WI:Henry VIII is sterile

kasumigenx

kasumigenx

What if a war rendered Henry VIII sterile, how would it affect the attitude and the reign of Henry VIII if he is sterile?

How would the sterility affect the lives of his infamous many wives?
 

pternagy

Unless it was known that he was sterile, I think it would have made his wives' lives somewhat less pleasant. Catherine of Aragon probably wouldn't have been treated much worse, but giving Henry no children at all wouldn't have helped her cause. As I write this it strikes me that if Henry could have pushed a childless marriage as proof that his marriage was full of bad mojo, he could have avoided the split with Rome. The other wives probably would have been dumped faster if they couldn't provide him with anything. Henry probably could have swung Parliament into providing him the right to appoint an heir, at least to avoid a war of succession or a Scottish inheritance. Somehow I cannot see the advisers of a dying, childless Henry VIII conspiring with the Scottish Crown.

If it was somehow known that he was sterile, such as a very obvious and specific wound in battle, the timing of such an incident could have had massive effects. If he was hurt before his father died, or at least before his sisters were married off (which came first), his sisters might not have been sent off to other countries. In any case an obviously incomplete king/heir to the throne could have set off another round of succession wars.
 
kasumigenx

kasumigenx

pternagy said:
Unless it was known that he was sterile, I think it would have made his wives' lives somewhat less pleasant. Catherine of Aragon probably wouldn't have been treated much worse, but giving Henry no children at all wouldn't have helped her cause. As I write this it strikes me that if Henry could have pushed a childless marriage as proof that his marriage was full of bad mojo, he could have avoided the split with Rome. The other wives probably would have been dumped faster if they couldn't provide him with anything. Henry probably could have swung Parliament into providing him the right to appoint an heir, at least to avoid a war of succession or a Scottish inheritance. Somehow I cannot see the advisers of a dying, childless Henry VIII conspiring with the Scottish Crown.

If it was somehow known that he was sterile, such as a very obvious and specific wound in battle, the timing of such an incident could have had massive effects. If he was hurt before his father died, or at least before his sisters were married off (which came first), his sisters might not have been sent off to other countries. In any case an obviously incomplete king/heir to the throne could have set off another round of succession wars.
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I don't think he would know himself that he is sterile.
 

Georgie Porgie

If his wives were allowed to re-marry after a divorce it is likely they would become pregnant by their new husbands, and as soon as that occured it would become clear that Henry was the issue.

Given that his father was sure that a union between the Scotish and English thrones would lead to a dominant England (as was indeed the case) I can't really see an issue with the introduction of the Stewarts to the English throne 60 years earlier than it happened in OTL.

I am not sure if England would become protestant or not, but if it did it would be fully protestant not the Anglican half way house that Henry created in OTL.
 

Ancientone

Banned
Male sterility was not openly recognised at that time--it was always the woman's fault!
If that was the case then the succession would still have passed to James via his Mother or possibly to Lady Jane Grey via Lady Brandon if the Scots were excluded. The big problem would be that the Tudor line was only a generation old and not that legitimate--a childless Henry may just have sparked off a new series of civil wars, undoubtedly there was a Frenchman somewhere that had an ever-so distant relationship to the Plantagenets who could get up an army.
 

Geordie

kasumigenx said:
What if a war rendered Henry VIII sterile, how would it affect the attitude and the reign of Henry VIII if he is sterile?
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As others have said, it depends upon what is known by both Henry and those around him. However, as time goes on, there will be a lot of politicking around the king to try and influence whether the throne goes to the Stuarts, Brandon/Grey line or somebody else again. As Ancientone syas, there may be another claimant or pretender in the woodwork if things are looking desperate. What price another Percy Warmneck?

kasumigenx said:
How would the sterility affect the lives of his infamous many wives?
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I had always believed that one of the reasons the divorce/annulment Catherine was needed, and needed fast, was that Anne Boleyn was pregnant. A sterile Henry means no pregnant Anne, butterflying the desperation. Obviously, the king is still in need of an heir, but some of the urgency is lessened. This affects relations with both the Pope and the Hapsburgs, leading to many more butterflies...
 

Dirk_Pitt

Banned
This could lead to some massive butterflies in English History! Some of Henry's children did become monarchs!
 
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