Long May He Reign: Edward VI Lives

Historico

Hey everyone, I've been on a bit of a Tudor bender recently and I am left with the question on What If Edward VI of England and Ireland did make a strong recovery from the illness that killed him and reigns as long Elizabeth did? Who might be his candidate for Queen amongst the high dynastic houses of Europe? What would Mary & Elizabeth's fate be in an "Edwardian Age"? How might the reformation turn out? And would he even be a relativley strong King in the mold of his father and Grandfather? I can't wait for the discussion about these topics and more(As this period really isn't my strong suit, so I am excited to learn more about)...Keep it coming:)

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Space Oddity

Space Oddity

Your best bet is to keep him from getting sick in the first place. And that might be difficult--while we can never be sure, the fact that Edward's uncle and half-brother died at the same age he did, with suspiciously similar symptoms, suggests the Tudors suffered from some sort of genetic disorder.

But then that's the sort of thing POD's are for, isn't it?
 

Yorel

If Edward VI were to survive his illness and ruled as long as Elizabeth did, that means he would rule 45 years. Thus, this makes him die in 1598.

Likely suitors for Edward VI would most likely be a Protestant Princess. My guess would turn either towards a Protestant German princess (like a Saxon), although I would tend for a Danish or Swedish one. In the timeline All Hail Germania, I remember ImperialVienna had married Edward VI to a Vasa.
Two other possibilities would be a Hapsburg or a Valois as these are the two rival Catholic Nations. However, I'm not sure it would happen : the Hapsburg were a bit arch-catholic while the Valois are French, the worst kind of men for an Englishmen at the time.
Edward VI was fianced for a time to Mary Stuart, but the Queen of the Scots was already married to Francis II of France by the time Edward VI fell ill. Of course, she could be married to Edward VI when she returns to Scotland after the death of Francis II, but that doesn't seem likely.
One last possibility would be for Edward VI to look in England : it's less prestigious than another princess, but he could marry an English noblewoman. Among these possibilities, there could be his cousin Jane Grey (they were the same age).

The Question of Mary & Elizabeth is a very interesting one...
Mary is 37, so it might be a bit late to marry her. Plus, her bloodline technically comes next after that of Edward's, so I don't think she would be married : her Catholicism makes her a risk for the English Protestants. She might convert, but I think she was too Catholic for that.
As for Elizabeth, I don't have a clue. She is currently 20, so chances that she would marry are high. I don't have a clue on who would be her future husband.

English Protestantism will be harsher than it was OTL. Edward VI was far more Puritan than his sister Elizabeth : Anglicanism would probably not just be a copy of the Catholic Church with the King serving as the Pope (it's basically that OTL apart from one or two differences) and have more Lutheran or Calvinists roots.

As for Edward's ability to rule, it seems Chroniclers showed him as very clever individual as well as someone very able for his young age. He could probably overshadow his father and grandfather and be the greatest monarch of England ITTL. It would be interesting to see how he deals with the Religious Wars in Europe, most notably on the other side of the Channel.
 
DrakeRlugia

DrakeRlugia

Yorel said:
If Edward VI were to survive his illness and ruled as long as Elizabeth did, that means he would rule 45 years. Thus, this makes him die in 1598.

Likely suitors for Edward VI would most likely be a Protestant Princess. My guess would turn either towards a Protestant German princess (like a Saxon), although I would tend for a Danish or Swedish one. In the timeline All Hail Germania, I remember ImperialVienna had married Edward VI to a Vasa.
Two other possibilities would be a Hapsburg or a Valois as these are the two rival Catholic Nations. However, I'm not sure it would happen : the Hapsburg were a bit arch-catholic while the Valois are French, the worst kind of men for an Englishmen at the time.
Edward VI was fianced for a time to Mary Stuart, but the Queen of the Scots was already married to Francis II of France by the time Edward VI fell ill. Of course, she could be married to Edward VI when she returns to Scotland after the death of Francis II, but that doesn't seem likely.
One last possibility would be for Edward VI to look in England : it's less prestigious than another princess, but he could marry an English noblewoman. Among these possibilities, there could be his cousin Jane Grey (they were the same age).

The Question of Mary & Elizabeth is a very interesting one...
Mary is 37, so it might be a bit late to marry her. Plus, her bloodline technically comes next after that of Edward's, so I don't think she would be married : her Catholicism makes her a risk for the English Protestants. She might convert, but I think she was too Catholic for that.
As for Elizabeth, I don't have a clue. She is currently 20, so chances that she would marry are high. I don't have a clue on who would be her future husband.

English Protestantism will be harsher than it was OTL. Edward VI was far more Puritan than his sister Elizabeth : Anglicanism would probably not just be a copy of the Catholic Church with the King serving as the Pope (it's basically that OTL apart from one or two differences) and have more Lutheran or Calvinists roots.

As for Edward's ability to rule, it seems Chroniclers showed him as very clever individual as well as someone very able for his young age. He could probably overshadow his father and grandfather and be the greatest monarch of England ITTL. It would be interesting to see how he deals with the Religious Wars in Europe, most notably on the other side of the Channel.
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Mary is certainly left to her devices and dies an old maid. Although she was Catholic, it's not like she was actively plotting against him. Unlike with Elizabeth, she recognized Edward's right to the throne. After all, he was born after Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn were dead, so there were no doubts at all regarding his legitimacy. Edward's mother and Mary were also quite close, compared to her relationship with Anne, which was toxic. Both Elizabeth and Mary are rendered illegitimate by English law, but I don't think it'd be too much a boundary: as Elizabeth is much younger, I can certainly see her being used a martial pawn, perhaps to strength relations with the German Protestants. She could totally end up not marrying either, though. By the 1540s/1550s her opinions on marriage seem to have been cemented due to the fiasco with Thomas Seymour (he apparently wanted to marry the young princess, and when she was in his household there were allegations of improper behavior between the two).
 

Historico

Basileus Giorgios said:
Yes- but probably not for a year or so. I know where I'm going to go with it, but it won't get my full attention until the completion of Isaac's Empire.
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It's an amazing TL BG, its a shame I missed it when you were still actively updating(Maybe I could have convinced you to not put it on hold lol).As far as the marital candidates for Edward, would his betrothal to Mary,Queen of Scots still hold a year or two after his supposed recovery? How might the cousins' union have an effect on English and Scottish relations? Or might continuing his father's policy of forging new alliances against the Emperor choose the daughter of Maurice, Elector of Saxony...the heiress Anna of Saxony? She's thoroughly protestant and only seven years Edward's junior...Even-though her OTL marriage to William of Orange proved to be unhappy one due to Williams womanizing(I for one don't believe Edward would have had his father's libido),she did give him five children;so I think it would be a relatively fruitful marriage...Thoughts?
 

Deleted member 5909

If memory serves, Edward was already betrothed at the time of his death to Elizabeth of Valois (since the Treaty of Boulogne in 1550). Though she was Catholic, the king was convinced that after their nuptials, he could easily "sway her opinions", so I can't imagine this being a very happy union. I also believe that in the final years of King Edward's reign, there was much talk of wedding the future Queen Bess to the future King Frederick II of Denmark.
 

Last of the Stuarts

Yorel said:
English Protestantism will be harsher than it was OTL. Edward VI was far more Puritan than his sister Elizabeth : Anglicanism would probably not just be a copy of the Catholic Church with the King serving as the Pope (it's basically that OTL apart from one or two differences) and have more Lutheran or Calvinists roots.
Click to expand...


Whist I liked the TL that Basileus wrote, I must agree with Yorel that Edward was a more radical protestant than his father or sister. I think that England would have been wracked with the sort of bloodshed that was seen during Mary's reign (but catholics bleeding not anglicans). I do loke the idea of a Russia / English match however.
 

Falastur

yes, as the French would rather use their princess to entice catholic diplomatic targets, or targets of opportunity
 
Jape

Jape

I remember reading in a book of what-ifs, one bit about an Edward VI reign - the chapter suggested Edward and his regents were effectively looking to 'Prussianise' or rather 'Swedenise' - namely a puritanical Protestant state, a large centralised standing army and fortress system to defend an island of true faith
 
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