“Prince Charles Tudor, the new Duke of Calais, would arrive with his younger half-brother Duke John Tudor of Julich-Cleves-Berg, in what is now the State of Rhine in the German State, late in the year of fifteen thirty-nine. Initially, the German lords were opposed the Navarrese prince as regent for Duke John. But, Prince Charles earnest and hard-working nature would win them over.
Prince Charles, the oft forgotten third son of Prince Henry and Queen Catherine of Navarre, flourished in Julich-Cleves-Berg. In Navarre he had been overshadowed by his elder brothers; he had none of King Henri’s magnetism nor had the recently deceased Prince Francis’s charm. But, here in Germany his forthrightness was admired.
Princess Leonora, Prince Charles’s wife, would spend the next several years traveling back and forth between Calais and Julich-Cleves-Berg. Calais would be left almost entirely in her hands, while her husband was immersed in ruling Duke John’s section of Germany.”
A.E. Bell, “The Birth of German State”
“Queen Maria Tudor of Portugal* died late in the year of fifteen forty-one shortly after the wedding of John Emmanuel of Portugal and Caterina Maria de Medici. She left behind her two sons and three daughters and one granddaughter. Her death would hit King John III especially hard; he would retire from court for several years and would never remarry.
This left John Emmanuel and Caterina Maria at court. These years were the proving ground of John Emmanuel and Caterina Maria. They would never share the immortal love of John and Maria, but the two would come to trust and rely on each other greatly.”
Melina Navos, “Caterina, Mother of Iberia”
* Daughter of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, not daughter of Arthur I and Catherine of Aragon
“Elizabeth Hamilton, the only daughter of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland, to survive to adulthood, was a mere thirteen-years old when her elder half-brother, James V died in Ireland. But the strong-minded young lady, with support from her father, James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, and her betrothed, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, would emerge as a powerful player in her nephew’s regency.
Though she held no official position, it would be at her urgings that the full might of Scotland would turn toward Ireland to avenge the death of her brother.”
Walter Owens, “Bossy, Bossy Bess”
“The Irish, used the English methods of warfare, were unprepared for the Scottish forces. The Scottish, unlike the English, had a much better understanding of Irish politics and how to manipulate them. In this, the similarities between the Scottish and the Irish served to quicken the war and then ensure the peace.
The English had tried to conquer Ireland for almost four hundred years. It took the Scottish two years.”
Richard Kent, “The Birth of Muir Magi”