That's what I have no idea about. I consider it 50/50 he tried vs. he knew she'd never talk. My confidence that she wouldn't talk is why I have no idea.
Same here. I would say this, though: Fritzian paranoia and control issues make me slightly biased in favor of "they tried a few times early on". Because:
a) As Manteuffel points out and Fritz agrees, as long as he doesn't provide an heir, AW, favourite son of Dad, remains directly after him in the succession. No matter how nice a guy Fritz truly thinks AW is, this is a threat even if you're less suspicious than our traumatized antihero. And remember, Grandpa F1 openly accused his stepmother of having poisoned his brothers, and intending to kill him to make her sons inherit the crown, and went as far as demanding hostages before agreeing to see Father Great Elector. The family tradition isn't great there. (Leaving aside other countries with a tried and true tradition of ambitious younger brothers.) Anyway, a baby would mean added security to Fritz (especially since FW bypassing him in favour of a baby is far less likely than FW bypassing him in favour of growing into teenagehood AW).
b) Can't see Fritz go for the Gustav solution. Even a discreet version of same. Because even if pious EC would be on board with having extramarital sex because her husband told her to, whether or not a threesome is involved, that would give another man really great power over him. And yes, there's a big difference to old Fritz expressing understanding for young Elisabeth and possibly okaying a fling to provide a male heir as long as she's discreet. Not just a few decades more of added cynicism. He's the monarch and the ultimate controller in the second scenario. In the first, Dad is still alive, he himself could be exposed as a voluntary cuckold, which is the very thing men love to ridicule other men for, and who the hell is this potential sperm donor supposed to be whom Fritz would trust to keep his mouth shut and never ever to blackmail him? Fredersdorff is out of the question, since he's a commoner. Suhm? He's maybe the loveliest and nicest of sugar daddies, but he's also working for another country.
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Re: But what is really going on here?: The Austrian Dossier (Seckendorff III)
Date: 2020-02-03 09:09 am (UTC)That's what I have no idea about. I consider it 50/50 he tried vs. he knew she'd never talk. My confidence that she wouldn't talk is why I have no idea.
Same here. I would say this, though: Fritzian paranoia and control issues make me slightly biased in favor of "they tried a few times early on". Because:
a) As Manteuffel points out and Fritz agrees, as long as he doesn't provide an heir, AW, favourite son of Dad, remains directly after him in the succession. No matter how nice a guy Fritz truly thinks AW is, this is a threat even if you're less suspicious than our traumatized antihero. And remember, Grandpa F1 openly accused his stepmother of having poisoned his brothers, and intending to kill him to make her sons inherit the crown, and went as far as demanding hostages before agreeing to see Father Great Elector. The family tradition isn't great there. (Leaving aside other countries with a tried and true tradition of ambitious younger brothers.) Anyway, a baby would mean added security to Fritz (especially since FW bypassing him in favour of a baby is far less likely than FW bypassing him in favour of growing into teenagehood AW).
b) Can't see Fritz go for the Gustav solution. Even a discreet version of same. Because even if pious EC would be on board with having extramarital sex because her husband told her to, whether or not a threesome is involved, that would give another man really great power over him. And yes, there's a big difference to old Fritz expressing understanding for young Elisabeth and possibly okaying a fling to provide a male heir as long as she's discreet. Not just a few decades more of added cynicism. He's the monarch and the ultimate controller in the second scenario. In the first, Dad is still alive, he himself could be exposed as a voluntary cuckold, which is the very thing men love to ridicule other men for, and who the hell is this potential sperm donor supposed to be whom Fritz would trust to keep his mouth shut and never ever to blackmail him? Fredersdorff is out of the question, since he's a commoner. Suhm? He's maybe the loveliest and nicest of sugar daddies, but he's also working for another country.