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#201
April 2nd, 2011, 09:11 AM
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While I was reading the latest update to your story, I hoped the successor of Charles V was equally fanatic Philip II of Spain, leading to a great civil war in the Holy Roman Empire between Catholics and Protestants.
However, a crisis between the Habsburg dynastic promises plenty of action for future updates. I hope to update very soon (especially with regard to Spain. Can we see a truly unified Spain in the seventeenth century, as always intended the Count-Duke of Olivares?). Greetings. 
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#202
April 2nd, 2011, 09:27 AM
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I'll be sure to write something up regarding Spain, it's a little overdue. And yes, you are correct in your wishes: Spain will emerge as a nation state that includes Portugal (no Olivares, though  given the butterflies). This century, and perhaps the next are certainly Spain's for the picking.
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#203
April 2nd, 2011, 10:18 AM
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Iberia being a formally united nation sounds like something interesting.
Oh, wait. 
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#204
April 2nd, 2011, 12:50 PM
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An interesting update as usual.
I was a little surprised that France gave up the Artois and Flanders so readily but I guess they have other problems to deal with.
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#205
April 2nd, 2011, 01:22 PM
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#206
April 2nd, 2011, 02:37 PM
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I've also been wondering about how Navarra will be unified with the rest of Spain (because at that time Spain was the entire Iberian Peninsula, ie, Castile, Aragon, Portugal and Navarre).
Is it a military invasion as performed in 1512 (IOTL), or by a dynastic marriage between their respective heirs of Navarre and Spain?
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#207
April 2nd, 2011, 02:49 PM
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#208
April 7th, 2011, 05:24 AM
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Whew... this took a long time to write. It's also... very long. Honestly, it's about triple my average update, but I couldn't find myself a proper cut off... and honestly, it's all pretty important. So I suppose consider it an update with a little extra bonus! It's also important to note at this point (1560s), we have a lot of new people around. While some monarchs especially might have similar names, they certainly have different birth dates and birth years, and are different people who have been entirely born. So personalities are quite different, producing different people, who even when put in situations similar to their OTL counterparts, end up acting much differently. Enjoy.
Questions and Criticism are welcome. Also, this update brings the TL up to some 43,000 words and a 100 pages total. So I wanna thank all my readers for reading and keeping up. I appreciate it and thank you for all your ideas and critiques and the fact you even read it.   The Coat of Henri d'Orléans; His arms show his claims to England (through his mother, Mary Tudor), his position as King of the Scots (by virtue of his marriage to Mary Stuart), impaled with the arms of his Duchy of Orléans. Marie Stuart, Princesse des Huguenots 1547 to 1561; France and Scotland The death of James V complicated Scottish politics more than they had ever been in the sixteenth century. He was succeeded by his infant daughter, Mary. Henry VIII initially sought the young babe as a bride for his son Edward, and for a time it seemed like the British Isles might be united through the bond of marriage. Yet the aggressive policy of Henry VIII and later the Lord Protector Somerset saw the Scots snub the English offer in favor of their historic ties to France, which were heavily cultivated by the widowed Madeleine de Valois, who already began to exert a slight influence over the policies of her daughter’s Regency, which was formally headed by both the Duke of Albany[1] and the Earl of Arran. Yet the division of the Regency between two people, especially people who were so different from one another, was untenable in the long run. Arran was a Protestant and chief of the pro-English faction, whilst the Duke Albany was a staunch Catholic and pro-French. Yet despite the rampant factionalism and infighting present within Scottish politics that threatened to split the country into civil war, it was the outrageous demands of Henry VIII that served to unite the interests of Arran and Albany, albeit temporarily. By demanding that Mary be sent to England, as well as control over several important castles within Scotland, Henry VIII made it clear of his intentions to dominate Scotland, driving Arran and his pro-English party to compromise with the Duke of Albany, causing England to seek the hand of the little Scottish Queen by force. The death of Margaret Tudor, mother of the deceased James V in 1543 killed off any hopes of Anglo-Scots reconciliation, the old woman having been keenly involved in negotiations to stave off war and to see her granddaughter married to her nephew, the Prince of Wales. The Rough Wooing began in 1544 and would have grave consequences for England both politically and financially, lasting beyond Henry VIII’s death in 1547. The influence of the French party was pervasive at this time, with Arran and his English leaning faction being weakened by the ambitions of the Tudor monarchy. Arran sought to compromise with Albany, and under his influence converted to Catholicism. Albany also aided the queen dowager Madeleine in asserting herself—she returned to Edinburgh from Leith and even began to attend meetings of the Privy Council, often flanked by the French Ambassador. The Scottish people made it clear their hatred of the proposed English marriage: combined with the machinations of Albany, Arran found his policy soundly defeated, provoking the ire of the English King who soon sent an army north to force the Scots to consent to a treaty of peace on his terms and to hand their queen over into his custody. English forces opened hostilities with an attack directly on Edinburgh under the command of the Earl of Hertford (the future Duke of Somerset), launching a surprise landing at the Firth of Forth and occupying Leith and later Edinburgh, the capital city was torched and English forces terrorized the Lowlands, with several towns and villages being burnt by the English forces. Madeleine de Valois, with the infant Queen of Scots fled at the head of the Scots army, relocating to Stirling castle which was out of the reach of the English. The Scottish army lead by Albany scored a major victory at Stewarton, but it only temporarily stemmed the English tide. Emboldened by his victory against the English, Albany, a pious Catholic, turned against the Protestant Lairds in the Lowlands. Albany believed the Protestants to be sympathetic to the English and sought to curtail their advances. He had several reformist preachers put to death, most importantly being George Wishart, who had translated First Helvetic Confession into the Scots tongue. Albany also pushed a heresy act through Parliament (despite Arran’s own reservations). Thus began an intense persecution of Protestants that proved to be Albany’s downfall. The Lairds of the Lowlands, who initially supported Albany irrespective of their religion, rose against his perceived tyranny. Fortifying his positions at Dunbar, Albany had his wife[2] and children sent away to France (perhaps foreshadowing Queen Mary’s own future three years later), but he himself was not so lucky, and he was assassinated in the autumn of 1545 by a group of Protestant Lairds known as the Castilians, who took Dunbar and fortified it against royal forces. Albany was succeeded by his young son Charles, in exile in France succeeded him as Duke of Albany and Count of Auvergne. Albany’s murder added religious troubles to the mix of Scotland’s problems. While Arran ceased persecution of the Scottish Protestants, the rebellious Lairds, known as ‘Castilians’ (who included a young John Knox in their number) continued to hold Dunbar Castle and several other forts against Arran’s forces, hoping for English support. This renewed English hopes of taking Scotland and forcing the marriage of Mary and Edward; although the death of Henry VIII in the spring of 1547 gave hopes that England might seek peace, the Lord Protector Somerset chose to continue to prosecute the war, leading Arran to seek out direct aid from France. François II felt obliged to France’s most ancient ally, sending a generous sum of 50,000 livres to finance the Scottish army, as well as a naval squadron under the Count of Noailles seized Dunbar from the rebellious Castilians. These minor successes were greatly overshadowed by the Battle of Pentland Hills: the English army scored a major victory over Scotland and put much of the Lowlands under English occupation, with the English besieging Haddington with artillery and even extending military rule as far north as Dundee, with Broughty Castle being taken by English forces. The English successes convinced François II that he needed to aid Scotland more directly. Numerous military engineers were sent to Scotland by the French, the most important being Migiliorino Ubaldini, who strengthened Edinburgh Castle (Edinburgh had taken back by the Scottish after the Battle of Stewarton) as well as Dunbar. François II also dispatched an army to Scotland, with a force of 10,000 men arriving at Leith in June of 1548. Armed with artillery, the French forces in conjunction with the Scots army set out to the break the siege of Haddington. The arrival of French forces raised the spirits of the Scottish people, and also served to set the stage for the ascendance of the queen dowager, Madeleine, who found her position bolstered by the commanders of the French forces, André de Montalembert, the Seigneur d’Essé and Marshal Paul de Thermes. Despite the joint attack on Haddington, the Franco-Scots forces were unable to raise the siege and the English retained control over a good portion of the Lowlands. It was at this point that the King of France communicated an interest in the hand of his niece, the Queen of Scots, for his second son, the Duc d’Orléans, and he duly commanded to his ambassador that this interest be communicated to the Scottish Parliament. The French Ambassador, Henri Cleutin, the Seigneur d’Oisel immediately relayed the wish of his master to Madeleine. Unlike the proposed marriage with Edward VI, the queen dowager was very interested in the proposed French marriage. Even the Regent, Arran, was enticed by the match, as it would allow Scotland to maintain her independence and ensure a steady flow a French aid, as the King of France would be keen to protect the throne of one his sons. The Scots Parliament was hastily convoked at a nunnery near Haddington and d’Oisel formally asked for the hand of the young queen, for the even younger Duke d’Orléans, which was accepted almost unanimously. Madeleine and Mary soon repaired to Dumbarton, where the marriage treaty was formally ratified. It was at Dumbarton in August of 1548 that the little Queen of Scots set sail for France, François II not only offering the hand of his son, but also to protect and raise his niece and future daughter-in-law until she (along with her future husband) were old enough to return to Scotland, whence her husband would be able to take over the reins of government. A French squadron, led by the Admiral Villegaignon escorted the young queen to France, landing at Roscoff in Brittany. Mary was keenly looked after in France. Even as a small girl, she had her own court which included two lords, two of her half-brothers, and four other little girls, also named Mary, of some of the greatest noble houses in Scotland. She formed close friendships to her cousins and future sisters-in-law, the princesses Claude and Marie. Mary also grew close to Charles and Isabelle Stuart, the children of the Duke of Albany, who had been sent to France in 1545 with their mother, Marie de Bourbon. Following the death of Marie de Bourbon in 1546, the two children were virtual orphans and cared for by their grandmother, Marie de Luxembourg[3]. Mary grew very close to her cousins of the Albany branch of Stewart, bounding on their mutual familial connection, as well as similar feelings of isolation as children away from home. The little Queen of Scots was doted on, especially by her aunt and namesake, Mary Tudor, the Queen of France, who strove to give her niece an excellent education. The Queen of Scots received an education much better than many girls of her era, and was very skilled at languages, mastering French, Latin, Greek, Spanish and Italian in addition to Scots. She was also a skilled horseman and learned the gift of falconry: yet her education was still very much a feminine one, as she learned needlework, prose and poetry. The French court, however, was a very dour one, radically different from the times of François Ier. François II and Mary Tudor were devout Catholics, and had little toleration for the antics that had gone on the days of François Ier. Mistresses and indulgence had been replaced instead of religion and piety. Mass was heard twice a day, thrice on special occasions, and was mandatory for members of the court. Openly Protestant courtiers found themselves informally penalized—Protestant services were forbidden at court and Protestant courtiers were still forced to attend Catholic services. They also subjected a variety of petty abuses; when paying homage to the royal family, they were not allowed to kiss the hands of the king or queen, were given apartments segregated from the rest of the court, and depending upon their rank and status, were often refused a variety of minute rights (duchesses who were Protestant, for instance, were refused the right to a taboret, or covered stool, in the presence of the queen, and thus were forced to stand despite their rank). Catholic sermons at court were often given by the king’s preacher—Étienne Sabatier in the time of François II, a fiery Jesuit who denounced the reformation and spent most of his time preaching of hell and it’s horrors and little else. It was no surprise that the little Queen of Scots found herself utterly bored by (and perhaps scared of) Catholic services as a child—and as she grew older she would find herself alienated from the Catholic religion. As she grew into a young woman, Mary grew closer to Charles, the Duke of Albany, as well as his sister, Isabelle. Both formally held positions within her tiny court, and Mary often spent short periods of time at Vendôme where they resided with their maternal relatives of House of Bourbon. It was here that Mary made many of her lasting acquaintances, such as Jeanne de Roucey, wife of the Prince of Condé, the Queen of Navarre, Renée, known as the Queen of the Huguenots, who became not only a friend and confidant, but one of the strongest influences on the Scottish Queen, Princess Blanche, the youngest daughter of the King and Queen of Navarre, Charlotte de Laval, wife of the Admiral Coligny, and Paolo Gavazzi, a Calvinist theologian who became Mary’s tutor in Italian as well as her own private chaplain. It was at Vendôme that Mary was probably first properly introduced to the teachings of the Reformation. Lutheranism had been present in France since the 1520s, but the teachings of Calvin took hold in the 1550s and quickly spread. Both of the Albany children were Calvinists, under the tutelage of their aunt, the Princess of Condé, the House of Bourbon being well known as the chief protectors of the Protestant religion alongside the House of d’Albret who ruled over Navarre. Yet several of the Bourbon princesses were Catholic and even served as Abbesses over some of France’s most prestigious abbeys. It was this mix of religion at Vendôme that promoted an openness that was not present at the French court. At the family chapel the Duke of Bourbon allowed both Protestant and Catholic services—it was here in 1555 that the Queen of Scots was probably first introduced to the Huguenot service. Mary was deeply affected by the sermon that she heard. As a young woman separated from her homeland, having grown tired and even resentful of the Catholic religion under the hateful court chaplain, it was no surprise that Mary embraced the Reformed religion, finding in it a solace within it that she did not find in the Catholic faith. The Scottish reformer John Knox was also heavily influenced by Jean Calvin, and many of his writings were eagerly accumulated by Mary, who took a personal interest in his ideas and even began to exchange letters with the peacher. He dedicated A Faithful Counsel on the Christian Woman[4] to The Fayrst Scot in all the land which was widely believed to be Mary. Amidst the isolation in the French court, Mary took great joy in her new found faith. Initially flirting with the religion, Mary took the final leap in 1557 when she abjured the Catholic faith. While she continued to outwardly conform to Catholic practices, she had privately accepted the Calvinist faith. Paolo Gavazzi entered into her service as her Italian tutor, but privately he was employed as her own chaplain, where she began to hear clandestine Protestant sermons within her apartments, joined by other Huguenot courtiers, and the Princess Claude who sympathized with the Huguenots and was soon won over by Mary. The English Ambassador also attended sermons within Mary’s apartments, as even the English Embassy was forbidden from hosting Protestant services by king. Writing back to his mistress, Elizabeth, Mary Stuart’s Protestantism soon became an open secret, and Queen of England opened up communication with her Scottish cousin. While Renée, the Queen of Navarre was hailed in Huguenot circles as the Queen of the Huguenots, it was Mary Stuart who became their Princess. Mary’s religion soon became public, and the Queen of Scots was reduced to tears by Mary Tudor, and received reproachful letters from her mother, who was ashamed that her only daughter had embraced heresy. François II took the most action; he banned her from visiting Vendôme and even sent her a convent for a short time in hopes she would renounce her heresy. Yet these poor treatments did little but solidify Mary Stuart’s Protestant faith; while she was eventually allowed to return to court, but her Protestant books and letters were confiscated, she was barred from visiting Vendôme, and Gavazzi was tried for heresy by the Chambre Ardente and burned at the stake, to the dismay of the Queen. Of all the members of the royal family, Mary had the most issues with the Henri, Duke d’Orléans, who was also her future husband. Henri was the favorite of his mother, and immediately earned the dislike of the little Queen of Scots when she caught him snitching out his brothers and sisters to their mother. While Mary was bored with the constant sermons and horrified by the Jesuit preacher, Henri was a devout Catholic not unlike his parents, making a point to refuse the attentions of Protesant courtiers. As the Duke d’Orléans and the Queen of Scots grew older, their dislike for each other intensified, and they were as different as could be. While they had similar interests in horseback riding and hunting, their clashing personalities made any sort of friendship impossible, and also doomed their marriage before the wedding ceremony. As he grew older, the Duke d’Orléans youthful snitching turned into catty gossip, and he took a keen interest in spreading rumors about his future wife. Indeed, it had been Orléans who had made Mary’s Protestant convictions public. Although he was doted upon by his mother, Orléans was reviled by much of the French court. Flanked by his followers, a group of fashionable young men who were known as les Mignons, Orléans was heavily lampooned in Paris and quite unpopular in that city. Pamphlets flew throughout the city on the eve of the marriage of Henri and Mary, with suggestions that the Queen of Scots would be sharing her wedding bed with the Count of Vaudémont, Gaston of Lorraine, leading favorite of the young Duke of Orléans. The wedding between Henri and Mary was celebrated in May of 1558 at the Notre Dame de Paris. The ceremonies were immediately marred with controversy—in order to ensure the marriage was one of equals, the Queen of France, Mary Tudor, ceded her rights to the crowns of England and Ireland to the Duke of Orléans and had him proclaimed King of England and Ireland and had the Arms of England impaled with those of Orléans and Scotland. The death of Edward VI in 1553 had seen Elizabeth succeed him, but many Catholics believed Mary Tudor as the rightful Queen of England, and although French attempts to claim the crown upon the death of Edward VI had failed, it was clear they had not completely given up, and planned on a fresh attempt upon the marriage of Henri and the Queen of Scots; Mary would return to the Catholic faith, the two would be set up as rulers over the British Isles, Catholicism would be restored, with French influence extended over the whole of Britain. The English Ambassador immediately protested the proclamation of the Duke of Orléans as King of England and ultimately stormed out of the wedding banquet when his new coat of arms was revealed. The wedding had its own difficulties when she learned that her mother, who had succeeded as Regent of Scotland had offered the Crown Matrimonial to the French when her Protestantism became public—the Duke of Orléans would be Mary’s co-sovereign and would be allowed to maintain the throne even if Mary predeceased him; he would even be able to pass the crown to descendants by a wife other than Mary. It was also stipulated that the Crown of Scotland was to be sent to France. Although only sixteen, Mary was furious. The thought of sharing power with someone she detested as much as Orléans was unfathomable. Mary refused to leave her apartments, and had been carried to the altar by the Armand de Gontaut by force, and during the ceremony refused to speak or consent to the marriage, stating that she did not recognize a Catholic wedding. Yet the marriage was solemnized despite Mary’s protests. The English Ambassador wrote back to Elizabeth regarding the marriage, “The day we have feared has arrived, and Orléans has been wed to the Scotch Queen. But he is a silly boy who still clings to his mother’s skirts… the young queen is intelligent, and we have a friend in her. We must pray that no issue comes of this marriage and she holds to her Protestant convictions—for the day she returns to Scotland will be a day of rejoicing in England.” Very little changed for Mary after her marriage, and she continued to live an isolated existence at the French court. The Duke of Orléans, now styled as King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, spent vast sums of money on frivolous pursuits, presiding over ornate court at the Château de Blois that was beyond his means. Although Henri was promised money and troops by his father to take to Scotland, in preparation for an invasion of England, he dithered on leaving France for that cold foreboding country. It was plainly obvious that the Duke of Orléans had no taste for politics and Scotland formally remained in the hands of the Regent. He did take the Duke of Albany (unknowing of his Protestant religion) into his service, setting up a Scottish Chancery to prepare documents in name according to his style as King of Scotland. His marriage however, remained unconsummated and Mary drew closer to her religion in these difficult times. While the Duke of Orléans spent his day cohorting, Blois was turned into a Huguenot center of worship, albeit temporarily. Mary recollected a wide variety of Protestant works, and employed yet another chaplain to preach to her and her servants. Life was not easy at Blois; Orléans continued to be difficult. His servants were allowed to search through Mary’s things, and ‘heretical’ writings were often burnt. He read all of her letters before passing them on to her, and sent away her chaplain, replacing him with a Jesuit and forcing her to attend Catholic services. Mary was more miserable than ever, yet she managed to score a few minor victories in terms of etiquette. In private she refused to recognize her husband’s style as King of England and Ireland. While she begrudgingly accepted his right to be called King of the Scots, she would not accept anything else. A row also developed at the Château de Blois; the Duke of Orléans took great joy in showing the coat of arms that had been revealed following his marriage. Mary made a point of having them all removed, and while Henri attempted to have them put back, he was no match for Mary’s willpower, and Blois was soon cleaned of the Orléans arms that had been impaled with England and Ireland. Mary remained in France for almost a year after her marriage; it was only after the death of her mother in 1559 along with the fact the Duke of Orléans had racked extensive debts in Paris that it was decided they should take leave for Scotland. Accompanied by the the Duke of Albany and his sister, Mary and Henri left for Scotland on board a Scottish ship. A French flotilla also accompanied the couple, along with a force of 5,000 men to reinforce the existing French army in Scotland. Mary and Henri landed at Leith in the summer of 1559, where the Queen was greeted by the Earl of Arran and her illegitimate half-brother Robert Stewart[5]. The Queen was openly welcomed by the otherwise tense populace, who were glad to have their queen returned to them. The French who had openly saved Scotland almost ten years earlier were now openly reviled by the Scots, believing their pervasive influence would see Scotland permanently attached to France. Madeleine de Valois had taken the Regency from Arran in 1551, making her preference for the French well known. Slavishly dependent upon the French troops stationed in Scotland, and the French money François II made available to her, Madeleine made no secret her favoritism—she was even believed to have carried on an affair with Marshal de Thermes, head of the French troops in Scotland. Frenchmen were put in charge of the Scottish Treasury and Great Seal, and Henri Cleutin, the French Ambassador often attended the Privy Council. Indeed, when Madeleine de Valois had left Scotland to visit both England and France in 1551, it had been Cleutin who was left in charge of Scotland, not the Earl of Arran. During Madeleine’s time he was almost sovereign in affairs of state. Yet Unlike most of the Frenchmen employed by Madeleine, Cleutin had been genuinely popular. His position made it obvious, however that the French wielded too much influence in Scottish affairs, and would soon prove the breaking point. Religion played an important issue as well. Although Madeleine did not openly persecute the growing Protestant movement, needing support for her pro-French policies in lieu of a hostile England; yet Protestant Lords soon grew tired of the great influence Frenchmen had over Scottish affairs. A Protestant rising in 1554 had been quashed by the French troops, but when Elizabeth found herself firmly upon her throne, she began to privately fund the Scottish Protestants. A group of lords opposing Mary’s marriage formed a band in 1557, and Scotland soon found herself gripped with a fresh wave of religious riots, with outbreaks of iconoclasm, while programs were drawn up to reform parish worship and preaching. Protestantism spread throughout Scotland, and when Madeleine died in 1559, Scotland was in the midst of a religious upheaval. In the absence of both Mary and Henri, the Scottish Parliament was allowed to assemble—the sitting Parliament, called the Reformation Parliament was naturally dominated by Protestants. They soon moved to abolish the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Scotland, and also drew a confession of faith. Thus before Mary and Henri even set forth in Leith, Scotland was a Protestant nation that had embraced the Reformation and the teachings of John Knox. Mary privately welcomed the work of Parliament, and upon her arrival in Scotland she soon met with John Knox, who was made her court preacher and head of her religious establishment, making her Protestantism public for the first time. While the Queen of Scots was popular, their French born king was almost reviled from the start. Henri earned the derision of the people when he refused to allow Robert Stewart and the Earl of Arran to address him on account of their Protestant faith (Arran had once more abjured the Catholic religion in 1557). The Duke of Orléans also insisted on the right to hear Catholic services; despite the commands of Mary, he refused to attend the services of John Knox, earning the ire of the Scottish reformer who began to preach against the Duke of Orléans for hearing mass, dressing too elaborately, cohorting with his mignons (the Count of Vaudémont and many others had accompanied Mary and Henri to Scotland) and other real or imagined offenses. Orléans was gravely offended by Knox, who attempted to assert himself as Mary’s husband for the first time ever by demanding that she dismissed the “terrible heretical priest,” and attend Catholic services. Mary refused, further straining relations between husband and wife. Indeed, Henri continued to hear mass in his apartments—the Duke of Orléans so openly flouting Scottish laws prompted the outbreak of religious riots in Edinburgh. An angry mob even stormed Edinburgh Castle, breaking into the Duke’s apartments during mass, ending the service by force by dragging the Catholic priest into the streets and having him killed. The Duke of Orléans was gravely shaken by the event, but refused to be scared into submission and continued to partake in Catholic services. Henri also caused great problems when he demanded recognition as King of England and Ireland. While his status had been openly accepted in France, given their hostility to Elizabeth, Mary finally felt free of the domination of her French relatives, and refused to allow Henri to use the title, recognizing him only as King of the Scots. Mary added to the injury by formally recognizing Elizabeth as Queen of England and barring Henri from using the coat of arms that quartered those of England with Scotland and his Duchy of Orléans. It was very clear from the beginning that Henri had never wanted to come to Scotland, and only came for two reasons: to see that Parliament formally granted him the title King of Scots (although he had been styled as such following his marriage, he had never been formally accepted as Mary’s co-ruler), and also for them to settle a significant pension upon him as befitting of his station. Thus it was plainly obvious that Henri intended to remain in Scotland temporarily—once his status was properly settled and he had another source of revenue, he intended to return to France, forcing Mary to return with him. He bemoaned his position in Scotland and the headstrong attitude of his wife. He wanted nothing more than to return to France, so he could continue living out his life and leisure, with Mary properly locked away in Blois, with the affairs of Scotland handled by his French administrators, making it clear that Henri had no intention of going to war with England, having no love for the art of war, and certainly not wishing to remain any longer in the British Isles. The deeply Protestant Parliament was gravely offended by Orléans requests; it was no surprise that they refused them, deepening the rift that existed between Henri and Mary, with Henri believing that she had forced Parliament to refuse his requests. The marriage continued to remain unconsummated, and it was obvious to the Scots that Mary would never have any children by Orléans. The Duke of Orléans fell into a deep depression after his snub by the Scots Parliament—he took to heavy drinking and many remarked that the Duke often quarreled heavily with Mary, and in one incident he struck her violently, pulling at her hair and had to be dragged off of her by the Duke of Albany. Mary found herself in a terrible situation; she withdrew into religion, capturing the sympathy of people, who had grown to loathe Orléans behavior and also of his French troops, who had certainly overstayed their welcome. He was useless; when he was not drinking, he was often out in the midst of Edinburgh with his mignons, causing whatever trouble they could—it was widely believed that in 1560 he had contracted syphilis. Racking up exorbitant debts, Orléans soon made a friendship in the Earl of Huntly, one of the greatest Catholic magnates in Scotland. He was no friend of the Queen, confessing to the old religion and angry over Mary’s transfer of the Earldom of Moray from his person to her illegitimate half-brother, Robert. Knowing that he had exhausted all forms of credit (the Italians, Flemings, and even the Germans refusing the lend Orléans a peny) Huntly pried up Orléans lips with generous sums of money, and soon learned of his dissatisfaction. Playing on the young boy’s fears, he suggested that Mary might have him murdered or done away with, as she certainly could not care much about a Catholic husband. Huntly demanded that Orléans take action: he must fortify himself in the north with a sizable contingent of troops, and from there he could call upon the support of the Catholics. Once that was done, he could defeat Mary’s supporters in the field of battle and take her prisoner. Only then could Knox be sent away and the Catholic religion restored. Huntly greatly overestimated Henri’s abilities. Although he was only eighteen in 1561, he was already an alcoholic and suffering from syphilis; scared of being ratted out or captured, he delayed his departure from Edinburgh on several occasions, and when he finally left the capital, rumors had already spread regarding a possible Catholic uprising. Only a hundred troops agreed to accompany him—the French Army in Scotland found its pay in arrears given Henri’s poor finances and refused to march with him until paid. The Duke of Orléans arrived at Iverness Castle a haggard man with no reinforcements, dooming Huntly’s enterprise from the start. When Huntly was summoned to court regarding the rumors and to answer, he panicked and refused and thus was declared an outlaw. He gathered a small force and hoped to march with the Duke of Orléans, but the Duke suffered an outbreak of syphilis and refused to move from his sickbed. Huntly and his forces were defeated at Dunnottar by the Duke of Albany and the Earl of Moray, quashing his rebellions in the Highlands. Huntly died soon after his capture by Mary’s forces, and although the Duke of Orléans was not implicated, his involvement in the Huntly Rebellion was widely suspected. Despite the evidence, Orléans was not formally tried and was welcomed back to Edinburgh. Now a weak and broken, the Duke of Orléans passed away soon after, leaving the Queen of Scots of widower at 19. Queen Mary of France was distraught by the death of favorite son, and Catholic circles whispered that Orléans had been murdered. Yet his death was very much a natural one, and also spelled the decline of French influence in Scotland. Orléans body was sent back to France, where he was buried in St. Denis Basilica with all the honors of a king. The same day as his funeral, his younger brother, Philippe, was granted the Duchy of Orléans and quietly proclaimed King of England and Ireland, in direct contrast of the grand proclamation of Henri. France of 1561 was not the France of 1558; the growth of the Huguenots threatened the internal stability of the crown, with Mary Tudor openly silenced by her normally supportive husband, “How, Madame, do you expect me to cleanse Britain of heresy when France is festering? The throne of St. Louis is our bulwark and rock; once it is sharpened we will once more look at St. George and Andrew!” Mary scored her first major political victory when she used the news that a few hundred French troops had traveled north with the Duke of Orléans, ostensibly to bolster Huntly’s forces in the north to claim that the entire French Army in Scotland intended to aid Huntly’s rebellion. The Scottish had tired of the French troops and very soon turned against them. The attitude of Edinburgh was openly hostile towards the French army and Mary soon demanded and received their departure from Scotland. The situation in France had grown tense with increasing religious troubles, and thus the removal of troops from Scotland was seen as necessary. It was a bonus to Mary that the pay of the French troops had been arrears for several months, and the Queen was not forced to pay them to ensure they left. With the departure of the French army, Mary had a free hand to govern as she wished for the first time in her life. She immediately concluded a treaty of alliance with Elizabeth, making it clear that the Reformation had succeeded in Scotland. The traditional ties with Catholic France were suspended in favor of those with Protestant England, and the two Protestant Queens were soon united in blood, friendship, and religion. [1]Francis Stuart d’Auvergne, son of John Stewart and Anne de la Tour d’Auvergne. He is also the Count of Auvergne in France. After his murder in 1545, his son, Charles Stuart d’Auvergne succeeded to his Scottish and French titles. [2]Marie de Bourbon, the daughter of Charles IV, the Duke of Vendôme and later Duke of Bourbon. [3] She lives a fair bit longer, ATL. [4]As Knox is in communication in ATL and aware of her Protestant sympathies, he is a little less hostile to her. The writing is essentially an ATL form of The Fire Blast of the Trumpet Against the Regimen of Women, which was an attack on Catholic female sovereigns. A Faithful Counsel is more like a guide, a sort of The Prince for Protestant Queens. The female rulers that Knox despised OTL was on account on their religion—I can see him being much less hostile ATL with Elizabeth reigning earlier in England and with Mary’s own sympathies. [5]An ATL son born to James V and one of his ATL mistresses.
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Last edited by DrakeRlugia; April 9th, 2011 at 01:42 AM..
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#209
April 7th, 2011, 01:39 PM
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Great installment Drake! A Protestant Mary Queen of Scots is somethig we don't see very often.
I wonder who will be the new husband of Mary now that Orleans is dead.
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Because we all love mad kings: Madness and Greatness: a history of Portugal (1578 - 1640) Last update: 21/September/2010
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#210
April 7th, 2011, 02:52 PM
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Thanks, Gonzaga. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the Stuarts, and I thought them embracing the Reformation would be interesting. The French court under François II and Mary Tudor is pretty religious, so I could see it being so intense it sort of wards Mary away from the religion.
As for Mary's husband, I don't wanna spoil anything... but it should actually be a little obvious. All I'll say is that he was present in the update, too.
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#211
April 7th, 2011, 04:17 PM
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Hmmmm.... Is she going to follow her OTL counterpart's example and marry a cousin?
Great update.
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"Now Blooms the Tudor Rose"--It's a boy!
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#212
April 7th, 2011, 07:24 PM
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Although technically the Duke of Orléans was her cousin as well... but this is a Scottish cousin.
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#213
April 8th, 2011, 03:16 PM
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"Now Blooms the Tudor Rose"--It's a boy!
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#214
April 8th, 2011, 05:06 PM
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Nice update. Not sure that Henri would include the English Claim to France in his England part of the arms though
(a quartering of Scotland and basic England would suffice).Anyways, re Mary's cousins: how does the Family Tree of Scotland look? Did Matthew Stewart Earl of Lennox marry Margaret Douglas (if she exists) to produce Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley? Is the Earl of Arran, James Hamilton? Does he have a son for Mary to marry? Is there a James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell? etc etc etc
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#215
April 9th, 2011, 12:30 AM
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I actually have a part of the Scottish family tree done, but I don't think it includes all the axillary branches of the family. Off the top of my head, the Earl of Douglas would have a different wife entirely as Margaret Tudor never remarried after James IV's death. So the Douglas and Lennox family have completely different descendents. The Earl of Arran has a son, James, who was born in 1532, and there is certainly someone similar to Bothwell around. Besides the Earls of Arran, there is still a branch of the Stuarts that is more senior to them, that died out IOTL. You'll find her husband in that branch.
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Last edited by DrakeRlugia; April 9th, 2011 at 02:19 AM..
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#216
April 9th, 2011, 12:32 AM
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Last edited by DrakeRlugia; April 9th, 2011 at 01:17 AM..
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#218
April 10th, 2011, 01:23 PM
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)Quote:
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#219
April 10th, 2011, 01:28 PM
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He's a descendent of James II, though. That'll lead you in the right direction.
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#220
April 10th, 2011, 02:01 PM
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