mickeymouse
Donor
Anne, Duchess of Brittany was determined to preserve Brittany’s separation from France. In various unsuccessful attempts to save the autonomy of her Duchy, she married herself to Maximilian of Austria to try and ward off the advances of Charles VIII of France, stipulated in her marriage contract to Louis XII of France that their second child would be her heir, and vehemently opposed Louis’s wish to have their eldest daughter Claude betrothed to his heir presumptive, Francis of Angoulême. Louis, however, ensured that Claude would succeed to the Duchy and marry Francis following Anne’s death, rendering her life work of preserving Brittany’s autonomy moot.
Now, let’s say that Louis XII dies at some point in the first decade of the 16th century. This leaves Francis as the King of France at a much younger age (and potentially with a regency, depending on when exactly Louis dies), while Anne of Brittany is left alive and able to control the Breton succession. It goes without saying that ITTL, Anne’s strong desire to ensure the autonomy of Brittany means that there is no possibility Francis and Claude will be married to each other. Which begs the question: since they aren’t going to marry each other, who would their spouses be?
AIUI, Anne had Claude betrothed to Charles of Ghent (future Charles V) at some point during their early childhood, although the match was eventually broken off because of Louis’s desire for Claude to marry Francis. Is it possible that ITTL, the betrothal will stick and Charles and Claude will marry? And if not, then what are some other suitable matches for Claude?
Similarly, who would Francis marry? I’m not sure if he was betrothed to anyone else before Claude because I haven’t been able to track anything down, so I would appreciate insight into this. And if he wasn’t, then who are women that would be considered for marriage to Francis?
Now, let’s say that Louis XII dies at some point in the first decade of the 16th century. This leaves Francis as the King of France at a much younger age (and potentially with a regency, depending on when exactly Louis dies), while Anne of Brittany is left alive and able to control the Breton succession. It goes without saying that ITTL, Anne’s strong desire to ensure the autonomy of Brittany means that there is no possibility Francis and Claude will be married to each other. Which begs the question: since they aren’t going to marry each other, who would their spouses be?
AIUI, Anne had Claude betrothed to Charles of Ghent (future Charles V) at some point during their early childhood, although the match was eventually broken off because of Louis’s desire for Claude to marry Francis. Is it possible that ITTL, the betrothal will stick and Charles and Claude will marry? And if not, then what are some other suitable matches for Claude?
Similarly, who would Francis marry? I’m not sure if he was betrothed to anyone else before Claude because I haven’t been able to track anything down, so I would appreciate insight into this. And if he wasn’t, then who are women that would be considered for marriage to Francis?
