War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

UK, London, Downing Street.

Robert Peel, the leader of the Royalists, was embarrassed by the fact that he was not welcomed by the Queen for so long.

In order to regain the Queen's attention, Robert Peel publicly declared that when it comes to personnel appointments in the Queen's Palace, he will definitely listen to Queen Victoria's opinions and will not easily change the personnel around the Queen.

What Robert Peel said is true. He does have this power in theory as Prime Minister, but his words are very harsh, and to ordinary people, it seems that the Prime Minister controls the Queen.

This was especially the case with the Chartists, whose demands were not met and were suppressed. At first they got a promise from the Queen and the group disbanded.

However, the Whig government at the time did not acknowledge the debt, and Prime Minister Viscount Melbourne even claimed that "even if the North Sea is filled up, it will not be able to increase wages for workers."

But with the Whigs out of power, the pressure came to Robert Peel. The ill-fated politician had to endure much that he should not have suffered.

At this time, Britain's domestic economic crisis was coupled with the labor movement and riots in overseas colonies. There seems to be a fungal disease in agriculture, and the grain harvest may fail this year.

Of course, although a bad harvest is a bad thing for Britain, it is a good thing for him personally. After all, he can better promote his theory (free trade).

Internationally, Britain had almost no good relations with all the great powers at this time. The Whigs had suppressed France too much before, even leading to the crisis in La Plata (Argentina).

Wanted to isolate the Russians, but accidentally pushed Russia to the Austrian side. Conflicts with the United States continued, especially in the Oregon region, where the number of Americans had completely overwhelmed the number of British colonists.

Although the Oregon region is still managed by the British, if no action is taken, it will only be a matter of time before it is lost.

The issue of which side to take during the Luxembourg crisis offended the entire German Confederation, and even Hanover, the queen's home town, had to draw a clear line with Britain.

This was a huge diplomatic disaster in the eyes of Robert Peel.

In order to prevent Austria from becoming a dominant player in Central Europe, especially the possible annexation of Italy, Britain set up many obstacles, but it seemed to get nothing except jealousy from Austria.

Austria still has unparalleled influence in Italy, and countries like Serbia and the Ottomans can hardly pose a threat to it.

In addition, a grand duke of the Habsburg family seems to have accepted the invitation of the Jacobite party. This can be regarded as Austria's counterattack against Britain's increasing pressure.

However, Robert Peel did not take this matter to heart at this time, because Britain now has almost no allies around the world, and war may break out at any time. Even the proud industries suffered frequent setbacks.

Robert Peel felt that his burden seemed to be heavy. Just as he was thinking of a solution, the Queen seemed to fall in love with sea voyages.

This was an inconsequential matter, but the Queen's chosen destination was Paris.

This is worth pondering. Although the Queen may only take it as a private trip (visiting relatives), the political value it may bring is immeasurable.

Robert Peel planned to use this to ease relations with France, because France was both his opponent and best ally in his quest for world hegemony.

After all, both countries have the same enemy - the Holy Alliance. The Triple Alliance of Russia, Prussia and Austria is too powerful. The so-called continental balance of power policy does not want a peaceful, prosperous and powerful Europe.

Instead, it is a Europe that is in chaos, unable to confront Britain, and full of business opportunities.

The French naturally became Britain's natural allies, because the Vienna System itself was a yoke that restricted France. A ferocious beast cannot be willing to be trapped in a cage for its entire life, and the same is true for France.

This is exactly what Robert Peel wanted to crack, and the Queen's trip is undoubtedly of great value.

This will be the first time Queen Victoria has set foot on foreign soil (Hanover used to be a commonwealth of Britain), and will also be the first person to visit France since Henry VIII (the King of Gluttony, reportedly with a waist circumference of 155cm) in 1520. of the British monarch.

Of course, this is not a show of goodwill, it is just showing another possibility to the French, and it is a signal of cooperation. It is also a warning to Russia, Prussia and Austria. Britain is not without allies.

However, this trip did not go smoothly because Queen Victoria had been assassinated before. And not just once.

At the same time, their queen is a little reckless.

Sunday, May 29, 1842.

Queen Victoria was passing through Green Park in a carriage. When she was joking with Prince Albert, she accidentally opened the window and saw a man pointing a pistol at her not far away.

When the man saw Queen Victoria looking in his direction, he immediately blended into the crowd and ran away. The Queen did not say anything afterwards, but decided to "pass by" Green Park again that afternoon.

Although the accompanying ministers tried their best to stop it, Queen Victoria still insisted on going her own way. She said, "I would rather take a risk than live in danger all the time."

Eventually the Queen passed through Green Park for the second time, and this time the prepared Royal Guards did not let the assassin escape.

However, the Queen's behavior frightened the British Parliament and ministers, in case Victoria was assassinated in France, or even died in France.

What should the British government do?

Due to the Queen's people-friendly attitude and hard-working attitude when she first came to the throne, she won a lot of people's hearts, but then she suddenly became reclusive and no longer cared about politics (married Albert).

This made some conspiracy theorists think that Congress had kidnapped the Queen. After all, Victoria had previously promised to give workers a ten-hour working day and a series of social benefits and reforms, but now none of them have been completed.

If the Queen were assassinated in France, the British government would be discredited.

Therefore, security work will be the top priority for this trip, but on French soil, security work cannot be entirely handled by the UK, which involves many issues.

Of course, Robert Peel did not think that the French would assassinate Victoria. After all, although the two countries had disputes, they were far from a life-or-death situation.

And assassinating a head of state is far less cost effective than kidnapping as a hostage.

Of course, in order to prevent such extreme things from happening, Britain has long enacted the "Regency Act" in history, which means that when the Queen needs to leave the UK, she needs to designate a regent or multiple judges to perform the duties of the monarch.

Since then, the Royal Counsel has been acting as Queen Victoria's "Prince Regent", and Victoria has become one of the most frequently visited rulers in British history.

The Queen and her husband are scheduled to visit France in six months' time, and Robert Peel must solve all possible problems.

As soon as this news came out, it immediately shocked the whole of Europe. Countless forces were ready to take action. Where will the undercurrent of the world go?