“No way, have these potential marriage partners already been thoroughly vetted by my own mother?” Charles’s eyelids twitched slightly.
Then, he began to ponder in his heart. Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, who was also the nephew of Charles’s grandmother Empress Maria Theresa’s old rival—the current King Frederick II of Prussia, had a sexual orientation problem that, along with his military command talent, was equally talked about by later generations. This was because under the coercion of his father, the previous King of Prussia known as the “Soldier King,” Friedrich Wilhelm I, Frederick II entered a political marriage with a queen he disliked—Princess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern, and the couple remained childless.
After Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm was made Crown Prince by Frederick II in 1758, it was clear to everyone that he would soon inherit his uncle’s throne and become the future King Frederick Wilhelm II of Prussia.
After all, Frederick II was already seventy-two years old this year, and if history did not deviate too much from its original course, this monarch, who had spent his life in battle, would bid farewell to the world he cherished two years later.
An alliance with Prussia was indeed not a wise choice. It should be known that after the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War, the Austrian Habsburg Dynasty and the Prussian Hohenzollern Dynasty had formed a deep animosity.
Although it is said that there are no eternal enemies or friends between countries, only eternal interests, not many years had passed since the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. Many of the generals and veterans who participated in those two great wars were still alive, and they would absolutely not accept the future Empress of the Holy Roman Empire being a princess from their archenemy, Prussia.
After all, the national enmity and family hatred of losing Silesia during the War of the Austrian Succession still lingered, and they would find it emotionally difficult to accept that the future Empress, the wife of Crown Prince Charles, would be a Prussian princess.
Furthermore, the opinion of Prince Kaunitz-Rietberg, Prime Minister, who had been hostile to Prussia his entire life, could not be ignored, even if this old minister had gradually begun to withdraw from the Viennese Court after Empress Maria Theresa’s death.
Even when Empress Maria Theresa was still reigning, Prince Kaunitz-Rietberg had gone to great lengths to form the “Three Petticoats” alliance, painstakingly drawing in France and Russia to encircle and resist Prussia, and it could not be easily broken.
If news of an Austrian-Prussian marriage alliance spread, causing dismay among the French and Russians, it would be a situation no one wished to see.
Initially, Prince Kaunitz-Rietberg had intended to arrange a marriage for Crown Prince Charles with a princess from France or Russia, but currently, neither France nor Russia had a marriageable princess of a similar age to Charles, so that option had to be abandoned.
So, the only options left were princesses from the British and Portuguese royal families.
“Father, Mother, I’ve made up my mind. I choose Princess Auguste Sophie, the second daughter of British King George III,” Charles finally said after a long period of thought.
“You’ve finally made up your mind.” Seeing their son relent, Joseph II and Empress Isabella exchanged glances, both breathing a sigh of relief.
“Have I made up my mind? I really have no other choice!” Charles looked at his parents helplessly.
After passing on Princess Friederike Charlotte of Prussia, Charles immediately also passed on Princess Mariana Victoria of Portugal.
She was the eldest daughter of Queen Maria I of Portugal and King Pedro III of Portugal, and what was even more astounding was that Pedro III was Maria I’s paternal uncle!
Although in this era, intermarriage among European royal families had been a centuries-old custom, the strange phenomenon of uncle-niece marriage was still uncommon.
However, before the Spanish Habsburg Dynasty died out, there was indeed a strange phenomenon of uncle-niece marriage between the Spanish Habsburg Dynasty and the Austrian Habsburg Dynasty, a large family.
However, with the extinction of the Spanish Habsburg and Austrian Habsburg Dynasties in 1700 and 1740 respectively, this strange phenomenon of intermarriage finally disappeared.
Strictly speaking, the current term “Habsburg Dynasty” is not precise; it should be called the “Habsburg-Lorraine Dynasty,” because Charles’s grandfather, the previous Holy Roman Emperor Franz I, was the Duke of Lorraine and added his wife’s, Charles’s grandmother Empress Maria Theresa’s, surname before his own.
As for a situation like Princess Mariana Victoria’s, Charles could only keep his distance. After all, her father was her mother’s paternal uncle, and who knew what family genetic diseases she might carry.
If Charles remembered correctly, in original history, Princess Mariana Victoria only lived to be twenty years old, which was probably not unrelated to her parents being close relatives. Although medical conditions were still backward in this era and average life expectancy was not high, such situations among royal family members usually indicated poor health due to parental consanguineous marriages.
Furthermore, royal marriages between two countries were not for the purpose of love, but rather a disguised alliance based on the overall national strength and various other aspects of both countries, considering whether the marriage would be beneficial to each other.
Clearly, a marriage between Austria and Portugal, if not entirely unhelpful to Austria, would be nearly so.
As the two countries do not share a border, there are no inherent conflicts of interest. As a traditional land power, Austria, due to its short coastline, also suffered from an inherent naval weakness to some extent. Compared to overseas expansion, Austria still prioritized maintaining its hegemony in Central Europe and the German regions, and strengthening its position as an old European land power. Therefore, compared to traditional sea powers like England, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, Austria was not enthusiastic about developing its navy.
Although Portugal was also a traditional naval power, its limited land and sparse population had long determined that its potential would not be too high. Furthermore, since the Portuguese Restoration War in 1640, when Portugal gained independence from Spain, its proximity to the formidable enemy Spain and its own weak national strength meant that it could only rely on England to ensure its independent status.
To put it bluntly, Portugal could now be considered a semi-vassal state of England. What assistance could a marriage with such a country provide to Austria?
Finally, after much deliberation, only the British royal family remained as an option.
And among George III’s three daughters, Charles had also given it some thought before choosing Auguste Sophie.
Among George III’s three adult daughters, Auguste Sophie was the longest-lived. Born in the same year as Charles, she lived until 1840 in original history, when the Opium War had already begun. Seventy-two years old is considered a ripe old age by any measure, and at the very least, her health status was undoubtedly sound.
As for the hemophilia of the Hanover Dynasty, that came later with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; before them, members of the Hanover royal family did not have hemophilia.
“You have chosen Princess Auguste Sophie, the second daughter of George III, who is the same age as you, sixteen years old. That’s good,” Joseph II nodded and said, “Prince Kaunitz-Rietberg’s initial suggestion to your mother and me was also for you to choose a princess from the British royal family for marriage. As for which one, that is your own freedom. Now that you have chosen, it saves your mother and me the trouble of persuading you.”
“What? You two conspired to trick me, didn’t you?” Charles’s mouth was so wide open he could almost fit a goose egg in it. “What kind of freedom is this? What kind of parents conspire to trick their own son?”
Empress Isabella gave her eldest son a helpless look, then nestled into Emperor Joseph’s arms.
Seeing his affectionate parents, Charles, who was currently single, hugged his sister Auguste and turned to leave, out of sight, out of mind. He didn't want to see his parents showering affection on each other.