Because we just need the Habsburg incest merry-go-round to continue...
Children of the Bloody Queen: A Tudor Timeline
- Thread starter EternalMadness1997
- Start date
Seems like England/Spain will make a much more serious attempt on the French throne during the FWoR.
I can change it with that in mind.
I suppose I was just like "descendants to the Palaiologos" and got a bit of a Byzantine boner. But I suppose there are other ways to make the Gonzagas relevant in the future. I can go with Rudolf.....and probably keep the marriage happening after Philip's heir is born because obviously that's when marrying Catherine off to a foreign lord is a bit "safer".
Probably better for Anna to marry Vincenzo on that note, since she's the daughter of a duchess.
I apologize when the ERE hardness kicks in...
Or you can have Rudolf playing his OTL game to delay the wedding a lot and then Catherine would marry someone else. Still Anna of Savoy would be a good choice as Duchess of MantuaRinI can change it with that in mind.
I suppose I was just like "descendants to the Palaiologos" and got a bit of a Byzantine boner. But I suppose there are other ways to make the Gonzagas relevant in the future. I can go with Rudolf.....and probably keep the marriage happening after Philip's heir is born because obviously that's when marrying Catherine off to a foreign lord is a bit "safer".
Probably better for Anna to marry Vincenzo on that note, since she's the daughter of a duchess.
I apologize when the ERE hardness kicks in...
Updated it, and yeah it's probably gonna be that. First Philip delays it cuz he wants his heir to be born first, then Rudolf probably gonna start delaying it cuz he wants to keep up being a bachelor.
Not a new installment in the timeline but happy Treason Day against Habsburg England day y'all
(yes I know the odds of American history playing out 100% exact to OTL is basically impossible but c'mon it's July 4th lol)
(yes I know the odds of American history playing out 100% exact to OTL is basically impossible but c'mon it's July 4th lol)
I'm working on the next post right now, my internet came back sooner than expected (on the 3rd), but now that it's back expect an update soon.
Honestly the Internet like I said before came back a lot sooner than I anticipated and caught me off guard a little haha.
Plus now I have to gather up ideas and plan for what happens next.
Also Christmas and everything. Hope you guys had a happy one.
I apologise I was just wondering if it was abandoned without actually looking at the date of the last post. I wasn’t trying to rush the author I know I couldn’t write anything like this I was wondering if this was abandoned like so many other decent threads.
Ah no, it's not abandoned
I'll probably be notorious for like, starting out real good with regular updates and then boom I just start being sporadic af.
Though this time a big reason this was delayed was because I live in south Louisiana and my parish was impacted by Hurricane Ida. I did not lose my house or anything, but the internet only came back on November 3, and I didn't have as much stuff finished in preparation as I wanted to.
The Return of the Timeline
1573 - 1575: THE SON OF THE KING
With the marriage of King Phillip II of England to Elisabeth of Austria, who happened to be both his cousin as well as his step-aunt for those who were tasked with maintaining the documentation of the Habsburg family tree, people suspected it wouldn't be long for the new queen was with child. The two were not only very young, but Elisabeth herself was very elated to be the one chosen as Phillip's bride and as said before was very openly affectionate with him; something which he was very keen to return, whether because he had a kind heart or again due to his own youth. While this wasn't seen as entirely appropriate by the king's court, nobody wanted be the one who pointed such a thing out. It was also believed that in time, the two would 'calm down'.Meanwhile, Princess Catherine remained unmarried. She was still rather young, at only 16 years of age, but this only meant that for her time she was of rather average marrying age - if not quite older in fact. Being the most powerful Princess in Europe her hand in marriage was certainly as wanted as that of her brother's but also far more protected. As she was in line for both England and Spain's thrones, her father and brother both wanted her marriage to not end up biting them in the backside. Her mother's spirit would also quite possibly come back to haunt them both should she be married off to a heretic. Currently promised to Prince Rudolph of Austria, the marriage ceremony had thus far not happened. Rudolph was, simply put, far more content to resume the bachelor lifestyle than he was to settle down even with the likes of Princess Catherine of England & Spain. Perhaps in his mind, this was preferential than committing adultery. Nevertheless it irritated his father, who knew this was likely offending his relatives in Spain & Britain. Still, Catherine was at the very least not too old that her marriage finally happening was in that dire need of being rushed. The clock was ticking only ever forward, though.
While England, Spain and Austria's royalties enjoyed their newfound unity the religious conflicts within France remained ongoing. Just roughly eleven years ago, in 1562 the French Huguenots had attempted to establish a colony themselves in what was considered part of Florida - a Spanish colony. It was crushed by Spanish forces by 1565 leaving it without much legacy, though it did leave a most important thought in the mind of King Phillip of England - that being how England will properly benefit from the New World as it's newfound sister kingdom has. There had been for a some time talk of establishing a colony in the New World in the name of England, though Spain was always seen as a great obstacle to that happening. However, with their kings not only being allies but also father and son, it was strongly believed that England would not suffer the same cruel fate as what had awaited the French heretics when they made their foolish mistake. Still, intruding on land claimed by Spain before the union was officially in place could still sour relations. For now, no permanent settlements of England were situated within the New World; leaving it as a non-issue for the time being.
As for the rest of France, all that King Phillip II of England knew was that the situation was "chaotic" as his realm silently watched the whole thing unfold from across the channel. The majority of southern France was under thick heretic control, with Catherine de'Medici and her royal sons fighting seemingly endlessly even with the support of Spain, the Papacy and Tuscany. England morally and religiously supported the Catholic side of the conflict though the King was firm about not participating in the war himself. Currently the fourth major bout of conflict had just ended, though by 1574 the fifth bout would begin. It was increasingly apparent that this would take up quite literally the rest of the century, but at the vert least this allowed the King to focus on his domestic matters. With the economy improving and naval fleet increasingly one of the greatest Europe had to offer, the future was looking bright for England and further good omens came when in the spring of 1574 Elisabeth confirmed to him that she was finally very much with child after a decent few months of the royal pair trying. Words can't fully describe the excitement that King Phillip "the younger" had when learning of his wife finally achieving pregnancy just as March turned to April, anticipating of course the birth of his own son. There was rejoicing throughout all of England in celebration of the king and queen's successful conception. It went without saying that the primary hope was that the queen's first child would be a son, God willing, but in spite of that it was just as silently hoped that the King would not be so outraged if he had a daughter that he would put England and even potentially Spain through the same heresy of his maternal uncle.
The news also came at around the same time that the King of Spain and his wife, the King of England's cousin-step mother, were also expecting a child to be born in the coming months - conception having occurred closer to February of 1574. The King of England sent correspondence to Spain expressing joy to his father and step-mother, though silently the thought of getting another brother did intimidate him - it was unsure how that would impact the impending union, though officially it was assumed that a boy born younger would not change Phillip's place in inheritance. As it stood, the inheritance of Spain was not much different from that of England, with Catherine (or, in Spanish, "Catalina") being right after her brother in succession. It is presumed by most within the English court that a new male child to the elder Phillip would not change that much beyond moving Catherine further down the line - though of course, the King of Spain has the right to decree the succession law to be different should he see it fit to do so; which he might do if he feels there is enough political pressure to warrant it.
The wait for the two children to be born proved to take up the majority of the year as both of the queens had to take part in the customary procedures for royal childbirth. The nine months would prove grueling for Elisabeth especially, as this was her first time performing her duty and as such the entire experience was very fresh and new for her. She prayed daily and intensely for a safe and healthy child.
The first moment of truth came on the 5th of November 1574, when it was announced to celebration throughout the streets of Madrid that Princess Micaela Luisa had been born to the King and Queen as a healthy daughter. As expected of most female births, it wasn't as much excitement as things would have been had it been a male, though Phillip the elder already had his male heir and understood the importance of having daughters. He was sure that his latest daughter would make a fine husband to one of Europe's many powerful rulers. King Phillip II sent correspondence to Spain following his younger half-sister's christening congratulating his father and step-mother on their child and wishing them the best as well as many more children in the future. Though silently he was again hoping that all of those future children would be more sisters rather than brothers, even though he dare not say that aloud.
The younger Phillip's own moment of truth came on the 23rd of December 1574. It was on that fateful day that he, after waiting the full nine months and through his wife's customary seclusion, finally received the news that his child and heir had finally been born. To much jubilation throughout the streets of London, it was announced to all that a new Prince of Wales had indeed been born - Elisabeth having completed her most important royal duty. The King's eyes beamed brightly with joy when he first laid eyes upon his boy, his first child, son and heir. Whereas his grandfather had to tear England apart before getting a son, who was rightly punished for heresy with a brief reign, Phillip had achieved a most coveted male heir on his and Elisabeth's first try. The boy was later christened as Phillip, Prince of Wales in January of 1575; named as his father and thus third of his name both in England and in Spain. It is unclear if the namesake was from his father or grandfather, but the King of England did have a certain vanity regarding himself. This did of course mean that calling the King of England "Phillip the Younger" was no longer accurate.
It looked like the "Phillipian Era" would not end after just one more monarch after all, as English Historians would come to refer to these years as.
OOC: Note, when it comes to the gender/sex of children, I've decided to take a "randomizer" approach by using online choice generators. To make things more fun and to simulate the real life randomness element that comes with having children. It may also help make parts of the timeline more fun later on down the road, since the sex/gender of a royal can actually cause more changes than some would expect. In the original draft Micaela was actually going to be a boy named Diego, but the random choice generator decreed a female and I complied.
OOC 2: I have finally updated this timeline after what surely must feel like a long hiatus. I'm going to try to restore updates to being more regular but I admit I'm reaching a point in the timeline where I'm not entirely sure where I should take things. Anyway I hope you guys find this update to be good, but do let me know of any changes/edits I ought to make if there are any. Not a whole lot really happened here though. I admit a lot of this post is basically fluff.
OOC 3: I was going to add a segment about Elizabeth in Savoy but decided to make that be a future post of it's own.
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If you mean this Anne of Austria she was born IOTL during 1601....we're currently in 1575 as of this post so her birth isn't actually like....relevant. Yet. In fact she's a daughter of the OTL Phillip III, who does not exist in this timeline, thus she can't exist. If there is an infanta named Anne born later, it wouldn't be her.
Catherine's marriage will certainly need to happen soon, if England doesn't want a repeat of her mother's long wait haha.