A Queen Twice Over: Mary Tudor the Elder Marries Francis I of France
- Thread starter FalconHonour
- Start date
Section XLV: December 1522-January 1523
Richmond, 13th December 1522
Ma chere reine Marie,
Please accept my warmest wishes for the Christmas season, for yourself and for the King, of course, but also for the children, particularly Mademoiselle Louise, who will have celebrated her second birthday by the time you receive this.
I am pleased to report that my third month in England is passing as easily as the first two. The little Duchess continues to blossom, and her French is coming on in leaps and bounds, as is her Latin. It won’t be long before I’m urging Lady Salisbury to petition King Henry to find her an Italian master if she keeps picking up her languages at her current rate. However, I am still a little concerned about how small she is. Most children have outgrown their childhood delicacies by the time they reach the age of reason, but they seem to be lingering in little Mary. Perhaps it is just as well that she will be residing in Milan for much of her married life. The warmth may do her some good.
We have just arrived at Court for Christmas, and I have had occasion to renew my introduction to His Grace King Henry. I hope Your Grace will not find me vain when I venture to say that I think His Grace finds me quite charming. Indeed, he finds me charming enough that he danced with me three times last night.
Alas, however, I will not be able to influence His Grace’s choice of bride as you asked of me, for His Grace has already wed again.
The news, so far as I am aware, has not yet broken in Europe, but I was present when the little Duchess was presented to her new mother yesterday, and so I can confirm that it is true. King Henry has wed the Lady Mary Talbot, and she will be presented as England’s Queen at Mass on Christmas Day.
The new Queen is plump and dark, with a sulky cast to her features, as though nothing pleases her. Oh, she wasn’t so foolish as to show any displeasure with the King’s only daughter. She spoke kindly enough to the Princess, but I dread to think how she’ll treat the child once she’s got babes of her own. I can’t think that she’ll be pleased about the fact that Her Highness is so much better connected on the maternal side than her half-siblings.
Still, that’s some way off yet, and what do they say? Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
I remain, in the meanwhile, your devoted servant,
Diane
PS: I have taken the liberty of enclosing some small Twelfth Night gifts for my daughters. I should be much obliged if Your Grace could arrange for them to be sent on to Anet.
Rochford Hall, 8th January 1523
Dearest Annie, So. It’s a Georges, is it? Georges de Bourbon. Congratulations, little sister. You’ll make a fine mother, and I am honoured that you have chosen me to stand as godfather to my namesake nephew, particularly in such glittering company as the Duc de Vendome. I’m sorry I haven’t written sooner, but you of all people should know what a whirlwind Court can be in the lead-up to Christmas.
Anyway, see if you can’t persuade Fran to let you bring Georges for a visit when he’s older. Cat would love to meet you both and Georges will have plenty of cousins to run around Rochford, Hever and Aldenham with. My Bess is six weeks old now and thriving on her wet nurse’s milk. And Mary’s three are all hale and hearty too, particularly little Tom. I visited last week, on my way home from Court, and God Above, does that boy have lungs on him. We could hear him screaming two floors below the nursery. He’s running the whole household ragged, for all he’s barely three months old. Between you and me, I’m mightily pleased my Bess seems rather more even-tempered.
Apologies for not calling her Anne, by the way. I am well aware what we always promised each other, and you upheld your end of the bargain, but Papa insisted on Elizabeth, and I didn’t have the heart to refuse him. He does miss Mama so.
Anyway, enough family gossip. I’m sure you’re burning to know how Court was at Christmas, with a new Queen at the King’s side.
I wasn’t there for all twelve days, but what I did see was as merry as always. That being said, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if the King doesn’t come to regret his northern bride sooner rather than later. From what I know of Mary Talbot, she’s not a woman to take any sort of slight lightly, and we all know King Henry prefers his women yielding and biddable. Intelligent, yes, but not harsh-tempered with it.
He’s already danced with the Princess Mary’s new lady far more times than is strictly proper for a newly-married man…
Still, I suppose as long as the new Queen catches with child quickly, and it’s a Prince, nobody will mind how sour His Highness’s mother is.
Now, I must ride out and see to the tenants, so I shall cut this here, but know that it comes with my fondest love, and Cat’s.
I am, as always,
Your George
Buda, 23rd January 1523
My dearest brother,
Are you a thwarted schoolboy or an Emperor?
You may have lost last year’s campaign, but you haven’t lost the war, not by a long shot. The French cockerel and the English bulldog have overreached themselves by taking both Milan and such a large swathe of our ancestral lands. You just need to prove it, and you’ll gain back your prestige in a heartbeat. And don’t forget, you do have some useful bargaining chips at your disposal. Bella and I may be wives and mothers now, but that still leaves you Leonor and Lina. Ferrara will be fuming with the French for bartering his son’s bride away to our Portuguese cousin, and I hear Lorraine is a widower now, the Duchess Renee having passed in childbirth with the Lady Anna…
As for your own bride, if you’re worried about her consorting with heretics, then give her something else to think about. I know you hoped to have your marriage annulled for non-consummation, but you know the French will fight that tooth and nail. Even at a best estimate, it’s going to take months to settle if you go to Rome, and you need heirs, brother. Mama and Papa had you and Leonor by the time they were your age. Just get Margarita pregnant and keep her that way. She can’t exert any religious influence if she’s in and out of confinement. Think how well it worked for Papa in how he handled Mama…”
Charles puts Maria’s letter aside and chews his lower lip thoughtfully. His younger sister has always been forthright. Too forthright for a Lady, some would say. But she does talk a lot of sense. And she does seem to be succeeding nicely as Queen of Hungary – all the more so now that she has a son in the cradle; a son Charles had privately thought her husband would never be strong enough to father, given his premature birth.
Charles exhales, then pushes his chair back, setting his shoulders.
“Find me Perrenot. Tell him I need to see him at once. I have a mission for him. And I need Gattinara too.”
“Sire!” The page lolling in the corner of the room jumps to attention, bows and scampers out of the room.
Charles follows him to the door, which he has left ajar in his haste, and glances at the guard who stands half a pace away.
“Send word to my wife. I shall share her bed tonight. I expect her to make me welcome.”
Last edited:
Oh, Mary. Scolding her brother like a wayward child. She's the best. Not sure if recommending Philip's treatment of Juana is the best idea thou. We all know how THAT went....
I have to concede, I didn't know Mary was going to say that either until I'd written it. But it worked, so I kept it!
I certainly have plans for George to meet his French namesake one day, that's for sure!
Of course he won't. Oh, he'll dote on Mary Talbot as soon as she falls with child, but he will always have an eye for the ladies...
I was just drawing on Henry's OTL complaints that he'd married Jane Seymour too soon to write the mention of his dancing with Diane. It'll be a while before he explores that passing connection any further.
Mary’s plan for Diane seems to be working, glad Princess Mary is ok even if Talbot is not keen.
Hope the regret does not hit Henry too fast...
Charles.... I just don’t like him. Also I suspect he might find his Queen can exert more pressure than he thinks, even ‘banged up’.
Fun chapter- hope these letters survive for future historians.
Hope the regret does not hit Henry too fast...
Charles.... I just don’t like him. Also I suspect he might find his Queen can exert more pressure than he thinks, even ‘banged up’.
Fun chapter- hope these letters survive for future historians.
Well, yes. I suspect Marguerite may end up in Mary of Austria's OTL role in the Netherlands, even if it's only as regent for her son...
It'll take a while for Henry to truly explore his interest in Diane, but of course Marie's plan will work in the long run. She knows her brother too well for it not to!
George wed his Irish cousin Lady Catherine Butler in November 1521, and, as stated in the chapter, they have just welcomed a little girl, Elizabeth.
As for Mary, she married William Carey four years earlier than OTL, in the spring of 1516, and they now have three children, Alice (b.1518), William (b.1521) and three-month-old Thomas, who is unfortunately the textbook definition of a high-need baby. It's hardly surprising it takes a while for Mary to have Katherine and Henry after him...
Oh Diane is getting herself well adjusted to England, though I'm sure Lady Talbot's reaction will be interesting.. Nice to see that the Boleyn's are doing well to! Great job!
Well, indeed. She's not going to take kindly to a rival for Henry's affections...
Glad you liked it!
I have a lingering suspicion Lady Mary Talbot is not giving Henry the son and heir he desperately wants. Might she end up as Anne Boleyn in OTL ?
Henry being Henry surely will be tossing off wives as used linens, would he not ?
Henry being Henry surely will be tossing off wives as used linens, would he not ?
This part...I wonder if Eleanor won't end up as duchess of lorraine ittl...
Hehe, that is indeed my plan for Eleanor, as part of Charles's map of anti-French alliances.
He needs a son. He'll do anything to get one. And I have plans™ for Mary Talbot
Just read through this timeline and I must say I am enjoying it immensely. However, I do have a couple questions re: Katharine of Aragon's dower and jointure. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that a widow was entitled to one-third of her late husband's land revenues. As such, would Katharine be entitled to her one-third of the revenues from Wales and Cornwall? OTL, this was a large chunk of the squabbliing between Ferdinand II and Henry VII, since Ferdinand refused to pay the rest of the dowry and so Henry refused to pay the jointure/dower. Would Henry VIII give her the revenues? ATL he seems much more lenient with KOA than he was in OTl, and I think his honor and respect to what would be in this TL his late brother's widow might move him to generosity. Not sure if the castles and manors he granted her are equivalent.
P.S. In OTL there was an argument that since if the groom died without children with the bride, his widow's dowry would revert to her(or her family), Mary the Younger was entitled to her mother's dowry. Would that apply here as well? Perhaps Henry realises that divorce is a little more expensive that he thought?
P.P.S. Concerning Eleanor of Austria, as long as she gets to see her daughter Maria more frequently and develop a warmer relationship with her than OTL, that would be great. I've always felt sorry for Eleanor OTL; she got married once to an old man, then a king who disliked and barely acknowledged her, then after her second widowhood, her daughter who she hadn't seen in 28 years only stayed with her for three weeks before refusing to come live with her and going back to Lisbon.
P.S. In OTL there was an argument that since if the groom died without children with the bride, his widow's dowry would revert to her(or her family), Mary the Younger was entitled to her mother's dowry. Would that apply here as well? Perhaps Henry realises that divorce is a little more expensive that he thought?
P.P.S. Concerning Eleanor of Austria, as long as she gets to see her daughter Maria more frequently and develop a warmer relationship with her than OTL, that would be great. I've always felt sorry for Eleanor OTL; she got married once to an old man, then a king who disliked and barely acknowledged her, then after her second widowhood, her daughter who she hadn't seen in 28 years only stayed with her for three weeks before refusing to come live with her and going back to Lisbon.
Last edited:
You're absolutely right that she would be, and I'll admit that I forgot that and treated her like Anne of Cleves. So I'm sure Katherine will have some Welsh and Cornish estates - I may even go back and retcon one or two in.
However, I can also see that Henry would want to keep the Prince of Wales's estates intact for the son he's going to have with Mary Talbot, so I can see him *persuading* Katherine that, while she can keep the titles, and the half of her dowry that was paid, the bulk of her lands will have to be from some other estate... And ooh look, the Stafford lands are all sitting pretty and free for Henry to grant away...
As for the dowry, no, Mary's not getting it. Henry would be too proud to let another man pay for his daughter's trousseau, especially when he's got such a swathe of the Low Countries under his control TTL.
Glad you're enjoying it!
VVD0D95
Banned
If I remember correctly the revenues of the Dutchy of Cornwall are reserved only for the kings firstborn son. Where there is none they stay with the crown. So I think it would be a legal dark area.