An Unexpected Love Story: Joanna of Castile marries Henry VIII

Early 1506.
Early 1506
The Channel
Waves whirled around and through the ship that carried Queen Joanna and King Philip of Castile to Spain, leaving a misty and cold residue on the wooden planks,
rocking the ship furiously to one side and back again, causing a flurry of panic and fear to
erupt from within the inner decks of the ship as people were mercilessly
thrown around the ships by the ruthless flow of stormy wind that turned the boat almost to the point where it was on its side. The people within the ship and the
ships surrounding prayed that the storm would subside. They prayed that the journey would be soon over and before they knew it they would be in Castile, where
the King and Queen would finally be coronated under the warm and clear Spanish skies.
"I'm going out onto the deck." King Philip shouted back at some councilmen.
"What!?" Shrieked his wife, Queen Joanna. "You cannot! You will die!"
Philip turned on his heels to look back at his wife, who's face was painted with an expression of distress, worried for the man that she loved so much, but did not
receive nearly as much love as she should have. The King and Queen of Castile's marriage was not often a joyous one and could only be described as a very turbulent marriage. He had been given the nickname of "the Handsome" while she "the Mad", but many wondered what the extent of this madness was, or if it was just
jealousy. To say the least, despite having five children herself, Joanna had never been very maternal or loving to her children, as she was so blinded by love for Philip
that she had no more to spare for any others, even her closest kin.
Philip's expression filled with rage and fury, as if he might harm the Queen. "You do not command me, woman!" he huffed as he saw Joanna's expression remain
unmoved, she had heard all of this and more before.
A strike of thunder pierced through the sky in a palette of purplish-blue, illuminating the darkened, stormy sky and crashing into the waves and making a noise
loud enough to fill Philip with more determination to go out in the storm. He through a disgusted look back at his wife and without a word, found a damp ladder
that oozed moss and stray pieces of wood that would be sure to give him a splinter and climbed up it, finding himself on the final floor of the ship, he would only
have to open the heavy wooden door encrusted with his coat of arms and he would be out onto the open deck, free to enjoy the cold winter rain and basque in
the frosty and unpredictable wind that did not yet show any signs of being in his favour.
"Wait!" cried Joanna, climbing up the ladder after him. "Don't-" she started but did not finish as the thud against the deck floor and the sudden influx of frigid
air that now flowed freely through the inner decks of the ship told everyone that the King had hit the queen and was now out in the open. There was but seconds
between the time the queen was thrown to the floor and the rushing of ladies-in-waiting, grooms, councilmen up the small ladder into the cramped space above.
King Philip watched in amazement as the sky brightened with flashes of white light, a layer of misty rain forming on his face and the sound of thunder roared
through the air like a beast trying to frighten it's prey.
"Perhaps God does not agree with my coming to Castile." he said with no tone or expression in his voice.
"God would never disagree with you, Your Majesty. You are his favourite, surely." one man encouraged, the rest muttering in agreement.
"Well then perhaps he test me." he said and without warning, took one step onto the deck and waited for a moment, and then took another step as he began
to roar with laughter, raising his hands, lifting his chin and closing his eyes to take in the storm around him, feeling heavy raindrops fall on his face and stream
down as if they were tears born of joy, the feeling of the winds blowing through his sandy locks of long, straightened hair, doing all of this while trying not to
slip on the wetness of the deck.
He opened his eyes, "Have I passed your test, Good Lord!" he bellowed into the sky.
"My God, he is as mad as the Queen." a courtier remarked to another, receiving a nasty look instead of small chuckle which he had been expecting.
"Philip, please come back inside." pleaded the Queen.
Philip did not listen, but he should have, for but moments later a gust of wind blew so ferocious that the boat was almost sitting on the side and the heavy
wooden door was forced shut. The King was blown onto the net that prevented anyone from falling off of the ship. He struggled for a moment, emitting
calls for help that nobody could hear over the howling of the wind and crashing of the waves below. Men and women scurried to try and open the door, but the
force of the wind easily prevented them from doing so and while everyone gathered on the door, giving it more and more weight with each person, the netting
that the King was stuck in fell, causing King Philip of Castile and Duke of Burgundy to drop into the freezing, sub-zero and perilous waves that crashed below the
ship, surely it was impossible to survive or be saved.
As the wind calmed down, the door fell open and many men and women of the Burgundian court fell onto the open deck of the ship, all of their gowns and robes
becoming soaked in the salt of the seawater and not a hair on their heads left dry.
"The net has fallen!" Drop the anchor, the King's in the water!" cried a servant.
"Philip!" shrieked the queen, bursting into a fit of tears and grieve, restraining herself from running onto the deck and jumping into the water after him.
 
Ah, poor Joanna...though, well, wasn't she pregnant in 1506?? What will happen to the child? And why is she going to marry Henry as a widowed mother and queen regnant? I'm curious now
 
Ah, poor Joanna...though, well, wasn't she pregnant in 1506?? What will happen to the child? And why is she going to marry Henry as a widowed mother and queen regnant? I'm curious now
Catherine of Austria was born January 1507 which means she was conceived around March 1506 and this TL starts in January/February 1506 which means sadly we won't be seeing little Catherine of Austria :( but yes, she'll be marrying Henry as a widowed mother and queen regnant which will effectively make Henry King of Spain :0
What is this TL? I swear this feels like a crack pairing romance.

I'll be liking and watching it with a peculiar interest. 👀
I've had the idea for a long while now but I have never been able to find out how to make it happen until I was re watching "The Spanish Princess" the other day and remembered that Joanna and Philip had ended up in England for a while. Glad you'll be watching :)
 
Catherine of Austria was born January 1507 which means she was conceived around March 1506 and this TL starts in January/February 1506 which means sadly we won't be seeing little Catherine of Austria :( but yes, she'll be marrying Henry as a widowed mother and queen regnant which will effectively make Henry King of Spain :0

I've had the idea for a long while now but I have never been able to find out how to make it happen until I was re watching "The Spanish Princess" the other day and remembered that Joanna and Philip had ended up in England for a while. Glad you'll be watching :)
Interesting! I haven't watched Spanish Princess yet, can anyone send links of the full show? Also I wonder who will wed Joao III now...and what happens to Katherine?
 
Interesting! I haven't watched Spanish Princess yet, can anyone send links of the full show? Also I wonder who will wed Joao III now...and what happens to Katherine?
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend getting a StarzPlay subscription so the only thing I can recommend is a streaming site (and an adblock). As for John of Portugal, there's still Eleanor for now :eek:
 
Uh... isn't Joanna even older than Katherine is? Joanna would be 28 at this point to Henry VIII's 16. That's gonna be really uncomfortable if she doesn't have kids with him within, say, 5 years? After all, KOA hit menopause by her mid 30s. If Joanna does the same...
 
Uh... isn't Joanna even older than Katherine is? Joanna would be 28 at this point to Henry VIII's 16. That's gonna be really uncomfortable if she doesn't have kids with him within, say, 5 years? After all, KOA hit menopause by her mid 30s. If Joanna does the same...
Yeah, Joanna is older. Her final child was born when she was 28 IOTL...
 
Well, yes, but that's because Phillip died. They probably would have had another couple of kids if he hadn't...
Yes. But here, she ALREADY has five children with Philip. And she is approaching the age that her sister went through menopause already. Let's hope she has fraternal twins with Henry right off the bat and then peacefully stops giving birth
 
Yes. But here, she ALREADY has five children with Philip. And she is approaching the age that her sister went through menopause already. Let's hope she has fraternal twins with Henry right off the bat and then peacefully stops giving birth
Both her mother and sister Maria had their final child at 34, they're is still some time for her to hopefully have a son.
 
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