The Legacy of the Glorious

The Legacy of the Glorious (El Legado de La Gloriosa in Spanish) is a timeline written by Milarqui in which Prussian prince Leopold zu Hohenzollern Sigmaringen, after consultations by the Spanish government, becomes King of Spain. This leads to a declaration of war by the French Government on Prussia and Spain.

1868
September: La Gloriosa, a revolution of Spanish liberals, dethrones Queen Isabel II, who is exiled to France with her family.

October 7th: the Provisional Government starts to work in order to restore order to Spain and change the nation for the better.

October 10th: the Grito de Yara initiates the Cuban Revolution.

1869
January 15th: the Cortes Constituyentes are voted in, and start to write a new Constitution for Spain.

June 1st: the Spanish Constitution is approved by the Cortes. Spain is defined as a Constitutional Monarchy. Francisco Serrano becomes Regent.

Second half of 1869-First half of 1870: several candidates are considered for the Crown. Many are rejected, others decide to express their wish not to become King of Spain.

1870
June 21st: Eusebio Salazar y Mazarredo, former member of the Spanish diplomatic mission to Berlin, sends a telegram to Madrid: Leopold zu Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen has accepted his candidacy for the Spanish Crown, and he will arrive with the written confirmation on July 6th (POD: in OTL, the telegram erroneously said that he would arrive on July 26th).

July 7th: the Spanish Courts accept Leopold as King Leopoldo I de España.

July 9th: France starts to threaten war if Leopold does not renounce to the crown. President Prim orders mobilization of the Spanish army.

July 12th: Vincent Benedetti, French Ambassador to Prussia, meets with King Wilhelm I of Prussia and asks him to ask Leopold to renounce to the crown.

July 15th: Leopold's father tells Benedetti that Leopold renounces to the crown. Spain is not officially notified.

July 16th: the French army starts to mobilize.

July 17th: Benedetti, under orders of the French Imperial Government, asks Wilhelm I for a written and signed confirmation that Leopold nor any Prussian will become King of Spain, but the King tells him that he has nothing more to say. He will later send a telegram to Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, telling him about the encounter.

July 18th: the Ems telegram, slightly modified by Bismarck, is published. The outrage in France and Prussia is overwhelming. Napoleon III immediately demands apologies from the Prussian King and the definite renounce by all Prussians to the Spanish throne. Carlos María de Borbón y Austria-Este, current Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, meets with Napoleon and asks him to invade Spain and place him as King. Napoleon prefers Alfonso, son of Isabel II, though.

July 19th: Prussia starts to mobilize.

July 20th: France declares war on Prussia and Spain.