To ask which historical crossroads you wonder about?

[HoneyParsnipSoup]

For me it’s wondering what would’ve happened had Catherine of Aragon had a son and Henry hadn’t divorced her. Country may well be totally different.

If Robert Kennedy sr had not been assassinated and gone on to become president.

I often wonder how the country would be if John Smith hadn’t died, an incredible man and incredible politician. I think he’s one man who could truly have made a difference politically.

I also wonder if Anne Boleyn had the son Henry needed would he still have got rid of her? She wouldn’t be needed anymore.

For me it’s mostly WW2 stuff. If we hadn’t won the Battle of Britain, if the US hadn’t entered the war, or D-Day had failed. Not necessarily just would we have lost the war, but would it have gone on and on, would we be “Germany” now etc etc.

Ooh, I will add that to my TBR list, thank you!

If there had been no crusades

Also if michael collins hadn't signed the Anglo Irish treaty

That sounds like a great book, Im chasing it up in a minute as thats something I’ve often thought about. (Plus anything like this is a big attraction for a fan of Philip K Dick!)

I’m partly responsible for the hefty royal family tree element, and I apologise for overdoing the enthusiasm there.
(The subject, being a very handy list-based one I can keep in my head and visualise easily, became a routine tool for passing the time when I used to suffer total insomnia. Thoroughly medicated for that now, praise the lawd.
Trouble is, I’d find I’d interest myself too deeply in this or that aspect of it, and become even more wakeful! 🙄)

I often wonder about that too. I also think if he was king but didn't have children then we would still have had the Queen with a much shorter reign.

The Queen would have had much longer to enjoy more family life and Philip could have had more time in the navy.
If Edward 8th had had children the Queen would have been a much more peripheral figure like Princess Alexandra.

This was the one that first sprung to my mind.

Also if William lost the Battle of Hastings

We’d also still be catholic probably

If Anne Boleyn and Henry Percy had been allowed to marry.

I’ve always assumed the Queen must’ve known what Andrew was up to and she chose to turn a blind eye! If he had been next in line for the throne would she have done something about his aberrant behaviour I wonder. Probably not!

I’ve always assumed the Queen must’ve known what Andrew was up to and she chose to turn a blind eye!

Going off topic here but ever since he was born, rumours circulated that he was the result of liaison between the Queen and Lord Porchester, her racehorse trainer. If he was such a lovechild, it might well explain the favouritism.

There were lots of rumour going around. One was that she enjoyed motherhood more with Andrew. With Charles and Anne she became Queen when they were so young so didn’t have much time with them. She was older with Andrew and more settled so could enjoy him. We will never know as her secrets have died with her!

What would have happened if Alexander III of Russia hadn't died when he did?

Would Nicholas II have had any instructions on being a Czar? Would he have been allowed to marry Alix if his father was in better health?

I think the much bigger question is what if Alexander II of Russia had not been assassinated. That would have really changed things as he was a reformer and a great Czar. His death changed the course of Russian history in my view.

Although, if Nikolas II and Alix's son had not been ill, there would have been no Rasputin and probably no revolution. The Czarevich's illness was the explanation for so much of Nicholas II and Alix's terrible behaviour, which no one could understand as no one knew the boy was ill.

Totally of topic but when I learned about Nicholas ll as a child I thought the names two of his daughters had were beautiful, Anastasia and Tatiana!

Olga is my favourite name 😀

Anyone interested in Nicholas II, I can highly recommend "The Last Czars" on Netflix. It's a very well-done docu-drama and very historically accurate.

Haven't had time to read the whole thread so apologies I this has already been mentioned but I saw a picture of George V and the last Tsar on a history page I follow this morning and it made me think of this thread. I wonder what would have happened if the king had agreed to offer his cousin and family refuge in this country? How would the survival of the Russian royal family have influenced European history going forward, even assuming the revolution had still been successful? Would they have been reinstated following the break up of the Soviet Union and would there be a Tsar on the throne? And if so, would that have had any influence on the rise of Putin and friends?

Olga was my least favourite of them!

Maybe it's the Russian pronunciation - the "l" in Olga is very soft in Russian whereas the sound is different in English

If the traitor Stanley hadn’t interfered in the Battle of Bosworth

I’ve just looked up the Olga pronunciation and it’s softer in Russian and sounds nicer!