A Queen Twice Over: Mary Tudor the Elder Marries Francis I of France
- Thread starter FalconHonour
- Start date
Thanks! I'm writing about 8 chapters ahead, so updates should be fairly regular for the moment.
If the Pope ruled in Henry's favour, and Mary was held to be legitimate through the Good Faith clause, she'd have to. Her devout Catholicism would allow nothing else.
She would still fight until the end. Mary’s legitimacy was not in discussion until later in the OTL and she still fought. She was persuaded who she was the rightful wife of Henry and Queen of England and who Mary was destined by God to rule England
Yes, but that was when the Pope and the Emperor were upholding her. I'd be interested to know which would win out if the Pope rejected her claim...
I'm going to venture that with the representative of God saying that her marriage was wrong, a promise of her daughter staying legitimate and with her, and no foreign aupport, Katherine would eventually bow out. OTL the pope offered her an out by taking a religious life before the whole drama really kicked off. Maybe here she already knows she's going to lose when he offers it, and someone / something makes her realize how ruthless and serious about this Henry is around the same time.
Oh, in that case NO. MAYBE if she didn't have a daughter to fight for, she might step aside more gracefully in the 1530s, but even that would be a push. As Isabella pointed out, she believed it was her destiny to be Queen of England.
Perhaps Katherine could have a "tragic accident" or a "terrible illness", instead?
She died of cancer otl. All that needs to happen is for it to strike earlier, and faster...
I killed her off in childbirth in my last TL. I'm reluctant to kill her again..,
I'm actually more interested to see a timeline where Katherine lives and France helps Henry with his divorce plans.
That's my current plan. I think Katherine could be very happy as Abbess of Barking, don't you?
No, I don’t. Remember her otl statement: “I will become a nun if the king will become a monk.”
but regardless, I think an annulment will be forthcoming with pope clement under the control of Francis rather than Charles v. Or not under the control of anyone lol
I think she could be content if she knew that Mary's position as a true born daughter was safe. She'll still be disappointed, I think she truly believes Mary is meant to be Queen and rule in her own right and to have that dream taken away will sting for a bit.
I like where you're planning on going with this because most AUs either have Katherine dying or have Henry obtaining a divorce without any support from other monarchs to marry Anne.
This scenario has different political potential and I'm curious to see how it strengthens the French alliance. Does Wolsey get his way with a French Queen?
She said that under very different circumstances though. Would she be as opposed to a religious life in this timeline where the Pope ruled in Henry's favor? Where she doesn't have any support to keep fighting? She would just be fighting for herself not Mary because Mary's position would be safe.
I don't see Katherine having the exact same responses as the OTL.