Mary Tudor, Princess in Exile

30th of August, 1535: Envoys from Charles V set off to France to start the discussion on a possible alliance, built through marriages that would bind them to put Mary on the throne. The main discussion was initially focused on the marriages, with the final plan being:

Mary Tudor : Francis, Dauphin of France

Margaret de Valois : Philip, Prince of Asturias

Madeleine de Valois : Luis, Duke of Beja

So this was decided, at least for now. The discussion also focused on the amount of military help that France would offer on Mary’s behalf. At this point, it was ‘unknown’.
 
5th of September, 1535: Henry VIII is hit by a new tragedy as Edward: Prince of Wales is killed. Caused by an accident, the young prince’s blankets were set on fire when a candle that was set next to his bedding fell and lit the fabric. While the fire was quickly doused, he did not make it and died a mere 34 days after his glorious birth. The king now was left with three daughters; one wayward making trouble across Europe and two young children at court.
 
7th of September, 1535: Henry VIII meets a young courtier by the name of Mary Arundel. Seventeen and still unwed, she was the picture of ‘health and beauty’. Buxom and pretty, she looked like the perfect woman to have lots of pretty (and living) babies with. So the (aging and fat) Henry began to court the woman, who was very pleased to be the centre of the King’s attention.
 
11th of September, 1535: Mary Tudor has a fight with Luis: Duke of Beja. Up until this point the Duke had kept away from the Princess, not wishing to dignify his dismissal with a response. But when he ran into her at court, he could not keep it in and blasted all of his hurt and anger at the Princess:

“…who are you to dismiss me? I have an impeccable bloodline, a rich dukedom and a connection to the Emperor himself! Who could you marry who was better than me? With your dowry being only the poor little backwater you call England, and even that being called into question. You think you’ll be a Queen of France? The dauphin could marry so much better! He could marry my sister and do better in the long run…”

The rant went on for much longer, but he was eventually stopped by the Princess, who delivered a scathing response:

“…my good sir, why do you bother with me if you think I am not worth your time? If I am not worthy, then you should be grateful that I spared you the pain that my hand would bring you and if I am worthy then you should respect my decision as a future monarch. And what is your connection to the Emperor? Blood? I have that. Closeness? I am closer to him than you or any of my other cousins! And my kingdom, a backwater? We may not stretch across the earth like others, but we alone are resilient. We alone have stood the test of time, while others will fall. Today, you have proven my decision in rejecting you right. Now, will you take your leave or must I inform the Emperor himself to your insolence…”

From this, a lifelong feud between the two began.
 
15th of September, 1535: Henry II of Navarre began to broker a betrothal between Charles de Valois and Jeanne d'Albret. The current treaty pushed for the Duchy of Aquitaine to be given to Charles to make him equal to the future Queen of Navarre. While Francis I was not big on this, the hope of getting Navarre on the side of France rather than Spain was very tempting. So the ambassadors and Francis began to barter, with Navarre seemingly holding it’s own.
 
18th of September, 1535: Isabella of Portugal dies of poisoning. The Empress was thought to have been poisoned during her morning routine, with the milk she usually drank being poisoned with some unknown substance. While most of this is just rumour, what was known is that she fell ill at noon and at had turned black and died by the afternoon.
 
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Mary Arundel, 1535
 
21st of September, 1535: Henry VIII announced his engagement to Mary Arundel, to the shock of both his court and Thomas Cromwell. While most just saw the move as the next change in court, Cromwell was stunned, and there was a fallout of colossal proportions between him and the King. While Henry saw this as his right, Cromwell had spent the past month working on a marriage between Henry and a German princess to gain an alliance that might help balance out the Catholic alliance that was forming in Mary’s favour.
 
27th of September, 1535: Mary Tudor officially turns down the marriage proposal of James V of Scotland, and instead offers the suggestion that he marry Infanta Maria: Duchess of Viseu if Manuel I of Portugal would allow it. A suggestion that was really offered by Charles V, it would bind James to the Habsburg rather than the French or the current version of England.
 
30th of September, 1535: Charles V officially sent the Duke of Beja from the court due to his behaviour 19 days before. A shocking move, it earned him a screaming match with the man and a promise that Luis would never help Mary regain her throne.
 
2nd of October, 1535: Elizabeth and Margaret Tudor are sent from the court to Hatfield. While the two princesses had been in court for the past few months, the King now saw them as glaring reminders of his lack of a son. While the infant Margaret did not care (remember: infant) Elizabeth truly loved being the centre of attention and cried and whined about being moved (as two year olds are wont to do). But Henry was adamant, and the girls left with a small court of caretakers, most interestingly Mary Arundel’s mother Katherine Grenville.
 
5th of October, 1535: Mary Tudor officially accepts the proposal of Francis: Dauphin of France. An act that had been the obvious conclusion for this for the past month or so, it cemented her alliance with France towards becoming Queen of England and also would allow her to have a child soon. To celebrate this occasion, the court had three nights of celebrations complete with dancing, banquets and other merriments.
 
8th of October, 1535: James V of Scotland officially proposed to Infanta Maria: Duchess of Viseu on the suggestion of Mary Tudor. The sent a series of gifts with his proposal, with such things as:

-a miniature of the King

-a silver and diamond cross pendant

-a book written in Latin filled with Scottish legends

This was a surprise, as many had thought that the King would try and woo the Princess Madeleine de Valois, but he decided against it as the princess had ‘better prospects’. So he sent his gifts to Portugal and hoped to gain a wife soon.
 
12th of October, 1535: Henry VIII and Mary Arundel were officially betrothed. The King was ‘in love’ with his pretty little prize and she was not in a position to say no. So the two were betrothed, and as such she was sent to ‘keep her modesty’ until the wedding, which was planned for October 25th.
 
18th of October, 1535: At his request of Henry Fitzroy: 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset was allowed to leave the court with his wife to live on the estates for a short time. Though the reason was unknown, it was generally thought that the Duke felt stifled in the presence of the king and also wished to consummate his marriage. Fitzroy left with his wife, a new, white horse (a gift from his father) and a series of other gifts to show that he was still in the royal favour no matter what he did.
 
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21st of October, 1535: Mary Tudor sits for another portrait, this time to celebrate her betrothal to Francis: Dauphin of France. Done again by Ferdinand Carlos Morales y Rivera, it showed growth as an artist due to the more natural colouring and better limb placement. This painting did not suffer the fading that the previous painting did as it was lost in a dark cellar in Brussels for many years before being found again.
 
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