My new TL. Hopefully, this post will set the scene for what's happening. If you're not sure about the premise, having failed to spot the words after "Ascot", see below.
ASCOT: AN ANGLO-DUTCH UNION
I: Roses and Tulips
"Worry not about love eternal, my dear girl. Simply lie back and think of Britain."
Right of Margaret Thornaby & Durham University
Published in 1951, Durham
…With Prince George's marriage failing so soon into its life, he and Caroline had produced only one heir to the throne: young Princess Charlotte. This was a marked change from the previous four generations of the Hanoverian dynasty, which had provided the British peerage with a veritable cornucopia of dukes and duchesses; so many had been produced, in fact, that it is perhaps a blessing on England's farmers that George and Caroline had never been close, lest the isle be overwhelmed by royalty.
This led to a problem. Had Charlotte been born male, this hypothetical "Charles" would proceed in much the same dynastic manner as his forebears, being King of both Britain and Hanover. However, women were entirely forbidden to accede to the Hanoverian throne, as dictated in the Salic Laws of old. Were she to become Queen of Britain, the Hanoverian throne would go instead to her uncle Frederick, Duke of York. While this would, in principle, preserve the good relations between Britain and Hanover, the two nations would surely drift apart over time, and Britain would find herself without a sure ally on the Continent, and naught but her Navy to protect her from a future Napoleon. The British people had seen themselves helpless too long to accept this, and thus in the fading moments of 1813, the Prince Regent embarked on a quest to find his daughter a suitable husband and future King.
Fate lent a helping hand, and the Prince's Quest would end on the first candidate: Prince William of Orange, heir to the throne of the United Netherlands (formed from the old United Provinces and the Austrian Netherlands). Upon her meeting William, Charlotte was soon overwhelmed by his charms, and later revealed that she "consider[ed] [her]self to be engaged". She later cooled towards William somewhat, but he was able to win her affections once more during a chance meeting at Ascot [1]. The marriage contract was agreed to by both nations: Prince William would be crowned King Consort [2] upon Charlotte's coronation, and she Queen Consort of the United Netherlands on his. The marriage took place on the 24th of July, 1814, and Prince William was granted the title "Prince of Wales", while Charlotte became Princess of Orange.
The marriage quickly resulted in a young Prince, born nine months into the marriage, on the 13th of April. The Prince was initially named William Augustus George, but this was quickly changed when the name was realised to spell "WAG", and the child was baptised George William Augustus. (The incident was not forgotten by satirists, however, and would haunt him throughout his life.) The baptism provided fresh opportunities for disaster, with the young Prince nearly drowning in the font, and it was later held that this was an omen of things to come…
THE OUTSIDE WORLD
1815: Napoleon is defeated. Then he comes back. Then he is trounced thoroughly on the fields of Waterloo by Wellington and Blucher. He doesn't come back after this.
The Congress of Vienna redraws the map of Europe. Again. The United Netherlands gain borders extending to the Mosel in the south, and the Rhine in the east. Prussia is compensated with a full annexation of Saxony, whose King now gains the formerly potential Prussian Rhineland east of the Rhine, which becomes the Kingdom of Westphalia. The remainder of the Rhineland is annexed to the Palatinate (Bavarian). This series of swaps is seen as logical.
In North America, the War of 1812 is ended in status quo ante bellum.
[1] Whereas IOTL, he got drunk and acted like a twerp, and she consequently loathed him afterwards. POD!
[2] I say King Consort as opposed to Prince Consort here. Prince George still had enough clout that he could bully this past Parliament, as opposed to the "sit there and look pretty" attitude that Parliament had towards Victoria when she married Albert.
ASCOT: AN ANGLO-DUTCH UNION
I: Roses and Tulips
"Worry not about love eternal, my dear girl. Simply lie back and think of Britain."
–Attributed to George IV, 1815.
QUEEN CHARLOTTE I: The Life and Times
Right of Margaret Thornaby & Durham University
Published in 1951, Durham
…With Prince George's marriage failing so soon into its life, he and Caroline had produced only one heir to the throne: young Princess Charlotte. This was a marked change from the previous four generations of the Hanoverian dynasty, which had provided the British peerage with a veritable cornucopia of dukes and duchesses; so many had been produced, in fact, that it is perhaps a blessing on England's farmers that George and Caroline had never been close, lest the isle be overwhelmed by royalty.
This led to a problem. Had Charlotte been born male, this hypothetical "Charles" would proceed in much the same dynastic manner as his forebears, being King of both Britain and Hanover. However, women were entirely forbidden to accede to the Hanoverian throne, as dictated in the Salic Laws of old. Were she to become Queen of Britain, the Hanoverian throne would go instead to her uncle Frederick, Duke of York. While this would, in principle, preserve the good relations between Britain and Hanover, the two nations would surely drift apart over time, and Britain would find herself without a sure ally on the Continent, and naught but her Navy to protect her from a future Napoleon. The British people had seen themselves helpless too long to accept this, and thus in the fading moments of 1813, the Prince Regent embarked on a quest to find his daughter a suitable husband and future King.
Fate lent a helping hand, and the Prince's Quest would end on the first candidate: Prince William of Orange, heir to the throne of the United Netherlands (formed from the old United Provinces and the Austrian Netherlands). Upon her meeting William, Charlotte was soon overwhelmed by his charms, and later revealed that she "consider[ed] [her]self to be engaged". She later cooled towards William somewhat, but he was able to win her affections once more during a chance meeting at Ascot [1]. The marriage contract was agreed to by both nations: Prince William would be crowned King Consort [2] upon Charlotte's coronation, and she Queen Consort of the United Netherlands on his. The marriage took place on the 24th of July, 1814, and Prince William was granted the title "Prince of Wales", while Charlotte became Princess of Orange.
The marriage quickly resulted in a young Prince, born nine months into the marriage, on the 13th of April. The Prince was initially named William Augustus George, but this was quickly changed when the name was realised to spell "WAG", and the child was baptised George William Augustus. (The incident was not forgotten by satirists, however, and would haunt him throughout his life.) The baptism provided fresh opportunities for disaster, with the young Prince nearly drowning in the font, and it was later held that this was an omen of things to come…
THE OUTSIDE WORLD
1815: Napoleon is defeated. Then he comes back. Then he is trounced thoroughly on the fields of Waterloo by Wellington and Blucher. He doesn't come back after this.
The Congress of Vienna redraws the map of Europe. Again. The United Netherlands gain borders extending to the Mosel in the south, and the Rhine in the east. Prussia is compensated with a full annexation of Saxony, whose King now gains the formerly potential Prussian Rhineland east of the Rhine, which becomes the Kingdom of Westphalia. The remainder of the Rhineland is annexed to the Palatinate (Bavarian). This series of swaps is seen as logical.
In North America, the War of 1812 is ended in status quo ante bellum.
[1] Whereas IOTL, he got drunk and acted like a twerp, and she consequently loathed him afterwards. POD!
[2] I say King Consort as opposed to Prince Consort here. Prince George still had enough clout that he could bully this past Parliament, as opposed to the "sit there and look pretty" attitude that Parliament had towards Victoria when she married Albert.
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