POD: Jane Grey is queen for nine years instead of nine days.
Monarchs of England
1547-1553: Edward VI (Tudor)
1553-1562: Jane (Grey) [1]
1562-1577: Edward VII (Grey) [2]
1577-1598: Margaret (Stanley) [3]
1598-1625: Henry IX (Stanley) [4]
Monarchs of England and Princes of Orange
1625-1633: Henry IX & I (Stanley) [4]
1633-1654: David (Stanley) [5]
1654-1701: William III & II (Stanley) [6]
1701-1708: Henry X & II (Stanley) [7]
[7] Born in 1682 as the eldest son and second child of William III and his third wife Elizabeth Wriothesley, Henry Frederick (named after both of his grandfathers) was a sickly child that many expected to not survive childhood. However, Henry managed to live to adulthood and succeeded his father as King in 1701 at the age of 19, breaking the curse of the country having monarchs who began reigning as children.
The celebrations continued when Henry married Princess Joan of Navarre in 1703, which resulted in the birth of two children. Unfortunately, the King died in 1708 at the age of 26 from tuberculosis. This meant that his _________ would succeed him as the new monarch.
Monarchs of England
1547-1553: Edward VI (Tudor)
1553-1562: Jane (Grey) [1]
1562-1577: Edward VII (Grey) [2]
1577-1598: Margaret (Stanley) [3]
1598-1625: Henry IX (Stanley) [4]
Monarchs of England and Princes of Orange
1625-1633: Henry IX & I (Stanley) [4]
1633-1654: David (Stanley) [5]
1654-1701: William III & II (Stanley) [6]
1701-1708: Henry X & II (Stanley) [7]
[1] Jane Grey's rise to the throne is surrounded by controversy, scandal, intrigue. Jane is often seen as either an innocent pawn used by the men in her life, an empty headed fool, a conniving ice queen, or just a stoic, traumatized girl who is making the best of a bad situation.
Her cousin, Edward VI decided to make her his heir to prevent his Catholic sister, Mary from taking the throne. In defiance of his brother's will, he skipped both of his half sisters and named Jane as his heir. Many suspect his Lord Protector John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland's hand in this as his youngest son, Guildford was soon married to the future queen. Despite being opposites in personality, Guildford and Jane had a happy marriage with Guildford being known as a man who was extremely protective of his wife. In one incident, he punched his brother Robert for insulting her (the fact that Robert was in love with Jane's political rival did not help). Jane would get pregnant three times. She would make Guildford the Duke of Clarence despite he and his family pressuring her to make him king.
In July of 1553, Edward died and Northumberland immediately had the Lady Mary arrested, catching her fleeing from her Hudson home. He put he under house arrest at first, fearing that her popularity would spark outrage if he tried to put her in prison. Lady Mary would die in February 1554 of cancer (although rumors persist she was poisoned by either Northumberland or the Queen's Mother, Frances). Mary would commonly be known as the Queen that never was. It was also arranged for Elizabeth to be married to Eric of Sweden.
With both of her rivals removed from the game board, Jane was allowed a little bit more a free hand at ruling, although she was still being "advised" by the Dudleys and the Greys. She arranged a marriage for Margaret Clifford, daughter of her Aunt Eleanor, to Henry Stanley, the 4th Earl of Derby. She made a new act of succession, decreeing that if she were to die heiress, the crown would be passed to her sisters, their children then Margaret, her children.
As a stanch Protestant, Jane continued with Edward's policies. However, she took a softer touch with it came with Catholics. As one courtier would put it, she much rather debate than burn them for heresy. She also sponsored expeditions to the new world, Russia, and the East.
In 1556, she began to push back against her father and the Duke of Northumberland, going so far as removing them from her council, replacing them with advisors loyal to her. While Northumberland was pragmatic enough to realize that fighting with Jane would not help his cause, not to mention his son was her husband, one of his daughters was her lady-in-waiting, the Duke of Suffolk was enraged by what he felt was a betrayal of his daughter. Many modern depictions would show Henry Grey storming into Jane's chambers ready to beat with the inch of her life, with Jane, cold as ice, threatening to have her father arrested for treason if he even raised his hand at her.
While there is very little evidence to support that Henry and Frances Grey were physically abusive, let alone Jane threaten to arrest them if they ever hurt her once she became king, it is clear that in 1556, Jane was adamant to no longer be under the thumb of her relatives. Although Guildford was not pleased with his father ousting, he would continue to support his wife, keeping their arguments behind closed doors while maintaining a united front in public.
In 1559, Lords of the Congregation, made up of anti-French Protestant Scottish nobles, requested England's help in their war against Mary of Guise's regency. Now while some portrayals like to play up the rumored romance between the late King Edward and Jane Grey, often insisting that her agreement was born out of petty jealousy for her rival, it is clear by what was known of Jane's character that she truly believed in the rebels' caused and was determined to help them. (Of course Mary of Scots being the Catholic heir to the throne of England probably helped).
At first things looked pretty good until the French decided to retaliate by retaking Calais, something the English were unprepared for. This and the death of King Francis II, leaving Mary of Scots a widow, had Jane making a peace treaty with France and Scotland, calling back her troops. She allowed Queen Mary passage to Scotland through England, even hosting Mary at one point. While the meeting between the two queens was tense, it should be noted that neither woman seemed to overly hostile, even in their spirited debates on religion.
In October 1562, Jane would be stricken with smallpox. At first it was thought only to be a cold, but then it grew worse. Jane had her husband Guildford acting as regent as she languished in bed. There was hope that she would get better, but as the days went on, it was clear she would not. Her death was a devastating blow to the Dudleys and the Greys. The Duke of Clarence would wear black for the rest of his life and would not marry again. He would, however, stay on in the council as an advisor to Jane's eldest son, Edward.
Edward VII, painted by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1577, to celebrate his upcoming marriage
[2] Edward VII was a Tudor in all but name. Tall, fair, and athletic he was a charming young man. He would never grow to be an old one.
Born in 1555, Edward VII was the oldest of Jane’s children, and was only 7 when she died. His father would work hard to keep him involved in the running of the country. And Edward grew up fascinated with England, their colonial expeditions and diplomatic relations. His exuberance was charming, and England adored him.
In 1577, at age 22, just days before his wedding, Edward’s horse would stumble coming out of a jump. He would fall and hit his head. He was succeeded by his niece, Margaret.
Miniature portrait of Queen Margaret of England, painted by Nicholas Hilliard shortly before her death
(3) Lady Jane Dudley, daughter of Queen Jane and the Duke of Clarence, was the second of three children and the eldest of two daughters, born in 1560, and married to her cousin, Ferdinando Stanley (1559 to 1594), during her brothers reign in 1576. Lady Jane was soon pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Margaret, in early 1577, shortly before her brother died, with Jane dying of complications just days before the child's birth. Edward elevated his brother-in-law, Ferdinando, to Lord of the Isle of Wight, in absence of his own titles (Ferdinando used Baron Strange, a subsidiary title of his father's as a courtesy one at Court) and then Edward died.
Margaret, only months old, was Queen. Next in line to the throne was her fifteen year old Aunt, who the Privy Council determined, could not act as Regent, though it was determined she must marry with haste. As luck would have it, with the death of Margaret Stanley, and the fact that Katherine, Countess of Pembroke, and Mary, Baroness Grey de Wilton, remained childless, the Lord of (the Isle of) Wight, placed fourth in the line of succession himself, the first male, despite the Countess and Baroness being elder than him. From 1577 to 1595, the Regency of Wight took place, with the Earl of Pembroke and the Baron Grey de Wilton, playing significant advisory figures. The Lord placed consideration for Margaret's marriage in the hands of the Countess and Baroness and in 1593, the Queen was married to Maurice, Prince of Orange, ten years her senior. She would soon fall pregnant, and would have, like her mother before her, three children. Despite having reached majority in 1595, Margaret still placed a large amount of responsibility in her Regency Council to rule in her stead, with equal importance placed on their new military ties to the Dutch Republic as well as to their continued colonial efforts.
In 1589, at the age of twelve, she would travel to Edinburgh with her Great Aunt, the Duchess of Pembroke, to witness the marriage of David, the Duke of Albany, (son of Mary and her third husband, the Earl of Bothwell), and Anna of Saxony. The Duchess stressed to Margaret that a cordial relationship must he ensured with Scotland, as Mary of Scots and her sons had a legitimate claim to England and that the Privy Council did not desire them to press it.
When she later had her first child, Margaret would state her desire that they marry a child of (by then) David III of Scotland and Anna of Saxony.
Margaret would die in 1598 at the age of 21, in birth with a fourth child. Both mother and child would not survive, and Margaret would be succeeded by her son, Henry.
[4] Henry was only four when his mother died. England settled in for another long regency, starting to wonder if they would forever be cursed with child monarchs who kept dying at young ages. Per his mother's wishes, Henry was married to Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of King David and his wife, Anna of Saxony. The two had been engaged since they were both in their cradles and began writing to each other from the ages of six. They managed to create a close bound before Elizabeth even arrived to England in 1612. They would have a fruitful marriage, having thirteen children.
When Henry reached the age of majority in 1609, he was allowed to rule for himself. He maintained a good relationship with his father, the Prince of Orange, pledging to send English troops in support should Spain ever renew their attack. He also maintained a good friendship with his brother-in-law, Fredrick V, Elector of the Palatinate. When the thirty year war in 1618 broke out, Henry believed it was his duty as a Protestant to help his fellow reformers. However, his wife, his father, and his advisors begged him not to fight himself, as his heir was only six-years-old. Reluctantly, Henry acquiesced.
In 1625, Maurice, Prince of Orange died, and Henry was now the leader of the Dutch Republic. Henry would nominate his half-uncle and namesake to rule over the Dutch, wanting them to keep their nominal independence. When Spain attacked with their armada, the combined forces of the Dutch and English navy managed to make decisive victory, having attack Spain from both sides of the English channel.
While Henry was a diligent ruler, he had one major vice. His love for fine food. By 1630, he began to suffer from gout and would eventually die from it three years later, leaving his kingdom in the hands of his son, David.
(5) David was the second, but eldest surviving, son of Henry IX of England and his wife, Elizabeth Stewart. He had five older sisters and was born in 1623, which meant that he inherited both of his father's thrones when he was only ten. Yes, it did seem as if England would be forced to endure yet another period of Regency, this time under the Duke of York, before the King assumed the throne in his own right in 1641, shortly ahead of his marriage to his cousin, Hollandine of the Palatinate, and the two produced only two children, both in the five years after their marriage, who survived childhood. With the protracted periods of Regency that England had been through, the Privy Council sought to build their own powers and began to transform into the House of Representatives that we know today - with the assorted nobles selecting one of themselves to act as Speaker of the House, representing them to the Duke of York, as Regent, and subsequently the King himself in 1641. After the tumultuous Spanish Armada of his father's reign, David saw his reign being relatively peaceful other than the the occasional trade dispute as the Speaker of the House clashed with the Grand Pensionary of the United Provinces, Jacob Cats.
In 1654, David died of what is believed to be a heart attack and was succeeded by his son, William.
[6] William was born in 1643, named for his uncle and regent. In 1552, the King of Spain agreed to officially to recognize that the Netherlands or the Dutch Republic were no longer under Spanish rule in exchange for the marriage between the then Prince of Wales, William, and his newborn daughter, Margaret Theresa who was eight years, the Prince's junior. Two years later, King David died of a heart attack, leaving the Netherlands and England to once again fall under a regency. In King David's will, he urged the privy council to go forward with the Spanish match, not wanting there to be war with Spain while his son was still young. After years of negotiation, the marriage agreement was finalized and at age twelve Margaret Theresa came to England.
King William was now a man of twenty and was less than impressed with his new bride. She was Catholic, unhealthy, Spanish, and that ugly Hapsburg jaw. However, William had been taught from a young age that a king must do his duty so despite his grumbling, he wed Margaret and then promptly spent his wedding night dancing, drinking, and sleeping with his mistress. Needless to say the marriage was not a happy one. Margaret was not a popular queen as she was quite adverse to the Protestant customs, and was quite unhappy not being able to practice her faith (despite that being one of the stipulations). She fell pregnant only once, and gave birth to a stillborn son in 1667. The strain of the pregnancy and the birth caused her to fall ill with a fever. She asked her husband about the baby, not knowing it had been stillborn. William in a moment of tenderness lied and said she had birthed a healthy son who would be king someday. When later asked about this, William admitted that he had been so cruel to her for so long that the least he could do was let her die happy.
Despite her unpopularity, William still ordered the customary six months of marriage. However, he also had his ambassadors searching for a new bride for him during that time as he lacked an heir (his brother, Henry, had died unmarried and heiress just six years earlier). He married for a second time in 1670 to Princess Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark. Although Wilhemlmine was certainly more popular with the people, she was not with her husband as he found her shy and solitary nature and the fact that she crippled to be a turn off.
By 1673, William requested a divorce, stating that the marriage had not been consummated. In exchange for her cooperation, William gave his former wife several manors in the countryside of England, and a hefty pension. After the divorce was finalized, William decided this time he was choosing his own bride, Elizabeth Wriothesley, widow of the the Earl of Northumberland who had returned from Italy just three years previous and caught the king's eye, ousting his previous long time mistress in the king's favor.
Elizabeth was a cultured woman who upon becoming queen, immediately used her court to invite many artists from Italy. Unlike William's previous two wives, she was a great lover of balls and masquerades. William and she were birds of a feather and their marriage was much smoother. She would give birth to two children. Sadly, Elizabeth would die of smallpox in 1690, leaving her husband a widow. William would wed Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg. Despite the thirty year age gap and langue barrier, Sophie and William were able to have harmonious marriage, having two healthy children. Sophie would also be a doting stepmother to Elizabeth's children and would even become a lifetime friend of Wilheminine, even living with the later after the death of William.
While William dealt with his tumultuous love life, he also had foreign relation to handle. In 1672, before his divorce with his second wife, France invaded Rhainland. As King Louis was aware that the Dutch-Anglo alliance would be a strong opponent, they recruited Scotland and the Irish Catholics into helping them. William found himself being attacked by all sides. Worse Denmark was currently Scotland's ally despite the marriage between Wilheminine and William. Of course the fact that the king was planning on divorcing his wife being the worst kept secret in Europe probably didn't sway his brother-in-law to his side. However Denmark was currently feuding with Sweden so they opted to stay out of the mess.
Spain sided with King William when it became clear that France was after the Spanish Netherlands which also brought the aid of Emperor Leopold. The war lasted for six years with heavy loses on both sides. William barely escaped capture during the disastrous battle of Anterwp. It ended in 1678, with France conceding the Dutch territories, but keeping control of the Burgundian Netherlands.
In order to gain back money, he lost in the war, William focused on expanding the Dutch and English trade routes, expanding their colonies in the new world. When his first living child was born in 1679, the king decided to make a marriage pact with the Holy Roman Emperor, hoping to make an alliance against France. However when the nine year war broke out in 1690s, William refused to help, feeling that his coffers had scarcely recovered from the last war. This would infuriate Emperor Leopold who brake the betrothal. King Louis swooped in and offed one his grandchildren for a match instead in exchange for a peace treaty. The two monarchs would meet in Scotland in 1695 with King Charles I of Scots playing mediator. One part of the agreement was the sale of Louisiana.
Outside of marital troubles and wars, William had a strong thirst for knowledge, he loved to learn about new things, and was quite eager to fund universities, inventors, and scientists. He even founded a royal society for improving natural knowledge. He was gifted with a telescope for his sixteenth birthday and would spend hours looking up at the night sky. By the time he was twenty, he had built a laboratory adjacent to his own bedroom so he could perform his own experiments or watch the members of his society experiment themselves. It was often said the quickest way to drag William from a party or his mistress was to tell him that a new discovery had been made and watch as his eyes lit up like a child at Christmastide.
Unfortunately, this would led to his bad health in his later years as he began to experiment with mercury. In 1701, he would die of what would later be discovered as kidney failure. He was fifty-eight at the time, leaving his son Henry to inherit.
Her cousin, Edward VI decided to make her his heir to prevent his Catholic sister, Mary from taking the throne. In defiance of his brother's will, he skipped both of his half sisters and named Jane as his heir. Many suspect his Lord Protector John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland's hand in this as his youngest son, Guildford was soon married to the future queen. Despite being opposites in personality, Guildford and Jane had a happy marriage with Guildford being known as a man who was extremely protective of his wife. In one incident, he punched his brother Robert for insulting her (the fact that Robert was in love with Jane's political rival did not help). Jane would get pregnant three times. She would make Guildford the Duke of Clarence despite he and his family pressuring her to make him king.
In July of 1553, Edward died and Northumberland immediately had the Lady Mary arrested, catching her fleeing from her Hudson home. He put he under house arrest at first, fearing that her popularity would spark outrage if he tried to put her in prison. Lady Mary would die in February 1554 of cancer (although rumors persist she was poisoned by either Northumberland or the Queen's Mother, Frances). Mary would commonly be known as the Queen that never was. It was also arranged for Elizabeth to be married to Eric of Sweden.
With both of her rivals removed from the game board, Jane was allowed a little bit more a free hand at ruling, although she was still being "advised" by the Dudleys and the Greys. She arranged a marriage for Margaret Clifford, daughter of her Aunt Eleanor, to Henry Stanley, the 4th Earl of Derby. She made a new act of succession, decreeing that if she were to die heiress, the crown would be passed to her sisters, their children then Margaret, her children.
As a stanch Protestant, Jane continued with Edward's policies. However, she took a softer touch with it came with Catholics. As one courtier would put it, she much rather debate than burn them for heresy. She also sponsored expeditions to the new world, Russia, and the East.
In 1556, she began to push back against her father and the Duke of Northumberland, going so far as removing them from her council, replacing them with advisors loyal to her. While Northumberland was pragmatic enough to realize that fighting with Jane would not help his cause, not to mention his son was her husband, one of his daughters was her lady-in-waiting, the Duke of Suffolk was enraged by what he felt was a betrayal of his daughter. Many modern depictions would show Henry Grey storming into Jane's chambers ready to beat with the inch of her life, with Jane, cold as ice, threatening to have her father arrested for treason if he even raised his hand at her.
While there is very little evidence to support that Henry and Frances Grey were physically abusive, let alone Jane threaten to arrest them if they ever hurt her once she became king, it is clear that in 1556, Jane was adamant to no longer be under the thumb of her relatives. Although Guildford was not pleased with his father ousting, he would continue to support his wife, keeping their arguments behind closed doors while maintaining a united front in public.
In 1559, Lords of the Congregation, made up of anti-French Protestant Scottish nobles, requested England's help in their war against Mary of Guise's regency. Now while some portrayals like to play up the rumored romance between the late King Edward and Jane Grey, often insisting that her agreement was born out of petty jealousy for her rival, it is clear by what was known of Jane's character that she truly believed in the rebels' caused and was determined to help them. (Of course Mary of Scots being the Catholic heir to the throne of England probably helped).
At first things looked pretty good until the French decided to retaliate by retaking Calais, something the English were unprepared for. This and the death of King Francis II, leaving Mary of Scots a widow, had Jane making a peace treaty with France and Scotland, calling back her troops. She allowed Queen Mary passage to Scotland through England, even hosting Mary at one point. While the meeting between the two queens was tense, it should be noted that neither woman seemed to overly hostile, even in their spirited debates on religion.
In October 1562, Jane would be stricken with smallpox. At first it was thought only to be a cold, but then it grew worse. Jane had her husband Guildford acting as regent as she languished in bed. There was hope that she would get better, but as the days went on, it was clear she would not. Her death was a devastating blow to the Dudleys and the Greys. The Duke of Clarence would wear black for the rest of his life and would not marry again. He would, however, stay on in the council as an advisor to Jane's eldest son, Edward.
Edward VII, painted by Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1577, to celebrate his upcoming marriage
[2] Edward VII was a Tudor in all but name. Tall, fair, and athletic he was a charming young man. He would never grow to be an old one.
Born in 1555, Edward VII was the oldest of Jane’s children, and was only 7 when she died. His father would work hard to keep him involved in the running of the country. And Edward grew up fascinated with England, their colonial expeditions and diplomatic relations. His exuberance was charming, and England adored him.
In 1577, at age 22, just days before his wedding, Edward’s horse would stumble coming out of a jump. He would fall and hit his head. He was succeeded by his niece, Margaret.
Miniature portrait of Queen Margaret of England, painted by Nicholas Hilliard shortly before her death
(3) Lady Jane Dudley, daughter of Queen Jane and the Duke of Clarence, was the second of three children and the eldest of two daughters, born in 1560, and married to her cousin, Ferdinando Stanley (1559 to 1594), during her brothers reign in 1576. Lady Jane was soon pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Margaret, in early 1577, shortly before her brother died, with Jane dying of complications just days before the child's birth. Edward elevated his brother-in-law, Ferdinando, to Lord of the Isle of Wight, in absence of his own titles (Ferdinando used Baron Strange, a subsidiary title of his father's as a courtesy one at Court) and then Edward died.
Margaret, only months old, was Queen. Next in line to the throne was her fifteen year old Aunt, who the Privy Council determined, could not act as Regent, though it was determined she must marry with haste. As luck would have it, with the death of Margaret Stanley, and the fact that Katherine, Countess of Pembroke, and Mary, Baroness Grey de Wilton, remained childless, the Lord of (the Isle of) Wight, placed fourth in the line of succession himself, the first male, despite the Countess and Baroness being elder than him. From 1577 to 1595, the Regency of Wight took place, with the Earl of Pembroke and the Baron Grey de Wilton, playing significant advisory figures. The Lord placed consideration for Margaret's marriage in the hands of the Countess and Baroness and in 1593, the Queen was married to Maurice, Prince of Orange, ten years her senior. She would soon fall pregnant, and would have, like her mother before her, three children. Despite having reached majority in 1595, Margaret still placed a large amount of responsibility in her Regency Council to rule in her stead, with equal importance placed on their new military ties to the Dutch Republic as well as to their continued colonial efforts.
In 1589, at the age of twelve, she would travel to Edinburgh with her Great Aunt, the Duchess of Pembroke, to witness the marriage of David, the Duke of Albany, (son of Mary and her third husband, the Earl of Bothwell), and Anna of Saxony. The Duchess stressed to Margaret that a cordial relationship must he ensured with Scotland, as Mary of Scots and her sons had a legitimate claim to England and that the Privy Council did not desire them to press it.
When she later had her first child, Margaret would state her desire that they marry a child of (by then) David III of Scotland and Anna of Saxony.
Margaret would die in 1598 at the age of 21, in birth with a fourth child. Both mother and child would not survive, and Margaret would be succeeded by her son, Henry.
[4] Henry was only four when his mother died. England settled in for another long regency, starting to wonder if they would forever be cursed with child monarchs who kept dying at young ages. Per his mother's wishes, Henry was married to Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of King David and his wife, Anna of Saxony. The two had been engaged since they were both in their cradles and began writing to each other from the ages of six. They managed to create a close bound before Elizabeth even arrived to England in 1612. They would have a fruitful marriage, having thirteen children.
When Henry reached the age of majority in 1609, he was allowed to rule for himself. He maintained a good relationship with his father, the Prince of Orange, pledging to send English troops in support should Spain ever renew their attack. He also maintained a good friendship with his brother-in-law, Fredrick V, Elector of the Palatinate. When the thirty year war in 1618 broke out, Henry believed it was his duty as a Protestant to help his fellow reformers. However, his wife, his father, and his advisors begged him not to fight himself, as his heir was only six-years-old. Reluctantly, Henry acquiesced.
In 1625, Maurice, Prince of Orange died, and Henry was now the leader of the Dutch Republic. Henry would nominate his half-uncle and namesake to rule over the Dutch, wanting them to keep their nominal independence. When Spain attacked with their armada, the combined forces of the Dutch and English navy managed to make decisive victory, having attack Spain from both sides of the English channel.
While Henry was a diligent ruler, he had one major vice. His love for fine food. By 1630, he began to suffer from gout and would eventually die from it three years later, leaving his kingdom in the hands of his son, David.
(5) David was the second, but eldest surviving, son of Henry IX of England and his wife, Elizabeth Stewart. He had five older sisters and was born in 1623, which meant that he inherited both of his father's thrones when he was only ten. Yes, it did seem as if England would be forced to endure yet another period of Regency, this time under the Duke of York, before the King assumed the throne in his own right in 1641, shortly ahead of his marriage to his cousin, Hollandine of the Palatinate, and the two produced only two children, both in the five years after their marriage, who survived childhood. With the protracted periods of Regency that England had been through, the Privy Council sought to build their own powers and began to transform into the House of Representatives that we know today - with the assorted nobles selecting one of themselves to act as Speaker of the House, representing them to the Duke of York, as Regent, and subsequently the King himself in 1641. After the tumultuous Spanish Armada of his father's reign, David saw his reign being relatively peaceful other than the the occasional trade dispute as the Speaker of the House clashed with the Grand Pensionary of the United Provinces, Jacob Cats.
In 1654, David died of what is believed to be a heart attack and was succeeded by his son, William.
[6] William was born in 1643, named for his uncle and regent. In 1552, the King of Spain agreed to officially to recognize that the Netherlands or the Dutch Republic were no longer under Spanish rule in exchange for the marriage between the then Prince of Wales, William, and his newborn daughter, Margaret Theresa who was eight years, the Prince's junior. Two years later, King David died of a heart attack, leaving the Netherlands and England to once again fall under a regency. In King David's will, he urged the privy council to go forward with the Spanish match, not wanting there to be war with Spain while his son was still young. After years of negotiation, the marriage agreement was finalized and at age twelve Margaret Theresa came to England.
King William was now a man of twenty and was less than impressed with his new bride. She was Catholic, unhealthy, Spanish, and that ugly Hapsburg jaw. However, William had been taught from a young age that a king must do his duty so despite his grumbling, he wed Margaret and then promptly spent his wedding night dancing, drinking, and sleeping with his mistress. Needless to say the marriage was not a happy one. Margaret was not a popular queen as she was quite adverse to the Protestant customs, and was quite unhappy not being able to practice her faith (despite that being one of the stipulations). She fell pregnant only once, and gave birth to a stillborn son in 1667. The strain of the pregnancy and the birth caused her to fall ill with a fever. She asked her husband about the baby, not knowing it had been stillborn. William in a moment of tenderness lied and said she had birthed a healthy son who would be king someday. When later asked about this, William admitted that he had been so cruel to her for so long that the least he could do was let her die happy.
Despite her unpopularity, William still ordered the customary six months of marriage. However, he also had his ambassadors searching for a new bride for him during that time as he lacked an heir (his brother, Henry, had died unmarried and heiress just six years earlier). He married for a second time in 1670 to Princess Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark. Although Wilhemlmine was certainly more popular with the people, she was not with her husband as he found her shy and solitary nature and the fact that she crippled to be a turn off.
By 1673, William requested a divorce, stating that the marriage had not been consummated. In exchange for her cooperation, William gave his former wife several manors in the countryside of England, and a hefty pension. After the divorce was finalized, William decided this time he was choosing his own bride, Elizabeth Wriothesley, widow of the the Earl of Northumberland who had returned from Italy just three years previous and caught the king's eye, ousting his previous long time mistress in the king's favor.
Elizabeth was a cultured woman who upon becoming queen, immediately used her court to invite many artists from Italy. Unlike William's previous two wives, she was a great lover of balls and masquerades. William and she were birds of a feather and their marriage was much smoother. She would give birth to two children. Sadly, Elizabeth would die of smallpox in 1690, leaving her husband a widow. William would wed Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg. Despite the thirty year age gap and langue barrier, Sophie and William were able to have harmonious marriage, having two healthy children. Sophie would also be a doting stepmother to Elizabeth's children and would even become a lifetime friend of Wilheminine, even living with the later after the death of William.
While William dealt with his tumultuous love life, he also had foreign relation to handle. In 1672, before his divorce with his second wife, France invaded Rhainland. As King Louis was aware that the Dutch-Anglo alliance would be a strong opponent, they recruited Scotland and the Irish Catholics into helping them. William found himself being attacked by all sides. Worse Denmark was currently Scotland's ally despite the marriage between Wilheminine and William. Of course the fact that the king was planning on divorcing his wife being the worst kept secret in Europe probably didn't sway his brother-in-law to his side. However Denmark was currently feuding with Sweden so they opted to stay out of the mess.
Spain sided with King William when it became clear that France was after the Spanish Netherlands which also brought the aid of Emperor Leopold. The war lasted for six years with heavy loses on both sides. William barely escaped capture during the disastrous battle of Anterwp. It ended in 1678, with France conceding the Dutch territories, but keeping control of the Burgundian Netherlands.
In order to gain back money, he lost in the war, William focused on expanding the Dutch and English trade routes, expanding their colonies in the new world. When his first living child was born in 1679, the king decided to make a marriage pact with the Holy Roman Emperor, hoping to make an alliance against France. However when the nine year war broke out in 1690s, William refused to help, feeling that his coffers had scarcely recovered from the last war. This would infuriate Emperor Leopold who brake the betrothal. King Louis swooped in and offed one his grandchildren for a match instead in exchange for a peace treaty. The two monarchs would meet in Scotland in 1695 with King Charles I of Scots playing mediator. One part of the agreement was the sale of Louisiana.
Outside of marital troubles and wars, William had a strong thirst for knowledge, he loved to learn about new things, and was quite eager to fund universities, inventors, and scientists. He even founded a royal society for improving natural knowledge. He was gifted with a telescope for his sixteenth birthday and would spend hours looking up at the night sky. By the time he was twenty, he had built a laboratory adjacent to his own bedroom so he could perform his own experiments or watch the members of his society experiment themselves. It was often said the quickest way to drag William from a party or his mistress was to tell him that a new discovery had been made and watch as his eyes lit up like a child at Christmastide.
Unfortunately, this would led to his bad health in his later years as he began to experiment with mercury. In 1701, he would die of what would later be discovered as kidney failure. He was fifty-eight at the time, leaving his son Henry to inherit.
The celebrations continued when Henry married Princess Joan of Navarre in 1703, which resulted in the birth of two children. Unfortunately, the King died in 1708 at the age of 26 from tuberculosis. This meant that his _________ would succeed him as the new monarch.
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