Mary Tudor, Princess in Exile

She is actually carrying twins, but I'll change the dates to make it more believable. And also, what does LMP mean?

I assume Last Menstrual Period.

And Twin girls will add even more turmoil on who may inherit and whom the girls will marry.

If Henry does not sire a son ITTL, then Mary will play even more in the fighting to come.
 
These suitors are not suiting Mary very well and that may cause some friction between the cousins.

I appreciate the updates and will be following.
 
These suitors are not suiting Mary very well and that may cause some friction between the cousins.

I appreciate the updates and will be following.

Well, it is early days yet. The only one who has truly been disastrous is Luis, we still have Francis and James; though not Philip (who will not become her husband).
 
I assume Last Menstrual Period.

And Twin girls will add even more turmoil on who may inherit and whom the girls will marry.

If Henry does not sire a son ITTL, then Mary will play even more in the fighting to come.

I never said both would be girls. Just that Henry would not have a son...
 
24th of July, 1535: Jane Seymour is sent to the tower along with Jane Boleyn, Anne Stanhope, Edward Seymour, Thomas Seymour and various other minor nobles. Charged with treason, the specifics were that they had planned to have Catherine swapped with a peasant woman and then spirited away to Spain to be with her daughter. The details, which were heard of latter, were very contradictory and obviously made up by someone who wanted these people gone. But Henry did not care, he felt he had been betrayed by the woman he had been falling in love with (Henry was very loose with the word love). So they were sent to the Tower, and were sentenced to death.
 
27th of July, 1535: Catherine of Aragon is beheaded in a public show in which she is said to have ‘died as a queen’. Arriving in a black dress trimmed in ermine, she recites a speech telling the people to have faith and to obey the King as chosen by God. She is then beheaded, repeating the words:

“…in the lord I trust…”

The end of an era, Catherine of Aragon’s death symbolised Henry severing the last link to his old life and to the Catholic Church. There is no going back from here.
 
1st of August, 1535: Mary Tudor received a follow up gift on her previous proposal by Francis: Dauphin of France. Another cross, this one was set with rubies, sapphires and diamonds, with tear drop pearls. Matched with a silver chain, the gift was ‘pretty and delicate’ and pleased the princess greatly. The gift also came with a letter, promising aid for the princess for when she wished to return to England. She now went to her cousin and begged to be allowed to marry Francis. She made promises to keep the Habsburg interests at heart, to make sure England would be a loyal friend to the Empire and other things that she thought Charles wanted to hear. But the Emperor was not sure, not wishing to give such as valuable prize such as Mary to the hated French. But he did promise to think it over, and tried to find ways to make it work for him. He eventually came to a decision, which would not be able to be made until all the pieces were in place.
 
2nd of August, 1535: Anne Boleyn went into labour. In a long childbirth that took a lot out of her, Anne Boleyn gave birth to two children, a boy and a girl. The boy child was quite small and dark (he had Anne’s colouring) and was named Edward: Prince of Wales. The female child was a ‘babe replica of her exalted grandmother’ and was named Margaret. On the name of his daughter, Henry VIII was supposed to have said:

“…and I had it in mind to call her Mary, because I might have but one daughter with the name…”

Whatever the names of his children, Henry was very excited to finally have a son by Anne. It proved all he had fought for as right by god. So imagine his horror when, a few days later, tragedy struck.
 
4th of August, 1535: The conspirators in the ‘Catholic Conspiracy’ were all given traitors deaths. After a mock trial that the King actually attended, the nineteen noblemen and noblewomen were hanged and left on the walls of London. With this event and the beheading of Catherine of Aragon, the people of England were calling the King a tyrant. Riots began in the North, with many protesting the way Henry was abusing his power. In response, Henry sent a small regiment of soldiers, who imprisoned many peasants who were rebelling against the King. With his popularity dropping fast, the King began to plan a progress to regain his popularity.
 
6th of August, 1535: Anne Boleyn died of unknown reasons, though it was generally decided that it came from an infection that she would have acquired after the birth of her children. The King supposedly said in response to the death of his ‘wife and true love’:

“…she died in her success…”
 
Interesting updates. With the death of Catherine and Anne, whomever Henry remarries and has children will not have the taint of bastard to their name. Not sure if you plan on having Edward die or something else after you said Henry would not have a son. Maybe a hermaphrodite? :confused:
 
Interesting updates. With the death of Catherine and Anne, whomever Henry remarries and has children will not have the taint of bastard to their name. Not sure if you plan on having Edward die or something else after you said Henry would not have a son. Maybe a hermaphrodite? :confused:

Yes, the child will die. The how will be interesting though.
 
15th of August, 1535: The news of Catherine of Aragon’s death reached the court at Brussels, along with the news of the hanging of the nobles. This came as a shock to the court, especially Mary Tudor. The princess had been holding onto the idea that her mother could be brought to Brussels as she had been, and it legitimately shocked her that her father could do such a thing. But, unlike when she had been told of Catherine’s trial, Mary instead decided that she must find a way to reach England and save it from her father’s tyranny. She had a new meeting with Charles V, detailing her plan of attack. With a strength that had not been seen in her before, she demanded her right to choose a consort as a future monarch, while also insisting that Charles help her in her quest. Whilst the Emperor was a little peeved that a young woman was bossing him around, he also say a light in her eyes that ‘challenged the flame of the burning bush’. So he told her to refine her plan, and he would adapt it into his. And this plot, it would surely topple a King.
 
18th of August, 1535: Mary Tudor officially turned down the proposal of Sigismund: Heir to Poland due to ‘conflicting interests’. She also officially refused the betrothal of Infante Luis: Duke of Beja, with a statement that she said to the face of the man. Luis reacted badly, storming out of the court in anger. But Mary did not officially turn down James V’s proposal or Francis: Dauphin of France and Duke of Brittany, sparking bets amongst the court on who she would marry. While there was a solid base on the Scottish side, most agreed that France would win out.
 
22nd of August, 1535: All English ambassadors in Hapsburg courts were told they had one week to pack their things and leave. When asked why, official told them:

“…due to current circumstances, your services are no longer needed…”
 
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First portrait of Mary Tudor after her escape, 1535.
 
24th of August, 1535: Mary Tudor sat down for her first portrait since her escape from England. Done by an aspiring artist by the name of Ferdinand Carlos Morales y Rivera, it presented a solemn Mary standing in front of a blue curtain. The original colouring had Mary in a deep orange and black outfit, the red of her hair very bright. Over time however, the painting faded. But the painting was significant to Mary as it showed her as a singular figure, and it was copied into two more paintings that were sent to James V of Scotland and Francis: Dauphin of France.
 
22nd of August, 1535: All English ambassadors in Hapsburg courts were told they had one week to pack their things and leave. When asked why, official told them:

“…due to current circumstances, your services are no longer needed…”

"We have your Queen, and she has no need of you."

The dogs of war are about to be unleashed. How much will Bloody Mary live up to her name I wonder?
 
26th of August, 1535: The Pope finally hears of Catherine of Aragon’s public beheading, and now fully denounces Henry VIII as a heretic and as a man unfit to rule. He then sends several English emissaries from Rome, to send Henry the message that he is now not a monarch in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Exactly what Charles V had been waiting for, this would be the beginnings of the master plan to topple Henry from the throne of England and put Mary on it.
 
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