The Prince of the Roses - A Tudor TL
- Thread starter BlueFlowwer
- Start date
If Ferdinand intends not to get involved in Europe more than necessary to protect his domains, he will surely go that route and I will try to buy off the magnates to prevent them from putting a spanner in the wheel of any alliance, but before any of these things happen The most important issue for the immediate future remains to be seen: who will be the next Emperor? (My vote is for Frederick III of Saxony, although it wouldn't be bad to see Sigismund the old trying to direct the monster that would be HRE + PLC).
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I don't think that Ferdinand, being a more cautious person then Charles will claim Austria, as it will be difficult and he's likely more focused on building a effective government in Spain, something he will do well, as government seemed to be his forte. He's more likely to ally with Austria/Hungary against the ottomans here.
I'm inclined towards Frederick as well, but the Bavarian hapsburg relatives might have something to say about that. We're gonna catch of to the HRE in chapter 6-7 as the first years after the disaster in 1517 is focused on England/The Low Countries/Spain/France.
Something along those lines. That would also mean that the center of the hre shifts to Germany instead of Austria.
Yep. An earlier start to Germán unification with bavaria at the helm
No one can complain that the King of Germany isn't a German in that scenario.
If the Wittelsbachs are elected they will have a difficult time because of Bavaria's geography, which severely limits population growth and territorial expansion. Their options to solve this problem would be to seize Austria and what is left of Hungary from Ludwig when the Ottomans invade, or to hope that Habsburg blood will bring them luck in claiming other principalities.
It can happen that a Wittelsbach heir marries an Hapsburg heiress perhaps. Or strike some deal with the emperor.
Chapter 4 - 1518
Chapter 4 – 1518
The death of Charles and Eleanor had come an immense shock to the court of England and especially to their aunt, Catherine of Aragon. The queen of England had looked forward to becoming the aunt of a man whom ruled Spain and the Low countries and a prospective next emperor as well and now all those visions had sunken with the boat in Biscay. The Low Countries would fall under the influence of Denmark now and her niece had been delivered of a daughter, rather than the much-needed son all had wished for.
King Henry the eight of England could barely believe the sudden change in European politics. Two years ago, it had seemed impossible that it would turn to this. The Hapsburgs seemed like the perfect ally against France and since the relationship with his Aragonese father-in-law had soured with the trickery Ferdinand had pulled in 1513 to acquire Navarre, he had been ready to cast Catherine aside. The chance of Catherine providing the Tudors with a son to safeguard England from chaos had seemed unlikely and he had cursed himself for not waiting for Eleanor of Austria to grow old enough to wed instead. Now she and Charles had perished and Catherine, his Spanish Catalina, the daughter of that two-faced son of a thousand fathers in Aragon had given him a prince. Her other nephew, the young Ferdinand had become king of Spain instead and would wed his Portuguese bride as soon as possible, but some problems had occurred during the negotiations. For one, Ferdinand had already been promised to Anne of Bohemia and Hungary by his grandfather and the young king Louis demanded that he honour that promise, even sending a delegation to the Pope in Rome to plead the case. And so did the Estates in Austria, as they would not accept Ferdinand as their archduke unless he honoured the treaty between the Jagellions and the Austrian Hapsburgs. Portugal and Spain also reached out to the pope, claiming that the promise had become null and void as Ferdinand had become king of Spain and had no say in the betrothal that had been arranged by his grandfather while he still was a minor. The current pope Leo X had asked all parties to wait with the marriage as he considered all sides. His thinking was that with the resources of Spain, a match with Hungary would benefit Europe as the two intended spouses could be even more motivated with stopping the Ottomans advancement. The Spanish envoy argued that while Ferdinand’s primary concern was to keep the Turks from taking over Christendom, a marriage with Isabella would be more beneficial as Portugal would bring bigger benefits than Anne would for Spain.
Catherine had argued for a match between Ferdinand and Isabella during the summer, stating that a Portugal allied with Spain would also benefit England as it otherwise risked falling under the influence of France, as it had done during the War of the Castilian Succession that her mother and father had fought in their youth. Henry also saw it like that and decided to demand for Wolsey to write to Leo to let the marriage of the Spanish king and the Portuguese infanta go through.
Henry had also been privy to another secret that summer: his wife had confided in him that she had quickened once more, a gift he could hardly believe. Their son had turned into an energic toddler and now they might have a Duke of York to boot? Catherine could have asked him for the whole world at that moment and he would have happily granted her that.
Marriage offers had come for little Ned’s hand after his birth, the first being from France and the second from Portugal. Francois had offered either one of his eldest daughters, Louise or Charlotte of Valois-Angouleme, while Portugal had offered Isabel of Braganza, as a royal proxy as Manuel had no daughter in the right age. And now there was the little daughter of Denmark and Austria as well. Either girl would do quite well for little Ned and Henry intended to find out what the parties could offer him before he made his decision.
In the evening he decided to seek the company of his wife and set of towards her apartments in the palace of Richmond. One of Catherine’s ladies let him in the room, while quietly informing him that her mistress was resting at the moment. Henry had no intentions to cause any disturbance and found her dozing in front of the fireplace in a comfortable stuffed high chair with an illuminated manuscript in her lap. Her russet gown had its stays loosened to accommodate her thickening waist and her head was covered in a simple linen cap, rather than the statelier gable hood. For a long moment he stood just watching her. It seemed hard to understand at times, but he felt a stronger love for her than ever. Ferdinand had betrayed him, the Hapsburgs had been drowned at sea, the Danish stood to gain even more ground and the emperor had died. In all of this, Catherine had stood firm and faithful by his side. She had vanquished the Scots at Flodden and she had given him the son he so dearly craved. And now she might do it again.
“I should never have doubted you. I was a foolish man to lose my affections for you and a faithless husband. I have a son now and I shall not let Ned see me disrespect his mother again. Forgive me, Kate, my beloved wife. I shall never praise another woman as loudly as I shall you.”
Still silent, he left the rooms, shutting the door behind him as softly as he could so that she would not be woken. Kate was carrying a Duke of York under her heart and thus he would not barge into her chamber like this again. He decided to seek out the company of Bessie instead that night, as Catherine was left to her rest.
In the spring of 1518 war broke out between the Low Countries, Denmark and France as Isabella of Austria refused the marriage between Margaret and Francois, the Dauphin in order to betroth her infant to Edward, Duke of Cornwall instead. Francis had signed a truce with the regents of Spain regarding Naples to focus his efforts on the pesky duchy that for decades had defied French control. The invasion of Burgundy and Franche-Comté stepped up a notch when Odet de Foix was sent with fresh troops under his command to retake the areas for once and all from the Hapsburgs. At the same time, Francis set his sights on Picardy and Vermandois near the french border, abandoning the efforts on taking Luxembourg at the moment.
Isabella and Christian arrived to a chaotic war scene in the Low Countries and meet with Margaret of Austria in Breda, where the Estates Generals had been summoned to meet the new lord and lady of Burgundy. The estates were deeply torn of whether to vote for more men and resources to defend Burgundy and Franche-Comté or to focus the effort on solely defending Picardy and Vermandois. They demanded that the Great Privilege would be reinstated once more as a condition to confirm Isabella and Christian as rulers, as it had been done in 1477 after Charles the Bold’s death and Isabella and Charles accepted those terms.
The Flemish delegates wanted a match with England for baby Margaret, who remained in Copenhagen for the time being, while the Burgundian party wished for her to wed the Dauphin instead, as that would most likely bring peace and an end to the war that continued far into the summer. Margaret of Austria advised her niece to enter into an alliance with the Tudors to avoid little Margaret suffering the same fate she herself had been forced to after Mary of Burgundy’s death. Her husband on the other side advised her to make peace with France and that their daughter becoming queen of France would allow them to focus on consolidating their control of the Low Countries, rather than the more remote possessions. The Danish estates had also voiced their objection to the treasury being drained in order to fight with France and that an alliance with a mighty kingdom as them would be a high honor for Denmark, as no Danish princess had been married into the french royal family since Ingeborg of Denmark had wed Philip II Augustus many centuries ago. Isabella had wasted no time in attempting to have a son this time and she became pregnant in August and declared it to the estates in October. Prayers in all the low countries rose that this time their new duchess should be blessed with a sturdy son to secure the independence of the realm.
In September Pope Leo X finally ruled on the matter regarding Ferdinand’s betrothal to Anne of Bohemia and Hungary and settled the matters once and for all. Since the arrangements for the marriage had been made by the late Maximilian while Ferdinand was still a child, Leo declared that the agreement was null and void and that: “The King of Castile and Aragon is free to dispose of his hand in marriage as he sees fit to do. We wish the very best for the union between the most splendid christian King and the most illustrious Dona Infanta Isabel of the House of Avis of the royal kingdom of Portugal.”
This proclamation was joined by a papal dispensation for Ferdinand to wed Isabella, his first cousin and it was read aloud by Cardinal Cisneros before the whole of the court. In Portugal this sent the whole court into action, as preparations shifted into gear. Isabella would bring a dowry of 600,000 crusados with her into the marriage and loads of treasures from the orient, gold and silver plates, tapestries and rich fabrics in her trousseau as well and her departure from Portugal would take place after the Christmas celebrations. Cisneros wished for Isabella to come immediately, but her widowed father wished to spend on last Christmas with his favourite child before she left for Spain. The aging cardinal understood the reasoning, but grumbled regardless. At the age of 82 he felt his strength fading and while Ferdinand had taken on more and more of the government burdens in the past two years, he was still sixteen and not fully an adult yet. Furthermore, Cisneros wished to live long enough to see his young charge wedded and bedded before he passed away, knowing that it had been his late king’s wish to see the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile fall to his namesake grandson. With the support of Portugal, Ferdinand’s rule would be secure and then he could go to the lord. Getting married swiftly would also keep Ferdinand from succumbing to the temptations of the flesh, as young princes and kings were far to prone too. So far, he had been a model of virtue in that regard, but several young ladies had been batting their eyelashes at him and Cisneros could not be everywhere all the time.
In England the whole court erupted in joy on the tenth of November as a second miracle took place. After a short labour, Queen Catherine delivered yet another fine prince to her husband. As the court had fled London due to the sweating sickness in the city, they had taken up residence in Nottingham castle in to protect themselves. Little Ned resided in Winchester castle in Hampshire at the moment with his household and companions. His nurse, mistress Bryan sent weekly rapports to his worried parents about their precious son. Ned seemed to be doing just fine and liked to play with his toy soldiers or playing on his set of drums with such great vigour that the drumsticks had to be replaced.
Little Henry Tudor, as he would be baptised as, or Hal of Nottingham as he would be commonly called spent his first weeks in life safe from the frightening plague and other terrors. Unlike his brother, the festivities of his birth would be far less at this time, due to the epidemic in the capital, but never the less, the citizens of Nottingham brought gifts of food and flowers to the castle and the aldermen in the city and the mayor all gathered some treasures, such as a golden chalice, rings of silver and a richly decorated manuscript with Saint George and the Dragon on the front, along with roses of silk to decorate the queen’s room. Henry and his courtiers opted to ride around Nottingham to share the joy and dispense alms to the cheering crowds, while Catherine rested after the birth and enjoyed some of the dishes prepared with the food Nottingham had given their blessed king and queen, while her maids placed the lovely flowers around the rooms. The days was somewhat spoiled by rain and cold winds as it was the beginning of November and Henry spent the evening being treated to mulled wine and roasted capon and fish by the most prominent men in the city, while his companions delighted in the cheer and in the pretty women that seemed to slip in and out of the building. For his part, Henry did not seem to be interested in any company of the fairer sex at that time, as his emotional focus was both on his treasured wife, but also his merry Bessie. She had confided in him that she had become pregnant and would likely deliver the child sometime in June of next year. While the news of that had delighted him, it did not impact him the same way as it would in the past. Catherine had given him another son, so what use was a bastard for him now? Of course, he would provide for Bessie and the baby, but his sons, his trueborn sons, required his attention far more now.
And it was with a heart soaring with joy that Henry Tudor rose to his feet and called for a toast for the most fortunate king, their blessed Queen Catherine and the two sons that had brought all so much joy to the kingdom of England. And in the room all people raised their goblets in unison and shouted their praise for the miracle that England had been given to them.
For our King Henry! For our Queen Catherine! For God and Saint George, himself!
Outside of the windows, the chilly rain continued to fall from the skies and the frost creeped in and by the next morning, the streets and roofs would be covered in a fine dusting of glistering white snow. But right now, the fireplaces spread their warmth, the food and drink delighted the king and the warm covers and linens gave Catherine a comfortable bed to sleep in until the morning would arrive. For the Tudors, the year of 1518 ended on a very high note.
Author's Note: So my thinking is to post the chapters (so far) as one chapter per year. This is probably gonna change over time, but this is the format we are doing at the moment. England has another Prince! Our Henry has his little Hal at last! And Catherine deserves everything nice and soft here.
The death of Charles and Eleanor had come an immense shock to the court of England and especially to their aunt, Catherine of Aragon. The queen of England had looked forward to becoming the aunt of a man whom ruled Spain and the Low countries and a prospective next emperor as well and now all those visions had sunken with the boat in Biscay. The Low Countries would fall under the influence of Denmark now and her niece had been delivered of a daughter, rather than the much-needed son all had wished for.
King Henry the eight of England could barely believe the sudden change in European politics. Two years ago, it had seemed impossible that it would turn to this. The Hapsburgs seemed like the perfect ally against France and since the relationship with his Aragonese father-in-law had soured with the trickery Ferdinand had pulled in 1513 to acquire Navarre, he had been ready to cast Catherine aside. The chance of Catherine providing the Tudors with a son to safeguard England from chaos had seemed unlikely and he had cursed himself for not waiting for Eleanor of Austria to grow old enough to wed instead. Now she and Charles had perished and Catherine, his Spanish Catalina, the daughter of that two-faced son of a thousand fathers in Aragon had given him a prince. Her other nephew, the young Ferdinand had become king of Spain instead and would wed his Portuguese bride as soon as possible, but some problems had occurred during the negotiations. For one, Ferdinand had already been promised to Anne of Bohemia and Hungary by his grandfather and the young king Louis demanded that he honour that promise, even sending a delegation to the Pope in Rome to plead the case. And so did the Estates in Austria, as they would not accept Ferdinand as their archduke unless he honoured the treaty between the Jagellions and the Austrian Hapsburgs. Portugal and Spain also reached out to the pope, claiming that the promise had become null and void as Ferdinand had become king of Spain and had no say in the betrothal that had been arranged by his grandfather while he still was a minor. The current pope Leo X had asked all parties to wait with the marriage as he considered all sides. His thinking was that with the resources of Spain, a match with Hungary would benefit Europe as the two intended spouses could be even more motivated with stopping the Ottomans advancement. The Spanish envoy argued that while Ferdinand’s primary concern was to keep the Turks from taking over Christendom, a marriage with Isabella would be more beneficial as Portugal would bring bigger benefits than Anne would for Spain.
Catherine had argued for a match between Ferdinand and Isabella during the summer, stating that a Portugal allied with Spain would also benefit England as it otherwise risked falling under the influence of France, as it had done during the War of the Castilian Succession that her mother and father had fought in their youth. Henry also saw it like that and decided to demand for Wolsey to write to Leo to let the marriage of the Spanish king and the Portuguese infanta go through.
Henry had also been privy to another secret that summer: his wife had confided in him that she had quickened once more, a gift he could hardly believe. Their son had turned into an energic toddler and now they might have a Duke of York to boot? Catherine could have asked him for the whole world at that moment and he would have happily granted her that.
Marriage offers had come for little Ned’s hand after his birth, the first being from France and the second from Portugal. Francois had offered either one of his eldest daughters, Louise or Charlotte of Valois-Angouleme, while Portugal had offered Isabel of Braganza, as a royal proxy as Manuel had no daughter in the right age. And now there was the little daughter of Denmark and Austria as well. Either girl would do quite well for little Ned and Henry intended to find out what the parties could offer him before he made his decision.
In the evening he decided to seek the company of his wife and set of towards her apartments in the palace of Richmond. One of Catherine’s ladies let him in the room, while quietly informing him that her mistress was resting at the moment. Henry had no intentions to cause any disturbance and found her dozing in front of the fireplace in a comfortable stuffed high chair with an illuminated manuscript in her lap. Her russet gown had its stays loosened to accommodate her thickening waist and her head was covered in a simple linen cap, rather than the statelier gable hood. For a long moment he stood just watching her. It seemed hard to understand at times, but he felt a stronger love for her than ever. Ferdinand had betrayed him, the Hapsburgs had been drowned at sea, the Danish stood to gain even more ground and the emperor had died. In all of this, Catherine had stood firm and faithful by his side. She had vanquished the Scots at Flodden and she had given him the son he so dearly craved. And now she might do it again.
“I should never have doubted you. I was a foolish man to lose my affections for you and a faithless husband. I have a son now and I shall not let Ned see me disrespect his mother again. Forgive me, Kate, my beloved wife. I shall never praise another woman as loudly as I shall you.”
Still silent, he left the rooms, shutting the door behind him as softly as he could so that she would not be woken. Kate was carrying a Duke of York under her heart and thus he would not barge into her chamber like this again. He decided to seek out the company of Bessie instead that night, as Catherine was left to her rest.
In the spring of 1518 war broke out between the Low Countries, Denmark and France as Isabella of Austria refused the marriage between Margaret and Francois, the Dauphin in order to betroth her infant to Edward, Duke of Cornwall instead. Francis had signed a truce with the regents of Spain regarding Naples to focus his efforts on the pesky duchy that for decades had defied French control. The invasion of Burgundy and Franche-Comté stepped up a notch when Odet de Foix was sent with fresh troops under his command to retake the areas for once and all from the Hapsburgs. At the same time, Francis set his sights on Picardy and Vermandois near the french border, abandoning the efforts on taking Luxembourg at the moment.
Isabella and Christian arrived to a chaotic war scene in the Low Countries and meet with Margaret of Austria in Breda, where the Estates Generals had been summoned to meet the new lord and lady of Burgundy. The estates were deeply torn of whether to vote for more men and resources to defend Burgundy and Franche-Comté or to focus the effort on solely defending Picardy and Vermandois. They demanded that the Great Privilege would be reinstated once more as a condition to confirm Isabella and Christian as rulers, as it had been done in 1477 after Charles the Bold’s death and Isabella and Charles accepted those terms.
The Flemish delegates wanted a match with England for baby Margaret, who remained in Copenhagen for the time being, while the Burgundian party wished for her to wed the Dauphin instead, as that would most likely bring peace and an end to the war that continued far into the summer. Margaret of Austria advised her niece to enter into an alliance with the Tudors to avoid little Margaret suffering the same fate she herself had been forced to after Mary of Burgundy’s death. Her husband on the other side advised her to make peace with France and that their daughter becoming queen of France would allow them to focus on consolidating their control of the Low Countries, rather than the more remote possessions. The Danish estates had also voiced their objection to the treasury being drained in order to fight with France and that an alliance with a mighty kingdom as them would be a high honor for Denmark, as no Danish princess had been married into the french royal family since Ingeborg of Denmark had wed Philip II Augustus many centuries ago. Isabella had wasted no time in attempting to have a son this time and she became pregnant in August and declared it to the estates in October. Prayers in all the low countries rose that this time their new duchess should be blessed with a sturdy son to secure the independence of the realm.
In September Pope Leo X finally ruled on the matter regarding Ferdinand’s betrothal to Anne of Bohemia and Hungary and settled the matters once and for all. Since the arrangements for the marriage had been made by the late Maximilian while Ferdinand was still a child, Leo declared that the agreement was null and void and that: “The King of Castile and Aragon is free to dispose of his hand in marriage as he sees fit to do. We wish the very best for the union between the most splendid christian King and the most illustrious Dona Infanta Isabel of the House of Avis of the royal kingdom of Portugal.”
This proclamation was joined by a papal dispensation for Ferdinand to wed Isabella, his first cousin and it was read aloud by Cardinal Cisneros before the whole of the court. In Portugal this sent the whole court into action, as preparations shifted into gear. Isabella would bring a dowry of 600,000 crusados with her into the marriage and loads of treasures from the orient, gold and silver plates, tapestries and rich fabrics in her trousseau as well and her departure from Portugal would take place after the Christmas celebrations. Cisneros wished for Isabella to come immediately, but her widowed father wished to spend on last Christmas with his favourite child before she left for Spain. The aging cardinal understood the reasoning, but grumbled regardless. At the age of 82 he felt his strength fading and while Ferdinand had taken on more and more of the government burdens in the past two years, he was still sixteen and not fully an adult yet. Furthermore, Cisneros wished to live long enough to see his young charge wedded and bedded before he passed away, knowing that it had been his late king’s wish to see the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile fall to his namesake grandson. With the support of Portugal, Ferdinand’s rule would be secure and then he could go to the lord. Getting married swiftly would also keep Ferdinand from succumbing to the temptations of the flesh, as young princes and kings were far to prone too. So far, he had been a model of virtue in that regard, but several young ladies had been batting their eyelashes at him and Cisneros could not be everywhere all the time.
In England the whole court erupted in joy on the tenth of November as a second miracle took place. After a short labour, Queen Catherine delivered yet another fine prince to her husband. As the court had fled London due to the sweating sickness in the city, they had taken up residence in Nottingham castle in to protect themselves. Little Ned resided in Winchester castle in Hampshire at the moment with his household and companions. His nurse, mistress Bryan sent weekly rapports to his worried parents about their precious son. Ned seemed to be doing just fine and liked to play with his toy soldiers or playing on his set of drums with such great vigour that the drumsticks had to be replaced.
Little Henry Tudor, as he would be baptised as, or Hal of Nottingham as he would be commonly called spent his first weeks in life safe from the frightening plague and other terrors. Unlike his brother, the festivities of his birth would be far less at this time, due to the epidemic in the capital, but never the less, the citizens of Nottingham brought gifts of food and flowers to the castle and the aldermen in the city and the mayor all gathered some treasures, such as a golden chalice, rings of silver and a richly decorated manuscript with Saint George and the Dragon on the front, along with roses of silk to decorate the queen’s room. Henry and his courtiers opted to ride around Nottingham to share the joy and dispense alms to the cheering crowds, while Catherine rested after the birth and enjoyed some of the dishes prepared with the food Nottingham had given their blessed king and queen, while her maids placed the lovely flowers around the rooms. The days was somewhat spoiled by rain and cold winds as it was the beginning of November and Henry spent the evening being treated to mulled wine and roasted capon and fish by the most prominent men in the city, while his companions delighted in the cheer and in the pretty women that seemed to slip in and out of the building. For his part, Henry did not seem to be interested in any company of the fairer sex at that time, as his emotional focus was both on his treasured wife, but also his merry Bessie. She had confided in him that she had become pregnant and would likely deliver the child sometime in June of next year. While the news of that had delighted him, it did not impact him the same way as it would in the past. Catherine had given him another son, so what use was a bastard for him now? Of course, he would provide for Bessie and the baby, but his sons, his trueborn sons, required his attention far more now.
And it was with a heart soaring with joy that Henry Tudor rose to his feet and called for a toast for the most fortunate king, their blessed Queen Catherine and the two sons that had brought all so much joy to the kingdom of England. And in the room all people raised their goblets in unison and shouted their praise for the miracle that England had been given to them.
For our King Henry! For our Queen Catherine! For God and Saint George, himself!
Outside of the windows, the chilly rain continued to fall from the skies and the frost creeped in and by the next morning, the streets and roofs would be covered in a fine dusting of glistering white snow. But right now, the fireplaces spread their warmth, the food and drink delighted the king and the warm covers and linens gave Catherine a comfortable bed to sleep in until the morning would arrive. For the Tudors, the year of 1518 ended on a very high note.
Author's Note: So my thinking is to post the chapters (so far) as one chapter per year. This is probably gonna change over time, but this is the format we are doing at the moment. England has another Prince! Our Henry has his little Hal at last! And Catherine deserves everything nice and soft here.
@BlueFlowwer Amazing chapter! Very happy that henry and cath had their spare! Long live henry of york!
Happy for Isa and ferdinand as well, may their marriage be happy and plentiful.
And Henry should make sure that bessie's child becomes the fiercest supporter of his trueborn brothers! Always ready to risk life and limb for them!
Happy for Isa and ferdinand as well, may their marriage be happy and plentiful.
And Henry should make sure that bessie's child becomes the fiercest supporter of his trueborn brothers! Always ready to risk life and limb for them!
Ah, even when Henry’s being …. Sweet? (Don’t know if that’s exactly the right word). Even then he’s a jerk.
Great update!!
Very good chapter, Henry has more sons and France is flexing his muscles against the HRE, I wonder how things will end between the two nations? Good that Ferdinand and Isabella are getting married, hopefully we get a more better Spain/Portugal Union in the future? Keep up the good work.
And don’t you forget it, dickwad. Otherwise, I think we can find another lance with your gonads’ names on it
Also congratz to Cat for having another healthy son! She’s kinda turning into ttl’s Anne of Austria
They have their little Hal now! A heir and a spare to the Tudors! Its a miracle for sure! And who knows if Bessie's child will even be a boy in this tl?
Ferdinand and Isabella: Electric Bogaloo here we GOOOO! I fully credit @DrakeRlugia with the inspiration from his exellent (and far more supreme)tl: https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...atio-a-16th-century-alternate-history.544712/ and this quote I made at that tl for this marriage.
Ergo, why Charles and Eleanor had to die en route to Spain.
What? Letting your heavily pregnant wife rest while carrying your precious prince isn't kind? Thank you!
The Tudors are in a better shape and France gets to kick the ass of the Low Countries. And Ferdinand and Isabella are on the way! No telling about the union yet!
Vey true on both accounts. A girl would be useful for a domestic match.
Henry isn't gonna forget that his poor wife gave him two bouncing boys in two years. And I'm choosing to spare Henry's nuts from being wrecked at the moments. That glorious part of alternative history belongs to @FalconHonour, whom I am ever indepted to for that alone.
Anne of Austria is a good comparision. I like her so much.