“Charles Tudor, second oldest surviving son of Prince Henry Tudor, spent almost twenty-five years in Julich-Cleves-Berg from fifteen forty to fifty sixty-five: first as regent to his younger half-brother Johann Tudor and then simply as an advisor. He would only rarely return to Calais, having left the governing in the hands of his wife, Leonora Borgia. [1] Charles Tudor was particularly beloved by the people of Julich-Cleves-Berg. Records indicate that the Karl, the German version of Charles, became the number one name during this time period.”
Lila Kelly, “Charles Tudor and Johann Tudor”
[1] Their second daughter, Eleanor Tudor, would be conceived upon one of the visits. She would not meet her father until age three at his next visit. This gives you a hint on just how often Charles Tudor was in Calais.
“Prince Charles Tudor, son of Prince Henry Tudor and Catherine of Navarre, would oversee the marriage of Duke John to Marie Elizabeth, Princess of Saxony, [2] early in fifteen sixty. The couple would appear to have a congenial marriage; they would have thirteen children though only eight would live to adulthood.
After the marriage, many thought Prince Charles would leave Julich-Cleves-Berg. And while Prince Charles would relinquish the regency, he would remain in Julich-Cleves-Berg as an advisor for almost four years.”
A.E. Bell, “The German State”
[2] Since in this timeline OTL Johann Frederick I was born a girl, Jeanne Sophie, John Ernest second son of John, Elector of Saxony, is a much more important person. John Ernest would inherit all his father’s lands and the electoral dignity. He also lives longer than OTL and has three children, the eldest of whom is Marie Elisabeth.
“In all probability, Charles Tudor was closer to John Tudor than he was to his two daughters. Charles Tudor would raise John Tudor from almost infancy. In comparison, Charles Tudor spent next to no time with his two daughters. It must have been extremely hard to leave Julich-Cleves-Berg and John Tudor to return to his own lands.
On the journey from Julich-Cleves-Berg to Calais, Prince Charles Tudor, Duke of Calais, would sicken and die. It is believed that he was infected by contaminated food, cleanliness being extremely difficult on the road.”
Lila Kelly, “Charles Tudor and Johann Tudor”
“The question on everybody’s mind after watching
Regent is, ‘Is this a tragedy?’
Regent, referring to both Prince Charles as regent of Julich-Cleves-Berg and Leonora Borgia as regent of Calais, covers the marriage Prince Charles and Leonora Borgia. But, the movie spends very little time on the actual marriage. Instead, the movie primarily focuses on the almost completely separate lives of Leonora Borgia and Prince Charles. In fact, the two only get three scenes together.
By far my favorite scene is the one where Prince Charles has returned unexpectedly, and Leonora Borgia wishes to know why he has returned, saying, ‘The secret to our marriage is distance, I would know why you have jeopardized it!’ The scene does an amazing job highlighting the intense gap between the two.
And there couldn’t be two more different people. Prince Charles was a brusque straightforward penny pincher. Leonora Borgia was loud, a bit of a spend thrift, and devoted to the arts. They certainly weren’t happy together. This brings us back to the question, is this a tragedy? If the movie is about the relationship between Prince Charles and Leonora Borgia it most certainly is. The two never really understood each other nor even particularly cared for each other.
But, if it this movie is about two people who just happened to be married to each other, I’d say this movie couldn’t possibly be a tragedy. While it’s true that Prince Charles and Leonora Borgia didn’t have a happy marriage, they both led happy lives. They each made their own families: Prince Charles with the brother he raised, Leonora Borgia with their daughters. Both lived tremendously successful lives, Calais continues to be center of arts and music that Leonora Borgia created, and Prince Charles left Julich-Cleves-Berg debt free and secure.
It’s the dichotomy between the lives of Prince Charles and Leonora Borgia and their marriage, that leaves
Regent bittersweet, a question without an answer.”
Review by Hailey Lane, the definitive Tudor Reviewer