So according to this library book, one of the reasons the Spanish Cortes grudgingly accepted the "foreign" Charles as king was when he married his cousin, who to the Cortes was sufficiently Iberian and thus more open to local policy. Who could Charles marry that is sufficiently high born but not Iberian enough for the Cortes to start making noises again (i. e. German)?
ATL Brides for Charles V?
- Thread starter ranichi17
- Start date
Emperor Maximilian wanted to arrange a marriage between Mary Tudor the elder (so the sister of Henry VIII, not his daughter).
AFAIK Ferdinand (of Austria) was intended to marry Anne of Bohemia & Hungary, without the Iberian Inheritance, she would be an interesting alternative for Charles.
AFAIK Ferdinand (of Austria) was intended to marry Anne of Bohemia & Hungary, without the Iberian Inheritance, she would be an interesting alternative for Charles.
Oops, I forgot to mention the POD was 1520, so Mary's already wed to Charles Brandon.
Well, Anne of Brittany was rather interested in wedding her daughter, Claude, to Charles. Louis XII scotched that plan. Also, Isabella of Aragon, duchess of Milan, offered Bona Sforza as a marriage partner for whichever of Ferdinand of Aragon's grandsons inherited the Spanish realms.
However, since this is 1520 and both abovementioned ladies are married, we have:
Isabel of Portugal
Beatriz of Portugal
Renée de France
Mary Tudor, the Younger
Anne of Hungary & Bohemia
Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein (later of Denmark)
Isabella of Naples
Giulia of Naples
Any of the Navarrese princesses - Anne, Catherine, Quitterie.
An earlier widowed Marguerite d'Angoulême
Anne d'Alençon, Dowager Marquise of Montferrat
And that's leaving any of the German electoral families out.
However, since this is 1520 and both abovementioned ladies are married, we have:
Isabel of Portugal
Beatriz of Portugal
Renée de France
Mary Tudor, the Younger
Anne of Hungary & Bohemia
Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein (later of Denmark)
Isabella of Naples
Giulia of Naples
Any of the Navarrese princesses - Anne, Catherine, Quitterie.
An earlier widowed Marguerite d'Angoulême
Anne d'Alençon, Dowager Marquise of Montferrat
And that's leaving any of the German electoral families out.
By this point it was quite clear, that it would be Ferdinand, who'll marry Anne of Bohemia & Hungary. The double marriage contract mentions Louis II and Mary of Habsburg and that Anne would marry a Habsburg archduke. If Charles was the intended marriage partner, then they would most likely have been married in 1520. IOTL she married Ferdinand in 1521.
I'm not sure how the Cortes is supposed to have grudgingly accepted Charles as king in 1516 because he married Isabella of Portugal in 1526. By the time he married Isabella, the Castilian Cortes had already been pretty thoroughly domesticated, no?
Out of curiosity, why did Charles marry so late in life? I mean, one would think that with as many crowns as he stood heir to, he would've been shuffled down the aisle post-haste.
In part it was because of the available brides, which in case of England depended on whether the supported France or Habsburg-Trastamara, and they tended to switch a bit. If Mary Tudor the elder had been available, then Maximilian would have arranged such a match for his grandson. She was the Habsburg first choice, though Isabella of Portugal might have been preferred in Castille-Aragon.
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He could also marry the OTL Spinster Anna of Navarre, in that way he could get the inheritance of navarre if he plots against Henry II of Navarre...
There were at least two noble revolts in those ten years, so marrying an Iberian was sort of their compromise.
Furthermore there wasn't an available French or English alternative, which would have brought more international benefits.
What remains of Navarre at this point was already largely within Valois sphere of influence, so you can count that out pretty easily.
Though from a branch of a royal house, the dukes of Masovia were not close to the throne any more. Moreover and IMHO more importantly this match would not benefit Castille-Aragon & the Burgundian Inheritance much.
This match would also mean that they would be the senior heirs agnatically to the Kingdom of Poland established by Wladyslaw the Elbowhigh, the Brandenburgians/Hohenzollerns also have claims as well as they are the heirs of Casimir III.
This would only be interesting for the Austrian Habsburg branch, after they managed to return to the thrones of Hungary-Croatia and Bohemia. It doesn't really serves the interests of Castille-Aragon-Burgundy, which is more focused on France and England.
But the point of the match, according to ranichi, is that Charles loses Castile-Aragon in favor of his mother and then his brother Ferdinand. So technically, Ferdinand ITTL would be the Spanish Habsburg and Charles would be the Imperial Habsburg, with his lands in Burgundy, Austria, and - by his wife - Mazovia.
But then that gets weird and messy, which is what ranichi wants.
In that case Charles V (who'll keep Austrian & Burgundian Lands, in the event Ferdinand ends up on the thrones of Castille & Aragon) will be the one to marry Anne of Bohemia & Hungary. Mary Tudor the elder, though not Iberian, might be more acceptable for Castille-Aragon, since it strengthened the ties with England (they would benefit less from better ties with Bohemia & Hungary). TTL Ferdinand's bride will be chosen to serve the interests of Crowns of Castille & Aragon.
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I think when Mary [the future Mary I] was a child her first cousin Emperor Charles DID express an interest in marrying her but, of course, with all of her father's messes, that soon got scuttled. Ironic that his son WOULD marry her [and regret it} AND Charles himself would live to see virtually the whole deal play out (minus the last few months of his cousin's/ daughter-in-law's life).