Mary Tudor, Princess in Exile

25th of December, 1535: Due to the King’s illness, Christmas this year is rather lacklustre. While Queen Mary does her best to keep the mood light and fun there is a sense of foreboding in the air. Who would the Ruler of England be if Henry died? Elizabeth? The little thing is only two years old, and a girl. Maybe one of the Brandon girls? But again, they are female. The only male options are James V of Scotland and Henry Fitzroy. But James is a foreign King and Henry is most definitely illegitimate. So what then? Well, no one really knows. So they go on with the festivities, not really having fun but the motions must be gone through.
 
3rd of January, 1536: Mary Tudor arrives in France. A lengthy but really uneventful expedition to the country, it involved long waiting periods in which they hid from English ships due to the known orders to take the princess by force if needed. But there were no major issues as had been anticipated and she hit French soil merely tired and ready to meet her husband.
 
7th of January, 1536: Henry VIII recovers, and officially the threat of the King’s death is over. But he is still pale and unusually quiet. But he was still Henry, and so he organised a ‘tournament to be remembered’. Designed to be a week-long festival, it would be ended with a joust in which the King would take part. It would start on the tenth.
 
7th of January, 1536: Henry VIII recovers, and officially the threat of the King’s death is over. But he is still pale and unusually quiet. But he was still Henry, and so he organised a ‘tournament to be remembered’. Designed to be a week-long festival, it would be ended with a joust in which the King would take part. It would start on the tenth.

Jousting while still under the weather? :eek:
 
3rd of January, 1536: Mary Tudor arrives in France. A lengthy but really uneventful expedition to the country, it involved long waiting periods in which they hid from English ships due to the known orders to take the princess by force if needed. But there were no major issues as had been anticipated and she hit French soil merely tired and ready to meet her husband.

She can travel via Wallonia and Champagne to France instead of a sea route.
 
10th of January, 1536: Henry VIII begins the week long festivities by joining a wrestling match. While he comes out alright, there is serious concern for his health over the next few days. Waving off the concerns, he hopes to impress his bride with the athletic prowess that he once had. The day ends with tragedy, however, when Charles Brandon falls from a stand he had climbed onto. While not fatally hurt, he chooses to remove himself from the remainder of the festivities; to the duress of the King. The first sign to Henry that his generation is aging, he reacts by sending word to his friend that he should leave court for a while to ‘recover’. The King must not feel any worry for the future.
 
17th of January, 1536: The King joins the joust. Over the past week he had been an active part of the festivities, dancing and joining in the sport like a young man. But the constant effort finally caught up with him when, after winning the first joust early in the day he collapsed from his horse and hits the ground with a heavy thud. Rushing to his side, the Queen is the one who pulls off his helmet and follows the men as they carry him into his rooms. She is also present when he wakes up, and comforts him when he awakes in tears. While up until now he had been simply happy with a pretty little wife he actually shows seemingly true affection, naming his wife ‘a woman without equal’ and ‘the truest queen of England since my mother herself’.

In France, Mary Tudor reaches Paris. After a long journey inland in which she progressed through many different towns greeting French villages and villagers. One person was to have said:

“…she is a true Queen. Pretty and regal, personable and distant. If she keeps this up, the French people will surely follow her gladly as a Sovereign. And what’s even better, her French would never give up for a moment that she is an English woman born, raised by a Spaniard…”

When she reaches the capital, the King and Dauphin are the first to greet her. While the king simply enjoys her company and the chance at England she possesses, the Dauphin Francis is enchanted by the pretty young woman. They are evidently compatible, sharing long conversations and planning how the two countries will work together. There seems to be real love blossoming between them. Hopefully nothing screws it up.
 
26th of January, 1536: Henry VIII re-joins the court after over a week of rest. Eager to prove himself as a strong King even as he continues to fall sick and hurt, he refuses future treatments and calls a dance in the court. While happy to have her husband back, Queen Mary still attempts to keep his health consistently healthy, calling for a less rambunctious court. While Henry is feeling very real affection for his Queen, he cannot take her orders that (to him) make him sound like an old man. So he asks that she focus on getting pregnant and educating his daughters, because everything else at this point was not of her concern.
 
2nd of February, 1536: Mary Tudor has a screaming match with Catherine de Medici at the French Court late in the morning. The two women had seemed to get along at first, but after a short conversation there was obvious anonymity between the two. The reason for the fight was unknown, but historians would speculate that Catherine was quite jealous of Mary’s higher status than her and wished that she had married the Dauphin. But whatever the case, Catherine had made a new enemy in a court where she didn’t have many friends.
 
8th of February, 1536: Another assassin is found in the king’s chambers; this time it is a man. Thomas Bothwell, a minor servant in the castle, was found with a knife in his hand and a bag of gold coins in his pocket. When discovered, he attacked the king in haste, managing to cut Henry VIII across the arm and slash Queen Mary’s cheek. Eventually, the man was brought to heel and questioned. While initially unwilling, he ultimately gave the names of Sir Arthur Pole, Henry Courtenay: 1st Marquess of Exeter and Thomas Manners: 1st Earl of Rutland. All three men protested, pledging loyalty and naming themselves as blameless. But Henry could never be too careful, and all three were sentenced to be beheaded at the end of the month. Only a miracle could save these poor men.
 
16th of February, 1536: Thomas Bothwell has a change of heart, and hands over a letter that he had been hiding on his person. Written in the hand of Charles V, it explained that the man was to not truly murder the King but instead ruin relations between him and the members of his court. Henry VIII was furious, and announced that trade with any of the Emperor’s lands was to end now. No one took that order earnestly, but they did take his anger seriously.
 
20th of February, 1536: Whatever his conflicting stories, Thomas Bothwell did attempt to harm the King and as such had committed treason. Therefore he had to be executed. But the strangest thing happened. When his gaolers came to escort him to his death, he was gone. Where he went, no one knew. But this was not good for the King’s temper.
 
Question: Best second wife for Henry Valois? At the moment I was thinking Christina of Denmark or Isabella Jagiellon. Who else do you think?
 
27th of February to 5th of March, 1536: In an elaborate ceremony that cost a fortune, Mary Tudor officially married Francis: Dauphin of France. The festivities lasted a full week, merry and fun. But one person almost ruined it all. On the 2nd of March an Italian woman by the name of Barbara Scorva was found with a vial of clear powder hidden in her sleeve. Sent by Catherine de Medici to his chambers, she was meant to kill the dauphin so that she would be the future queen. A shocking development, it was made even worse by the news that the traitorous woman was now pregnant (at least she thought she was pregnant). What are the French to do?
 
6th of March, 1536: Queen Mary of England received a letter from France. Written by Mary Tudor, it congratulated her on her recent marriage and wished her good health. With this note came a miniature of Mary Tudor and a necklace of rubies and pearls. Unsure how to react, the confused young queen gave the note and gifts to the King, pledging her allegiance and announcing she had no contact with the lady (not princess) other than this letter. Henry VIII reacted even more severely to this than expected, ordering the necklace and miniature to be destroyed and the letter burned. Then, as Kings are wont to do, he announced he was going to war with ‘the pitiable and wretched land of France’. This was not shaping up to be a good year for Henry.
 
8th of March, 1536: James V of Scotland announced his betrothal to the Portuguese princess Infanta Maria: Duchess of Viseu. A great catch for the king, the young bride would bring a dowry of substantial proportions as well as an alliance with the Habsburgs. The princess would be sent to Scotland very soon; hoping to arrive by June.
 
13th of March, 1536: It is announced that Mary FitzRoy: Duchess of Richmond and Somerset is pregnant.
 
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Mary Arundel, Queen of England
 
1st of April, 1536: Charles V announces that he has decided to marry again. While it had been accepted that he would have to marry again to secure the succession, there had been doubt after the severe reaction he had following Isabella’s death. While there were many options available, it was generally thought that he would marry one of the Cleves girls, with the elder Anne looking more promising. While only time would tell, it looked like Anne of Cleves would be the lucky future Empress.
 
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