- Location
- Municipal Commune of Bourne
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Royal Prerogative, Part 1
My POD here is Prince David goes off to fight in WW1 and either ends up dead or MIA, in any case he isn't about to inherit the throne. His brother, Prince Albert, is the heir apparent from then on out and when George V passes away in 1936 he inherits the throne with little fuss. Without the Abdication Crisis of OTL, my theory goes that the soft power of the monarchy, retained by Victoria through to George V but virtually eliminated by the clash between the King and his Cabinet in 1936, is retained.
1940-1945: Edward Wood (Conservative leading War Government with Labour, Liberal Nationals, Liberals and National Labour)
My assumption is that between accession in 1936 and Chamberlain's resignation in the Norway Crisis, there is little room for butterflies or decisions to make. However, the King does have a choice between Churchill and Halifax in 1940 and IOTL he harboured a certain distrust for the ambitious Churchill and ITTL plumps for Halifax who resigns his peerage and wins an unopposed seat to govern from the Commons. The war proceeds much as IOTL though is perhaps less mythologised after the fact with a less charismatic Prime Minister. Another consequence of the King's influence is the War Government holds together through VJ day up to a general election in October 1945.
1945-1952: Clement Attlee (Labour)
1945 (Majority) def. Edward Wood (National - Conservatives, Liberal Nationals), Archibald Sinclair (Liberal)
1950 (Majority) def. Anthony Eden (Conservative and National Liberal), Clement Davies (Liberal)
Again the butterflies remain constrained, Labour's ideas on the economy still have the advantages of wartime implementation that they had IOTL, and while Wood is a less charismatic figure than Churchill he also isn't going to tell everyone in the country that Clem will implement the Gestapo, so I forsee a majority similar to OTL. Attlee was very close with the King and was influence by his words IOTL, and would continue to be the case ITTL I think. Wood stands aside after his defeat and Eden takes the leadership. The King's health is moderately worse ITTL and he does not plan to go overseas in 1951 so no snap election is held. His death in 1952 does lead to a snap election though.
1952-1956: Anthony Eden (Conservative)
1952 (Coalition with Liberals) def. Clement Attlee (Labour), Clement Davies (Liberal)
1954 (Majority) def. Clement Attlee (Labour), Clement Davies (Liberal)
Hopes remain high for Labour in 1952, but the party's internescine conflict leads to them losing their majority. The Tories emerge the largest party and form a coalition with the Liberals. This rather unstable arrangement carries on for a year after the young Queen's coronation, a boost in national contentment that allows the Conservatives to gain a healthy majority. Prince David's death in the 1910s has not butterflied away Eden's regular health complaints however, and is as reliant on Benzedrine as he was IOTL. One of the consequences of Wood's time in office is a less hostile attitude to the Soviets, and the prospect of Britain (and possibly France) as a Third Force in between the two superpowers is an idea more universally admired in the absence of the Americophile Churchill. Maintenance of control of the Middle East would be vital to the continuation of a British Empire, and it is likely that something similar to the Suez Crisis would happen. However, before the ball can get rolling as far as it did IOTL, the Queen intervenes and in light of Eden's mental temperament, he is advised to stand aside.
My POD here is Prince David goes off to fight in WW1 and either ends up dead or MIA, in any case he isn't about to inherit the throne. His brother, Prince Albert, is the heir apparent from then on out and when George V passes away in 1936 he inherits the throne with little fuss. Without the Abdication Crisis of OTL, my theory goes that the soft power of the monarchy, retained by Victoria through to George V but virtually eliminated by the clash between the King and his Cabinet in 1936, is retained.
1940-1945: Edward Wood (Conservative leading War Government with Labour, Liberal Nationals, Liberals and National Labour)
My assumption is that between accession in 1936 and Chamberlain's resignation in the Norway Crisis, there is little room for butterflies or decisions to make. However, the King does have a choice between Churchill and Halifax in 1940 and IOTL he harboured a certain distrust for the ambitious Churchill and ITTL plumps for Halifax who resigns his peerage and wins an unopposed seat to govern from the Commons. The war proceeds much as IOTL though is perhaps less mythologised after the fact with a less charismatic Prime Minister. Another consequence of the King's influence is the War Government holds together through VJ day up to a general election in October 1945.
1945-1952: Clement Attlee (Labour)
1945 (Majority) def. Edward Wood (National - Conservatives, Liberal Nationals), Archibald Sinclair (Liberal)
1950 (Majority) def. Anthony Eden (Conservative and National Liberal), Clement Davies (Liberal)
Again the butterflies remain constrained, Labour's ideas on the economy still have the advantages of wartime implementation that they had IOTL, and while Wood is a less charismatic figure than Churchill he also isn't going to tell everyone in the country that Clem will implement the Gestapo, so I forsee a majority similar to OTL. Attlee was very close with the King and was influence by his words IOTL, and would continue to be the case ITTL I think. Wood stands aside after his defeat and Eden takes the leadership. The King's health is moderately worse ITTL and he does not plan to go overseas in 1951 so no snap election is held. His death in 1952 does lead to a snap election though.
1952-1956: Anthony Eden (Conservative)
1952 (Coalition with Liberals) def. Clement Attlee (Labour), Clement Davies (Liberal)
1954 (Majority) def. Clement Attlee (Labour), Clement Davies (Liberal)
Hopes remain high for Labour in 1952, but the party's internescine conflict leads to them losing their majority. The Tories emerge the largest party and form a coalition with the Liberals. This rather unstable arrangement carries on for a year after the young Queen's coronation, a boost in national contentment that allows the Conservatives to gain a healthy majority. Prince David's death in the 1910s has not butterflied away Eden's regular health complaints however, and is as reliant on Benzedrine as he was IOTL. One of the consequences of Wood's time in office is a less hostile attitude to the Soviets, and the prospect of Britain (and possibly France) as a Third Force in between the two superpowers is an idea more universally admired in the absence of the Americophile Churchill. Maintenance of control of the Middle East would be vital to the continuation of a British Empire, and it is likely that something similar to the Suez Crisis would happen. However, before the ball can get rolling as far as it did IOTL, the Queen intervenes and in light of Eden's mental temperament, he is advised to stand aside.