William IV of Britain's daughter Elizabeth survives.

Once the royal family is solidly Orthodox, they're free to follow the Russian model of marrying women who aren't Orthodox but (at least for the future Queen) are willing to convert (see OTL Greek Queens like Sophie of Prussia, Frederika of Hanover, and Anne Marie of Denmark).

One reason for that is because the notable Orthodox options are rather thin, basically consisting of Russia and (if it still happens ITTL) Romania. As such, the Crown Prince will likely be allowed to marry a non-Orthodox Princess willing to convert, while his brothers will get a bit more leeway by saying conversion would be preferred, but not mandatory as long as the kids are raised Orthodox.

The only issue with a French match for the Crown Prince is that getting Catholic princesses to be able to convert was notoriously difficult, as shown IOTL with Helene of Orleans having her potential marriage to Prince Albert Victor thwarted by her father and the Pope refusing to let her convert until she turned 25 (at which point she would have been an old maid on the marriage market). So unless you get a dad and Pope willing to let the girl become Orthodox, getting a Catholic bride for the heir will be difficult.

However, a Catholic bride for a younger brother is doable, as seen IOTL, as brides not destined to be Crown Princesses/Queens usually had the ability to privately keep their original faith as long as they promised to raise the kids Orthodox
Agreed there. Cousin marriages were forbidden in orthodoxy weren’t they? So Constantine would need a German girl willing to convert
 
Agreed there. Cousin marriages were forbidden in orthodoxy weren’t they? So Constantine would need a German girl willing to convert
Yep, German or Scandinavian as first cousin marriages were highly frowned upon, although they did occasionally happen with much reluctance like the marriage between Victoria Melita and one of her Vladimirovich cousins.
 
Yep, German or Scandinavian as first cousin marriages were highly frowned upon, although they did occasionally happen with much reluctance like the marriage between Victoria Melita and one of her Vladimirovich cousins.

Hmm interesting, so Constantine's looking at someone like a Prussian, or minor German Princess
 
Ah right you are, and aye planning on having Ferdinand die in 1848 instead of abdicating.
With Ferdinand simply dying instead of being forced to abdicate you have zero reason for skipping Franz Karl (and in any case OTL that was mostly because Sophie wanted her son on the throne and persuaded her husband to renounce/abdicate)
 
With Ferdinand simply dying instead of being forced to abdicate you have zero reason for skipping Franz Karl (and in any case OTL that was mostly because Sophie wanted her son on the throne and persuaded her husband to renounce/abdicate)

Indeed, hence why's he's listed as Emperor following his brother's death in 1848.
Have we used any of the Princesses of Saxony yet?

I do not think so.
 
Otto's Aunt was Amalia of Saxony and she has a few daughters that might be age appropriate for Constantine -

Maria Sidonia (b.1834)
Anna (b. 1936) (Hereditary Grand Duchess of Tuscany IOTL)
Margarethe (b. 1940)

Both Maria and Margarethe were childless so are the obvious candidates but they were also Roman Catholic so having the King of Saxony sign-off on their conversion to Orthodoxy would be the hurdle that was mentioned before.
 
Hmm interesting, so Constantine's looking at someone like a Prussian, or minor German Princess

Some OTL prospects (with the catch that there might be ATL sisters instead) taking into account Constantine's 1836 birthday and that Protestant brides have an easier chance converting
  1. Princess Anna of Prussia (b. 1836)
  2. a surviving Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (b. 1840)
  3. Princess Louise of Prussia (b. 1838)
  4. Princess Sophia of Nassau (b. 1836)
  5. Princess Therese of Saxe Altenburg (b. 1836)
  6. Princess Antoinette of Saxe Altenburg (b. 1838)
  7. Princess Bathildis of Anhalt Dessau (b. 1837)
  8. Princess Hilda of Anhalt Dessau (b. 1839)
  9. Anna Reuss of Kostritz (b. 1837)
  10. Princess Leopoldine of Baden (b. 1837)
  11. Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt Dessau (b. 1837)
  12. Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg (b. 1838)
  13. Princess Feodora of Holenhoe-Langenburg (b. 1839) (niece of Victoria and George V of Hanover)
  14. Princess Cecilie of Baden (b. 1839)
  15. Princess Victoria of Saxe Coburg and Gotha (b. 1840) (OTL Vicky, the Princess Royal)
 
Otto's Aunt was Amalia of Saxony and she has a few daughters that might be age appropriate for Constantine -

Maria Sidonia (b.1834)
Anna (b. 1936) (Hereditary Grand Duchess of Tuscany IOTL)
Margarethe (b. 1940)

Both Maria and Margarethe were childless so are the obvious candidates but they were also Roman Catholic so having the King of Saxony sign-off on their conversion to Orthodoxy would be the hurdle that was mentioned before.

Maria could be good
 
Some OTL prospects (with the catch that there might be ATL sisters instead) taking into account Constantine's 1836 birthday and that Protestant brides have an easier chance converting
  1. Princess Anna of Prussia (b. 1836)
  2. a surviving Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (b. 1840)
  3. Princess Louise of Prussia (b. 1838)
  4. Princess Sophia of Nassau (b. 1836)
  5. Princess Therese of Saxe Altenburg (b. 1836)
  6. Princess Antoinette of Saxe Altenburg (b. 1838)
  7. Princess Bathildis of Anhalt Dessau (b. 1837)
  8. Princess Hilda of Anhalt Dessau (b. 1839)
  9. Anna Reuss of Kostritz (b. 1837)
  10. Princess Leopoldine of Baden (b. 1837)
  11. Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt Dessau (b. 1837)
  12. Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg (b. 1838)
  13. Princess Feodora of Holenhoe-Langenburg (b. 1839) (niece of Victoria and George V of Hanover)
  14. Princess Cecilie of Baden (b. 1839)
  15. Princess Victoria of Saxe Coburg and Gotha (b. 1840) (OTL Vicky, the Princess Royal)

I think Anna of Prussia would be a solid choice
 
I think Anna of Prussia would be a solid choice

The only issue might be that she's pretty closely related to Constantine. Her mother is a cousin of Maria Nikolaevna through Tsar Paul of Russia, and she herself is a cousin to her future mother-in-law via Frederick William III of Prussia.

Otherwise, she seems to be a good looking and cultured future Queen with a willingness to convert, given she converted to Catholicism IOTL (though not due to marriage, but apparently on her own volition).
 
The only issue might be that she's pretty closely related to Constantine. Her mother is a cousin of Maria Nikolaevna through Tsar Paul of Russia, and she herself is a cousin to her future mother-in-law via Frederick William III of Prussia.

Otherwise, she seems to be a good looking and cultured future Queen with a willingness to convert, given she converted to Catholicism IOTL (though not due to marriage, but apparently on her own volition).

Hmm interesting, that might be an issue. Though I suppose that issue would be there for Louise of Prussia also?
 
Hmm interesting, that might be an issue. Though I suppose that issue would be there for Louise of Prussia also?

Yep given that her mother Augusta was also a daughter of Maria Pavlovna the Prussian girls, besides a surviving Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (sister of Princess Alexandrine), have the issue of being Constantine's second cousin and first cousin once removed
 
Yep given that her mother Augusta was also a daughter of Maria Pavlovna the Prussian girls, besides a surviving Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (sister of Princess Alexandrine), have the issue of being Constantine's second cousin and first cousin once removed

Ah, that's going to be a cause for concern. Princess Therese of Saxe Altenburg could be a good choice in such an instance, I don't think she's related to him is she?
 
Ah, that's going to be a cause for concern. Princess Therese of Saxe Altenburg could be a good choice in such an instance, I don't think she's related to him is she?

They're pretty distantly related, but the one issue is she was apparently sort of frail and stupid and was getting bamboozled by a pimp until her relatives sent her for a stint in Switzerland. While these two certainly might end up married (since I doubt her dad is advertising her more "unique" qualities) a better match might be her younger sister Antoinette, who at least seemed to be a bit more astute, a good quality in tumultuous Greece.
 
They're pretty distantly related, but the one issue is she was apparently sort of frail and stupid and was getting bamboozled by a pimp until her relatives sent her for a stint in Switzerland. While these two certainly might end up married (since I doubt her dad is advertising her more "unique" qualities) a better match might be her younger sister Antoinette, who at least seemed to be a bit more astute, a good quality in tumultuous Greece.

Antoinette it is then. And aye, though given Leopold's political skills, could Greece end up slightly more stable than otl?
 
Antoinette it is then. And aye, though given Leopold's political skills, could Greece end up slightly more stable than otl?

One issue is always going to be that the Greek populous will want Leopold to join his father-in-law/brother-in-law in the mission to free and protect the Orthodox members of the Ottoman Empire (especially the fellow Slavs in the Balkans) and, if at all possible, retake Constantinople for the Christian cause. Now IOTL these military expeditions either failed spectacularly (ex: 1897 or the Asia Minor campaign which almost saw the Duke of Edinburgh's father executed for treason) or were poorly received after the fact in Greece, like the Second Balkan War. Now as someone who isn't a military type I don't know how these problems could be solved, or if this would make for a more stable Greece. But more successful or popular war efforts couldn't hurt Greek stability.
 
One issue is always going to be that the Greek populous will want Leopold to join his father-in-law/brother-in-law in the mission to free and protect the Orthodox members of the Ottoman Empire (especially the fellow Slavs in the Balkans) and, if at all possible, retake Constantinople for the Christian cause. Now IOTL these military expeditions either failed spectacularly (ex: 1897 or the Asia Minor campaign which almost saw the Duke of Edinburgh's father executed for treason) or were poorly received after the fact in Greece, like the Second Balkan War. Now as someone who isn't a military type I don't know how these problems could be solved, or if this would make for a more stable Greece. But more successful or popular war efforts couldn't hurt Greek stability.

Agreed, there, I have an idea or two for solving these issues, I think there it helps that my mate's studied this as a military historian aha.
 
Top