Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 114: Chapter 103: Grand Duchess Sophie

Carlo wasn’t in a hurry to seek a marriage alliance and find a queen, but far away in Rome, Vittorio Emanuele II was quite anxious about Carlo’s marriage.

Vittorio Emanuele II and Grand Duchess Adelaide had a total of eight children, three of whom had already passed away.

Now, with the remaining children finally reaching adulthood, Vittorio Emanuele II eagerly anticipated that all his children would soon have marriages of their own, hoping the Savoy bloodline would expand and flourish.

Crown Prince Umberto and Duke Amadeo were already married, and next in line was Carlo, who was about to turn 20.

Upon learning that Carlo had certain requirements for a queen, Vittorio Emanuele II further instructed his new wife, Rosa, to personally visit Germany, Austria, and Russia to find a suitable alliance candidate for Carlo.

Despite the less than perfect relations between Italy and Austria-Hungary, Emanuele II decided to include Austria-Hungary as one of the countries for consideration, hoping to find a queen for Carlo who would satisfy both political interests and Carlo’s personal preferences.

Vittorio Emanuele II actually hoped a suitable candidate would appear in Germany or Russia. However, Queen Rosa scoured both German and Russian royal families but found no suitable candidates of an appropriate age.

In the Romanov family, there was one, but that princess’s appearance was somewhat lacking, with a tomboyish demeanor, clearly not the type Carlo preferred.

Now, with no other choice, Austria-Hungary remained the only option left unexamined.

Despite the strained relations between Italy and Austria-Hungary, when Queen Rosa arrived in Austria-Hungary, she was warmly welcomed by the Habsburg family.

Though Queen Rosa was a queen of noble-commoner marriage, the European Royal Family already understood that her visit was not for Italy, but for the King of Spain.

By all accounts, Austria-Hungary would not refuse a marriage alliance with Spain. Furthermore, Carlo’s mother, Grand Duchess Adelaide, was from Austrian nobility, meaning Carlo had half Austrian noble blood.

Unlike the German and Russian royal families, the Austrian-Hungarian royal family not only had suitable candidates for marriage but two, both daughters of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary.

The eldest daughter, Archduchess Sophie Frederica Dorothea Maria Josepha, was born on March 5, 1855, making her 16 years old this year, a very suitable age for marriage.

The second daughter, Gisela Luisa Mary, was a year younger than her sister Sophie, also around 15 this year, making her age just as suitable.

Austria-Hungary also met Carlo’s requirements, as Austria’s industrial strength was still very robust, and Austria-Hungary, as a whole, could assist Spain, which was one of the marriage alliance conditions Carlo personally proposed to Vittorio Emanuele II.

Unexpectedly, after extensive search, the suitable candidate was indeed still in Austria-Hungary.

Vittorio Emanuele II was somewhat resigned but, for the sake of his son’s lifelong matter, instructed Queen Rosa to prepare some photographs of Archduchesses Sophie and Gisela, along with a brief introduction of the two ladies, and sent them to the Madrid Royal Palace in Spain.

If things went smoothly, they could finalize the engagement this year and hold the wedding in the next year or two.

Thinking that Carlo’s lifelong matter was finally resolved, a hint of a smile returned to the face of Vittorio Emanuele II, who hadn’t smiled for days, appearing a bit more relaxed.

By the time the letter with the photographs reached the Madrid Royal Palace, several days had passed.

Although Vittorio Emanuele II had arranged special personnel to escort this letter, the logistics of this era were not as convenient as in modern times. It would take at least several days from Vienna to Madrid.

When Carlo received this letter, he felt a bit helpless. He hadn’t expected that, even after traveling to this world, he would still encounter the pressure to marry. Who would believe that the King of Spain would struggle with the choice of a queen?

However, this situation was also related to the strict emphasis on bloodlines in Europe.

Marriages among nobles highly valued bloodlines and social status. Although noble-commoner marriages were possible, they required a substantial price to be paid.

If Carlo married a girl of relatively low status, their offspring would not be eligible to inherit the Spanish throne.

This particular issue was crucial, narrowing the choice for Carlo’s queen to a very small range, basically only to princesses from European royal families and daughters of grand dukes.

Considering the help the marriage partner could offer Spain further shrunk this already small range, leaving only a few candidates.

Considering age and suitability of character, finding a suitable marriage was extremely difficult.

Despite feeling a bit helpless, Carlo decided to look at the letter. After all, it was sent in the name of Vittorio Emanuele II, and Carlo had long informed his father of the conditions for an alliance, so Vittorio Emanuele II would not have sent the letter lightly.

Opening the letter, he first saw several photographs and a piece of paper with a brief introduction.

There wasn’t much need for an extensive introduction, since the members of various royal families were not a big secret. A little investigation could yield the relevant information.

The importance lay in the photographs. There were four in total, two per lady. In terms of appearance, both princesses were quite beautiful.

“`

Upon seeing their introductions, Carlo found himself a bit puzzled.

Carlo still remembered Grand Duchess Gisela; this princess had married Prince Leopold of Bavaria, who was quite a formidable figure.

Prince Leopold was awarded a Grand Iron Cross, and during World War I, only five of these were issued, to German Emperor William II, Hindenburg, Ludendorff, Mackensen, and Prince Leopold.

Each of these five individuals was renowned; apart from William II, the others all had outstanding military command abilities, and were exceptional military leaders of the German Empire during the war.

The love story of Franz Joseph and his wife, Princess Sisi, remained famous in later generations, and Carlo, as a deep enthusiast of foreign history, naturally knew about it.

The couple had only four children in total, and of course, Carlo knew who the so-called Grand Duchess Sophie was—Franz Joseph’s eldest daughter.

However, Carlo vaguely remembered that this Grand Duchess seemed to have died of typhoid at the age of two, so why was she still alive and well now?

Could it be that his arrival had caused a shift in the world’s timeline? Carlo was a bit at a loss but considering his original self also died young like this Grand Duchess Sophie, he suddenly felt somewhat intrigued.

Although forming a marriage alliance with Austria-Hungary was only Carlo’s backup plan, it seemed that it could only be the sole choice now.

The letter also mentioned the current situations of the German and Russian royal families, and unless he chose matrimonial ties with collateral branches of the Hohenzollern and Romanov families, there were no suitable princesses for Carlo to marry.

After carefully examining a few photos, Carlo made up his mind.

Compared to the 15-year-old Grand Duchess Gisela, Carlo preferred the 16-year-old Grand Duchess Sophie. Besides age, another factor was that Grand Duchess Sophie was more attractive than Grand Duchess Gisela.

Since both held the same status, Carlo naturally chose the prettier one, at least for a more pleasant appearance, didn’t he?

However, choosing was one thing, but the specific arrangements had to be completed later by Queen Rosa. At the very least, they had to meet once or twice at some banquets to discuss the related matrimonial matters.

After writing a letter back to Vittorio Emanuele II, Carlo also began preparing for his visit to Austria-Hungary.

Whether the marriage was appropriate still needed a personal look to be clear, as Carlo wouldn’t hastily decide on his lifelong matters just by looking at photos.

Additionally, the visit to Austria-Hungary served other purposes, such as seeking loans from Austrian capital and seeking industrial support from Austria-Hungary.

Although the Austrian Empire was defeated by Prussia in war, the current Austria-Hungary was still a medium-strong power among the great powers, much stronger than Italy, which lagged behind the great powers.

If one had to evaluate national strength, Austria-Hungary could completely rank as the world’s fifth after the UK, France, Germany, and Russia, and the gap between it and France, Germany, and Russia wasn’t too large.

Currently, among the great powers, only the UK was leading a gap, and the UK achieved this industrial and economic edge due to its powerful navy and the backing of India.

However, this lead wouldn’t last long. With the rise of Germany and the United States, the gap between the UK and other powers would narrow, eventually eliminated by one war after another.

As a German state, Austria’s industrial level had always been first-rate in Europe. Even in the design of artillery, they weren’t weak, and many physics and chemistry talents were born.

Needless to say, with the support of Italy and Austria-Hungary, Carlo had more confidence to occupy the entire Congo River Basin.

The biggest competitors here were the UK and France, and the Germans were more of an interloper. Considering the gap between the UK, France, and Spain, the Germans certainly wouldn’t support the UK and France, and were more likely to support Spain.

Even if Germany remained neutral, Carlo with the support of Austria-Hungary and Italy wouldn’t have to worry about colonial competition with the UK and France.

Furthermore, in just a few years, the Triple Alliance would be formed, which started with the treaty between Austria-Hungary and Russia.

So it seemed that through a marriage alliance with Austria-Hungary, Spain could establish relationships with Germany and Russia.

Although these relations weren’t very solid, the Russians definitely wouldn’t support the UK, which could be exploited.

By conceding some interests to Austria-Hungary and Germany, these two countries could basically support Spain’s colonial actions in Congo.

Furthermore, the division of Africa and the competition for the Congo River Basin among various countries would have to wait for several years, and by then, Spain would have regained some strength through reform.

To some extent, Carlo was truly not afraid of the British threat. As the saying goes, those with bare feet aren’t afraid of those with shoes; Spain could bear losing Cuba and the Philippines, but could the British bear losing India?

Prolonging matters with Spain wasn’t beneficial for the British; why would they want to, with colonies all over the globe, carrying all sorts of problems to solve?