Board Thread:Timeline Discussions/@comment-33689772-20180220024811

This is a major POD that hasn’t really been used that much but has far reaching consequences. Basically, William IV dies before becoming king, so Victoria becomes queen in 1830 with her mother, the Archduchess of Kent, as regent. In OTL Victoria already had bad health during this period. In this timeline, with the conflict between Victoria and her mother (happened OTL, and it’s reasonable to assume it would be worse here) and the stress of being Queen eventually results in her dying of the severe fever she got in 1835 OTL. Due to succession laws being complicated, between 1830 and 1835 Hanover ends up being independent under Ernest Augustus (OTL a few years early) but then in 1835 Ernest Augustus inherits the British throne as well. So Britain gets “absolutist German oh noes” 2.0.

Effects:

1. German unification will be very different than OTL-German nationalists and Prussia will have to fight Britain in addition to Austria and France. 2. The UK will be more conservative and the monarchy will have more power than OTL... or this could result in a liberal backlash. Who knows? 3. Butterflies. Lots of butterflies. 