Queen Mary I marries Edward Courtenay

Edward Courtenay (c. 1527- 1556) was an English nobleman. He was a first cousin once removed to Queen Mary I of England.
Mary created Edward Earl of Devon on September 3, 1553.
On October 1, 1553 Mary was crowned and the new Earl of Devon carried the Sword of State in the ceremony.

Suppose Queen Mary and Edward live many years beyond 1560.
Suppose Mary does not marry Philip II of Spain.
Instead she marries Edward Courtenay in 1553.
Their children are:
Prince Edward born 1554
Prince William born 1555
Prince John born 1557
What happens then?
 
Edward Courtenay (c. 1527- 1556) was an English nobleman. He was a first cousin once removed to Queen Mary I of England.
Mary created Edward Earl of Devon on September 3, 1553.
On October 1, 1553 Mary was crowned and the new Earl of Devon carried the Sword of State in the ceremony.

Suppose Queen Mary and Edward live many years beyond 1560.
Suppose Mary does not marry Philip II of Spain.
Instead she marries Edward Courtenay in 1553.
Their children are:
Prince Edward born 1554
Prince William born 1555
Prince John born 1557
What happens then?

Her eldest son, would succeeder her as King Edward V of England, carrying on the Catholic rule, with the former ruling House of Tudor ending and the begining on the new ruling House of Courtenay.

Edward would in turn marry either:
- Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor.
- Elisabeth of Valois, eldest daughter of Henry II of France.
Both prominent catholic families, who would be happy to marry their daughters off to a Strong Catholic King
 
Her eldest son, would succeeder her as King Edward V of England, carrying on the Catholic rule, with the former ruling House of Tudor ending and the beginning on the new ruling House of Courtenay.

Edward would in turn marry either:
- Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor.
- Elisabeth of Valois, eldest daughter of Henry II of France.
Both prominent catholic families, who would be happy to marry their daughters off to a Strong Catholic King

Nitpick: that should be Edward VII, as his uncle was Edward VI.

Mary's sister, OTL Queen Bess, would be forced into converting to Catholicism, and married off to a prominent Catholic ally to prevent her from being the center of Protestant plots.

If Mary dies before her son reaches the age of majority, England gets another regency council headed by her widowed husband.

Mary, considering that Philip was actually behind the heretic burnings, would be considered a good and just queen ITTL.

English Protestantism, which was only a small minority when Mary inherited the throne, would probably disappear in a few generations.

A son would also mean no union of Scotland and England, at least for a few more centuries, as James would not inherit the throne after Elizabeth.

Calais would also most likely stay in English hands, as the only reason Mary lost it was due to pressure from Philip to go to war with France.

Also, there was a discontinued TL like this somewhere in the forum, here it is.
 
Last edited:
Nitpick: that should be Edward VII, as his uncle was Edward VI.
I always seem to get mixed up when it comes to the Edwards :eek: But yes, Edward VII would be King of England

Mary's sister, OTL Queen Bess, would be forced into converting to Catholicism, and married off to a prominent Catholic ally to prevent her from being the center of Protestant plots.
Marry her off to, Catholic Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon
in 1554, keeping her close to the queen but not to the court.

If Mary dies before her son reaches the age of majority, England gets another regency council headed by her widowed husband.
King Philip II as regent of England could be interesting. How would the Court and Protestants feel or would the English Inquisition keep the peace;)

Mary, considering that Philip was actually behind the heretic burnings, would be considered a good and just queen ITTL.
Good Queen Mary :eek: TL in the making

A son would also mean no union of Scotland and England, at least for a few more centuries, as James would not inherit the throne after Elizabeth.
But what of Spain, until 1568,Carlos, Prince of Asturias is considered heir and without Philip remarrying, there maybe no Philip III of Spain with Margaret of Austria?
And even if Mary dies and Philip, remarries, Edward would always have a claim on Spain, would the Spanish court pay England to forget its claim? Maybe with more land in the new world ;).
 
Well Edward Courtenay was the preferred candidate for many of Mary's supporters. He himself was very keen and when it became clear Mary didn't want anyone other that Philip of Spain he switched his attentions to Elizabeth which resulted in his alleged involvement in Wyatt's rebellion and his eventual exile.

If Mary succumbs to her young cousin's charms then I don't think there is any guarantee she will be anymore successful at producing a child with him than with Philip.

Incidentally Philip and her Spanish Courtiers were those who were most keen on her reducing the number of burnings of Protestant's she was rather personally vigorous in pursuing the policy. Philip was well aware that it was him and his supporters who were attracting the blame and that the policy was counter-productive to Mary's avowed intention of restoring the Catholic church in England. (had she done that and avoided what ammounted to revenge on some - Crammer for example - she might have proved more successful)
 
Wait... I thought we were talking about Courtenay marrying Mary not the OTL Mary/Philip marriage? :confused:

Nope sorry my bad, trying to think on an empty stomach doesn't work lol.

Would the British council accept Prince Courtenay as Regent? or would they push for a different Regent ... eg a bishop of Lincoln/York/Canterbury or maybe a Statesman?
 

bguy

Donor
Does Mary marrying Edward allow Lady Jane Grey to keep her head? OTL Mary was initially reluctant to kill Jane, and it was only after the Wyatt Rebellion (and the intense lobbying of the Spanish ambassador Simon Renard) that Mary let the death sentence against Jane be executed. The Wyatt Rebellion was set off because of opposition to Mary marrying Phillip though, so if Mary marries Edward instead it presumably won't happen. Likewise Renard will also presumably have less influence with Mary if she isn't wanting to marry Phillip. Is no Wyatt Rebellion and a defanged Renard enough to save Jane, or is she just living on borrowed time and inevitably going to be beheaded the first time there is a Protestant uprising against Mary?
 
Does Mary marrying Edward allow Lady Jane Grey to keep her head? OTL Mary was initially reluctant to kill Jane, and it was only after the Wyatt Rebellion (and the intense lobbying of the Spanish ambassador Simon Renard) that Mary let the death sentence against Jane be executed. The Wyatt Rebellion was set off because of opposition to Mary marrying Phillip though, so if Mary marries Edward instead it presumably won't happen. Likewise Renard will also presumably have less influence with Mary if she isn't wanting to marry Phillip. Is no Wyatt Rebellion and a defanged Renard enough to save Jane, or is she just living on borrowed time and inevitably going to be beheaded the first time there is a Protestant uprising against Mary?

I'd say it depends on how much time has past, whether the rebels are declaring for Queen Elizabeth or Queen Jane? Has she been released from the Tower? How Jane is acting if she is free to act. Seventeen year old her wouldn't, a hypothetical 25 year old Jane with the right buttons pushed might or might not be another matter. Is her family involved like her father was in Wyatt's rebellion? Is she still married to Guilford Dudley?

I think the answer is, depends. I think she has a shot, though not a great one.
 
Queen Mary I and Edward Courtenay's eldest son, Prince Edward (born in 1554), marries Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1572.
Their children are:
Prince Maximilian born 1573
Prince Charles born 1575
Princess Eleanor born 1577
 
Queen Mary I and Edward Courtenay's eldest son, Prince Edward (born in 1554), marries Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1572.
Their children are:
Prince Maximilian born 1573
Prince Charles born 1575
Princess Eleanor born 1577

I cant see the Maximilian being chosen first, maybe as a third choice as it is not very Anglican, Charles may be the best choice for first, with Edward being second?
 
I cant see the Maximilian being chosen first, maybe as a third choice as it is not very Anglican, Charles may be the best choice for first, with Edward being second?

In the 15th century the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III gave the name Maximilian to his son and eventual heir.
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, was named after his great-grandfather, Maximilian I.
Prince Edward (born in 1554) and his wife, Elisabeth of Austria, honor the two Holy Roman Emperors Maximilian by naming their eldest son Maximilian.
 
There was some support for the marriage of Queen Mary and Edward Courtenay among the English nobles, particularly among Mary's ladies-in-waiting, who included Edward's mother, the Dowager Marchioness of Exeter.
 
Queen Mary created Edward Earl of Devon.
Originally the patent differed from earlier patents in that it granted the earldom to his heirs male forever, rather than to the heirs male of his body.
In this scenario, the patent grants the earldom to Courtenay's heirs male of his body.
His third son, Prince John shall eventually get the title Earl of Devon.
 
This might have interesting effects in the medium term on English relations with France, given the Courtenay ancestral lands there...
 
Mary, considering that Philip was actually behind the heretic burnings, would be considered a good and just queen ITTL.

Philip certainly supported the burnings at first, but there's no evidence whatsoever that Mary didn't order them of her own free will; in fact, she was much more zealous than Philip. The best way to have a Queen Mary who doesn't burn is to handwave Gardiner and Bonner out of power.

Mary also had gynaecological issues* that make it unlikely she'd live much past 1558 anyway.

* I am convinced that the usual explanation of her false pregnancy - that it was a "phantom pregnancy" of psychogenic origin - is bad science and even worse history. Her symptoms simply don't match what we know of this incredibly rare psychiatric condition. I suspect she had some type of reproductive cancer.
 
Does Mary marrying Edward allow Lady Jane Grey to keep her head?

Jane probably gets to keep her head, but remains in the Tower for the most part, or kept close at hand in court until Mary has a son. The ones who placed her as queen, on the other hand, have dim chances of that.
 
In this scenario, Edward has a granduncle, François de Courtenay.
François never married. Thus he has no children.
His nearest heir is Edward, Earl of Devon.
In 1555, François de Courtenay dies.
Edward now inherits a vast French estate and an enormous sum of money.
 
In this scenario, Edward has a granduncle, François de Courtenay.
François never married. Thus he has no children.
His nearest heir is Edward, Earl of Devon.
In 1555, François de Courtenay dies.
Edward now inherits a vast French estate and an enormous sum of money.

Who now? I can't find a record of him anywhere.
Wouldn't inventing a new person bring this to ASB?
 
In this scenario, Edward has a granduncle, François de Courtenay.
François never married. Thus he has no children.
His nearest heir is Edward, Earl of Devon.
In 1555, François de Courtenay dies.
Edward now inherits a vast French estate and an enormous sum of money.

The French Courtenays were Capetians. If the figure you reference existed, then the French king likely has as valid a claim as anyone to his lands. Although I thought that the French Courtenays were impoverished in this period.
 
Top