Edward VI marries Jane Grey

Or, if you subscribe to the theory, Northumberland poisoned him with arsenic, which in is deadly, but when ingested over a long period of time, actually prolongs life rather than shortens it.

Now, my apologies if I'm derailing the thread but I was thinking today at work about this:

Edward marries Jane, but dies before they can have children (because let's face it, they may be only fifteen but if he's already sick it mightn't happen as quickly as it should - and perhaps it doesn't, or they do, but she doesn't get pregnant before he dies).

From my post in a different thread:



How does this affect things? Can she be considered a well-known enough figure to be proclaimed queen in her own right. And if Parliament's ratified Ned's device, who will support Mary against Jane (besides maybe the Habsburgs)?
Hmm interesting that does change a fair bit. If she was his queen and now named his heir, there'd be those who'd want her to stay. Though others might protedt
 
Alright, so who would be the most likely option for him to marry then? Elisabeth de Valois?

Probably. Nothumberland organised the treaty and marriage with France, but Edward himself was keen on the marriage. The marriage was set at for 1557 at the earliest, when Elisabeth was 12 years old.
 
Probably. Nothumberland organised the treaty and marriage with France, but Edward himself was keen on the marriage. The marriage was set at for 1557 at the earliest, when Elisabeth was 12 years old.
Alright so if Edward doesn't catch measles he'd be able to live that long?
 
England had no tradition of the crown matrimonial (where a surviving spouse gains a claim to the throne and can rule on their own after the legal monarch's death) - see the strict interpretation of Philip II's rights on his marriage to Mary - parliament were pretty clear he was King of England in name.
Jane wasn't unfortunately very well known outside the immediate court circles - proclamations of her accession both at home and abroad had to include an explanation of who she was and her claim for example.

The clear evidence is that Edward VI needed no persuasion to amend the succession - almost everyone at court agreed to it because it was the King's clearly expressed desire prompted by his desire for a male heir and a legitimate Protestant one - it initially left the throne to the heirs male of the Lady Francis, then to the heir males of Lady Jane, Lady Catherine and Lady Mary, then the heir males of Lady Margaret (daughter of Lady Eleanor Brandon) then the heir males of the daughter's of the Lady Jane Lady Catherine, Lady Mary etc and so on.

The heir males bits were crossed out in the final version which left the throne to Lady Jane and her heirs male.
 
How about, Edward VI marries Jane in Spring 1553, then makes will that makes Jane a Regent for their unborn child?

Even opponents of Jane cannot deny that Edward and Jane were free to marry and did throw up a public form of marriage, even if partying was unseemly limited due to the hurry of a horny/sick boy. They may hold suspicions as to how much Jane really did in his bed besides nursing him, but they cannot deny the possibility that Jane just might be pregnant with Edward's posthumous child... so will Queen Jane be able to secure the throne?
 
How about, Edward VI marries Jane in Spring 1553, then makes will that makes Jane a Regent for their unborn child?

Even opponents of Jane cannot deny that Edward and Jane were free to marry and did throw up a public form of marriage, even if partying was unseemly limited due to the hurry of a horny/sick boy. They may hold suspicions as to how much Jane really did in his bed besides nursing him, but they cannot deny the possibility that Jane just might be pregnant with Edward's posthumous child... so will Queen Jane be able to secure the throne?

Her reputation would take a huge hit if she does do that, but if she does, then she needs to build up support and have a justification for it.
 
There will be a brief recess while it is determined whether or not she's preggers. If she is, there's a regency council and she's not on it; if she's not, Mary I is queen and Dowager Queen Jane is safe from execution, but not from exile.
 
There will be a brief recess while it is determined whether or not she's preggers. If she is, there's a regency council and she's not on it; if she's not, Mary I is queen and Dowager Queen Jane is safe from execution, but not from exile.

And she makes a very tempting fruit for any nobleman to marry. I could see Mary trying to marry her to an impoverished uber-Catholic earl/baron out of spite
 
And she makes a very tempting fruit for any nobleman to marry. I could see Mary trying to marry her to an impoverished uber-Catholic earl/baron out of spite
Only after waiting several years, just to conclusively demonstrate to everyone that there's no way any of her issue were from Edward. Even then, Mary would probably want to keep her under close control, just to be safe.

Not that any of this changes the big problem, which is that there's precisely zero reason for Edward to marry her in the first place.
 
You would really need to change Edward VI's character - until he became ill he wasn't considered weak in either body or mind or expected to die young - in fact those who knew him saw him as a mini-version of his father with a very strong sense of his Royal status (just like both his sister's).
Okay then, why not have him get some serious illness early in his reign which gets everyone planning to secure the succession? He could still recover, but the specter's been raised, and perhaps the planning for a marriage to Jane is already in place.

Only after waiting several years, just to conclusively demonstrate to everyone that there's no way any of her issue were from Edward. Even then, Mary would probably want to keep her under close control, just to be safe.
... unless some nobleman or other wants to raise doubt? Of course, Mary couldn't be in power for that.
 
... unless some nobleman or other wants to raise doubt? Of course, Mary couldn't be in power for that.
If Mary (or Elizabeth, who also wouldn't want a spurious nephew with a better claim to the throne) isn't in power, then said nobleman would be better off just marrying Jane and claiming the throne in her own right (which, after all, is what essentially happened OTL).
 
I'd wed Mary to Luis, Duke of Beja and be rid of her and have Edward marry Jane to ensure a Protestant succession. Even if she just pops out one son (or daughter), the regency would form so the nobles would have power and Mary and Elizabeth are frozen out. No one can argue with Edward's legitimacy or the legitimacy of his child with Jane.
 
Interesting, so how might this go down with the nobility?

If it means avoiding a WotR part 2: The Religious Divide - Mary's foreign Catholic line (the duke of Beja's kids) over Edward's unborn native one then they'll probably prefer Ned marrying Jane to Élisabeth de Valois/Juana of Austria.
 
Top