WI: Henry VIII dead in 1521?

[isabella]

I think who her cousin the King of Scotland will be the most likely husband for a Mary who become queen at such young age. For different reasons neither the already made betrothal with the French Dauphin or a wedding with Emperor Charles who Catherine desire so much are good choices for a Queen Regnant of England and both will have powerful court faction (in the same Regency Council also) against them. A Scotland match (and with the man after her in the succession line) can be an acceptable compromise for both factions and keep in mind who the French-Scottish alliance was mostly an anti-England alliance. I do not think who the Scottish regent can refuse an union of the crowns (with James who is both the male and the older of the new royal couple) only for the sake of the old alliance. The Scotland only few years before lose a war and his King against England and a young Queen with the whole England as dowry would be surely a better choice over a French princess.
As you said Katherine was fiercely against the French match and I do not think who anyone in England would like being ruled by the French, specially not by the future King of France and the Imperial match is unlikely because a)Mary is too much young for Charles who is an adult and need heirs fast and cannot waiting years for his bride b)Charles have the Spain problem because he is born and raised in the Netherlands and almost never or never stay in Spain before starting to rule it (and is for that who is younger brother, Ferdinand or Fernando who was born and raised in Spain at their grandfather's court, was quickly sent in Germany) and a Portuguese's bride will be much better accepted from the Cortes

[von hitchofen]

Originally Posted by Alpha Trion

I’ve always believed that England not being Catholic gave them an advantage in scientific advancement over both France and Spain after 1600.

yes, this was the basis of Keith Roberts AH novel "Pavane", 1968

[Velasco]

Originally Posted by isabella

I think who her cousin the King of Scotland will be the most likely husband for a Mary who become queen at such young age. For different reasons neither the already made betrothal with the French Dauphin or a wedding with Emperor Charles who Catherine desire so much are good choices for a Queen Regnant of England and both will have powerful court faction (in the same Regency Council also) against them. A Scotland match (and with the man after her in the succession line) can be an acceptable compromise for both factions and keep in mind who the French-Scottish alliance was mostly an anti-England alliance. I do not think who the Scottish regent can refuse an union of the crowns (with James who is both the male and the older of the new royal couple) only for the sake of the old alliance. The Scotland only few years before lose a war and his King against England and a young Queen with the whole England as dowry would be surely a better choice over a French princess.
As you said Katherine was fiercely against the French match and I do not think who anyone in England would like being ruled by the French, specially not by the future King of France and the Imperial match is unlikely because a)Mary is too much young for Charles who is an adult and need heirs fast and cannot waiting years for his bride b)Charles have the Spain problem because he is born and raised in the Netherlands and almost never or never stay in Spain before starting to rule it (and is for that who is younger brother, Ferdinand or Fernando who was born and raised in Spain at their grandfather's court, was quickly sent in Germany) and a Portuguese's bride will be much better accepted from the Cortes

I think Katherine was too much the creature of her nephew to contravene his will. If the Emperor wished to marry Mary - and he would, of course - then she'd give Mary to him on a platter. His power, wealth and reputation were such that no Privy Council would be able to force the Queen to back down. The Scots marriage was considered OTL but was unpopular and negotiations never went anywhere, since the Scots wanted a French princess and the English wanted a continental marriage.

The only way Mary isn't marrying Charles is if there's some serious internal unrest which forces her to marry a rival contender - ie, a Courtenay or Pole.

[Alpha Trion]

I’ve always felt that James V of Scotland would have been the best possible husband for Mary in OTL. In TTL, peace between the kingdoms would provide obvious benefits to both James and Mary. Britain could have served an arbiter between France and Spain. Britain could alternate its support to increase its own power. But the duke of Albany impresses me as someone who took his position in France far more seriously than he ever took his regency of Scotland. Even if Margaret were to become regent again in TTL and made an offer of her son to England, she still wouldn’t be able to convince Catherine to accept the offer. Catherine would be determined to see Mary married to Charles.

The ultimate factor that needs to considered when discussing who Queen Mary would marry is the fact that she need only wait until she turned 18 years old and then marry whomever she wanted. If the regency council blocked her betrothal to Charles, she could simply refuse to marry anybody else until she reached her majority. Mary, as queen regnant, could then marry Charles. But with the wealth and power of Charles and the regent Catherine backing her, I believe that Mary would be able to convince the regency council to allow her betrothal to the Emperor. In TTL, Charles is simply not going to refuse the hand of the Queen of England, Spanish Cortes and/or Portugal be damned. The worst case scenario for Charles would be if he dies before Mary and he can have any children. But he would still have his brother Ferdinand as his heir. Assuming Ferdinand still marries Anna of Hungary in TTL, he should have no problem providing heirs to the various Habsburg thrones. England would definitely be worth that gamble for Charles. Besides, the Spanish kingdoms preferred Ferdinand to Charles anyway so they might welcome the change in kings.


Von Hitchofen, thank you for the reference to Pavane. I have never heard of the book but I will find a copy to read.

[von hitchofen]

a pleasure - its a long time since I read it (1980s?) but it was good