Now is the Winter of Our Discontent

XXXXXXVI: 1531
January 1531

It was bitterly cold.

Frost marked the window panes and Eleanor, exhausted by the pregnancy had found herself retired to her bed more often than not. Her confinement had been almost a relief as Richard had not often come to visit her, claiming that he did not wish to tire her unnecessarily. When he did come though, he would often talk of their son. A son who would rule a fine England that Richard would present him on a platter, they would retake all their territories lost to his harlot of a sister. He would be the greatest monarch after Richard himself.

It was not a future Eleanor could see herself wanting for her child, not if they became so like her husband.

Still the strong kicks of the babe did something to assure her, the child lived and her child was strong.

Snow had begun to fall in Westminster when the pains begun, Eleanor let out a low cry that had her ladies come running. She waved them off, as she caught her breath. "If one of you would fetch the midwife and alert the physician, I believe that our Prince of Wales is keen on making his entrance now," She gritted her teeth as the pains came on, digging her finger tips into the sheets.

From there it seemed as though a flurry of activity erupted, the palace was on full alert. The future of England was at last in sight, they would have an heir, Richard would at last have an heir after so many years of marriage. People seemed to pace the halls anxiously, all they could do was wait.

The King himself got so violently drunk that he had to be put to bed and missed the first lusty cries that echoed through the birthing chamber.

"She's a loud one this one," The midwife said, "Likes to make herself heard already,"

"She?" Eleanor asked, lying back in her bed as the baby was passed to her.

"Aye, a lovely Lady for England, Madam,"

Not a son, not the Prince of Wales that was hoped for but...a child all the same.

Her newborn daughter was content to wail and Eleanor moved her arms to settle her a bit, she was a large baby and wrinkled but Eleanor loved her immediately anyway. "She's beautiful," Eleanor beamed, enjoying the moment with her daughter in her arms.

"Katherine?" She indicated a lady to her right, "If you would send a message to the King and let him know,"

"They say he's asleep now Your Majesty," Katherine said and Eleanor winced.

"Well I shan't think he'd want waking not..." Not if he didn't have a son. "But if you could let one of the men know so they might tell him when he wakes?"

Eleanor glanced down at her daughter again and something like resolve set in her, given how long it had taken them to have a child at all...this little girl might be all they had. A girl but..."God works in mysterious ways," Eleanor murmured.

And she knew, there was much work to be done.
 
Oh boy...Richard is not going to be happy. I wonder what he and Eleanor will name their daughter...correct me if I'm wrong, but Eleanor's mother is Anne of York, right? Anne seems appropriate then, being the name of both of her grandmothers.
 
Oh boy...Richard is not going to be happy. I wonder what he and Eleanor will name their daughter...correct me if I'm wrong, but Eleanor's mother is Anne of York, right? Anne seems appropriate then, being the name of both of her grandmothers.

Nope he won’t, Eleanor’s mother is Juana as Anne of York’s marriage to Philip was without issue and her name isn’t Anne ;). But there is a Queen Anne among the Six Queens of England.
 
I have fear to read Richard’s reaction to that... He will NOT be happy at all and I hope he will not be too bad with poor Eleanor and their little daughter...
 
I have fear to read Richard’s reaction to that... He will NOT be happy at all and I hope he will not be too bad with poor Eleanor and their little daughter...

He’s angry because clearly it can’t be his fault and it must be everyone else’s that he has a daughter and not a son but outside circumstances do end up preventing him from being...well himself.
 
A girl! Now, I was not expecting that. I was convinced it was going to be a boy.

Let's just hope Richard restrains himself...

Anne would be a good name, but I'm hoping for Cecily after Cecily Neville.
 
XXXXXXVII: 1531
"The King was in a rage when the news arrived, he reacted violently - what influence the hangover had or whether Richard was just simply Richard it is debatable. He was somewhat sober when he visited his wife and newborn daughter the next morning but remained cold towards the pair of them. When naming the child, we know that Richard requested a name from his side of the family but was quick to veto Anne - the moniker belonging to his sister who had triumphed over him and his mother whom he still recalled with some disdain.

Whatever Richard may have thought, the beginnings of a new age began on that cold January day.

Even if he would never know it and even if he did, we cannot say whether he would have accepted it, but he had produced one of the greatest monarchs of England. One who was well beloved and who has been the subject of many documentaries, so I will not explain her story in great detail here for her time has yet to come. Richard had lost but in a way he had his greatest wish, even if he would never know it.

I am of course, talking about England's first Queen Regnant, Elizabeth."

- Richard III: Mind of a Tyrant
 
Elizabeth! Now that is a name I never considered, but I love it. And at least Richard didn't lose it with Eleanor for giving him a girl, rather than a boy.
 
Elizabeth! Now that is a name I never considered, but I love it. And at least Richard didn't lose it with Eleanor for giving him a girl, rather than a boy.

We debated a lot of names but in the end...couldn't resist, we had to have her in some form although there is an Elizabeth Percy born in September 1533 so I suppose we sort of have two. The fact that he has a legitimate child at last tempers his reaction somewhat and he can at least delude himself into thinking that at least they can have more children...in later years though, well you can imagine how that goes.
 
We debated a lot of names but in the end...couldn't resist, we had to have her in some form although there is an Elizabeth Percy born in September 1533 so I suppose we sort of have two. The fact that he has a legitimate child at last tempers his reaction somewhat and he can at least delude himself into thinking that at least they can have more children...in later years though, well you can imagine how that goes.
Henry VIII was an happy and satisfied man in confront?
 
XXXXXXVIII: 1531
“The King has not taken well to the news, he asked me what use we may have of a daughter for a girl is no use to him. I was much grieved at the parting of myself and little Elizabeth and I hope to visit her as often as the King permits at Eltham. She is a charming baby and I am pleased that God has answered my prayers and delivered us of a healthy child.

I know that you would not come to court now, nor would I ask you to after all that has happened but I should so wish to meet with a dear friend if you would like to come to Eltham for a visit when I am there with Elizabeth.”

- Excerpt from a letter by Queen Eleanor to Anne Percy, Countess of Northumberland.

“Richard was not a man who stewed well, he still longed for a son and not the daughter he had been given. Yet, he had been humiliated often, especially on the battlefield and was determined to prove himself as a worthy foe somehow.

The joust he had set up in honour of his daughter’s birth was a subdued affair. Especially compared to the grand designs he had planned for a Prince of Wales. Many indeed wondered that he planned to acknowledge the birth at all, especially given how he had reacted to the birth of Lady Elizabeth. All became clear however when Richard announced that he would ride in the joust himself.

Richard was neither skilled at jousting nor a skilled horseman. Coupled with his burning desire to prove himself, it was not meant to end well.”

- Richard III: Mind of a Tyrant
 
“The King has not taken well to the news, he asked me what use we may have of a daughter for a girl is no use to him. I was much grieved at the parting of myself and little Elizabeth and I hope to visit her as often as the King permits at Eltham. She is a charming baby and I am pleased that God has answered my prayers and delivered us of a healthy child.

I know that you would not come to court now, nor would I ask you to after all that has happened but I should so wish to meet with a dear friend if you would like to come to Eltham for a visit when I am there with Elizabeth.”

- Excerpt from a letter by Queen Eleanor to Anne Percy, Countess of Northumberland.

“Richard was not a man who stewed well, he still longed for a son and not the daughter he had been given. Yet, he had been humiliated often, especially on the battlefield and was determined to prove himself as a worthy foe somehow.

The joust he had set up in honour of his daughter’s birth was a subdued affair. Especially compared to the grand designs he had planned for a Prince of Wales. Many indeed wondered that he planned to acknowledge the birth at all, especially given how he had reacted to the birth of Lady Elizabeth. All became clear however when Richard announced that he would ride in the joust himself.

Richard was neither skilled at jousting nor a skilled horseman. Coupled with his burning desire to prove himself, it was not meant to end well.”

- Richard III: Mind of a Tyrant
Oh no... I fear I know how this is going to end...
 
Well it’s not very subtle but...Richard’s not dying yet before anyone gets their hopes up.
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