will be many representatives from cities of Holland, who will argue that the money could be better spend on the Dutch Navy to protect the commerce (they constantly did that in the past) or at least pull these troops back to Dutch Territory (to please the eastern states of the Republic). Mary and the english parliament have to pull out all the stops to influence the Staten Generaal to keep supporting their cause.


Catholics and then especialy Catholic nobility, but their number and influence is quite limited. They also knew their place after the many setbacks of the previous 150 years.
Wouldn’t more of the Anglican high Tory lot come out once Bill is dead?
 
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