Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

March 27, 1881, exactly 9 o'clock in the morning.

Kingdom of the Netherlands, mainland Australia, Melbourne, inside the Royal Palace of the Netherlands.

Sitting in front of Queen Alexandra and King Wilhelm IV are King Oscar II of the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway and his Queen Sofia Wilhelmina.

"On the afternoon of March 25, 1881, Alexander II was 62 years old when he was attacked by a bomb on his way back to the Winter Palace after a military parade."

"In her telegram, Maria described how Alexander II was injured. The Tsar was sent to the palace with vital signs. Maria described his process in detail: 'His legs were horribly blown up. His knee was shattered and his knee was torn, and he was bleeding profusely. His only remaining right leg was half-clad in a boot, with only the upper part of the calf left.'"

Queen Alexandra said with a certain expression: "According to what Maria said, Alexander II passed away a few hours later, and even the sky in St. Petersburg on March 25 had just turned dark."

After William IV waited for Alexandra to finish speaking, he shook her hand and comforted her: "Maria seems to be panicking when facing this problem at first, but since I can send you this letter, Telegram, apparently recovered, Alexandra, don’t worry, your sister is strong."

After that, he raised his head and said to Oscar II: "Your Majesty, what do you think after hearing the letter from Maria (called Princess Damage in Denmark before marrying Tsarist Russia)?"

Oscar II: "According to the news I heard in Stockholm, although the people are not attracted to Crown Prince Alexandrovich who may become the new emperor, they very much like Crown Princess Maria who is about to become the new empress of the Tsarist Empire."

Next to her, Queen Sofia of the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway also said: "Yes, I pay close attention to her. She will be a veritable queen of the Russian Empire."

Queen Alexandra smiled bitterly and said: "But she was not completely satisfied with her new identity. She wrote to me in a telegram: Our time of tranquility and happiness has passed, my peace and calm have disappeared, and now I will Being able to worry about Sasha forever."

She hesitated for a moment, and then said bitterly again: "Because Alexander II's terrible death often lingered in her mind, he began to feel worried about her husband's safety."

William IV patted her hand again and comforted: "Don't worry, Maria (Damag) is strong enough. At Alexander II's funeral, she at least got comfort from her favorite sister, the Queen of the Netherlands."

Queen Alexandra suddenly raised her head and looked at William IV in disbelief.

Next to him, King Oscar II and Queen Sofia of the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway also looked at William IV in surprise.

William IV nodded and said: "Your guesses are all good. I think Alexandra will leave Melbourne for St. Petersburg on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and herself starting tomorrow to participate in the Alexander II of the Russian Empire on April 20." If you are worried about Maria, Alexandra, you can stay with Maria in the Tsarist Empire for a few weeks after the funeral."

After hearing this, Oscar II said: "Your Majesty's plan is not bad."

Seeing the puzzled looks from his Queen Sofia and Queen Alexandra, Oscar II said: "According to our intelligence, Crown Prince Alexandrovich and Crown Princess Maria of the Russian Empire will choose to marry in 1881. He officially ascended the throne on May 27, and it was determined that two years later, on May 27, 1883, Alexander and Maria would be crowned at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow.

Therefore, His Majesty William asked Queen Alexandra to accompany Crown Princess Maria there, obviously because he wanted her to participate in the coronation ceremony in more than a month."

William IV nodded, and his statement was not wrong.

However, what Oscar II didn’t know was that historically, in the Russian Empire, Alexander III (the name Alexandrovich was called after he ascended the throne) and Queen Maria Feodorovna ascended the throne on May 27, 1881. A major conspiracy was revealed the day before, but it also cast a pall over the celebrations.

Despite this, on May 27, 1881, more than 8,000 guests attended this gorgeous ceremony.

With Maria and Alexander III facing numerous threats and intimidation, General Cherevin, the commander of the secret police of the Tsarist Empire, shortly after the coronation ceremony, urged the Tsar and his family to move to a more remote location 50 kilometers away from St. Petersburg. Safe Gatchina Palace.

This huge and magnificent palace built by Catherine the Great has 900 rooms. The Romanov dynasty followed the advice of others. Maria and Alexander III lived in the Gatchina Palace for 15 years. The five surviving children also grew up there.

Under tight guard, Alexander III and Maria regularly returned to the capital St. Petersburg from Gatchina Palace to attend a series of official events. Although Maria also participated in social activities in Gatchina, he had not been in St. Petersburg for a long time. The balls and parties held at the Hermitage also reflect dreams.

Alexander III used to enjoy staying with the musicians of the Tsarist Empire, but he also often dismissed them one after another. Whenever this happened, Maria knew that the gathering was about to end.

William IV said in this regard: "Since Alexander II began the reform of liberating serfs in 1866, the Tsarist Russian Empire has touched the interests of many people in the Tsarist Russian Empire. The serf-slave owners who profited from serfdom Naturally, they were very opposed, so many people were dissatisfied with Alexander II.

Although the reforms of Alexander II were welcomed by the lower class, the progress of the reform was too slow, and many fields did not participate. That is, the reform was not thorough and was only selective. Therefore, many people at the bottom of society also had mixed feelings about Alexander II. Therefore, Alexander When the third generation comes to power, we will face the contrast between reform or not, and whether it is thorough or not.

It is quite understandable that he moved his family from St. Petersburg to the Gatchina Palace in Moscow. "

The security crisis of the royal family of the Tsarist Empire loomed over many people's heads. William IV agreed with the actions of Alexandrovich, the future Alexander III.

Oscar II couldn't tell whether he was happy or not and said: "From the beginning as the Crown Princess to the upcoming Empress of the Russian Empire, Princess Maria has always been the popular wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna fought openly and secretly at social gatherings in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Their antagonism was also imitated by their husbands, which aggravated the conflicts within the Tsarist Russian royal family. When Maria When Crown Princess Feodorovna knew better than to openly criticize the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess in public, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna also won a victory from the future empress of Tsarist Russia, and was Privately, she was nicknamed the 'Future Empress Vladimir', an ironic nickname."

When Queen Alexandra heard this, she had a look of anger on her face. Obviously, Damage (changed to Maria after arriving in Tsarist Russia) was not as good as the previous telegrams said in the Tsarist Russian Empire. There, her There are still many challengers.

As far as she knew, this Grand Duke was the cousin of Crown Prince Alexanderlovic. Alexander II tolerated his existence, which in itself represented something. But fortunately, now that this guy is dead, Alexanderlovic's status is stable. .

Suddenly, she understood why William IV arranged for her to come to St. Petersburg, because it was precisely because of your sister and brother-in-law's unstable status in St. Petersburg, and there were many clowns. If she went to St. Petersburg to attend the funeral of Alexander II, And the coronation ceremony, then the Kingdom of the Netherlands is obviously supporting Alexandrovich, and it can also declare its sisterly love with Maria (Damag).

It's quite a feat.

Thinking of this, she glanced gratefully at her husband William IV.

William IV understood the other party's meaning and smiled lightly.

After that, some ordinary topics began to be discussed privately. Soon, Queen Alexandra left with Queen Sofia, saying that she was taking him to visit the New Palace in Melbourne.

Both of them knew that this was to make room for the two kings, William IV and Oscar II, to discuss national affairs.

After the two walked away, the sound of the door closing sounded.

William IV and Oscar II looked at each other. The former opened his chat bag and said: "Sweden has developed well in recent years."

Oscar II shook his head and said: "Where is the rapid development of the Netherlands? Speaking of which, we have to thank the capital support of the Netherlands. Otherwise, the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway would not be a middle-to-upper-class economically developed country in Europe."

Unlike William IV who only mentioned Sweden, Oscar II referred to the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway.

Now he is reminding William IV that both Norway and Sweden belong to his rule. As an ally of Sweden, the Netherlands should not forget this.

On September 18, 1872, Oscar's elder brother Karl (King Carl XV of Sweden and King Karl IV of Norway), since Karl's only son and second brother had already passed away, so after his death, Oscar, the third brother, succeeded him. His throne, Oscar was crowned King of Sweden in Stockholm Cathedral on May 12, 1873, and King of Norway in Nidalos Cathedral on July 18, 1873, was for Oscar II (his father) for Oscar I).

Norway began to be dissatisfied with being ruled by Stockholm after the middle of half a century. Especially with the political and military support of the United Kingdom, Norway repeatedly tried to legislate independence, but failed many times. However, Norway did not It is an approach that treats Stockholm (the capital of Sweden) as a fraternal state. It only recognizes that Norway is under the rule of the Swedish King, but not under the rule of the Swedish government. It is the same national body as Sweden.

So it is normal for Oscar II to feel anxious.

However, can Sweden really hold on to the territory of Norway that it seized from Denmark in 1809?