I am the Crown Prince of France

Ludwig IX, who generally leaned towards Prussia in political matters, made a surprising proposal in his "initiative." He suggested that if the Southern Netherlands insisted on breaking away from Austrian rule, they must elect a king to govern them. If they failed to do so, the parliament of the Southern Netherlands should not be recognized by any monarch.

This initiative had already gained the support of ten countries, including Spain, France, Bavaria, and Mainz.

What shocked the Marquis of Wellesley the most was that Austria was one of the signatories of this initiative.

However, he quickly realized the reasoning behind this. Austria had signed onto the part stating that the parliament of the Southern Netherlands should not be recognized by any monarch. They were confident that the Southern Netherlands would never agree to elect a king. The parliament was currently controlled by Vandernoot and his faction of liberals, who would rather face the gallows than elect a king.

In reality, Austria was the biggest driving force behind this "Southern Netherlands Initiative." And, of course, the idea came from none other than Joseph II's beloved nephew.

Wellesley angrily jabbed his cane into the ground and cursed Ludwig IX under his breath.

If Britain now demanded that the Southern Netherlands elect a king, it would essentially push the parliament of the Southern Netherlands into direct opposition to Britain. But if Britain rejected the initiative, it would isolate itself from the rest of Europe.

Wellesley immediately ordered his entourage to set off, traveling through the night to Potsdam.

A few days later, after promising William II a subsidy of £500,000 and agreeing to let Prussia handle all matters in the Southern Netherlands without British interference, Wellesley finally managed to ease Prussia's suspicions.

Then, he hurried off to Saxony...

Meanwhile, London was swarming with diplomats from various countries.

British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger was exhausted, spending his days receiving diplomats, explaining that Britain had no intention of exporting revolution. He was also frequently summoned by King George III, who was anxiously inquiring about the situation.

On top of this, the Whigs in Parliament took every opportunity to attack him. Charles Fox even attempted to initiate a vote of no confidence, which was only narrowly averted by the King's intervention.

After weeks of turmoil, Pitt and King George III eventually issued an official statement.

In the statement, Britain first denied any involvement in the recent French unrest. Then, it expressed disapproval of the current political situation in the Southern Netherlands but did not endorse the idea of electing a king. Finally, it promised to "suggest" that Hanoverian troops gradually withdraw from the Southern Netherlands and did not oppose Austria's reassertion of control over the region.

After these significant concessions and Wellesley's diplomatic efforts to reassure other nations by giving up some British interests, the international outcry against Britain began to subside.

With normal operations resumed, the British Parliament started addressing the backlog of issues, including a proposal from Lord Talmoss, the envoy to the Maghreb. The proposal recommended making tariff concessions to Morocco and establishing it as the North African hub for textile trade.

However, since Wellesley was still busy extinguishing diplomatic fires in Italy over the "exporting revolution" issue and unable to attend parliamentary inquiries, the proposal was temporarily shelved.

Meanwhile, a beleaguered Wellesley finally completed his diplomatic missions and headed to Brussels to assess the progress of his earlier plans.

According to his strategy, Vandernoot was supposed to send agents to incite unrest in the Walloon region, hopefully spreading chaos to Luxembourg.

He knew that France had made significant investments in Luxembourg, so destabilizing the region would be a crucial bargaining chip in negotiating the situation in India with France.

However, just as he reached the Southern Netherlands border, he received orders from Prime Minister Pitt, instructing him to cease all contact with the Southern Netherlands parliament and return to London immediately.

King George III had been pushed to the brink of another mental breakdown by the accusations of "exporting revolution"—he suffered from porphyria[Note 1]and had only recently recovered from his last episode a few months earlier.

The entire British royal family was on edge, fearing that any further stress might trigger another bout of madness. They repeatedly insisted that Pitt avoid getting involved in the Southern Netherlands' liberal issues.

When Wellesley finally returned to London, he discovered that his promises to Morocco had been stuck in Parliament.

After all his diplomatic maneuvering and the cold reception he received in Europe, he had nearly forgotten about this issue. He rushed to Parliament to explain the details of the trade-offs and pushed for a vote to approve the concessions.

By the time Morocco actually received the benefits promised by Britain, nearly three months had passed since Wellesley's initial trip to North Africa.

During this time, news reached Britain that Lord Cornwallis's campaign in Mysore had faltered, that he was requesting more troops, and that Mysore had fully occupied Travancore and was advancing on Carnatic.

London was in an uproar...

Paris.

Mars Hall, Versailles Palace.

"Your Majesty, you've won nine rounds in a row! You're at the peak of your luck right now," said a seven or eight-year-old Russian girl sitting obediently beside Queen Marie Antoinette, her bright blue eyes watching the Queen intently. "I think you should trust your instincts and keep going."

"Alright, darling, I'll follow your advice." The Queen chuckled, grabbing a handful of gold écus and placing them on the "banker" spot on the table. "I feel this round will be the banker again!"

The little girl popped a piece of cake into her mouth, muttering under her breath, "If you keep winning like this, my uncle will stop nagging me about France's financial problems… Oh, this is so sweet. Do the chefs have access to duty-free sugar?"

If it weren't for the Queen's enthusiastic invitation—and her uncle's constant urging—she would have much preferred to avoid this dull place.

The dealer calmly announced, "Banker wins."

"Wow, ten wins in a row!" Queen Marie Antoinette leaped up in excitement, turning to hug Alexandra and giving her a big kiss. "You're my angel, dear. Ten in a row! Do you know how long it's been since I've won like this?"

Ever since she learned that her son was interested in this young girl, the Queen frequently invited her to Versailles for various balls, concerts, and gambling games, hoping to give her son opportunities to court her.

Unfortunately, Joseph had been so busy that he rarely attended social events, leaving the Queen to grow increasingly fond of the little girl herself.

As Marie Antoinette embraced Alexandra, she couldn't help but think of her niece. With a sigh, she wondered how wonderful it would be if Joseph had liked Clémentine instead. Then it would be Clémentine standing beside her now...

Suddenly, she recalled how last year, when Clémentine had joined her for gambling, she hadn't won much at all. In fact, during one particularly bad streak, she lost 17 times in a row and had been so frustrated that she couldn't sleep for half the night.

Looking again at Alexandra, that sense of regret she had felt now seemed to fade significantly.

Note 1: Porphyria is a group of disorders caused by a buildup of natural chemicals that produce porphyrin in your body. It can be a congenital disease or acquired later in life. Major symptoms include sensitivity to light, digestive issues, and neurological problems.

(End of Chapter)

Friends, if you want to read chapters in advance, subscribe to my patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/johanssen10