Another dumbass question

In September of 1525, Francis fell gravely ill, and his sister, Marguerite de Navarre, rode from Paris to join him in Spain.The Imperial doctors examining the king believed that his illness was caused by his sorrow at not being received by the Emperor, and urged Charles to visit him. Charles, against the advice of his Grand Chancellor, Mercurino Gattinara, who argued that seeing Francis on his deathbed was an action motivated by mercenary concerns rather than by compassion, and was thus unworthy of the Emperor, consented; and Francis soon made a complete recovery.[55] An attempt to escape, however, proved fruitless, and succeeded only in getting Marguerite sent back to France.[56]

What if Francis I buys the Farm and croaks? Who takes over from there? Is it plausible for Henri II of Navarre, Francis I's brother in law, become King of France?

Feel free to rip apart this idea.
 
What if Francis I buys the Farm and croaks? Who takes over from there? Is it plausible for Henri II of Navarre, Francis I's brother in law, become King of France?

Feel free to rip apart this idea.
We must consider the Salic law, Charles, the duke of Vendôme or Anthony of Bourbon will be the heir and because of this Brittany will be independent, basically a Bourbon France and an Independent Brittany will result from this unless the heir of Brittany will marry into the Bourbons.
 
No, Henri II will not become King of France. France is governed by Lex Salica. Only men can inherit the throne. This idea has been entrenched since the Fourteenth Century, and the French aren't about to overturn it. Even in the midst of the religious wars, when Philip II offered his daughter to become Queen of France, all it did was kill the credibility of the league. Especially once Henri IV converted. Salic Law isn't going to go away, especially when there are sons who can inherit.

If François Ier dies, the throne is inherited by the Dauphin and Duke of Brittany, François, who will become François II. They'll be a Regency probably under the Queen of Navarre though, if she's cunning enough, or perhaps under François Ier's mother, Louise of Savoy. Barring them, it'll go to the Duke of Vendome, who is the premier Prince of the Blood at the time.

Not a dumbass question, though. A quick wiki search would show you François Ier's issue, but there's no such thing as a stupid question. Only stupid answers...

We must consider the Salic law, Charles, the duke of Vendôme or Anthony of Bourbon will be the heir and because of this Brittany will be independent, basically a Bourbon France and an Independent Brittany will result from this unless the heir of Brittany will marry into the Bourbons.

Um, no... François had three living sons. François, the Dauphin (who died young), Henri, the Duc d'Orléans (OTL Henri II), and then Charles (the later Duc d'Orléans, who died young too). The Dauphin was confirmed as Duke of Brittany in 1524, so François Ier dying in Madrid simply speeds up the process of Brittany joining France.
 
Another interesting point is François, the Dauphin was betrothed to Henry VIII's only daughter, Mary, during the 1520s. My TL features him succeeding François Ier as King in 1547, and has him married to Mary Tudor as part of Henry VIII drawing closer to France.
 
Thank you Drake. I figured that was one thing that I had bungled up when doing Navatlacas. I suppose that I have to work on that.

My choice would then be between the Dauphin and Charles, the Count of Vendome....
 
Thank you Drake. I figured that was one thing that I had bungled up when doing Navatlacas. I suppose that I have to work on that.

My choice would then be between the Dauphin and the Duke of Vendome....

Vendôme would be interesting as King's of France, IMO. Yeah, their the Bourbon line that became Kings of France IOTL... but before Henry IV, they were Catholics. The only reason the Bourbons became Huguenots was because Jeanne of Navarre raised her children as strict Protestants. As far as I can tell though, neither Charles of Vendome nor his son Anthony were inclined towards the Reformation. Anthony converted and abjured his religion so many times like it was going out of style. He would feign Catholicism, convert to the Huguenot faith, then up and abjure that, claiming he was always a Catholic before then claiming he was really always a Huguenot. ;) There's also a funny antecdote that when Jeanne de Navarre allowed the Huguenots to sack the chapel of Vendôme and the churches of the town in 1562, he threatened to send her to a conven. She fled to Béarn. Anthony wasn't brilliant, but he was totally ambitious, and willing to do anything, especially as he wanted to restore Navarre's borders to what they had been prior to 1512.

So, if the Vendôme branch inherits, they'd probably take Brittany anyways. François, the Dauphin's early death would merely merge it into the crown, and the only other plausible claimant of Valois blood would be women. Renée of France, the daughter of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany, married to the Duke of Modena. Then the daughters of François Ier and his first wife, Queen Claude (who was the eldest daughter of Louis XII and Anne): Princess Madeleine (the ill-fated first wife of James V), and Margaret, the Duchess of Berry. She remained unmarried until she was 38, when she married the Duke of Savoy.

So, if Charles of Vendôme becomes King, his heir would be the future Antoine, born in 1518. He might initially arrange a match between his son and the Princess Madeleine, to keep Brittany still held close. She's still sickly and dies young, but the Breton Estates agree to accept Antoine as the Duke of Brittany. He later marries Jeanne, and the fun begins when she declares herself a Protestant, banishes Catholicism from her domains in Navarre, and causes shock and scandal in France when they discover their Queen is a heretic. ;)

In typical Antoinean style, he threatens to send her to a convent. It'd be especially hilarious if religious wars still grip France and we see husband and wife on opposite sides of the war. Jeanne, traveling with her army manages to inflict a great victory over the Catholic forces of the Royal Army. Dressed in full plate and astride her horse, she makes a stirring speech denouncing Antoine and lauds herself as a modern day Jeanne de Arc. Incensed, the King of France begins discussions with the Pope regarding the possibility of divorce all while mustering his forces to strike more decisively at the Huguenot rabble...
 
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