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Post by greenhert on Oct 7, 2021 20:42:41 GMT
What do you believe would have happened if any of Queen Anne's children had survived her? William lived to the age of 11, and theoretically could have made it to adulthood.
Or what if William III and Mary II were able to conceive an heir after all (was there a fertility issue in this case?)?
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Post by iainbhx on Oct 8, 2021 19:54:13 GMT
Or what if William III and Mary II were able to conceive an heir after all (was there a fertility issue in this case?)? I believe the technical term is "as queer as a nine-bob note". |
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Post by Richard Cromwell on Oct 8, 2021 20:52:51 GMT
William, would've been an Oldenburg surely, and not a Stuart?
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Post by Peter Wilkinson on Oct 9, 2021 21:45:23 GMT
What do you believe would have happened if any of Queen Anne's children had survived her? William lived to the age of 11, and theoretically could have made it to adulthood. Or what if William III and Mary II were able to conceive an heir after all (was there a fertility issue in this case?)? A few points here: - As has already been mentioned in part, neither of the suggestions you make here would have been looked upon as continuations of the Stuart dynasty. Any children of Queen Anne and her husband, Prince George of Denmark, would have been counted as members of the Oldenburg family, the family then (and still, in another branch) occupying the Danish throne. Any children of William and Mary would have been counted as members of the house of Orange.
- While Queen Anne's son William of Gloucester could theoretically have made it to adulthood, the most relevant word there seems to be "theoretically" - Queen Anne had something like 16 other children, none of whom survived more than a couple of years or so, and William had congenital health problems which would have made his long-term survival into adulthood slightly dubious even today. And the succession problem caused by his death would only have been delayed even if he had survived, unless and until he had healthy children of his own (And he might well have been infertile, even if he had lived long enough).
- And there are significant differences between the situation if William of Gloucester had survived; if one of Queen Anne's daughters had survived; and if any children of William III and Mary II had been born and survived (and if any of them were sons).
- If William of Gloucester had survived, he would have had a claim to the throne of Denmark if and when all descendants in the male line of George of Denmark's elder brother had died (this eventually happened, but only in 1863), and otherwise no claims to continental territories. Any daughter of Queen Anne would not even have had this claim, but who she married would have been one of the great British political questions of the early 18th century.
- William III, though, had been both Stadholder of Holland and most other Dutch provinces and the largest private landowner (with substantial attached feudal rights) in the United Provinces. The stadholderates and associated political positions were effectively elective - but a son (and, to a lesser extent, the husband of any daughter) of William III would have had a strong claim to these posts and, even without them, substantial private and political interests in the United Provinces. And the claims of any daughter (or her husband) would have been contested but still not negligible.
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neilm
Non-Aligned
Posts: 25,023
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Post by neilm on Oct 10, 2021 11:49:42 GMT
Or what if William III and Mary II were able to conceive an heir after all (was there a fertility issue in this case?)? I believe the technical term is "as queer as a nine-bob note". Interesting, I've not heard that before. |
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Post by finsobruce on Oct 10, 2021 17:16:18 GMT
I believe the technical term is "as queer as a nine-bob note". Interesting, I've not heard that before. Although originally it just meant suspect or dodgy. It is preceded by the American expression "As queer as a three dollar bill". |
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cibwr
Plaid Cymru
Posts: 3,558 
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Post by cibwr on Oct 10, 2021 17:37:22 GMT
Or what if William III and Mary II were able to conceive an heir after all (was there a fertility issue in this case?)? I believe the technical term is "as queer as a nine-bob note". Not that it has stopped other gay monarchs from producing heirs...... |
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neilm
Non-Aligned
Posts: 25,023
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Post by neilm on Oct 10, 2021 17:49:13 GMT
Interesting, I've not heard that before. Although originally it just meant suspect or dodgy. It is preceded by the American expression "As queer as a three dollar bill". Oh I've heard the phrase before, just not applied to William III. |
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Post by finsobruce on Oct 10, 2021 17:50:30 GMT
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Post by Richard Cromwell on Oct 11, 2021 10:45:23 GMT
A consolidated Anglo-Dutch Pseudo-Republican Empire would make for quite an interesting story.
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