WI Jane Seymour had a daughter instead of a son?

What are the consequences if Jane Seymour gave birth to a daughter (let's call her Princess Jane) in 1537 instead of a son? Jane Seymour dies on schedule 12 days later.

Would Henry VIII remarry sooner than 1540 in this scenario?

If he failed to produce a legitimate male heir by the time of his death does Princess Jane inherit the throne?
 
No. If Henry has no legitimate male heir, it will pass through the line in the form of Mary, Elizabeth, Jane. However, if Henry continues to claim Mary as illegitemate, then it goes strait to Elizabeth. Interesting how the 16th C. pans out with only women as the viable heirs. The line of sucession as it stands now is as follows:

Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, aged 31.
Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, aged 14.
Jane, daughter of Jane Seymour, aged 10.
Mary, Queen of Scots, descended from the daughter of Henry VII. Engaged to the French Dauphin, aged 5.

Ladys Jane, Catherine and Mary Grey, grandaughters of Mary Tudor.

Eleanor Clifford, Countess of Cumberland, as above, dies 1547. She had no sons.

Therefore, there is no male heir to the throne. I doubt Elizabeth will be the virgin queen here.
 
There will be a new marriage, and fairly quickly if Edward is born a girl. The question is to whom?

Obviously Cromwell would try and force through another marriage, however this time the King may be more willing to go along with Cromwell than he was in OTL, owing to the fact that he has no son.

However, as in OTL, Jane is still likely to be the last wife on Henry who bore any children. The king has by this point already picked up bad injuries, and he is no longer a young man. Even if another marriage is rushed through there will likely be no heir. As in OTL, Henry will blame his wife for lack of off spring and he will likely still achieve his OTL amount of wives, if not more.

As for the Sucssesion, it would likely jump straight to Elizabeth at the time of Henry's death.
 
After Edward VI was born, Henry seemed incapable of having any other children with his other wives. Many believe that he suffered from syphilis at the time of his marriage to Jane and Edward's birth (hence why he was sickly), which can cause impotency. But his weight could also be an issue and cause of impotency. Either way, assuming Edward is born a girl and Henry VIII remarries, it will be interesting if he doesn't manage to have any other childen.

I'm also wondering why the succession would jump straight to Elizabeth in the event another princess was born. Wasn't Elizabeth declared illegitimate after Anne Boleyn was executed?
 
Do you mind if I take this for a TL.

How about this for the premise: one of the butterflys of Henry dying without a male heir, is that Francis II of France lives longer (perhaps a mere 5-10 years longer). This leads to the birth of a son of Mary and Francis (James? Charles?). We now have a situation where the closest male heir to the thrones of Scotland, England and France is a catholic infant. But both Scotland and England are protestant by this point, so we end up with a joint French/Spanish attempt to bring ths isles back to the fold. The result is a dynastic struggle between the protestant backed Tudor-Grey-Whatever and the Catholic backed Stuarts for the crowns of England and Scotland. Scotland may very well choose an English protestant over a scottish catholic.
 
I'm also wondering why the succession would jump straight to Elizabeth in the event another princess was born. Wasn't Elizabeth declared illegitimate after Anne Boleyn was executed?

She was, but after the second succession act (about 1540 I think) the line of sucession was laid down so as to include Mary and Elizabeth. I think Catherine Parr did a lot to restore family unity and helped push this through.
 
She was, but after the second succession act (about 1540 I think) the line of sucession was laid down so as to include Mary and Elizabeth. I think Catherine Parr did a lot to restore family unity and helped push this through.

Right, but after Edward. If he has another daughter and still marries Catherine Parr, who knows how the Succession Act might be worded. Could we possibly see Mary, then Elizabeth, then the third Princess? Or perhaps Jane then the other two? I guess it'd depend on a lot of things...
 

Keenir

Banned
Right, but after Edward. If he has another daughter and still marries Catherine Parr, who knows how the Succession Act might be worded. Could we possibly see Mary, then Elizabeth, then the third Princess? Or perhaps Jane then the other two? I guess it'd depend on a lot of things...

maybe Henry 8th says "whichever of you leaves the Catholic Church, you will succeed me."
 
Well, Mary was restored to the succession in 1540 even despite her Catholicism -- although she accepted her father as Supreme head of the Church and repudiated Papal Authority, she did this only because of the worsening relations between her and her father and she obviously wasn't very sincere. Elizabeth on the other hand was raised a Protestant from birth, as was Edward VI.

My musings on the subject are mute; if Janes dies in childbirth as per OTL, then her daughter becomes first in line through any succession act anyways; legally, this third daughter would be his only legitimate child anyways... Mary and Elizabeth would come next because of their illegitimate status. I suppose Henry could alter the succession as he saw fit (Parliament did give him that freedom after all) without regards to illegitimacy or not, but I guess I can't really see him placing Mary or Elizabeth before this third daughter.
 
The fact that Henry VIII had no son seems to be a big misconception with the masses. He had one, as all of us on AH.com would know, and he was even crowned King. He just didn't live long enough to do much.
 
The fact that Henry VIII had no son seems to be a big misconception with the masses. He had one, as all of us on AH.com would know, and he was even crowned King. He just didn't live long enough to do much.

Crowned King? Who would that be eh? As far as I know though Henry Fitzroy was made Duke of Richmond & Somerset he was never declared the King's heir or crowned.
If you're talking about Edward read the POD again: it's saying that Edward was born a girl. Sorry to be so blunt ;)
 
Crowned King? Who would that be eh? As far as I know though Henry Fitzroy was made Duke of Richmond & Somerset he was never declared the King's heir or crowned.
If you're talking about Edward read the POD again: it's saying that Edward was born a girl. Sorry to be so blunt ;)
Are you sure Blount's son wasn't declared heir? Hmm, maybe just unofficially.
 
Are you sure Blount's son wasn't declared heir? Hmm, maybe just unofficially.

Nope, never. Henry maybe wanted to name his illegitimate son as his heir, but it never happened -- whenever Fitzroy died Elizabeth had been declared illegitimate and the new succession allowed Henry to name who he pleased as his heir, illegitimate or not. There was also some talk of making him just King of Ireland, but Henry's advisers opposed this as they feared it would create another Scotland.
 
Jane Seymour

When Henry VIII married Jane, both his previous wives were dead. Many would have regarded the daughter by Jane as Henry's only legitimate heir. If he never has a son, I see alot of factional infighting over who this princess will marry.
 
Guys, Jane having a daughter, and only a daughter is a SERIOUS threat to Henry. The whole reason why he made the split with Rome to divorce Catherine was because he needed a male heir to cement the Tudor dynasty. Remember, his father had emerged victorious in the War of the Roses, but the dynasty itself is still new to power. A third daughter makes Henry look like a fool because he broke away just to have a male heir and all he is getting is girls.

More over, Jane having a daughter represents a threat to the protestant factions of the court. Some of the biggest anti-protestant riots during this period in England happened after the start of Edward's reign when it became apparent that he wasn't going to revert to Catholicism. It's all too easy for rumors to spring up that Henry has been cursed to have only daughters by God for breaking away.

Also, Henry having no male heir will weaken his power with the nobles. Why bother listening to him except of lip-service to appear to be a good citizen when you know that you have a shot for the crown or a higher position for helping a claimant when the blob croaks?
 
Jane Seymour

I see Princess Mary's position becoming much stronger when It is obvious that Henry will never have a son.
 
I see Princess Mary's position becoming much stronger when It is obvious that Henry will never have a son.

And interesting enough, Mary might still marry Philip II ITTL, since he would be a widower by the time of her coronation (assuming she becomes queen rigth after the death of Henry VIII).
 
Not to mention the fact that Mary is the only one over 15 in this situation.

With an earlier marriage with Philip II, could Mary have a child from him or her health problems would already not allow it?

Also, without Edward VI and with an ealier and longer reign of Mary I, would Elisabeth still not accept the idea of a marriage?
 
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