Heads up for some names here. I know that Richard of Gloucester's daughters being named Joan and Eleanor might not be hyper-realistic, but I wanted some variations for names here. Also, Philippa of Burgundy, Margaret of York's last daughter here has been renamed Anne now. Names have been edited in all chapters.
The Grand Duchy of the West - A Valois-Burgundian TL
- Thread starter BlueFlowwer
- Start date
Chapter 10 - England and Burgundy in 1484
Chapter 10 – England and Burgundy in 1484
Henry Tudor had been hiding in Brittany from 1471 in 1484, enjoying the hospitality of Duke Francis. Despite negotiation to hand him over nothing had come to pass and Edward IV had let the issue go over the years, thus he remained at liberty in Nantes. The disastrous year of 1484 would provide an opening for him to reclaim the throne of England for the last Lancastrians. But with all of Edward’s children dead in June of 1483 except for Mary and Prince Edward, Henry needed a stronger way to claim the throne and a bride with Yorkist blood would be a way achieve that. Mary would be the perfect candidate for him, but given she was married to the Duke of Brabant, that foiled the problem. But Mary’s unborn child might prove a way for Henry to weasel his way into the duke’s court. In February of 1484, Henry left Nantes to take a public vow in the cathedral of Rennes. He swore to return to England, to only claim his father’s lands and titles and to become a faithful servant of the kingdom. After that he left with an entourage including his uncle, Jasper Tudor for the Low Countries. Henry arrived in Arras after two weeks of traveling by land and petitioned the court for an audience with the Duke in Ypres, as Philip was due to arrive within a week. At the same time, the Duke of Buckingham came to court, being sent to Flanders to see Mary, now heiress to England. The Prince of Wales had become even weaker as February progressed and passed away on the 3rd of March. Mary and her unborn child now held the key to the kingdom unless the disgraced Queen Margaret bore a son in the next month.
Tudor and Buckingham began to scheme for a plan. Philip and his child had an incredibly claim to England as the possible heirs. The two men presented the fifteen-year-old with the idea. The duchy would provide the men with soldiers, ships, and money to claim England for Philip and Mary with Tudor and Buckingham leading the way. They also managed to convince Francis II of Brittany to send resources in the enterprise. Their real objective was to make Tudor king with Buckingham as the second in command. Henry planned to marry Gloucester’s eldest daughter, Joan, as she was a legitimate York heiress and the closest thing England had to a princess now. Joan was only nine years old in 1484, but in three years she would reach the age of marriage. Buckingham sent a secret messenger to Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland to plead for the hand of his eldest daughter, Eleanor Percy. Buckingham knew of the Earl had his grudges with Gloucester, as Richard was the dominant magnate in the north of England besides himself.
Jasper Tudor believed that the plan would fool Philip, as young men were prone to fall for schemes of grandeur. Surely the Duke who had lost the duchy of Burgundy would glamour for the option of seeing his child being monarch of two grand realms. Queen Margaret was a whore, they told him and even of her unborn child was a son, it would certainly a bastard, while Mary’s baby was undoubtable a legitimate heir. They told him that his uncle would certainly usurp the throne and deny his nephew his rights as king for himself. After all, Richard had been praised for winning the war against France several years ago, while Philip had been too young to fight himself. Richard would paint him as a weak ruler to take power.
And Philip seemed to go along with to Tudor’s and Buckingham’s delight. The men received luxuriously lodgings, servants, and escorts when they went about in Flanders. Their plans seemed to work according to plan with the young duke seeking the glory of ruling England.
Unbeknownst to them, their supposed pawn was nobody’s fool. Philip knew Tudor desired the throne, despite all his posturing. He could also sense Buckingham planned to betray his beloved uncle, who had saved the duchy in the battle of Dóle. While Philip strung them along and pretended to agree with their schemes, he advised to wait until Mary had delivered their baby to implement their plans. The servants had been placed as spies and they intercepted all communications, while making copies to the original recipients. The escorts had been choose for their loyalty to the duchy, letting him know where Tudor and Buckingham went and who they talked to. They also had orders to arrest both when the command would be given. Intelligence arrived fast in England, to Gloucester to act on swiftly.
May arrived in England and Queen Margaret entered her confinement with her last child. The king was even more ailing, and Gloucester had taken the reins of government, proving to be a stable regent. The whole history of England might have changed if the outcome of Friday the 13th of May had been different. The baby turned out to be a girl. Even worse, a stillborn girl. Edward’s last child had died and now his sole heir of his body was his oldest daughter Mary, heavily pregnant in the Low Countries.
To Henry Tudor the death came as proof from God that the throne would become his. Edward IV had made a public declaration for Richard to serve as regent for his daughter and her heirs until Mary came back to claim the throne with her child. He also urged Richard to remarry to protect the House of York and produce an heir “in case something was to happen to Mary”. His will also made Richard the heir after Mary and her children, to prevent a succession crisis if the worst came to happen.
In the days between the 14th of May and 3rd of June, different factions formed in England. Three different scenarios were at play. The English would be ruled by their first proper queen Regnant and her Flemish husband, the nephew of Edward and England would be in a union with the Low Countries. Gloucester would become Richard the third with two daughters behind him. Or Henry Tudor would become king as some nobles began to whisper.
Both Philip and Richard worked in unison to prevent the third scenario. Ducal ambassadors were dispatched in secrecy to the courts of Scotland and Brittany, while Richard took measures to clean out his own house. Parliament started with a act that would extend the legal system in England to Wales as well, giving Welsh people equality under the laws as English subjects and strengthening the Council of Wales and Marches. The prospect of being granted representation in Parliament undercut Tudor’s support in the summer, while Philip made sure he received false information on the matters in England. Northumberland also turned on Buckingham, as he had been called to court to answer for his role in the conspiracy. Percy pleaded for mercy as he claimed to have been hoodwinked by Buckingham and Richard placed him under arrest in the Tower of London while his heir, Henry Algernon, was placed in Gloucester’s custody as hostage. Buckingham did not find that act out until it was to later. It was his prospective bride who gave up the scheme. Eleanor Percy was close friends with Joan of Gloucester, and she had heard her father talk.
In Scotland the ambassadors told king James III that any support to Tudor would be seen as an act of war and retaliations would be harsh. Already in conflict with his own nobles, James opted to withdraw from the conspiracy. Unfortunately, that led to the anti-english nobility to become even more conflicted with him and James would die as a result from the last quarrel in 1488.
Francis II of Brittany also received a ducal envoy in Nantes. Philip promised his sister’s hand in marriage, as she was the same age as the Count of Montfort. A Burgundian-Breton alliance was widely popular for both duchies and it would shield Brittany from French encroachment. Both Jean and Anne were seven years old at the time, and a betrothal were agreed upon in late May. Francis agreed to withdraw completely from the conspiracy as it had been a important condition of the match.
The agreement sealed Henry Tudor’s fate. Duchess Mary had gone into labour in the morning of the 3rd in June, and after a long and hard labour given birth to a son a few hours before the arrests. Her condition remained fragile as there had been massive blood loss trying to get her breeched baby out. The baby had been named Charles in honour of his grandfather, despite Mary’s wishes for the name Edward. Henry, Jasper, and Buckingham were arrested on the 4th of June on Philip’s orders, just after dawn by heavily armed knights. Bewildered by the sudden change in fortunes, Henry angrily told them he was under the protection by the duke himself, only to pale in horror as he understood his supposed benefactor never had any intentions of helping him. The prisoners were conveyed to the fortified castle of Gravensteen in the city of Ghent under heavy guard.
Philip’s concern for his prisoners did not last long, as Mary took a turn for the worse a few days after the birth. The haemorrhage led to Mary being unable to get out of bed, and worse, she showed signs of sepsis as infection set in. The same had happened to her own mother in 1469. The young duchess spent several days tended to by doctors, but there was no cure for her condition at that time. Mary passed away on the eleventh, with her husband and aunt besides her. Her son Charles was eight days old when his mother died. She had been Duchess of Brabant for just one year. With the exception of Charles, her time in the Low Countries had mostly consisted of trying to live up to a potential envisioned by others. As a respected duchess, as a beloved wife, as princess of Wales and as a queen regnant of England. Mary’s last year had been marked by failure in every aspect The sole thing she accomplished was the main task of consorts at this time, bearing a male heir. In that regard, she had been successful at least.
The death of Mary was meet with shock in England and the Low Countries. The claim to England was now weaker for Philip, as he would become father of the new king, rather than King jure uxoris. England stood before a long regency as it would be at least fourteen years before Charles became old enough to rule himself. Gloucester would have a long regency ahead of himself and Philip, despite Mary being barely cold in her grave, needed to find a new bride.
Author's Note: So this happened. *hides in secret lair to avoid the pitchforks*
Henry Tudor had been hiding in Brittany from 1471 in 1484, enjoying the hospitality of Duke Francis. Despite negotiation to hand him over nothing had come to pass and Edward IV had let the issue go over the years, thus he remained at liberty in Nantes. The disastrous year of 1484 would provide an opening for him to reclaim the throne of England for the last Lancastrians. But with all of Edward’s children dead in June of 1483 except for Mary and Prince Edward, Henry needed a stronger way to claim the throne and a bride with Yorkist blood would be a way achieve that. Mary would be the perfect candidate for him, but given she was married to the Duke of Brabant, that foiled the problem. But Mary’s unborn child might prove a way for Henry to weasel his way into the duke’s court. In February of 1484, Henry left Nantes to take a public vow in the cathedral of Rennes. He swore to return to England, to only claim his father’s lands and titles and to become a faithful servant of the kingdom. After that he left with an entourage including his uncle, Jasper Tudor for the Low Countries. Henry arrived in Arras after two weeks of traveling by land and petitioned the court for an audience with the Duke in Ypres, as Philip was due to arrive within a week. At the same time, the Duke of Buckingham came to court, being sent to Flanders to see Mary, now heiress to England. The Prince of Wales had become even weaker as February progressed and passed away on the 3rd of March. Mary and her unborn child now held the key to the kingdom unless the disgraced Queen Margaret bore a son in the next month.
Tudor and Buckingham began to scheme for a plan. Philip and his child had an incredibly claim to England as the possible heirs. The two men presented the fifteen-year-old with the idea. The duchy would provide the men with soldiers, ships, and money to claim England for Philip and Mary with Tudor and Buckingham leading the way. They also managed to convince Francis II of Brittany to send resources in the enterprise. Their real objective was to make Tudor king with Buckingham as the second in command. Henry planned to marry Gloucester’s eldest daughter, Joan, as she was a legitimate York heiress and the closest thing England had to a princess now. Joan was only nine years old in 1484, but in three years she would reach the age of marriage. Buckingham sent a secret messenger to Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland to plead for the hand of his eldest daughter, Eleanor Percy. Buckingham knew of the Earl had his grudges with Gloucester, as Richard was the dominant magnate in the north of England besides himself.
Jasper Tudor believed that the plan would fool Philip, as young men were prone to fall for schemes of grandeur. Surely the Duke who had lost the duchy of Burgundy would glamour for the option of seeing his child being monarch of two grand realms. Queen Margaret was a whore, they told him and even of her unborn child was a son, it would certainly a bastard, while Mary’s baby was undoubtable a legitimate heir. They told him that his uncle would certainly usurp the throne and deny his nephew his rights as king for himself. After all, Richard had been praised for winning the war against France several years ago, while Philip had been too young to fight himself. Richard would paint him as a weak ruler to take power.
And Philip seemed to go along with to Tudor’s and Buckingham’s delight. The men received luxuriously lodgings, servants, and escorts when they went about in Flanders. Their plans seemed to work according to plan with the young duke seeking the glory of ruling England.
Unbeknownst to them, their supposed pawn was nobody’s fool. Philip knew Tudor desired the throne, despite all his posturing. He could also sense Buckingham planned to betray his beloved uncle, who had saved the duchy in the battle of Dóle. While Philip strung them along and pretended to agree with their schemes, he advised to wait until Mary had delivered their baby to implement their plans. The servants had been placed as spies and they intercepted all communications, while making copies to the original recipients. The escorts had been choose for their loyalty to the duchy, letting him know where Tudor and Buckingham went and who they talked to. They also had orders to arrest both when the command would be given. Intelligence arrived fast in England, to Gloucester to act on swiftly.
May arrived in England and Queen Margaret entered her confinement with her last child. The king was even more ailing, and Gloucester had taken the reins of government, proving to be a stable regent. The whole history of England might have changed if the outcome of Friday the 13th of May had been different. The baby turned out to be a girl. Even worse, a stillborn girl. Edward’s last child had died and now his sole heir of his body was his oldest daughter Mary, heavily pregnant in the Low Countries.
To Henry Tudor the death came as proof from God that the throne would become his. Edward IV had made a public declaration for Richard to serve as regent for his daughter and her heirs until Mary came back to claim the throne with her child. He also urged Richard to remarry to protect the House of York and produce an heir “in case something was to happen to Mary”. His will also made Richard the heir after Mary and her children, to prevent a succession crisis if the worst came to happen.
In the days between the 14th of May and 3rd of June, different factions formed in England. Three different scenarios were at play. The English would be ruled by their first proper queen Regnant and her Flemish husband, the nephew of Edward and England would be in a union with the Low Countries. Gloucester would become Richard the third with two daughters behind him. Or Henry Tudor would become king as some nobles began to whisper.
Both Philip and Richard worked in unison to prevent the third scenario. Ducal ambassadors were dispatched in secrecy to the courts of Scotland and Brittany, while Richard took measures to clean out his own house. Parliament started with a act that would extend the legal system in England to Wales as well, giving Welsh people equality under the laws as English subjects and strengthening the Council of Wales and Marches. The prospect of being granted representation in Parliament undercut Tudor’s support in the summer, while Philip made sure he received false information on the matters in England. Northumberland also turned on Buckingham, as he had been called to court to answer for his role in the conspiracy. Percy pleaded for mercy as he claimed to have been hoodwinked by Buckingham and Richard placed him under arrest in the Tower of London while his heir, Henry Algernon, was placed in Gloucester’s custody as hostage. Buckingham did not find that act out until it was to later. It was his prospective bride who gave up the scheme. Eleanor Percy was close friends with Joan of Gloucester, and she had heard her father talk.
In Scotland the ambassadors told king James III that any support to Tudor would be seen as an act of war and retaliations would be harsh. Already in conflict with his own nobles, James opted to withdraw from the conspiracy. Unfortunately, that led to the anti-english nobility to become even more conflicted with him and James would die as a result from the last quarrel in 1488.
Francis II of Brittany also received a ducal envoy in Nantes. Philip promised his sister’s hand in marriage, as she was the same age as the Count of Montfort. A Burgundian-Breton alliance was widely popular for both duchies and it would shield Brittany from French encroachment. Both Jean and Anne were seven years old at the time, and a betrothal were agreed upon in late May. Francis agreed to withdraw completely from the conspiracy as it had been a important condition of the match.
The agreement sealed Henry Tudor’s fate. Duchess Mary had gone into labour in the morning of the 3rd in June, and after a long and hard labour given birth to a son a few hours before the arrests. Her condition remained fragile as there had been massive blood loss trying to get her breeched baby out. The baby had been named Charles in honour of his grandfather, despite Mary’s wishes for the name Edward. Henry, Jasper, and Buckingham were arrested on the 4th of June on Philip’s orders, just after dawn by heavily armed knights. Bewildered by the sudden change in fortunes, Henry angrily told them he was under the protection by the duke himself, only to pale in horror as he understood his supposed benefactor never had any intentions of helping him. The prisoners were conveyed to the fortified castle of Gravensteen in the city of Ghent under heavy guard.
Philip’s concern for his prisoners did not last long, as Mary took a turn for the worse a few days after the birth. The haemorrhage led to Mary being unable to get out of bed, and worse, she showed signs of sepsis as infection set in. The same had happened to her own mother in 1469. The young duchess spent several days tended to by doctors, but there was no cure for her condition at that time. Mary passed away on the eleventh, with her husband and aunt besides her. Her son Charles was eight days old when his mother died. She had been Duchess of Brabant for just one year. With the exception of Charles, her time in the Low Countries had mostly consisted of trying to live up to a potential envisioned by others. As a respected duchess, as a beloved wife, as princess of Wales and as a queen regnant of England. Mary’s last year had been marked by failure in every aspect The sole thing she accomplished was the main task of consorts at this time, bearing a male heir. In that regard, she had been successful at least.
The death of Mary was meet with shock in England and the Low Countries. The claim to England was now weaker for Philip, as he would become father of the new king, rather than King jure uxoris. England stood before a long regency as it would be at least fourteen years before Charles became old enough to rule himself. Gloucester would have a long regency ahead of himself and Philip, despite Mary being barely cold in her grave, needed to find a new bride.
Author's Note: So this happened. *hides in secret lair to avoid the pitchforks*
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Philip is very wily sometimes. But, yeah. Not the most fortunate 14-15 year old duke now.
Sadly she became a figure who could have become something rather then someone who did become something. I'm halfway finished with chapter twelve and and have plans for someone else to become the duchess in order to make those plans feasible. In case someone is curious, I can offer a spoiler on what I'm currently writing. The Hook and Cod Wars
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She did. We will see what happens to Charles and his future in the next chapter. At least now Henry Tudor won't take his throne. Philip removed a potential danger to his son's future.
Charles I of england and hopefully II of Burgundy has a bright future ahead of him.
My bad, But gotta hand it to Eddy, hanging to life to stubbornly like a true Plantagenet.
I think it's very possible that we get a king that has to rule both England and burgundy. I do think eventually we'd see a split between the two countries tho, and we'd see the king split his estates to two branches. So we'd probably see a Hapsburg like situation where both houses help each other especially on issues about France. Also I do hope Brittany stays independent ittl and forms its own nation-state.
He's nothing if not a fighter. Philip will inherit a rather large amount of his uncle's fighting spirit. He's gonna need it.
Trust me the Anglo-flemish alliance is gonna be vital for this tl. They have many mutual interests.
And Brittany is gonna stay independent for much longer. I've already introduced the future countess of montfort.
That's the Soldier King for ya! Fighting until the very end.
And yep, Philip will inherit a lot from him.
Ooh, a potential union between England and Burgundy would certainly be interesting...
True and he's gonna get a intense love story as well.
That would certainly be a interesting scenario, right? It's like a Miguel da Paz becoming king of the whole Iberia if the butterflies had flapped just a little bit more...
Defo I could see the Anglos and Flemish consistently need to work together against the French with the Bretons (I hope they survive and be colonial but that's another thing entirely). I don't think a personal union that lasts longer than one king would work well for both sides tho, because having to protect both the realms of burgundy while trying to focus on ruling the waves would be untenable for one centralised group of ppl to do.
tbf wanna speculate about colonisation but it's a bit inappropriate considering that Spain still hasn't colonised anything yet lmao.
I think its still doable ittl just with different actors?