WI Hohenzollern Britain

[King Alexander]

Looking at the family tree of Hanoverian monarchs, it surprises me how George I was closely connected with the Hohenzollerns since his son-in-law was Frederick William the "Soldier King of Prussia". If George II died young or childless, and George I failed to produce another male heir (consider that George I had divorced his wife Sophia Dorothea) in 1694, then George I's only daughter, Sophia Dorothea (the younger) shall succeed the British crown sometime in the 1720s or earlier. I am well aware that Hanover operates the Salic Law so Sophia Dorothea's uncle, Ernest Augustus will be the new elector upon George I's death.

Sophia Dorothea was married to Frederick William in 1706 and their son, Frederick II, eventually became the King of Prussia. In this scenario, he would also be King of Britain when her mother died. What will happen in this hypothetical Anglo-Prussian Union? How would Prime Minister Walpole have dealt with a Hohenzollern Queen Sophia? How would British diplomatic strategy be affected by this dynastic union?

A few things to consider here:

I. Ernest Augustus died childless in the original timeline (OTL), if he stilled died childless in this timeline (ITTL), there will be a succession crisis in Hanover. I could theoretically foresee that the electorate will pass to his cousin Louis Rudolph, the ruler of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. But this Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Welf branch was quite distant from the Lüneburg branch since they had been separated since the 1300s so I can see that the claim can be disputed. Besides, Frederick William could see many benefits from supporting his wife to claim the title of electress. Hanover and Brunswick had a sizeable agriculture and mining industry in the 1700s which could be valuable for Prussia. Does it mean that a "War of Hanoverian Succession" will happen?

II. If the electorate alongside Brunswick became the property of the Prussian king, does it mean that the invasion of Silesia in OTL would not happen?

III. Could this Prince Frederick be raised in Britain instead by following his mother, I think that his father Frederick William would not oppose that since inheriting the British crown is far more valuable than the Prussian crown. Will this change his personality and style of governance?

IV. How will this Anglo-Hanoverian-Prussian Union affect the Alliance system in Europe?

V. The Georgian era was a crucial moment for the development of British parliamentary democracy, will this development be affected by a Hohenzollern era?

After all, it would be fun to see Frederick the Great becoming the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and possibly Hanover too.

Note: In case anyone is wondering why Frederick's older sister Wilhemine would not be crowned king, Great Britain in the 18th Century was adopting promigeniture so Frederick took precedence in the order of succession.

 

[Charles EP M.]

As I understand it, parliament had leeway under George 1 and 2 and by the time G3 took the throne the worms were put of the can - for George, anyway. The hypothetical Anglo-Fred may be more effective at pushing back and getting more control due to not being George III. You don't have a king going mad and a regency period too

 

[King Alexander]

As I understand it, parliament had leeway under George 1 and 2 and by the time G3 took the throne the worms were put off the can - for George, anyway. The hypothetical Anglo-Fred may be more effective at pushing back and getting more control due to not being George III. You don't have a king going mad and a regency period too

I think it can go both ways since we will never know how this different King Frederick would be raised. One thing worth considering is that when Frederick was young he followed his mother and became very interested in science, philosophy and art. He wasn't a military man until reconciled with his father in 1732. His mother was more polite and learned and Frederick was very likely to be spending his teenage years in Britain once she became the Queen of England. With his father's authoritarian influence being much weaker, I think this Frederick will be more interested in political philosophy and governance than waging wars. He was a very intelligent man so I think that he would still have some great "political ideas".

By the way, I don't see the British parliament preventing the ascension of Frederick to the throne since this kid would be raised locally most of the time so he would be better adapted to British political norms. Some members of the parliament may loath the idea of an Anglo-Prussian Union, but the Act of Settlement had foreseen and addressed these circumstances. Besides, striking the son of the Queen from the order of succession merely on the grounds of preventing a personal union with a continental state is absurd as they had not done so when George I became king. I see that the British parliament may even see a Union with Prussia as an asset since a stronger continental ally who could better defend itself means that Britain can worry less about continental politics.

In this scenario, the Anglo-Hanoverian-Prussian Union just become the strongest power in Northern Germany. How would the Emperor react? I think that the Anglo-Austrian Alliance may last longer since the Prussian army fighting alongside the Austrian would be very beneficial. Yet he may see this Northern power as a threat and prompted him to ally with the French much sooner.

Thoughts? Things will get interesting when the issue of Austrian succession could no longer be avoided...

Note: Could this War of Hanoverian Sucession coincide with the Anglo Spanish War of 1725 and/or the War of Polish Sucession?

 

[Ciclavex]

You’re not going to see a Anglo-Hanoverian-Prussian Union, because Hanover has strict male primogeniture and there are other branches of the family waiting in the wings if the electoral branch dies out in the male line — and Parliament is extremely unlikely to be inclined to support any kind of dispute of this succession, especially with the prospect of a Prussian union as well coming up the pipe.

There’s a lot of Hanover lines dying and leaving their lines to extinguish in the male in this relatively brief period even in OTL (leading to significant consolidation in the family’s territories in this period), but it will probably ultimately be Ferdinand Albert II from Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel and his issue who inherit Hanover if we change no other children, marriages etc. outside the electoral branch. The union of the two biggest Brunswicks may lead to further consolidation and an individually more powerful Hanover in the later 18th century but detached from Great Britain, politically weaker.

 

[King Alexander]

You’re not going to see a Anglo-Hanoverian-Prussian Union, because Hanover has strict male primogeniture and there are other branches of the family waiting in the wings if the electoral branch dies without issue — and Parliament is extremely unlikely to be inclined to support any kind of dispute of this succession, especially with the prospect of a Prussian union as well coming up the pipe.

There’s a lot of Hanover lines dying and leaving their lines to extinguish in the male in this relatively brief period even in OTL (leading to significant consolidation in the family’s territories in this period), but it will probably ultimately be Ferdinand Albert II from Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel and his issue who inherit Hanover if we change no other children, marriages etc. outside the electoral branch. The union of the two Brunswicks may lead to further consolidation and an individually more powerful Hanover in the later 18th century but detached from Great Britain, politically weaker.

I am well aware of the succession laws in Hanover, so I agree that this different Frederick will not get the Hanoverian throne automatically unless by means of a war of succession which may or may not happen/succeed.
(And yes, I forgot, since Sophia became Queen, Hanover will be automatically detached a la Victoria in OTL, so the British Parliament had reasons not to intervene in the succession since the reigning monarch no longer possesses Hanover.)

Meanwhile, the biggest implication for Germany is that Prussia will stop being an independent actor in Germany for a considerable time. The British parliament was certainly not going to fund any expedition to conquer Silesia so Frederick either fights on his own (which may succeed anyway) or choose not to fight at all.

Note: Just a thought, what are the chances of this different Frederick still marrying Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Same marriage as OTL or any equivalent daughters of the Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel family) -- Marriage alliance with the Hanoverians? If Frederick has a different personality and upbringing, will the couple actually had children this time?

Note 2: Frederick William died in 1740 and Frederick II became king the same year. His mother sophia died in 1757 in OTL so Frederick would first reign as King in Prussia for 17 years before being the King of Britain. So could a war of succession broke out between Hanover and Prussia (but not Britain)? But the marriage between Frederick and Elisabeth Christine had to be butterflied away first. This reminds me of how he seized Silesia under of the pretext of a family claim.

 

[King Alexander]

You’re not going to see a Anglo-Hanoverian-Prussian Union, because Hanover has strict male primogeniture and there are other branches of the family waiting in the wings if the electoral branch dies out in the male line — and Parliament is extremely unlikely to be inclined to support any kind of dispute of this succession, especially with the prospect of a Prussian union as well coming up the pipe.

There’s a lot of Hanover lines dying and leaving their lines to extinguish in the male in this relatively brief period even in OTL (leading to significant consolidation in the family’s territories in this period), but it will probably ultimately be Ferdinand Albert II from Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel and his issue who inherit Hanover if we change no other children, marriages etc. outside the electoral branch. The union of the two biggest Brunswicks may lead to further consolidation and an individually more powerful Hanover in the later 18th century but detached from Great Britain, politically weaker.

Coming back to this, I think there is still a chance that such a personal union can come to fruition with the help of the butterfly effect. Suppose that Ernst Augustus lives a few more years to 1730/31, right at the time of the formation of the Anglo-Austrian alliance. Could King Frederick William try to use his wife (and the Anglo-Prussian alliance) as a way to influence Emperor Charles VI into granting him the "green light" to at least take part of the electorate? Since he now has the backing of Britain (in name only, although the parliament disliked the idea of annexing Hanover) and Austria could not afford to alienate Britain (and by extension, Prussia), I can see the king and emperor sat down at the negotiating table. The Emperor might also want to secure an alliance with Prussia since it is now the second-most-powerful kingdom within the Empire. Maintaining unity within the Empire itself was also important for the Emperor since the succession crisis of the 1740s is going to inevitably happen. Prussia in exchange can offer to support the Emperor, so the invasion of Silesia will not happen and perhaps the Anglo-Austrian alliance can be maintained.

I think the result will be the Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel still keeping Calenburg and the electoral title, but Prussia getting Bremen, Verden, Luneburg and Hoya. While it is true that Britain will do nothing regarding Hanoverian succession, the Prussian side may act.

Another question: Suppose that Sophia was the Queen when the War of Polish Succession happened (Prussia was involved in the war), would the British response be much different than OTL?