Mary I marries Luis of Portugal

I think to Mary, that would have been a deal breaker. There was also the matter of Luis's existing relationship with Violante Gomes. Which the Spanish or Imperial ambassador might whisper to Mary. The Hapsburgs and their employees were not known for being nice to princesses after all. They'd ruin Mary's wedding to keep her in England if it was in their power.

The wedding was actually according to the letters of the Ambassadors proposed by Charles V, as he had fought with Luis in Tunis. It was proposed to Henry VIII and to Joao III. It was seen as a way to not only solve a dispute between France and England, as the French king agreed to it, but also to possibly help restore England to Catholicism. Much of the wrangling was actually over the amount of the dowry that Henry VIII was to provide, as the Habsburgs demanded that Mary not be given less than any of her sisters. Also, Charles V was to pay as an annuity to the couple, and Henry VIII while willing to the dowry, wanted his daughter to be provided with more than the amount stipulated.
 
I think to Mary, that would have been a deal breaker. There was also the matter of Luis's existing relationship with Violante Gomes. Which the Spanish or Imperial ambassador might whisper to Mary. The Hapsburgs and their employees were not known for being nice to princesses after all. They'd ruin Mary's wedding to keep her in England if it was in their power.

Luis was Emperor Charles's brother-in-law and the Imperial candidate for Mary's hand from 1537 to the early 1550s, when the candidate became the future Felipe II. So doubt they'd sabotage it.
 
I have been reading the letters of correspondence, including those directly between João III of Portugal and King Henry VIII, and they seem to both have been supportive of the scheme. According to the writings of the ambassadors, it seems that Charles V had first made the proposal to the King of France in 1536, as a way to solve the dispute over Milan. The duchy going to Luis, as he was a prince from a "neutral" family that was friendly to both France and the Habsburgs. As for the succession, it does not state that Mary would renounce anything, but rather Henry wanted the foreign powers to recognise that Mary would only inherit the throne of England after any future children.

Henry also proposed a meeting between Christina of Denmark, the dowager Duchess of Milan, Infante Dom Luis, Himself and Mary of Austria, the Dowager Queen of Hungary along with the imperial representatives. But again the main sticking point seemed to be the annuity from the Emperor which Henry VIII thought to be too little, causing the negotiations to drag on.
 
The "Parr" son, I now realize is from a different thread (!). I still don't see the Hapsburgs letting their girl (for I'm sure that's how they saw Mary) leave the orbit. Which a Portuguese match would signify. But what makes Mary not resort to burnings? But burning people at the stake for what is essentially following the law, combined with Catholic heirs seems a recipe for ruin.
 
Luis was Emperor Charles's brother-in-law and the Imperial candidate for Mary's hand from 1537 to the early 1550s, when the candidate became the future Felipe II. So doubt they'd sabotage it.

13 years is an awfully long walk down the aisle. Especially when the prospective bride is already 21 at the start of the negotiations.
 
I keep reading the correspondence between Henry VIII and his ambassadors, and it seems that by 1538 as negotiations continued, Henry VIII wanted to travel to Calais to arrange a double marriage. One between himself and Christina of Denmark, the Dowager Duchess of Milan. He was so taken by the portrait that Hans Holbein had painted of her, that he wanted to meet her in person. That apparently was his primary objective, with the negotiation of the marriage of Mary to Luis being made to seem like it would be of paramount importance. Additionally, he hoped to arrange a future marriage for Elizabeth to one of Ferdinand of Bohemia and Hungary's sons. At the same time, he hoped to marry Edward to a daughter of the Emperor.
 
If it was Henry VIII linking a marriage of his own to his daughter, then no wonder Mary was doomed to remain a maid. Still suspicious of Charles V, but if Henry sand-bagged Mary's wedding I'm forced to apologize.
 
If it was Henry VIII linking a marriage of his own to his daughter, then no wonder Mary was doomed to remain a maid. Still suspicious of Charles V, but if Henry sand-bagged Mary's wedding I'm forced to apologize.

That does seem to indeed be the case from what I am reading, mostly by trying to gain her a larger stipend instead of providing a larger dowry. In letters between Charles V and his wife (sister of Luis), they both seemed hopeful of the negotiations in 1536, and they were both praying for the marriage. Charles V also was in correspondence with the Pope who was willing to grant Mary absolution from "obedience to her father" this of course was not disclosed to Henry. The reason for this would be for the Habsburgs to push her claims as legitimate heir.
 
So my suspicions regarding Charles weren't totally off base, although I can't say he's the sinister one here. And if the money was the issue, no one ever said Henry VIII was an apple that fell far from the tree.
 
I keep reading the correspondence between Henry VIII and his ambassadors, and it seems that by 1538 as negotiations continued, Henry VIII wanted to travel to Calais to arrange a double marriage. One between himself and Christina of Denmark, the Dowager Duchess of Milan. He was so taken by the portrait that Hans Holbein had painted of her, that he wanted to meet her in person. That apparently was his primary objective, with the negotiation of the marriage of Mary to Luis being made to seem like it would be of paramount importance. Additionally, he hoped to arrange a future marriage for Elizabeth to one of Ferdinand of Bohemia and Hungary's sons. At the same time, he hoped to marry Edward to a daughter of the Emperor.

Would make France start experiencing some serious backdoor spasms at the prospect of England being so firmly in the Habsburg camp, plus would make it very complicated if England and the Empire have one of their regular fallings-out and it wants to start playing footsie with François I
 
Would make France start experiencing some serious backdoor spasms at the prospect of England being so firmly in the Habsburg camp, plus would make it very complicated if England and the Empire have one of their regular fallings-out and it wants to start playing footsie with François I

Christina seemed to be uninterested in Henry due to his history with his previous wives and the Queen of Hungary was cool to the idea as well, as she was the protector of her nieces (Christina and Dorothea), hence arranging her later marriage to Francis I of Lorraine.

In late 1537, Henry was telling the French ambassador of his interest of Marie de Guise, however like Christina she was not interested in Henry due to his previous marital history.

I doubt Henry would be able to get married to either a French or Habsburg Princess, mostly because of his reputation. Francis I of France was in favour of the marriage of Luis to Mary, and the French Ambassador to Lisbon informed King João III of this in 1536. Being that in the meantime this would be the only marriage that was taking place, this would have had little effect on altering French relations with England or the Habsburgs. The future marriages of Edward and Elizabeth were not a cause of worry as Elizabeth was only a toddler and Edward a newborn, and it was not uncommon for deaths to occur during this time. Likewise, Ferdinand of Hungary's children were also very young.
 
According to "Lives of the queens of England, from the Norman conquest." by Agnes Strickland and Elizabeth Strickland in 1842, Mary had given her consent to the marriage to Dom Luis.

Apparently, the condition that Luis and Charles V wanted from Henry VIII was the revocation of Mary's status as illegitimate, and they were willing to waive her rights in the line of succession. Early in 1536 Henry VIII rejected this, but by the end of the year he was willing to agree to this. At the same time Francis I was proposing an alliance with a marriage between Mary and the Charles Duke of Angoulême. The French too demanded that Mary be legitimised as well, so Henry realised that this would be a pre-condition to marrying Mary to any foreign prince.

The negotiations between Henry VIII and Charles V in early 1538 were the most intense as Charles V pushed Christina to marry Henry and wanted an alliance with England. Charles was willing to not only give Milan to Luis, but also push for a general council of the Church to reform the papacy and allow the divorce from Catherine of Aragon to be recognised. In February 1538 the diplomatic fury between Hampton Court and Brussels seemed to be at its greatest. By March it seems that the marriage was assured, and only an offer by Francis I to marry Henri, Duke of Orléans (future Henri II) made the negotiations drag on.

It does seem that Francis I was particularly anxious about Henry VIII marrying Christina of Denmark, with the possibility Henry VIII claiming the Duchy of Milan for himself. In May 1538, Henry VIII withdrew from the plans to marry his daughter to the Duke of Beja, and looked towards the French. However, in October 1538, Charles V agreed that if Mary should ever succeed to the crown of England, Luis would abide by the laws of England.

What did in effect happen during the second half of 1538 though was that peace between France and the Habsburgs ensued, and Henry VIII lost his opportunity. The first truce between the continental powers in June 1538, was followed by a meeting between Francis I and Charles V mediated by Pope Paul III the following month. This made Henry VIII fearful of an alliance between France and the Habsburgs against him. The excommunication of Henry VIII by the pope in December 1538 (though this could have been avoided through the marriage) seems to have further intensified his fears. As a result, the marriage offers stopped coming to Henry and he increasingly became paranoid of not having enough heirs. This was coupled with the rebuff of Marie de Guise and her marriage to James V of Scotland instead, making Henry feel encircled.
 
How could François offer Henri in 1538 (who would've been the dauphin since his brother's death) for Mary, if Henri was already married to Caterina de Medici?
 
How could François offer Henri in 1538 (who would've been the dauphin since his brother's death) for Mary, if Henri was already married to Caterina de Medici?

It appears that I might have confused all the dukes as the one in question was not Henri, but Charles, the Duke of Orleans.
 
It appears that I might have confused all the dukes as the one in question was not Henri, but Charles, the Duke of Orleans.

Well, by this point, Henri still had no kids, despite having been married since '33, and apparently François was considering having the marriage annulled in order that Henri could marry a more fertile bride. Diane de Poitiers actually convinced Henri to spend even MORE time with Caterina as a result, since she didn't wanna lose the influence she had over Caterina to a foreign born queen/dauphine
 
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