An Imperial Match: Anne Boleyn marries Charles V
- Thread starter pandizzy
- Start date
Catherine you are a regent, a fresh widow and a mother, and I respect you very much but you have no right to mistreat poor Caterina which is only worried for her bethrothed. Beside she is a Medici so she is always more or less right . ( Tuscan Medici famboyism here)
I think Catherine has in her mind, the idea that Catherine M, as a girl of common origin, should be grateful for the position she's in, instead of bothering her with ideas. Even if she is more or less correct in her thinking that Ludovico is under a lot of stress.
In the Italian contest Caterina de’ Medici is a perfectly suitable match, unlike the situation in which she was in France. The Medici were rulers of Florence for a lot of years and in the italian contest Caterine was an aristocratic and heiress of one of the major local families. Plus her father had been Duke of Urbino for some time before dying, so not much different from the Sforzas (both of Francesco‘s paternal grandparents were born illegitimate, and only his grandmother had an aristocratic father).
This. But I suppose that as an Habsburg, sister of kings and queens, daughter of a queen, granddaughter of emperors, kings and queens, Catherine have a sense of superiority.
18th of January, 1536.
Barcelona, Catalonia. 18th of January, 1536.
Felipe was playing with his brothers when it happened.
It was strange to play with such young boys, but he liked it. They had giddy and joyful laughs, clutching their toy horses and toy soldiers in their chubby little hands. Felipe had such fun being with them, even if some of them could not yet speak full and comprehensible sentences like himself. They were his brothers and he loved them.
Fernando was two, blonde curls framing his face like a painting of an angel while Eduardo was one, dark-haired and olive skinned. Maybe someone else might have balked at the idea of spending time with such babes, but Felipe was not someone else.
He enjoyed seeing their personalities shine through even at such a tender age. Fernando was quiet and sensitive, prone to tears if he thought there was something wrong, but extremely clever. He could speak clearly already and sometimes, Felipe thought he was speaking with a boy much older.
And Eduardo was a warrior already. He was strong, walking and running throughout the nursery without a care. He defied the nurses when they wanted to brush his hair, or change his swaddles and give him a bath. Felipe was sure that his brother would grow to enjoy hunting, tourneys and warfare.
But he wouldn't be able to stay long with them, because his own steward came to him with a sealed letter and a smirk. Felipe frowned and stood up, stepping away from his brothers.
The first thing he noticed was that the seal was poorly mended. Felipe looked at his steward and knew at once that the man was reading his letters, probably at his father's orders. His heart twisted and he looked away, trying to regain some semblance of personal privacy.
The second thing he noticed was that the seal bore the Portuguese coat of arms. The seven gold castles in red border surrounding five blue shields, now turned into a waxy green. Felipe assumed it was a letter from his aunt, the Queen of Portugal, but when he broke the mended seal and started reading it, he realised it wasn't.
My dearest cousin,
Recently, I found myself eager for news of you, my loving betrothed. Of your valour, your intelligence and your loving blue eyes. Though it pains me to admit so, I begged your father’s ambassador to tell me all he knew of yourself, unable to handle this longing to know. If I ever learn everything there is to know about the Prince of Asturias, I shall call myself a happy woman.
How are you? What have you done today? What do you like to do? I hear you are good with numbers, and finances. That you speak French, Latin, English and all the Iberian languages, save for Portuguese. If you’d like, I would be more than glad to teach you the language of our common ancestor, Isabella of Portugal, mother to Isabella the Catholic. We are to be married, after all, and I want our children to be clever, proficient with all the languages of their kingdoms and they shall be Portuguese just as much as they are Castilian.
I took the liberty to include a portrait of myself and I hope that you shall send one of your own as well, so that I may know your face before our marriage. I also hope fervently that you will respond to this letter as soon as possible, and that we may hold this correspondence until the year we are allowed to meet.
Your loving cousin,
Joana de Portugal
Felipe looked at his steward, who now handed him a portrait of a young woman holding a golden goblet. His heart raced as he looked at the sweet and gentle face of his cousin Joana, brown hair brushed and pinned up in and around her face under heavily jewelled hair net, with a circlet. She wore an orange and red dress, the sleeves slashed to show the fine fabric underneath and the low neckline showing the great white expanse of her chest, and the expensive necklace she wore with rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Her face was handsome, with a small and perfect mouth under a long nose. Her blue eyes were not directed at him, but still, he felt as if she looked at his very being. His soul.
It was so funny. Felipe had never met his cousin, the one he was destined to marry, and yet he was already in love with her.
I feel bad for Felipe that he has to deal with a lack of privacy, especially as he will soon be entering puberty if he hasn't already, but I'm glad that he is already smitten with Joana. That bodes well for their married life together.
I'm pretty sure people around this day and age reach puberty later, like 14 or 15.
Just the way he describes a woman he's never met - he's certainly in love (or at least a crush), and he'll be a real charmer to her when they're actually married.