What If Britain and Prussia Had Shared a Crown?

In the early 18th century, Europe came astonishingly close to a dynastic superpower: a Protestant union of Great Britain and Prussia under one tightly interwoven royal family.

It never happened. But for a moment, through bloodlines, childhood rivalries, ambitious mothers, and one spectacular diplomatic breakdown, the crowns of London and Berlin hovered within reach of each other.

Let’s unpack how.

How the House of Hanover Became the British Crown

The story begins not in London or Berlin — but in the German lands.

When Queen Anne of England died in 1714 without surviving children, Britain faced a succession crisis. Parliament had already prepared for this moment with the Act of Settlement (1701), which barred Catholics from the throne and sought the nearest Protestant heir.

That heir was Sophie von der Pfalz, granddaughter of James I of England.

Sophie herself died just weeks before Queen Anne. So instead, the British crown passed to her son:

George I, Elector of Hanover.

And just like that, the German House of Hanover became the British royal dynasty.

From 1714 onward, Britain and Hanover were linked in a personal union — separate states, same monarch.

Join me on a tour of Potsdam’s royal palaces or Berlin’s Charlottenburg neighborhood to uncover the real stories, rivalries, and dynastic intrigues behind this almost-union of Britain and Prussia.

Sophie Charlotte: The Prussian Connection

Now here’s where Berlin enters the picture.

Sophie von der Pfalz had a daughter:

Sophie Charlotte of Hanover

She married Frederick I of Prussia and became the first Queen in Prussia.

Their son?

Frederick William I of Prussia — the so-called Soldier King.

So the future Prussian ruler was the grandson of the woman who nearly became Queen of England — and the nephew of the first Hanoverian British king.

The bloodlines were already intertwined.

Childhood Rivalries: Cousins in Conflict

Frederick William I grew up partly among his Hanoverian relatives. His cousin was the future George II of Great Britain, then Prince of Wales.

The two boys could not stand each other.

Accounts suggest young Frederick William bullied George — physically. He reportedly beat him in childhood scuffles. The rivalry became personal and long-lasting.

And it got more complicated.

Frederick William is said to have been romantically interested in Caroline of Ansbach, a brilliant German princess.

She instead married George II.

The Soldier King never forgot it.

The Queen with the Grand Plan

Frederick William I married Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, who was — crucially — George II’s sister.

Yes. The Prussian king and the British king were brothers-in-law.

Sophia Dorothea had a vision.

She wanted:

• Her daughter Wilhelmine of Prussia to marry the Prince of Wales and become Queen of Great Britain.

• Her son Frederick II of Prussia to marry a British princess.

If both marriages succeeded, Britain and Prussia would be bound together in the next generation at the highest level.

It was a brilliant geopolitical move:

• Britain: naval and colonial superpower.

• Prussia: rising military power in central Europe.

• Both Protestant.

• Both wary of Austria and France.

A Protestant axis of London and Berlin.

Humiliation and Suspicion

The negotiations dragged on for years.

At the British court, there was deep suspicion of Prussia — seen as coarse, militaristic, unstable.

At the Prussian court, there was resentment toward British arrogance and hesitation.

Then came one of the most humiliating episodes in royal marriage diplomacy.

Rumors were circulated in London that Wilhelmine had a physical deformity — a hunchback.

An English delegation was sent to verify her appearance.

The teenage princess was reportedly forced to undress for inspection to disprove the rumor.

The damage was profound.

Wilhelmine never forgot the humiliation.

The Collapse

The marriage deal was close — very close.

But then everything changed.

George I died in 1727.The new king of Great Britain was George II — the same cousin the Soldier King had bullied and despised.

And the man who had married his youthful romantic interest.

Trust evaporated.

At the same time, Frederick William’s relationship with his son — the future Frederick the Great — exploded.

Young Frederick attempted to flee Prussia in 1730. His closest friend was executed before his eyes. The episode shattered the family.

The British marriage project collapsed.

Instead:

• Wilhelmine was married off to Bayreuth.

• Frederick was forced to marry Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, a politically suitable but loveless match.

Sophia Dorothea was furious — at her husband, at the British court, even at her children.

The great Anglo-Prussian marriage strategy was dead.

What If It Had Happened?

Let’s imagine it did.

Scenario: Wilhelmine becomes Queen of Great Britain

Frederick marries a British princess.

The next generation would have produced heirs tied intimately to both thrones.

Would Britain and Prussia have merged into one kingdom?

Probably not formally. Britain had a strong parliamentary tradition; Prussia was an absolute monarchy. Legal unification would have been extremely complex.

But a permanent dynastic alliance? Very likely.

Possible Consequences:

1. Earlier Anglo-Prussian Strategic Alliance

Historically, Britain and Prussia did align during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63). With family unity, this alliance could have been:

• Earlier

• Stronger

• Less transactional

  
  

2. A Different European Balance of Power

A united British navy + Prussian army might have:

• Crushed French influence faster

• Weakened Austria more decisively

• Prevented certain continental coalitions

  
  

3. American Revolution?

If a British-Prussian dynasty had been more stable internally, could Britain have avoided the American Revolution?Perhaps not — colonial grievances ran deep — but foreign intervention dynamics might have shifted.

4. German Unification — Earlier?

If Frederick the Great had enjoyed permanent British backing, Prussia’s dominance in Germany might have accelerated dramatically.

Imagine:

• British financial support

• Prussian military efficiency

• Shared Protestant identity

A Berlin-London axis decades before Bismarck.

Why It Ultimately Failed

It failed not because it was impossible — but because it was personal.

• Childhood grudges.

• Romantic jealousy.

• Court intrigue.

• National pride.

• A humiliating rumor.

• A failed teenage escape.

Dynastic politics in the 18th century were as emotional as they were strategic.

The Almost-Union That Changed Nothing — and Everything

Ironically, Britain and Prussia later became close allies anyway during the Seven Years’ War.

But it was an alliance of necessity — not blood.

Had Sophia Dorothea’s grand design succeeded, Europe might have seen:

• A Protestant super-bloc.

• A deeper Anglo-German identity.

• A very different 19th century.

Instead, history turned on pride and personality.

And somewhere in Bayreuth, Wilhelmine never forgot the day she had to prove she did not have a hunchback — for a crown that might have changed Europe forever.