For Queen and Country
In the year of 1862, the world watched in shock at the calamity that had befallen the United Kingdom. Some blamed the death of her mother, the Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who had passed away in March, while others blamed the lingering illness of her husband Prince Albert. All agreed on one thing, however; the Queen had gone mad. It was unclear where exactly she had sunk into insanity; perhaps when she supported the CSA and blockaded the Union, thus cutting Britain off from almost half of its wheat imports. Certainly, she was mad when she declared war on France, and promised to castrate all French males. With a mad Queen, a near famine, astronomical bread prices, and now an inconcievable war against their ally France, it wouldn't take much to cause riots and a serious revolt by the lower classes against the aristocracy. Fearing what would happen, the Parliament quickly voted almost unanimously to depose Queen Victoria and give Edward VII the throne. But the newly-crowned King Edward had had enough of monarchies. He ordered the dissolution of the monarchy, to be replaced with a full democracy. The nation reeled in shock as the monarchy, which had been in place since the 10th Century AD, was dissolved. Although most supported the change to a democracy, and swiftly voted in Albert Edward, the former King Edward VII, as Prime Minister, particularly as one of his first decisions was to recall the Fleet and end the blockade of the Union. However, most did not mean all. A section of the wealthy aristocracy, who feared a loss of power, opposed the move, and began supporting revolution. And there was only one group in Britain at the time with the numbers and the inclination to revolt against the government; the Marxists.
With movements all over the country, but most heavily in London, where Karl Marx resided, uprisings were beginning. It would take careful political maneuvering for the new republic to avoid descending into chaos.
(Monarchy dissolved, blockade of USA ended, Marxist rebellion in Britain)