The Franco-British Union State
As the Battle of France ended in disaster in 1940, the French Government was in tatters and on the verge of surrender. Prime Minister Reynaud in June 1940 refused to sign an armistice under German auspices and dispatched Rene Pleven, his deputy in a last-ditch attempt to secure continued French support for the Allies in the War. The proposal of a Franco-British Union. An idea that had reached its peak during the Anglo-French wars of the Plantagenets but one that had died afterward. Prime Minister Churchill was ecstatic at the idea [Major PoD] and agreed to it and on 16 June 1940, the British Cabinet voted to accept the offer. On the 18th of June, 1940, both the French and British Parliaments voted in majority for the proposal, and the next day, history changed, as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the French Third Republic ceased to exist - in its place, the Franco-British Union State arose. Mainland France fell not soon afterward, but the new haphazardly made Union State continued the fight against the Germans until the German Surrender in 1945. Despite much skepticism, the Union survived after the war, and is today considered to be one of the greater powers of the world - as in not strong enough to be a Superpower, but not weak enough to be designated as a simple great power.
A/N: Unlikely scenario, but still thoughts?