I was just planning on doing so
I don't know if people intend to continue the Yorkist skaddadle, but if not, Edward of Lancaster will have a clear pathEdward IV’s Bourbon Bride: A Collaborative Timeline
- Thread starter RedKing
- Start date
I don't know if people intend to continue the Yorkist skaddadle, but if not, Edward of Lancaster will have a clear path
The Last Yorks
March, 1474: Margaret of York finds herself in the inenviable position of tied to the two biggest allies of the men who destroyed her family. Her son in Brussels is under the thumb of a man who she still maintains molested her and stole the Regency, and her (apparent) husband has allied himself with the man who killed her brother. Furthermore, she knows she's a liability to him now. The fact Alfonso hasn't set her aside is based on one fact: her pregnancy. But even so, whispers remain that he plans on setting her aside for the young Isabella of Foix, the last unmarried daughter of the Queen of Aragon.
Eleanor of Navarre, however, has different plans.
Eleanor's recent arrivals of Rene of Anjou and his grandson, Nicholas, Duke of Lorraine are currently her allies, but they have their own claims to her throne. She cannot marry the Prince of Girona to a daughter of their family, not just because he's betrothed to the little Queen of Castile, but because there is no daughter. So, she strikes another deal. Her youngest daughter to the Duke of Lorraine. It works so well. And thus, without the dispensation from the Pope (who is yet to back their invasion of Sicily), the young Infanta is married off and officially off the market.
At the same time, Eleanor finally decides what to do with the Infanta Juana, her sister and the last real holdover of the previous royal family. In theory, she's an asset, but in reality, Eleanor's own presence on the throne is evidence that an Infanta is just as dangerous as a Infante. Unable to marry her off to one of her sons, she instead looks outwards, and lands on her former suitor, the Duke of Berry. Pushing 50, she now cannot truly consider the match, but her sister is the perfect age for it. The French are on their side, and the King's brother is also a great countermeasure of the King himself.
In France, Charlotte of Savoy gives birth to a second son. The succession is thus truly secure. The young boy, named Charles, is treasured almost as much as his older brother. The young Dauphin is truly a light of France. Athletic, intelligent, a little mean, he's the Spider King's prodigy. So giddy is he off the birth, he allows the match with the Infanta to happen for his brother. He cannot stop his brother from getting married forever, and besides, the Infanta Juana is a great countermeasure to the Aragonese Queen.
May, 1474: Brittany has an heir! Catherine of Foix labours for 20 hours as the weather turns in France, and finally gives birth to a seemingly healthy boy in the form of Francis, Count of Montfort. Francis, ecstatic, celebrates for a month. But only a month. The labour was hard, his bride was too young, and thus, as May ends, the Infanta of Aragon passes. The court immediately goes into mourning.
June, 1474: The Count of Armagnac, an elderly 54, leaves his pregnant wife (another of Eleanor I of Aragon's daughters, well placed across France) behind as he travels to Aragon to support the Neapolitan Invasion. An old and unfulfilled man, he's not in shape to travel, and leaves his own bastard, incestuous son, Jean of Armagnac, as Regent for the county should he pass, or his infant son Guy of Armagnac. As luck would have it, he does die, and a new French Regency crisis begins.
Anne Neville, meanwhile, as Countess of Warwick, is still unmarried, but couching offers. Rumour has it that she had wanted to marry Richard of York, still missing, but even if he was found, he would never be granted such a prestigious bride. The Duke of Suffolk circles her, promising to set aside his York bride to marry her, but instead, the Neville bride looks elsewhere. The Queen of England does have her own party at the court, and intrigued by these foreign men, the Countess marries Baldwin of Burgundy, her uncle and a current contender for the Regency of Burgundy once Anthony of Burgundy is toppled. The King attends her wedding and unwittingly places a mark of his Queen's back. No one wants to see foreigners with English gold.
July, 1474: George of York, in his own little household, finally remarries. To who? Why, the bastard incest daughter of the the recently dead Count of Armagnac of course. Mascarose of Armagnac, who hides the shame of her parentage behind hyper religiousity and an obsession with proper etiquette, is just about the strangest choice for the Yorkist Pretender. But she's kind, she thinks he's got a chance, and her brother is offering a very healthy dowry and the promise of additional support if George ever makes to to battle. The fact he can't hold a sword is irrelevant.
August, 1474: Two pregnancies come to a head, in very different ways. In England, the Queen gives birth to a daughter, the Princess Margaret of England, to the delight of all involved. Her grandmother and godmother, Margaret of Anjou, writes that she wishes she could be there, but she cannot leave Paris just yet. That reason why is made obvious when the King of France orders his prisioner, George of York, to attend to him after news of his recent marriage is made public. When George doesn't do so, he begins to prepare to invade Armagnac.
Anthony of Burgundy is officially ousted from his position as Regent of Burgundy, and a council is put in place in his stead, led by his father-in-law, who immediately begins to plan a trip to Paris to have the Duke swear fealty to the King of France and ensure peace for a time. The fact that the young Duke has, at this point, opinions on his position is irrelevant. Louis XI has almost invaded TWICE, Richard of York's devastation is still a blight on their countryside, and the Austrians, while willing to keep the marriage alliance at play, aren't about to step into the French mess at this moment in time. He has no choice but to play nice.
In Portugal, Margaret of York gives birth to twin daughters, Eleanor and Isabel, only to find herself not married at all. The King of Portugal formally renounces his marriage, claiming it never recieved a dispensation, and thus his newborn daughters are beloved bastards. This is the final straw for the young woman, worn down by years of disappointments. She leaves Lisbon, and her daughters, and sets sail for Brussels again. She wants to see her son.
September, 1474: Richard of York finally pops up...in Naples. A little rough, but alive and healthy, the other Yorkist pretender is declared the Duke of York and heir to his brother, the titular George I of England. Frederic I of Naples promises that, once this pesky Rene of Anjou situation is taken care of, they're going to take back England from the Lancastrians.
Eleanor of Navarre, however, has different plans.
Eleanor's recent arrivals of Rene of Anjou and his grandson, Nicholas, Duke of Lorraine are currently her allies, but they have their own claims to her throne. She cannot marry the Prince of Girona to a daughter of their family, not just because he's betrothed to the little Queen of Castile, but because there is no daughter. So, she strikes another deal. Her youngest daughter to the Duke of Lorraine. It works so well. And thus, without the dispensation from the Pope (who is yet to back their invasion of Sicily), the young Infanta is married off and officially off the market.
At the same time, Eleanor finally decides what to do with the Infanta Juana, her sister and the last real holdover of the previous royal family. In theory, she's an asset, but in reality, Eleanor's own presence on the throne is evidence that an Infanta is just as dangerous as a Infante. Unable to marry her off to one of her sons, she instead looks outwards, and lands on her former suitor, the Duke of Berry. Pushing 50, she now cannot truly consider the match, but her sister is the perfect age for it. The French are on their side, and the King's brother is also a great countermeasure of the King himself.
In France, Charlotte of Savoy gives birth to a second son. The succession is thus truly secure. The young boy, named Charles, is treasured almost as much as his older brother. The young Dauphin is truly a light of France. Athletic, intelligent, a little mean, he's the Spider King's prodigy. So giddy is he off the birth, he allows the match with the Infanta to happen for his brother. He cannot stop his brother from getting married forever, and besides, the Infanta Juana is a great countermeasure to the Aragonese Queen.
May, 1474: Brittany has an heir! Catherine of Foix labours for 20 hours as the weather turns in France, and finally gives birth to a seemingly healthy boy in the form of Francis, Count of Montfort. Francis, ecstatic, celebrates for a month. But only a month. The labour was hard, his bride was too young, and thus, as May ends, the Infanta of Aragon passes. The court immediately goes into mourning.
June, 1474: The Count of Armagnac, an elderly 54, leaves his pregnant wife (another of Eleanor I of Aragon's daughters, well placed across France) behind as he travels to Aragon to support the Neapolitan Invasion. An old and unfulfilled man, he's not in shape to travel, and leaves his own bastard, incestuous son, Jean of Armagnac, as Regent for the county should he pass, or his infant son Guy of Armagnac. As luck would have it, he does die, and a new French Regency crisis begins.
Anne Neville, meanwhile, as Countess of Warwick, is still unmarried, but couching offers. Rumour has it that she had wanted to marry Richard of York, still missing, but even if he was found, he would never be granted such a prestigious bride. The Duke of Suffolk circles her, promising to set aside his York bride to marry her, but instead, the Neville bride looks elsewhere. The Queen of England does have her own party at the court, and intrigued by these foreign men, the Countess marries Baldwin of Burgundy, her uncle and a current contender for the Regency of Burgundy once Anthony of Burgundy is toppled. The King attends her wedding and unwittingly places a mark of his Queen's back. No one wants to see foreigners with English gold.
July, 1474: George of York, in his own little household, finally remarries. To who? Why, the bastard incest daughter of the the recently dead Count of Armagnac of course. Mascarose of Armagnac, who hides the shame of her parentage behind hyper religiousity and an obsession with proper etiquette, is just about the strangest choice for the Yorkist Pretender. But she's kind, she thinks he's got a chance, and her brother is offering a very healthy dowry and the promise of additional support if George ever makes to to battle. The fact he can't hold a sword is irrelevant.
August, 1474: Two pregnancies come to a head, in very different ways. In England, the Queen gives birth to a daughter, the Princess Margaret of England, to the delight of all involved. Her grandmother and godmother, Margaret of Anjou, writes that she wishes she could be there, but she cannot leave Paris just yet. That reason why is made obvious when the King of France orders his prisioner, George of York, to attend to him after news of his recent marriage is made public. When George doesn't do so, he begins to prepare to invade Armagnac.
Anthony of Burgundy is officially ousted from his position as Regent of Burgundy, and a council is put in place in his stead, led by his father-in-law, who immediately begins to plan a trip to Paris to have the Duke swear fealty to the King of France and ensure peace for a time. The fact that the young Duke has, at this point, opinions on his position is irrelevant. Louis XI has almost invaded TWICE, Richard of York's devastation is still a blight on their countryside, and the Austrians, while willing to keep the marriage alliance at play, aren't about to step into the French mess at this moment in time. He has no choice but to play nice.
In Portugal, Margaret of York gives birth to twin daughters, Eleanor and Isabel, only to find herself not married at all. The King of Portugal formally renounces his marriage, claiming it never recieved a dispensation, and thus his newborn daughters are beloved bastards. This is the final straw for the young woman, worn down by years of disappointments. She leaves Lisbon, and her daughters, and sets sail for Brussels again. She wants to see her son.
September, 1474: Richard of York finally pops up...in Naples. A little rough, but alive and healthy, the other Yorkist pretender is declared the Duke of York and heir to his brother, the titular George I of England. Frederic I of Naples promises that, once this pesky Rene of Anjou situation is taken care of, they're going to take back England from the Lancastrians.
Regencies
November 1474: Young Duke John is never sent to Paris to swear fealty to King Louis, and King Louis instead pops up in Brussels. There, he finally claims the regency of Burgundy for himself, as a close relative of the young Duke and has the head of the House of Valois. Many of the ambitious nobles who put aside Anthony are themselves put aside and King Louis is oficially recognized as both the heir and regent of young John the II. The regency council put in place by Louis, composed of both Frenchmen and representatives of Burgundies various lands, brings down taxes, feeds the people of Flanders and opens Burgundy and France's markets to each other (To the great joy of merchants of the Netherlands) and it (and King Louis) grow ever more popular. The aged Count of Vendome, wise and loyal, rules Burgundy as King Louis' representative and head of the regency council.
Margaret of York lands in Antwerp, and to her great surprise, is not greeted with cheers and promises of seeing her son. The rich and noble of the city quickly pack her off to Paris, where she is due for a little meeting with King Louis.
In Sicily, where Eleanor of Aragon and Rene of Anjou finally proceed with their invasion of Naples, there is a thunderstorm in the ocean. René does not forget Elearnor's promise to cede the Kingdom of Trinacria (Sicily) to him, but always shrewd queen Eleanor finds her hands tied. The very same nobles that made her queen of Aragon draw their swords as the prospect of the Aragonese crown losing the Kingdom of Sicily, and to her great dismay, the even more joyous King Louis reminds her of the promise done to Réne. The queen, from her residence in Palermo, thinks on what the hell to do. Aragon, in the meanwhile, continues being a land of over-powerful nobles who continue gaining more power in the face of a ever weaking, dependent crown..
The Duke of Alburquerque's regency does not last long. The Grandees of Castille, surprisingly, a combination of supporters of Isabella and Joanna, present a list of grievances against the regent, and not surprisingly, over the fact that Don Bertran is probably Juana la Beltraneja's pops. Beltrán de la Cueva, backs down, and agrees to join a joint regency council headed by many of Castille's most powerful nobles. It seems, after all, that there will be peace in the land of Enrique V and Joanna I.
Margaret of York lands in Antwerp, and to her great surprise, is not greeted with cheers and promises of seeing her son. The rich and noble of the city quickly pack her off to Paris, where she is due for a little meeting with King Louis.
In Sicily, where Eleanor of Aragon and Rene of Anjou finally proceed with their invasion of Naples, there is a thunderstorm in the ocean. René does not forget Elearnor's promise to cede the Kingdom of Trinacria (Sicily) to him, but always shrewd queen Eleanor finds her hands tied. The very same nobles that made her queen of Aragon draw their swords as the prospect of the Aragonese crown losing the Kingdom of Sicily, and to her great dismay, the even more joyous King Louis reminds her of the promise done to Réne. The queen, from her residence in Palermo, thinks on what the hell to do. Aragon, in the meanwhile, continues being a land of over-powerful nobles who continue gaining more power in the face of a ever weaking, dependent crown..
The Duke of Alburquerque's regency does not last long. The Grandees of Castille, surprisingly, a combination of supporters of Isabella and Joanna, present a list of grievances against the regent, and not surprisingly, over the fact that Don Bertran is probably Juana la Beltraneja's pops. Beltrán de la Cueva, backs down, and agrees to join a joint regency council headed by many of Castille's most powerful nobles. It seems, after all, that there will be peace in the land of Enrique V and Joanna I.
Betrayal
January, 1475: Eleanor of Navarre abandons her Neapolitan campaign almost as quickly as it had begun, shortly after the death of her son Peter, and instead offers to help Rene of Anjou negotiate for his heirs rights to the throne. The fact that he believe the current King is his Usurper, and that Eleanor herself sits on his throne, makes this a short negotiation. He takes his small amount of personal soldiers and attempts to over take the Aragonese camp and then the throne itself. It's as if he had become a madman. But France was not on his side. Aware that the English having an ally in Rene of Anjou is dangerous if he rules Aragon and Sicily, Louis XI affirms his support of Eleanor. With that in mind, and her pride wounded by Rene's treachery (after he own, but STILL), Eleanor has the marriage between Nicholas of Lorraine and her daughter, the Infanta Isabella, dissolved, and instead begins negotiations between Isabella and the Duke of Burgundy, who's suddenly in the market for a bride.
Kunigunde of Austria's betrothal to John II of Burgundy has, since the usurpation of the Regency, become less and less lucrative. Yes, he's still a very rich and potentially very powerful man. But he's also a subject to the King of France, who has his own perfectly aged Dauphin to offer the Austrian Archduchess. Thus, late in 1474, the betrothal was ended and negotiations began with France for that match. And Louis XI is doubly delighted. His cousin losing his bride to his son is the type of petty dig he's interested in right now.
April, 1475: After over a year of mourning, Francis II of Brittany remarries, to the shunted Anne of Savoy, the French proxy bride for Edward IV of England (the Lancastrian), who sends a particularly expensive gift of spices as a way of apologising to the bride.
July, 1475: The Prince of Portugal sees the birth of a son, Alfonso of Portugal, now second in line to the throne. The elder Alfonso is ecstatic at the birth of his eldest grandson, and has him placed into the same nursery as his twin daughters. He also formally legitimises them, and thus has two more Infantas to use.
September, 1475: Marie of Burgundy miscarries shortly after announcing her most recent pregnancy. This comes on the heels of the birth of a Duke of Rothesay in Scotland. Distraught, Marie finds little comfort in her husband or her entourage, as her closest companion, the Countess of Warwick, has left England with her husband for Burgundy, where they hope to take over the Regency from the ailing Count of Vendome. Her husband, less upset due to his happiness with the Prince of Wales and Princess Margaret, instead looks for his own diversion. And he finds it...in a Woodville. Richard Woodville. Nobody is aware at this point, but they do know that, despite the infamous Elizabeth Woodville's execution (and her children's hence disappearance once they had reached the hands of the Duke of Bourbon), suddenly there is a space for Jacquetta of Luxembourg and some of her beautiful children.
November, 1475: Joanna I, Queen of Castile formally acknowledges that her sister Maria is a bastard, and sends both she and her mother to a convent. At 13, she's been through enough drama to last a lifetime and since her own paternity is questioned, she wants to deflect attention and remove a rival. She also wants formal recognition of her titles from her royal peers, and writes to Eleanor I of Aragon and Alfonso V of Portugal, demanding signed documents admitting her position. She also requested custody of Enrique of Aragon, the son of Isabella of Castile, who she felt unsafe with the Aragonese court.
December, 1475: Richard of York seals an alliance with the King of Naples via a marriage to the Infanta Beatrice of Naples. It seems, in part, a love match. Preparations begin for a Neapolitan invasion of England.
Kunigunde of Austria's betrothal to John II of Burgundy has, since the usurpation of the Regency, become less and less lucrative. Yes, he's still a very rich and potentially very powerful man. But he's also a subject to the King of France, who has his own perfectly aged Dauphin to offer the Austrian Archduchess. Thus, late in 1474, the betrothal was ended and negotiations began with France for that match. And Louis XI is doubly delighted. His cousin losing his bride to his son is the type of petty dig he's interested in right now.
April, 1475: After over a year of mourning, Francis II of Brittany remarries, to the shunted Anne of Savoy, the French proxy bride for Edward IV of England (the Lancastrian), who sends a particularly expensive gift of spices as a way of apologising to the bride.
July, 1475: The Prince of Portugal sees the birth of a son, Alfonso of Portugal, now second in line to the throne. The elder Alfonso is ecstatic at the birth of his eldest grandson, and has him placed into the same nursery as his twin daughters. He also formally legitimises them, and thus has two more Infantas to use.
September, 1475: Marie of Burgundy miscarries shortly after announcing her most recent pregnancy. This comes on the heels of the birth of a Duke of Rothesay in Scotland. Distraught, Marie finds little comfort in her husband or her entourage, as her closest companion, the Countess of Warwick, has left England with her husband for Burgundy, where they hope to take over the Regency from the ailing Count of Vendome. Her husband, less upset due to his happiness with the Prince of Wales and Princess Margaret, instead looks for his own diversion. And he finds it...in a Woodville. Richard Woodville. Nobody is aware at this point, but they do know that, despite the infamous Elizabeth Woodville's execution (and her children's hence disappearance once they had reached the hands of the Duke of Bourbon), suddenly there is a space for Jacquetta of Luxembourg and some of her beautiful children.
November, 1475: Joanna I, Queen of Castile formally acknowledges that her sister Maria is a bastard, and sends both she and her mother to a convent. At 13, she's been through enough drama to last a lifetime and since her own paternity is questioned, she wants to deflect attention and remove a rival. She also wants formal recognition of her titles from her royal peers, and writes to Eleanor I of Aragon and Alfonso V of Portugal, demanding signed documents admitting her position. She also requested custody of Enrique of Aragon, the son of Isabella of Castile, who she felt unsafe with the Aragonese court.
December, 1475: Richard of York seals an alliance with the King of Naples via a marriage to the Infanta Beatrice of Naples. It seems, in part, a love match. Preparations begin for a Neapolitan invasion of England.
Last edited:
An Unexpected Tragedy
March 1976 - Edward of Lancaster and his inner circle finally hear word of the whereabouts of Richard of Gloucester, in Naples of all places, and sends a delegation to Federico of Naples demanding that Richard be sent back to England in chains.
April 1976 - At the invitation of Louis, Edward and his closest supporters are invited to Paris for a grand meeting of the Kings of England and France. Edward embarks on April 4 to see his mother for the first time in years. Louis prepares to receive the English king and his delegation at Boulougne, but as the appointed date comes for arrival, Louis, with his cousin Margaret in tow, are left at port with no arrival. Days pass, and there is no word. This perplexes Louis, which he notes is not a state of mind he likes to be in; Louis of course is the sort of man that needs to know about every detail that is happening.
One misty morning, a Picard fishing boat comes across a splendid ship, recently built, drifting off the coast of Boulogne. The fishermen immediately notify a local official, who sends a detachment to investigate. The boarding party, within minutes of climbing aboard the vessel, raise a frantic alert for the officials to immediately notify the King.
All aboard the ship, including the English king Edward IV, his wife Marie of Burgundy, and many of his closest supporters including Henry Tudor, are dead, ghastly pale and with blood and foam in their mouths, contorted in death where they sat. Not a single survivor is found.
Louis is horrified, stunned by such a turn of events as he didn't like to hear about poisonings that be didn't already know were planned. He was well aware of Richard of Gloucester's recent marriage in Naples, but moved slowly, wanting to see that situation play out as Louis always welcomed a bit of upheaval regarding his enemies and his allies, but to think that something like this could be carried out under his own nose. A shipwreck would have been more welcome. Louis acts quickly and sends word to every notable court in Europe, if only to absolve himself of any blame. However, the very first person he decides to notify is Edward's most loyal supporter on the island, Jasper Tudor.
April 1476 - Richard of Gloucester, still assembling his invasion force, is stopped dead in his tracks when he hears of Edward's death and cancels his invasion plans abruptly. Being far away in Naples, suspicion doesn't fall on Richard for very long as such a risky project to poison an entire royal court at sea requires the type of money and connections that Richard simply didn't have. Though mistrustful of the wild Louis, he suspects that Louis did not have anything to do with this either. Richard instead begins preparations to head to Rome, then on to Paris. Richard has an outstanding opportunity to claim the throne, but even he understands that he has to go about this very carefully. Despite his innocence, it is very easy for suspicion to fall upon him. He also writes a letter to Margaret of Anjou expressing sorrow for her loss. Yet almost immediately after he sends his letter, he receives word that Margaret too is dead, of shock and anguish all at once (modern scholars believe she had a sudden, massive heart attack).
April 1976 - At the invitation of Louis, Edward and his closest supporters are invited to Paris for a grand meeting of the Kings of England and France. Edward embarks on April 4 to see his mother for the first time in years. Louis prepares to receive the English king and his delegation at Boulougne, but as the appointed date comes for arrival, Louis, with his cousin Margaret in tow, are left at port with no arrival. Days pass, and there is no word. This perplexes Louis, which he notes is not a state of mind he likes to be in; Louis of course is the sort of man that needs to know about every detail that is happening.
One misty morning, a Picard fishing boat comes across a splendid ship, recently built, drifting off the coast of Boulogne. The fishermen immediately notify a local official, who sends a detachment to investigate. The boarding party, within minutes of climbing aboard the vessel, raise a frantic alert for the officials to immediately notify the King.
All aboard the ship, including the English king Edward IV, his wife Marie of Burgundy, and many of his closest supporters including Henry Tudor, are dead, ghastly pale and with blood and foam in their mouths, contorted in death where they sat. Not a single survivor is found.
Louis is horrified, stunned by such a turn of events as he didn't like to hear about poisonings that be didn't already know were planned. He was well aware of Richard of Gloucester's recent marriage in Naples, but moved slowly, wanting to see that situation play out as Louis always welcomed a bit of upheaval regarding his enemies and his allies, but to think that something like this could be carried out under his own nose. A shipwreck would have been more welcome. Louis acts quickly and sends word to every notable court in Europe, if only to absolve himself of any blame. However, the very first person he decides to notify is Edward's most loyal supporter on the island, Jasper Tudor.
April 1476 - Richard of Gloucester, still assembling his invasion force, is stopped dead in his tracks when he hears of Edward's death and cancels his invasion plans abruptly. Being far away in Naples, suspicion doesn't fall on Richard for very long as such a risky project to poison an entire royal court at sea requires the type of money and connections that Richard simply didn't have. Though mistrustful of the wild Louis, he suspects that Louis did not have anything to do with this either. Richard instead begins preparations to head to Rome, then on to Paris. Richard has an outstanding opportunity to claim the throne, but even he understands that he has to go about this very carefully. Despite his innocence, it is very easy for suspicion to fall upon him. He also writes a letter to Margaret of Anjou expressing sorrow for her loss. Yet almost immediately after he sends his letter, he receives word that Margaret too is dead, of shock and anguish all at once (modern scholars believe she had a sudden, massive heart attack).
A Court in Exile
Late April, 1476: Baldwin of Burgundy and his pregnant wife, Anne Neville, Countess of Warwick abandon their plans in Burgundy and head back to England, where Jasper Tudor has arrived to establish a Regency and proclaim young Henry of Lancaster the King of England. Traveling on separate ships to increase speed (Anne Neville is pregnant with the couple's first child), they go into damage control mode.
May, 1476: Margaret of York, likewise, hears of the news, and travels to Paris to demand her brother and his bride be released and France back the Yorkist revival. She mistakenly believes the Lancastrian slaughter was organised by the Spider King. Not only is Louis XI horrified by her accusations, but he's also offended that this laughing stock of Europe would dare seek to command him. He sends her off from Paris and suggests she return to Portugal,
"Back to Lisbon, where you had more success as a concubine than a consort."
Richard of York, meanwhile, continues his pace of establishing his position and allies. Naples is a start, but he sends the few English noblemen his has to treat with the major powers in exchange for alliances. He skips France, and publicly declares that George's marriage to Mascarose of Armagnac is proof of his mental instability and thus that he is not fit for the crown. Instead, he offers his widowed sister back to the King of Portugal, this time with a proper dispensation, and his nieces Elizabeth (b.1468) and Dorothy (b.1472) de la Pole as brides for the Prince of Girona and the infant Count of Montfort. He also gets word to his sister Elizabeth that she needs to get the word out.
June, 1476: The Regency of Henry VII of England, led by Jasper Tudor, Count of Pembroke, is surprisingly smooth for two main reasons. England is in turmoil, and they have a clear enemy. You see, Richard of York is obviously the man who had the royal family poisoned. They make that clear to everyone in England, and it's believed by those who cannot do the math. And he didn't just murder the King. There's the French Princess Marie of Burgundy. The Portuguese Princess Eleanor of Viseu. Various members of the noble families that had travelled with them. Even Cecily Neville, his own mother, had been on board. Richard of York may have Naples behind him, but not necessarily England.
Meanwhile, Armagnac's Regency crisis comes to a head when Jeanne of Foix, Eleanor I of Aragon's daughter, is viciously slaughtered by men commissioned by Jean of Armagnac, the current Regent. Jeanne, who's two children Guy I of Armagnac (b.1473) and Catherine of Armagnac (b.1474), are still in his care, is immediately avenged when the people of Auch, where he was at, rise up and imprison him in her honour. Eleanor, close by in Aragon, sends her own men to deal with him. For once, the Spider King does not involve himself in her affairs, and clears her actions. The Armagnac Bastards are naturally trouble for him, and the murder of a foreign Princess needs to be dealt with. He officially allows his subject to be tried by the neighbouring Kingdom.
Antoine of Armagnac refuses to take over the Regency in light of his brother's actions, and instead, Jean of Foix, Eleanor's eldest surviving son, travels to look after his niece and nephew.
Eleanor has, however, something to celebrate regardless. Her daughter Isabella is married, by proxy, to the Duke of Burgundy, and travels to Antwerp to meet him. During this time, he turns a blind eye to Margaret of York, travelling through her lands to meet with her brother in Naples.
October, 1476: Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy dies suddenly at age 41, leaving behind a large brood of children, including the Duchess of Brittany. His successor, Philiberto I of Savoy, is in the tricky position of needed to play the French alliance against the Holy Roman Empire. His solution? Leverage his own position as nephew of the French King and then marry his sister Maria to the son of the Holy Roman Emperor. The issue? The Emperor has no use for the match. What he does have, is no wife of his own. So the Savoyd Duke tries for that. But no luck. Frustrated, he goes for a smaller fish. Nicholas of Lorraine.
The death of Rene of Anjou earlier in the year has left his grandson and heir kind of stuck for direction. Yes, his claims are technically as valid as his father's, but he's much less...interested in war for war's sake. Naples, Aragon, hell, especially Jersusalem, they're all currently too strong and he has no major allies. He needs support if he's going to take anything. And the niece of the King of France, double first cousin to the Dauphin, sister to the strategically important Duke of Savoy, that's a strong choice. Particularly when his first option, Anne of Valois, dies of pneumonia earlier in the year. And so he marries Maria of Savoy, and waits.
During this time, the Duchess of Berry announces her first pregnancy. The Queen of Aragon sends her sister a congratulatory letter, along with a tapestry that had belonged to her mother. It's a fairly sentimental gift from a fairly sentimental woman.
Richard of York, meanwhile, secures his sister her position back on the Portuguese throne. She's not happy about it, but agrees to return with Papal dispensation. That's easy enough. What isn't easy to Papal support against the Lancastrians. The Pope is less than pleased that England keeps changing hands. It makes the French too powerful. And he's also unwilling to support anyone until he finds out who had that boat of very important people poisoned. Richard posits that the Beaufort/Tudor party might have done so. But no one believes that.
He's at a standstill.
In England, the Countess of Warwick gives birth to a healthy daughter, named Anne for her mother and grandmother. The court celebrates as much as they can during these trying times. The child is allowed to join the closely kept royal nursery (hosting the King of England, the Duke of York, and the Earl of Richmond).
November, 1476: Isabella of Viseu, Princess of Portugal dies in a hunting accident, attacked by a wild boar when she is flung from her horse. Leaving behind a young son and a young, distraught husband, Isabella is buried with pomp mourned deeply.
The Duchess of Brittany announces her first pregnancy.
May, 1476: Margaret of York, likewise, hears of the news, and travels to Paris to demand her brother and his bride be released and France back the Yorkist revival. She mistakenly believes the Lancastrian slaughter was organised by the Spider King. Not only is Louis XI horrified by her accusations, but he's also offended that this laughing stock of Europe would dare seek to command him. He sends her off from Paris and suggests she return to Portugal,
"Back to Lisbon, where you had more success as a concubine than a consort."
Richard of York, meanwhile, continues his pace of establishing his position and allies. Naples is a start, but he sends the few English noblemen his has to treat with the major powers in exchange for alliances. He skips France, and publicly declares that George's marriage to Mascarose of Armagnac is proof of his mental instability and thus that he is not fit for the crown. Instead, he offers his widowed sister back to the King of Portugal, this time with a proper dispensation, and his nieces Elizabeth (b.1468) and Dorothy (b.1472) de la Pole as brides for the Prince of Girona and the infant Count of Montfort. He also gets word to his sister Elizabeth that she needs to get the word out.
June, 1476: The Regency of Henry VII of England, led by Jasper Tudor, Count of Pembroke, is surprisingly smooth for two main reasons. England is in turmoil, and they have a clear enemy. You see, Richard of York is obviously the man who had the royal family poisoned. They make that clear to everyone in England, and it's believed by those who cannot do the math. And he didn't just murder the King. There's the French Princess Marie of Burgundy. The Portuguese Princess Eleanor of Viseu. Various members of the noble families that had travelled with them. Even Cecily Neville, his own mother, had been on board. Richard of York may have Naples behind him, but not necessarily England.
Meanwhile, Armagnac's Regency crisis comes to a head when Jeanne of Foix, Eleanor I of Aragon's daughter, is viciously slaughtered by men commissioned by Jean of Armagnac, the current Regent. Jeanne, who's two children Guy I of Armagnac (b.1473) and Catherine of Armagnac (b.1474), are still in his care, is immediately avenged when the people of Auch, where he was at, rise up and imprison him in her honour. Eleanor, close by in Aragon, sends her own men to deal with him. For once, the Spider King does not involve himself in her affairs, and clears her actions. The Armagnac Bastards are naturally trouble for him, and the murder of a foreign Princess needs to be dealt with. He officially allows his subject to be tried by the neighbouring Kingdom.
Antoine of Armagnac refuses to take over the Regency in light of his brother's actions, and instead, Jean of Foix, Eleanor's eldest surviving son, travels to look after his niece and nephew.
Eleanor has, however, something to celebrate regardless. Her daughter Isabella is married, by proxy, to the Duke of Burgundy, and travels to Antwerp to meet him. During this time, he turns a blind eye to Margaret of York, travelling through her lands to meet with her brother in Naples.
October, 1476: Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy dies suddenly at age 41, leaving behind a large brood of children, including the Duchess of Brittany. His successor, Philiberto I of Savoy, is in the tricky position of needed to play the French alliance against the Holy Roman Empire. His solution? Leverage his own position as nephew of the French King and then marry his sister Maria to the son of the Holy Roman Emperor. The issue? The Emperor has no use for the match. What he does have, is no wife of his own. So the Savoyd Duke tries for that. But no luck. Frustrated, he goes for a smaller fish. Nicholas of Lorraine.
The death of Rene of Anjou earlier in the year has left his grandson and heir kind of stuck for direction. Yes, his claims are technically as valid as his father's, but he's much less...interested in war for war's sake. Naples, Aragon, hell, especially Jersusalem, they're all currently too strong and he has no major allies. He needs support if he's going to take anything. And the niece of the King of France, double first cousin to the Dauphin, sister to the strategically important Duke of Savoy, that's a strong choice. Particularly when his first option, Anne of Valois, dies of pneumonia earlier in the year. And so he marries Maria of Savoy, and waits.
During this time, the Duchess of Berry announces her first pregnancy. The Queen of Aragon sends her sister a congratulatory letter, along with a tapestry that had belonged to her mother. It's a fairly sentimental gift from a fairly sentimental woman.
Richard of York, meanwhile, secures his sister her position back on the Portuguese throne. She's not happy about it, but agrees to return with Papal dispensation. That's easy enough. What isn't easy to Papal support against the Lancastrians. The Pope is less than pleased that England keeps changing hands. It makes the French too powerful. And he's also unwilling to support anyone until he finds out who had that boat of very important people poisoned. Richard posits that the Beaufort/Tudor party might have done so. But no one believes that.
He's at a standstill.
In England, the Countess of Warwick gives birth to a healthy daughter, named Anne for her mother and grandmother. The court celebrates as much as they can during these trying times. The child is allowed to join the closely kept royal nursery (hosting the King of England, the Duke of York, and the Earl of Richmond).
November, 1476: Isabella of Viseu, Princess of Portugal dies in a hunting accident, attacked by a wild boar when she is flung from her horse. Leaving behind a young son and a young, distraught husband, Isabella is buried with pomp mourned deeply.
The Duchess of Brittany announces her first pregnancy.
Family Tree as of 1476
A list of various family trees:
Let me know if I missed anything/anyone! I tried to consolidate any conflicting information within the timeline (i.e: Nicholas of Lorraine's elder brother Jean survives to marry Juana of Aragon here, but the marriage is never completed past a proxy ceremony as he dies en route, which seemed like the easiest way to fix that issue). Any children not named got given whatever name I thought made sense.
The Yorkists
Edward IV -Yorkist Claimant-, King of England (b.1442: d.1474) m. Catherine of Bourbon (b.1440) (a), p. Elizabeth Woodville, Countess of Richmond (b.1437: d.1472) (b)
Margaret of York (b.1446) m. Philippe III, Duke of Burgundy (b.1396: d.1466) (a), Alfonso V, King of Portugal (b.1432) (b)
George of York, titular King of England (b.1449) m. Isabel Neville (b.1451: d.1470) (a), Mascarose of Armagnac (c.1455) (b)
Richard of York, titular King of England (b.1452) m. Beatrice, Infanta of Naples (b.1457) (a)
--
The Lancastrians
Henry VI, King of England (b.1421: d.1465) m. Margaret of Anjou (b.1430: d.1476) (a)
Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and Lincoln (b.1457: d.1476) m. Eleanor of Viseu (b.1459: d.1476) (a)
Anne Neville, Countess of Warwick (b.1456) m. Baldwin of Burgundy (b.1446) (a)
--
The Trastamaras
John II, King of Aragon (b.1398: d.1465) m. Blanche I, Queen of Navarre (b.1487: d.1441) (a), Juana Enriquez (b.1425: d.1468) (b)
Eleanor I, Queen of Aragon and Navarre (b.1426) m. Gaston IV, Count of Foix (b.1422: d.1470) (a)
Enrique IV, King of Castile (b.1425: d.1474) m. Blanche II, Queen of Navarre (b.1424: d.1464) (a) -annulled 1453-, Joan, Infanta of Portugal (b.1439) (b)
--
The Avis
Alfonso V, King of Portugal (b.1432) m. Isabel of Coimbra (b.1432: d.1455) (a), Margaret of York (b.1446) (b) -annulled 1474, reinstated 1476-
Peter V, King of Aragon (b.1429: d.14) m. Isabella, Infanta of Castile, titular Queen of Castile (b.1451: d.1473) (a)
--
The Valois
Louis XI, King of France (b.1423) m. Margaret Stewart, Princess of Scotland (b.1424: d.1445) (a), Charlotte of Savoy (b.1441) (a)
Philippe III, Duke of Burgundy (b.1396: d.1466) m. Michelle, Princess of France (b.1395: d.1422) (a), Bonne of Artois (b.1396: d.1425) (b), Isabella, Infanta of Portugal (b.1497: d.1471) (c) Margaret of York (b.1446) (d)
--
The Anjous
Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine (b.1448: d.1473) m. Maria of Savoy (b.1460) (a)
--
The Bretons
Francis II, Duke of Brittany (b.1433) m. Margaret of Brittany (b.1443: d.1470), Catherine of Foix, Infanta of Aragon (b.1460: d.1474) (b), Anne of Savoy (b.1455) (c)
The Stewarts
James III, King of Scotland (b.1452) m. Margaret, Princess of Denmark (b.1456) (a)
Let me know if I missed anything/anyone! I tried to consolidate any conflicting information within the timeline (i.e: Nicholas of Lorraine's elder brother Jean survives to marry Juana of Aragon here, but the marriage is never completed past a proxy ceremony as he dies en route, which seemed like the easiest way to fix that issue). Any children not named got given whatever name I thought made sense.
The Yorkists
Edward IV -Yorkist Claimant-, King of England (b.1442: d.1474) m. Catherine of Bourbon (b.1440) (a), p. Elizabeth Woodville, Countess of Richmond (b.1437: d.1472) (b)
1a) Edward, Prince of Wales (b.1465: d.1467)
2a) Catherine, Princess of England (b.1466) - in a convent, possibly dead
3a) Cecily, Princess of England (b.1466: d.1470)
4b) Henry Fitzroy (b.1468) - presumed death
5a) Richard, Prince of Wales (b.1469: d.1469)
6b) Jacquetta Fitzroy (b.1470) - presumed dead
7b) George, Prince of Wales (b.1470: d.1471)
8a) William, Duke of York (b.1471) - in a convent, possibly dead
9b) Mary Fitzroy (b.1471) - presumed dead
Margaret of York (b.1446) m. Philippe III, Duke of Burgundy (b.1396: d.1466) (a), Alfonso V, King of Portugal (b.1432) (b)
1a) John II, Duke of Burgundy (b.1466) m. Isabella of Foix, Infanta of Aragon (b.1462)
2b) Eleanor, Infanta of Portugal (b.1474)
3b) Isabel, Infanta of Portugal (b.1474)
George of York, titular King of England (b.1449) m. Isabel Neville (b.1451: d.1470) (a), Mascarose of Armagnac (c.1455) (b)
1a) Stillborn Son (c.1470)
Richard of York, titular King of England (b.1452) m. Beatrice, Infanta of Naples (b.1457) (a)
--
The Lancastrians
Henry VI, King of England (b.1421: d.1465) m. Margaret of Anjou (b.1430: d.1476) (a)
1a) Edward IV -Lancastrian Claimant-, King of England (b.1453: d.1476) m. Marie of Burgundy (b.1457: d.1476) (a)
1a) Miscarriage (c.1471)
2a) Henry VII, King of England (b.1473)
3a) Margaret, Princess of England (b.1474)
4a) Miscarriage (c.1475)
Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and Lincoln (b.1457: d.1476) m. Eleanor of Viseu (b.1459: d.1476) (a)
1a) Owen Tudor, Earl of Richmond and Lincoln (b.1474)
Anne Neville, Countess of Warwick (b.1456) m. Baldwin of Burgundy (b.1446) (a)
1a) Anne of Burgundy (b.1476)
--
The Trastamaras
John II, King of Aragon (b.1398: d.1465) m. Blanche I, Queen of Navarre (b.1487: d.1441) (a), Juana Enriquez (b.1425: d.1468) (b)
1a) Charles IV, King of Navarre (b.1421: d.1461) m. Agnes of Cleves (b.1422: d.1448) (a)
- had no issue
2a) Joan, Princess of Navarre (b.1423: d.1425)
3a) Blanche II, Queen of Navarre (b.1424: d.1464) m. Enrique IV, King of Castile (b.1425: d.1474) (a) -annulled 1453-
- had no issue
4a) Eleanor I, Queen of Aragon and Navarre (b.1426) m. Gaston IV, Count of Foix (b.1422: d.1469) (a)
- had issue, shown below
5b) Ferdinand II, King of Aragon (b.1452) - presumed dead
6b) Juana, Infanta of Aragon (b.1455) m. John of Lorraine (b.1445: d.1468) (a) -never met in person-, Charles, Duke of Berry (b.1446) (a)
Eleanor I, Queen of Aragon and Navarre (b.1426) m. Gaston IV, Count of Foix (b.1422: d.1470) (a)
1a) Marie of Foix (b.1443: d.1467) m. William VIII Palaiologos, Marquis of Montferrat (b.1420) (a)
- had no issue
2a) Gaston, Prince of Viana (b.1445: d.1470) m. Magdalena, Princess of France (b.1443) (a)
1a) Francis Phoebus, Prince of Girona and Viana (b.1466)
3a) Peter, Infante of Aragon (b.1449: d.1474)
- never married, had no issue
4a) Jeanne of Foix, Infanta of Aragon (b.1454: d.1476) m. Jean V, Count of Armagnac (b.1420: d.1474) (a)
1a) Guy, Count of Armagnac (b.1473)
2a) Catherine of Armagnac (b.1474)
5a) Margaret of Foix (b.1458: d.1471)
6a) Catherine of Foix, Infanta of Aragon (b.1460: d.1474) m. Francis II, Duke of Brittany (b.1433) (a)
- had issue, seen below
7a) Isabella of Foix, Infanta of Aragon (b.1462) m. John II, Duke of Burgundy (b.1466) (a)
8a) Jacques of Foix, Infante of Aragon (b.1463)
9a) Anne of Foix (b.1464: d.1464)
Enrique IV, King of Castile (b.1425: d.1474) m. Blanche II, Queen of Navarre (b.1424: d.1464) (a) -annulled 1453-, Joan, Infanta of Portugal (b.1439) (b)
1a) Juana I, Queen of Castile (b.1462)
2a) Maria, Infanta of Castile (b.1473) - legal bastard
--
The Avis
Alfonso V, King of Portugal (b.1432) m. Isabel of Coimbra (b.1432: d.1455) (a), Margaret of York (b.1446) (b) -annulled 1474, reinstated 1476-
1a) John, Prince of Portugal (b.1451: d.1451)
2a) Joan, Infanta of Portugal (b.1452)
3a) John, Prince of Portugal (b.1455) m. Isabella of Viseu (b.1460: d.1476) (a)
1a) Alfonso, Infante of Portugal (b.1475)
4b) Eleanor, Infanta of Portugal (b.1474)
5b) Isabel, Infanta of Portugal (b1474)
Peter V, King of Aragon (b.1429: d.14) m. Isabella, Infanta of Castile, titular Queen of Castile (b.1451: d.1473) (a)
1a) Enrique, Infante of Aragon (b.1469)
2a) Joao, Infante of Aragon (b.1470: d.1470)
--
The Valois
Louis XI, King of France (b.1423) m. Margaret Stewart, Princess of Scotland (b.1424: d.1445) (a), Charlotte of Savoy (b.1441) (a)
1a) Louis, Dauphin of France (b.1458: d.1460)
2a) Joachim, Prince of France (b.1459: d.1459)
3a) Louise, Princess of France (b.1460: d.1460)
4a) Anne, Princess of France (b.1461: d.1476)
- never married, had no issue
5a) Jeanne, Princess of France (b.1464)
6a) Louis, Dauphin of France (b.1465)
7a) Claude, Princess of France (b.1471)
8a) Charles, Prince of France (b.1473)
Philippe III, Duke of Burgundy (b.1396: d.1466) m. Michelle, Princess of France (b.1395: d.1422) (a), Bonne of Artois (b.1396: d.1425) (b), Isabella, Infanta of Portugal (b.1497: d.1471) (c) Margaret of York (b.1446) (d)
1c) Antoine of Burgundy, Count of Charolais (b.1430: d.1432)
2c) Josse, Count of Charolais (b.1452: d.1432)
3c) Charles, Count of Charlois (b.1433: d.1466) m. Catherine, Princess of France (b.1428: d.1446) (a), Isabella of Bourbon (b.1434: d.1465) (a)
1a) Marie of Burgundy (b.1457: d.1476) m. Edward IV -Lancastrian Claimant-, King of England (b.1453: d.1476) (a)
- had issue, shown above
4d) John II, Duke of Burgundy (b.1466) m. Isabella of Foix, Infanta of Aragon (b.1462) (a)
--
The Anjous
Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine (b.1448: d.1473) m. Maria of Savoy (b.1460) (a)
--
The Bretons
Francis II, Duke of Brittany (b.1433) m. Margaret of Brittany (b.1443: d.1470), Catherine of Foix, Infanta of Aragon (b.1460: d.1474) (b), Anne of Savoy (b.1455) (c)
1a) Jean, Count of Montfort (b.1463: d.1463)
2a) Marie of Brittany (b.1470)
3b) Francis, Count of Montfort (b.1474)
--The Stewarts
James III, King of Scotland (b.1452) m. Margaret, Princess of Denmark (b.1456) (a)
1a) James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay (b.1475)
Last edited:
Margaret ending up marrying Charles' father Philip in this timeline to produce John.
Peter V of Aragon is also part of the Coimbra branch of the Aviz dinasty along with his children, they're not trastamaras.
The one in which Richard's schemes take longer than he would like
December 1476-February 1477: Richard of Gloucester offers his niece Elizabeth de la Pole to John, Prince of Portugal, to replace his late wife Isabella. John himself refuses, but Alfonso V agrees following some discussion with his Yorkist wife. Richard manages to piece together an acceptable dowry, consisting primarily of promises for when he retakes England. Granted, there is the hurdle that - according to a Pope - a dispensation is needed as Margaret of York has had children with Alfonso V and hence, under cannon law, Elizabeth de la Pole is John's 1st cousin. It doesn't help that the Pope has pre-emptively answered the question "Will you grant us a dispensation?" with a resounding no. Richard and the King of Naples send diplomats to try and change the Pope's mind, but to no avail. Good news soon reaches, Richard however when his wife tells him that she is pregnant with child.
March 1477: King Louis XI writes to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III proposing a marriage between the Dauphin of France and the Archduchess, Kunigunde. As usual, Frederick dallies on whether to accept or not, wanting to see how the situation plays out. Louis uses this time to look elsewhere for a bride for the Dauphin.
April-June 1477: Richard of Gloucester is still trying, and failing, to gain the dispensation needed for John and Elizabeth's wedding. Wanting to do something productive, Richard adopts two new pursuits. 1). Destabilise Henry VII's Regency. To achieve this, Richard writes to his old friend Francis, Viscount Lovell attempting to win him over and convince him to support his claim to the throne, as well as suggesting that he should trigger a rebellion in Yorkshire, where his family is still popular. 2). He writes to James III of Scotland, suggesting a marriage between Dorothy de la Pole and the Duke of Rothesay. He repeatedly insists that the burgeoning Anglo-French alliance is a threat to Scotland and that by allying with him, James can secure his Kingdom's independence. These proposals do take their time further adding to Richard's annoyance. He feels like he is about to scream when suddenly, some good news arrives, the Pope has died and a new Papal Conclave is to be held...
March 1477: King Louis XI writes to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III proposing a marriage between the Dauphin of France and the Archduchess, Kunigunde. As usual, Frederick dallies on whether to accept or not, wanting to see how the situation plays out. Louis uses this time to look elsewhere for a bride for the Dauphin.
April-June 1477: Richard of Gloucester is still trying, and failing, to gain the dispensation needed for John and Elizabeth's wedding. Wanting to do something productive, Richard adopts two new pursuits. 1). Destabilise Henry VII's Regency. To achieve this, Richard writes to his old friend Francis, Viscount Lovell attempting to win him over and convince him to support his claim to the throne, as well as suggesting that he should trigger a rebellion in Yorkshire, where his family is still popular. 2). He writes to James III of Scotland, suggesting a marriage between Dorothy de la Pole and the Duke of Rothesay. He repeatedly insists that the burgeoning Anglo-French alliance is a threat to Scotland and that by allying with him, James can secure his Kingdom's independence. These proposals do take their time further adding to Richard's annoyance. He feels like he is about to scream when suddenly, some good news arrives, the Pope has died and a new Papal Conclave is to be held...
Marie's officially dead, at the moment I think it's Anne Neville and her husband who are trying to take over the Regency.
Alfonso's Revenge
September 1477: The papal conclave hurriedly elects a new pope, who takes the name of Sixtus IV. To the surprise of the portuguese, the new pope also refuses to give out the dispensation. Said surprised doesn't last long, however. Angered at the failures of the Yorkists in obtaining the dispensation, Afonso V sends his diplomats to France, to secure a marriage between his son John and the growing Princess Royal, Claude. King Louis accepts, and Claude is bound to go to Portugal when she comes of age. The Portuguese are rich, Prince John can wait as he already has his heirs, and the portuguese grow ever richer from their conquests in Morocco and their forts in Africa.
Alfonso the II, inherits Naples from his ailing father. The young King of Naples has no interest in English ventures, although he allows Richard to remain in his Kingdom. No, instead, the young monarch intends to remind Europe that to attack Naples has consequences. Eleanor of Aragon's part in invading Naples is not forgotten, and technically, there has been no truce. It doesn't come as a surprise to most of Europe then, than a Neopolitan army under the King's brother Frederick lands in Palermo late in September and most of the islands garrisons surrender to his forces. In less than a month, a conclave of Sicily's barons declare Alfonso King of Trinacria, and the King /officially/ reunites the two Kingdoms into one, reforming the original norman Kingdom of Sicily.
Surprised at the speed of his own conquest and the inability of the expended and descentralized Aragon to retaliate, rumours spread that the Neapoli- the Sicilian navy intends to land in Sardinia.
The backlash in Aragon, is, unsurprisingly, huge. Many speak openly of Eleanor's weakness and her inability to keep Aragon's meditteranean empire together.
December 1477: Frederick, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, sends his daughter Kunigunde to France to be raised amidst the French court. It seems that the Austrian Archduchess will be the future Queen of France, after all.
Alfonso the II, inherits Naples from his ailing father. The young King of Naples has no interest in English ventures, although he allows Richard to remain in his Kingdom. No, instead, the young monarch intends to remind Europe that to attack Naples has consequences. Eleanor of Aragon's part in invading Naples is not forgotten, and technically, there has been no truce. It doesn't come as a surprise to most of Europe then, than a Neopolitan army under the King's brother Frederick lands in Palermo late in September and most of the islands garrisons surrender to his forces. In less than a month, a conclave of Sicily's barons declare Alfonso King of Trinacria, and the King /officially/ reunites the two Kingdoms into one, reforming the original norman Kingdom of Sicily.
Surprised at the speed of his own conquest and the inability of the expended and descentralized Aragon to retaliate, rumours spread that the Neapoli- the Sicilian navy intends to land in Sardinia.
The backlash in Aragon, is, unsurprisingly, huge. Many speak openly of Eleanor's weakness and her inability to keep Aragon's meditteranean empire together.
December 1477: Frederick, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, sends his daughter Kunigunde to France to be raised amidst the French court. It seems that the Austrian Archduchess will be the future Queen of France, after all.
Last edited:
A Scottish Invasion
24th December, 1477: Beatrice of Naples gives birth to a daughter, Margaret of York. Richard, excited at the birth of an heir to his claims, celebrates the best that he can on the small amount of money he is alloted by his brother-in-law.
January, 1478: Mascarose of Armagnac, with permission from the King of France, travels with her husband to Armagnac to live in the lands provided to her under her father's will. Her dowry isn't spectacular, and it certainly won't facilitate an invasion of England, but she wants to make him more comfortable, particularly as the household the Spider King has provided gets smaller and smaller every year. She has other reasons to want comfort however. The titular Queen of England is pregnant, finally, by her husband for almost 4 years.
James III of Scotland, welcoming a second son, Robert, Duke of Ross, begins his invasion of England. Having stalled his plans for years at this point, unable to get foreign support for this war, he finally negotiates with Aragon and signs off on a betrothal between his heir and Catherine of Armagnac, Eleanor's proxy Aragonese bride of choice. His time has begun.
In France, the treacherous Duke of Alencon dies in prison. His son and heir, Rene of Alencon, with his bride Marguerite of Harcourt, arrive at the French court to negotiate the return of his family's lands and titles.
Richard of York leaves Naples and sets sail for Scotland. Maybe he can use this war to his advantage.
February, 1478: Charlotte of Savoy collapses in the middle of morning mass, and is rushed to her rooms. The cause isn't known, but within the next few days, her speech continues to slur, her face droops, and she struggles to move her left arm and shoulder. It's a stroke. It's not clear what triggered this illness, but what is known is that she can no longer meet her duties as well as she had been. Thus, Magdalena of Valois, still at the French court as an unofficial ambassador for her mother-in-law, steps in as the female representative of the French Royal Family, while Charlotte recovers.Thus, Magdalena attends her niece Jeanne of Valois' marriage to Peter of Bourbon, raised to the title Count of Beaujeu, with the expectation that he would inherit the Bourbon lands and titles from the childless Duke John II of Bourbon.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Berry finally succumbs to his long illness, leaving behind a pregnant bride (a daughter, Marie, having been born the previous year) and an uncertain regency.
Francis Phoebus, Prince of Girona and Viana marries Juana I, Queen of Castile in a public ceremony. Eleanor, as a show of good will, hands over custody of the little Infanta Enrique, who's inability to walk remains a major handicap. He is, however, talking, and is excited to meet his aunt, who immediately sets him up to study as a priest. Francis Phoebus, meanwhile, is noted as very handsome, athletic, and charming.
July, 1478: The Duchess of Berry miscarries her second child, leaving her daughter as a considerable heiress to certain lands, but not the inheritor of the titles. She writes to her sister in Aragon, pointedly saying she will not be returning to her homeland, so please do not offer. France is where she wants to stay.
Eleanor I of Aragon, meanwhile, is struggling to figure out what to do to save herself. She has no alliances left to make, her allies in France are waiting her out, the Aragonese nobility do not respect her enough to support her. But she knows there is one thing that can save her. She asks the Holy Roman Emperor for help and offers, amongst other things, to dissolve the marriage between her daughter and the Duke of Burgundy, and marry her to his son Maximilian, in exchange for his support, not just of her, but Nicholas of Lorraine. Isabella, still in Eleanor's care, considering her husband's youth, is still physically available, if not legally so. She even offers to marry Frederick herself, if he'll just help her not get trampled.
The negotiations begin.
In England, Jasper Tudor and Baldwin of Burgundy are leading armies into battle, while Anne Neville holds down the government in London. Her goal? Prevent the Duchess of Suffolk from using the current unrest to her brother's advantage. Her solution? Frame her for attempted murder of the King and have her executed.
And it works.
Between her machinations, and increasing suspicion that she and her husband were among the only major nobility not on board with King Edward for France, people have begun to suspect that she, not Richard of York, had the royal party poisoned. Furthermore, two further attempted poisonings on the young Prince's life have made everyone incredibly suspicious of all Yorkists. Her brother married an incest bastard, her other one has recently arrived in Scotland, the enemy. Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk is beheaded by ax on a windy morning, with her husband and eldest son. The rest of their children are placed under the guardianship of Anne Neville's mother for now.
January, 1478: Mascarose of Armagnac, with permission from the King of France, travels with her husband to Armagnac to live in the lands provided to her under her father's will. Her dowry isn't spectacular, and it certainly won't facilitate an invasion of England, but she wants to make him more comfortable, particularly as the household the Spider King has provided gets smaller and smaller every year. She has other reasons to want comfort however. The titular Queen of England is pregnant, finally, by her husband for almost 4 years.
James III of Scotland, welcoming a second son, Robert, Duke of Ross, begins his invasion of England. Having stalled his plans for years at this point, unable to get foreign support for this war, he finally negotiates with Aragon and signs off on a betrothal between his heir and Catherine of Armagnac, Eleanor's proxy Aragonese bride of choice. His time has begun.
In France, the treacherous Duke of Alencon dies in prison. His son and heir, Rene of Alencon, with his bride Marguerite of Harcourt, arrive at the French court to negotiate the return of his family's lands and titles.
Richard of York leaves Naples and sets sail for Scotland. Maybe he can use this war to his advantage.
February, 1478: Charlotte of Savoy collapses in the middle of morning mass, and is rushed to her rooms. The cause isn't known, but within the next few days, her speech continues to slur, her face droops, and she struggles to move her left arm and shoulder. It's a stroke. It's not clear what triggered this illness, but what is known is that she can no longer meet her duties as well as she had been. Thus, Magdalena of Valois, still at the French court as an unofficial ambassador for her mother-in-law, steps in as the female representative of the French Royal Family, while Charlotte recovers.Thus, Magdalena attends her niece Jeanne of Valois' marriage to Peter of Bourbon, raised to the title Count of Beaujeu, with the expectation that he would inherit the Bourbon lands and titles from the childless Duke John II of Bourbon.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Berry finally succumbs to his long illness, leaving behind a pregnant bride (a daughter, Marie, having been born the previous year) and an uncertain regency.
Francis Phoebus, Prince of Girona and Viana marries Juana I, Queen of Castile in a public ceremony. Eleanor, as a show of good will, hands over custody of the little Infanta Enrique, who's inability to walk remains a major handicap. He is, however, talking, and is excited to meet his aunt, who immediately sets him up to study as a priest. Francis Phoebus, meanwhile, is noted as very handsome, athletic, and charming.
July, 1478: The Duchess of Berry miscarries her second child, leaving her daughter as a considerable heiress to certain lands, but not the inheritor of the titles. She writes to her sister in Aragon, pointedly saying she will not be returning to her homeland, so please do not offer. France is where she wants to stay.
Eleanor I of Aragon, meanwhile, is struggling to figure out what to do to save herself. She has no alliances left to make, her allies in France are waiting her out, the Aragonese nobility do not respect her enough to support her. But she knows there is one thing that can save her. She asks the Holy Roman Emperor for help and offers, amongst other things, to dissolve the marriage between her daughter and the Duke of Burgundy, and marry her to his son Maximilian, in exchange for his support, not just of her, but Nicholas of Lorraine. Isabella, still in Eleanor's care, considering her husband's youth, is still physically available, if not legally so. She even offers to marry Frederick herself, if he'll just help her not get trampled.
The negotiations begin.
In England, Jasper Tudor and Baldwin of Burgundy are leading armies into battle, while Anne Neville holds down the government in London. Her goal? Prevent the Duchess of Suffolk from using the current unrest to her brother's advantage. Her solution? Frame her for attempted murder of the King and have her executed.
And it works.
Between her machinations, and increasing suspicion that she and her husband were among the only major nobility not on board with King Edward for France, people have begun to suspect that she, not Richard of York, had the royal party poisoned. Furthermore, two further attempted poisonings on the young Prince's life have made everyone incredibly suspicious of all Yorkists. Her brother married an incest bastard, her other one has recently arrived in Scotland, the enemy. Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk is beheaded by ax on a windy morning, with her husband and eldest son. The rest of their children are placed under the guardianship of Anne Neville's mother for now.
Last edited:
A Crusade Begins
August 1478: Juana la Beltraneja, Queen of Castille, has been spending quality time with her young cousin and once rival, Enrique de Aviz y Trastamara. The two cousins, despite Enrique's "slowness", bond, and soon ugly reports rear their heads. A man who had once been a servant of her aunt Isabella and had tutored Enrique during his brief stay in Castille, says that the young Prince had not been "slow" at all, but simply melancholic. The young prince was instead praised for having a high intellect, but his fear of the public and his shyness stopped him from showing it. But well, in the present, Enrique was definetly slow and mal-educated and castillian spies in Aragon to find out why. They soon discover that young Enrique had been Queen Eleanor's instrument of vengeance for the death of her own son at the hands of his father, and soon the Prince of Viana returns to the court in Barcelona, having been expelled from Castille by his own wife. The papacy in Rome receives news that Juanna the I seeks an annulement on the basis that the marriage was forced upon her by her regents, and alleges that Francis was unable to consumate the marriage. She promises her hand to João, heir to Portugal, and soon Portuguese gold reaches Rome ...
Casimir, King of Hungary, marries Isabel of Sicily and recognizes Alfonso the II as King of Sicily and Sardinia, as the Napolitan's troops had just taken Cagliari. In return, Alfonso promises that when he has cemented his rulership over the island of Sicily and Sardinia, he shall join Casimir in a renewed crusade against the Ottomans. Casimir, who has hosted the heirs of Constantine the XI for some time now, sends appeals to his father in Poland, his brother Vladislaus in Bohemia, the Princes of Germany and most importantly, the King of France, to seek their participation in the war. Pope Sixtus II officially supports the Hungarian endeavour which intends to avenge the humiliation at Varna.
October 1478: Speaking of the Ottomans, the Empire falls into mourning and despair, while the rest of the world rejoices with glee. Mehmed the II, tired of the resistance of Gjon Kastrioti and his followers as they once more revolted, lead himself an army into Albania, intent on sieging and destroying the Albanian fortresses. The siege of Himara ends in disaster for the Ottomans, however, as Albanian Jannisaries secretly murder the Sultan in his tent and join the resistance.
Casimir, King of Hungary, marries Isabel of Sicily and recognizes Alfonso the II as King of Sicily and Sardinia, as the Napolitan's troops had just taken Cagliari. In return, Alfonso promises that when he has cemented his rulership over the island of Sicily and Sardinia, he shall join Casimir in a renewed crusade against the Ottomans. Casimir, who has hosted the heirs of Constantine the XI for some time now, sends appeals to his father in Poland, his brother Vladislaus in Bohemia, the Princes of Germany and most importantly, the King of France, to seek their participation in the war. Pope Sixtus II officially supports the Hungarian endeavour which intends to avenge the humiliation at Varna.
October 1478: Speaking of the Ottomans, the Empire falls into mourning and despair, while the rest of the world rejoices with glee. Mehmed the II, tired of the resistance of Gjon Kastrioti and his followers as they once more revolted, lead himself an army into Albania, intent on sieging and destroying the Albanian fortresses. The siege of Himara ends in disaster for the Ottomans, however, as Albanian Jannisaries secretly murder the Sultan in his tent and join the resistance.
Last edited: