Chapter 105: Sophie, Archduchess
Carlo was not in a hurry about the marriage alliance to find a queen, but Vittorio Emanuele II, far away in Rome, was already impatient regarding Carlo’s marriage.
Vittorio Emanuele II and Archduchess Adelaide had a total of eight children, three of whom had already died young.
It had finally been hard to wait until all the remaining children had grown up, and Vittorio Emanuele II eagerly anticipated that all his children could soon have their own marriages, allowing the Savoy bloodline to branch out.
Crown Prince Umberto and Duke Amadeo had already married, and next it was Carlo’s turn, who was about to turn
After learning that Carlo had certain requirements for the queen candidate, Vittorio Emanuele II even asked his new wife Rosa to personally go to Germany, Austria, and Russia to find suitable marriage alliance objects for Carlo.
Although relations between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were not great, Emanuele II still chose to include the Austro-Hungarian Empire as one of the countries to visit, only hoping to find a queen for Carlo who met political interests needs and satisfied Carlo.
Vittorio Emanuele II actually hoped more that this suitable candidate would appear in Germany or in Russia. But Queen Rosa visited Germany and Russia extensively, and there were no age-appropriate marriage alliance objects in either royal family.
There was one in the Romanov Family, but that princess’s appearance was somewhat questionable, and she had a tomboy personality, clearly not Carlo’s type.
Now there was no choice; indeed, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had not yet been actually visited.
Although relations between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were not great, when Queen Rosa arrived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, she was still welcomed by the Habsburg Family.
Although Queen Rosa was a queen from marriage between nobility and commoners, the European Royal Family had long known the purpose of Queen Rosa’s trip, which was not for Italy, but for the King of Spain.
For both reason and sentiment, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would not refuse a marriage alliance with Spain. Moreover, Carlo’s mother Archduchess Adelaide also came from Austrian nobility, and Carlo had half Austrian noble bloodline.
Unlike the German and Russian royal families, the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s royal family not only had suitable marriage alliance objects, but two of them, both daughters of Emperor Franz Joseph of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Eldest daughter Archduchess Sophie Friederike Dorothea Maria Josepha was born on March 5, 1855, and was 16 years old this year, exactly a good age suitable for marriage.
Second daughter Gisela Louise Marie was one year younger than her sister Sophie, also nearly 15 years old this year, and her age matched as well.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire also met Carlo’s requirements; Austria’s industrial strength was still very powerful, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a whole could help Spain, which was also a marriage alliance condition Carlo had personally proposed to Vittorio Emanuele II.
Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, the suitable candidate was still in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Vittorio Emanuele II was somewhat helpless, but for his son’s lifelong matter, he still had Queen Rosa prepare several photographs of Archduchess Sophie and Grand Duchess Gisela, along with brief identity introductions of the two grand duchesses, and send them together to the Madrid Royal Palace in Spain.
If progress went smoothly, engagement could basically be completed this year, and the wedding held the year after next.
Thinking that Carlo’s lifelong matter could finally be resolved, a smile finally appeared on Vittorio Emanuele II’s face, which had not seen smiles for days, and he looked somewhat relaxed.
By the time the letter with the photographs arrived at the Madrid Royal Palace, several days had passed.
Although Vittorio Emanuele II had arranged special personnel to escort this letter, there were no such convenient logistics conditions as in posterity in this era; from Vienna to Madrid, it took at least several days.
When Carlo received this letter, he also felt somewhat helpless. He hadn’t expected that even after transmigrating to this world, he could still enjoy the treatment of being urged to marry; who would believe that the dignified King of Spain was troubled over the queen candidate?
However, this situation was also related to Europe’s rather strict emphasis on bloodline.
Marriage alliances between nobles extremely valued bloodline and matching social status; marriage between nobility and commoners was feasible, but required paying a great price.
If Carlo married a girl of relatively low status, the offspring born would not have the right to inherit the Spanish throne.
This alone was fatal, directly narrowing Carlo’s queen candidate to a very small range, basically only princesses from European countries’ royal families and daughters of some grand dukes.
Carlo also had to consider the help the marriage alliance object could provide to Spain, narrowing this already small range even further, to just a scant few people.
Considering age and whether personality matched, finding a suitable marriage was simply extremely difficult.
Although somewhat helpless, Carlo still decided to look at this letter. After all, it was sent in Vittorio Emanuele II’s name, and Carlo had long told his father about the conditions regarding marriage alliances, so Vittorio Emanuele II would not casually send a letter.
Opening this letter, what came into view were several photographs and a white paper with a brief introduction.
Actually, no extensive introduction was needed, because royal family members of various countries were not too big a secret; a little investigation could obtain the relevant information.
The important thing was still the photographs. There were four photographs in total, two each for the two female protagonists. In terms of looks, both princesses were quite beautiful.
And when seeing their identity introductions, Carlo felt some doubt.
Carlo still remembered Grand Duchess Gisela; this princess married Prince Leopold of Bavaria, who was a formidable figure.
Prince Leopold obtained a Grand Iron Cross medal, and this medal was issued only five times in World War I, to Kaiser Wilhelm II, Hindenburg, Ludendorff, Mackensen, and Prince Leopold.
These five people were all renowned, and apart from Wilhelm II, the others all had outstanding talents in military command, and were also extremely excellent military generals of the German Empire during World War I.
The love story of Franz Joseph and his wife Princess Sisi was still quite famous in posterity, and Carlo, as a senior enthusiast of foreign history, naturally knew about it.
This couple had only four children in total, and Carlo certainly knew who this so-called Archduchess Sophie was; she was Franz Joseph’s eldest daughter.
However, Carlo’s vague memory faintly recalled that this grand duchess seemed to have died of typhoid fever at two years old; how was she still alive and well now?
Could his arrival have caused a change in the world line? Carlo was a bit confused, but thinking that his original body had also died young in childhood, similar to this Archduchess Sophie’s destiny, he suddenly felt some interest.
Although marriage alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire was only Carlo’s backup plan, it seemed at present that it could only be the only choice.
This letter also mentioned the current situation of the German and Russian royal families; unless choosing collateral branches of the Hohenzollern and Romanov Family, there were no suitable princesses for marriage alliance with Carlo.
After carefully looking at the several photographs, Carlo had a decision in his heart.
Compared to 15-year-old Grand Duchess Gisela, Carlo was more willing to choose the 16-year-old Archduchess Sophie. Apart from age factors, another point was that Archduchess Sophie’s looks were higher than Grand Duchess Gisela’s.
Since both had the same status, Carlo naturally preferred the better-looking one; at least she looked more comfortable, right?
However, choice was one thing; the specific arrangements still needed to be handled by Queen Rosa. At least one or two banquets to meet were needed before marriage alliance matters could be discussed.
After writing a reply letter to Vittorio Emanuele II, Carlo also began preparing for a visit to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Whether the marriage alliance was suitable still needed to be seen in person; Carlo would not rashly decide his lifelong matter just from seeing photographs.
Additionally, visiting the Austro-Hungarian Empire had other purposes, such as seeking loans from Austrian capital, and seeking industrial support from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Although the Austrian Empire had been defeated in the war with Prussia, the current Austro-Hungarian Empire was still at the mid-to-upper level among great powers, much stronger than Italy, which was at the lower end of great powers.
If ranking national strength, the Austro-Hungarian Empire could completely rank as world fifth after Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, and the gap with France, Germany, and Russia was not too large.
Currently, among great powers, only Britain was leading by a clear margin, and Britain achieved industrial economy’s overwhelming lead thanks to its powerful navy and India’s support.
However, such a lead could not last much longer. With the successive rise of Germany and the United States, the gap between Britain and other great powers would grow smaller, ultimately erased by war after war.
As one of the German states, Austria’s industrial level had always been first-class in Europe. Their cannon designs were not weak either, and they produced many physics and chemistry geniuses.
Not to mention anything else, with support from Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Carlo had greater confidence to occupy the entire Congo River Basin.
The biggest competitors here were Britain and France; the Germans were more like disruptors. Considering the gap between Britain and France and Spain, the Germans definitely would not support Britain and France, and were more likely to support Spain.
Even if Germany remained neutral, with Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy’s support, Carlo did not need to worry about colonial competition with Britain and France.
Moreover, in a few years, the Three Emperors Alliance would be established, and the beginning of the Three Emperors Alliance was the alliance between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia.
From this perspective, through marriage alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Spain could establish relations with Germany and Russia.
Although these relations were not so solid, the Russians definitely would not support Britain, which was completely exploitable.
As long as conceding some interests to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany, these two countries could basically be made to support Spain’s colonial action in the Congo.
Moreover, the partition of Africa by various countries and the scramble for the Congo River Basin would not happen for several more years; by then, Spain would also have recovered certain strength through reforms.
To a certain extent, Carlo really was not afraid of the British threat. As the saying goes, those who have nothing to lose do not fear those who have something to lose; Spain could afford to lose Cuba and the Philippines, but could the British afford to lose India?
Dragging it out with Spain was not beneficial for the British, who had colonies all over the world and troubles needing to be dealt with everywhere.
Second update, seeking support!
