So, assuming Henry or his brothers aren't free for Duchess Eleanor following her divorce from Louis, who else would catch her eye enough to get away with marrying?
So, assuming Henry or his brothers aren't free for Duchess Eleanor following her divorce from Louis, who else would catch her eye enough to get away with marrying?
Well, Thibaud V, Comte de Blois tried to kidnap her just after the divorce, if that counts as 'catching her eye'. Eventually, he ended up marrying one of her daughters from her first marriage, so it would be fair to say, I think, that he found her attractive for more than just her land.
Of course, ITTL, Stephen of Blois (Thibaud's uncle) is in a slightly stronger position vis-a-vis England, depending on how Henry and his brothers are prevented from marrying Eleanor (death?).
I'd prefer personally her to get killed before her divorce. It reduces greatly the motive of early Franco-British wars (Bordeaux's riches and wine).
But that's just a way of starting a Francewank.
Yes, but the Flanders were quite an unruly region, they wouldn't pay taxes. So France would instead turn east or south.
Furthermore, after the 1200s, Normandy being gone from English hands, they have no land left in France. Therefore, you remove the main reason for the HYW.
You could also butterfly away the French defeat in Cambrai. Instead, France could take over Aragon (helping the Count of Valois get his titular crown). The County of Burgondy (Franche-Comté) will remain in French hands, Burgondy won't go independent. A personnal union of France and Aragon (with Sardinia too) would make France in the 1300s the juggernaut it OTL was in the 1700s.
Well that is going to be tricky.
Either way, I guess a weak king in England can lose Normandy very quickly. As long as the King has Aquitaine, the Royal Domain is rich enough to buy out many of its possible enemies. Bordeaux was the major trading hub in Western France, with Reims being its eastern equivalent. Add in a royal mariage with the lords of Champagne (like OTL Phillipe le Bel did) and France gets rich enough to go on a rampage or pay off cruzades Saint Louis can only dream of.