I kind of like otl Margaret of Parma...especially if she chooses to become a nun instead of making her second marriage (Charles v’s intentions notwithstanding).
 
Fabulous suggestions everyone!! Thank you all so much!




Madeleine wasn't an elopement, just not her dad's first choice. I'm leaning towards Margaret being mostly the same. The problem with Charles accepting his dad approved marriage, is that he is by far the wildest most impulsive of Francis's children. So, if the older brother's eloped, I just can't make him marry appropriately. He's refusing too.






Really great suggestions, I love Jeanne d'Albert and would love to do more with her. Though I notice there were no truly out of line suggestions for Charles. Looking at his OTL self I was thinking he'd make the worst choice in bride.



Then he'd really be tearing his hair out :)



I also like this idea, but I just can't get Charles too. OTL he died after running into a plague house; he's idiotic impulsivity personified. I'm having trouble making him pick a reasonable bride.

Anyone have any suggestions for some truly inappropriate brides for Charles?

Thanks again everyone! Ya'll the best!
If not Jeanne, then search some rich daughter of merchants... someone like Catherine de’ Medici (but without her maternal blue blood and lands)...
 
I have had another wild idea. What about Charles taking his aunt Renee as his wife? Yes, yes, I know she was married to the Duke of Ferrara in 1528, but hear me out. Renee had Calvin to stay at her Court in 1536, and was later tried for heresy in the 1550s. If her trial was brought forward to the later 1530s, and her marriage to Ferrara was annulled because of it, then Francis could send the teenage Charles to Italy to bring her home and they could fall in love and elope a la Mary Tudor the Elder and Charles Brandon.

It's probably far too complex and wouldn't work, but you've got everything rolled into one there - high-ranking enough that his father can't complain, but tinged with Protestantism and far too close in blood for anyone to be comfortable with it.
 
Margaret of Parma
Martin Luther did have a daughter born in 1529
young noble Abbes
Catherine Carey
Dorothy Lansey
Mihrimah Sultan, Princess of the Ottoman Empire, born 1523.
Eleanora d'Este
aunt Renee

You have all risen to the challenge; these are fabulous! You’ve given me a lot to work with. I now really want to do Mihrimah but I don’t think I have enough time to do the research it would require :/ So I’ll have to table it for another timeline.

Once again, thanks :)
 
You have all risen to the challenge; these are fabulous! You’ve given me a lot to work with. I now really want to do Mihrimah but I don’t think I have enough time to do the research it would require :/ So I’ll have to table it for another timeline.

Once again, thanks :)
Oh I think I speak for us all when I say we love bouncing ideas around...
 
I have had another wild idea. What about Charles taking his aunt Renee as his wife? Yes, yes, I know she was married to the Duke of Ferrara in 1528, but hear me out. Renee had Calvin to stay at her Court in 1536, and was later tried for heresy in the 1550s. If her trial was brought forward to the later 1530s, and her marriage to Ferrara was annulled because of it, then Francis could send the teenage Charles to Italy to bring her home and they could fall in love and elope a la Mary Tudor the Elder and Charles Brandon.

It's probably far too complex and wouldn't work, but you've got everything rolled into one there - high-ranking enough that his father can't complain, but tinged with Protestantism and far too close in blood for anyone to be comfortable with it.
Wow, that's really interesting.
And they could claim Brittany... says the incurable Breton;)
 
In which I push off the update

So, I was hoping to have my regular update today but work kept me busy (setting up partially remote schooling is actually harder than fully remote schooling) and this weekend I have a virtual family reunion. So, sorry but the next update won't be till be next Saturday
 
In which I push off the update

So, I was hoping to have my regular update today but work kept me busy (setting up partially remote schooling is actually harder than fully remote schooling) and this weekend I have a virtual family reunion. So, sorry but the next update won't be till be next Saturday
Real life comes first, no matter how virtual it has to be these days!
 
In which I push off the update

So, I was hoping to have my regular update today but work kept me busy (setting up partially remote schooling is actually harder than fully remote schooling) and this weekend I have a virtual family reunion. So, sorry but the next update won't be till be next Saturday

I sympathise, I've been charged with organising virtual social clubs for my office, and that was difficult enough.
 
Chapter 16 - In which much is made of babies
“Charles Brandon, the eldest son of Charles Brandon and Mary Boleyn, was born late in 1534. This happy event was overshadowed by the announcement that Queen Anne was once again pregnant. Unfortunately for Mary Boleyn, this would mean that her son Charles would be sent home to the Suffolk estates, while she was required to attend Queen Anne.”
Queen Anne: Mother of Europe by Jersha Fisher​


“For several years now, I have watched as the Queen suffered as my mother suffered. Some thrice times has a babe quickened, but not lived to be christened. But, now after such struggles, She and mine Father can delight in the birth of this lovely babe. My new royal sister, Princess Cecily is a bonnie healthy little babe.

Father has given me the greatest honour and has made meher godmother. Oh, holding her I know understand Fitz’s eternal requests for Prince Edmund to visit him. I would so grieve to be parted from her.”
Journal of Lady Mary Tudor, 23rdof May, 1535​


“The first year of King Henry FitzRoy’s reign of Ireland was fraught with internal and external power struggles. But as Henry and his bride can to know each other they developed a partnership that would allow them to meet their challengers and win. The earnest level-headed King would defeat on the battlefield and then befriend their enemies and the clever Queen would watch those that would be their friends.

Some three years into their reign the Royal Couple had much greater control of Ireland that had previously been achieved, not total control but more than any other English reign.”
FitzRoy by Lawrence Dalton​


“Pretty much from the moment Henry FitzRoy left his godson to rule Ireland, he sent regular requests to his Royal father that the young Prince Edmund might come for a visit, these were soundly ignored until the summer of 1535.”
FitzRoy by Lawrence Dalton​


“Beginning as early as January of 1534 it was acknowledge that Prince Edmund and Prince Henry were so alike in face and form as to confuse even the most diligent of attendants. [1] Great efforts were put into dressing them as to keep identities clear because no one wanted to mix up the heir to the throne and the third in line.

This worked until early in the summer of 1535 when all four children discovered they could take their clothes off if they tried hard enough. The three princes especially seemed to delight in removing their clothes and running around as their attendants tried to corral them and redress them.

While Lady Jane Seymour, one of Prince Edmund’s nurses, managed each time to at least keep an eye on Prince Edmund as to affirm that he was in fact Prince Edmund not Prince Henry, all attendants new that it was only a matter of time before the heir and the second spare were mixed up.”
The Tudors: A Real Life Soup Opera​

[1] At birth it was thought that Prince Edward and Prince Edmund were the identical twins.
 
Last edited:
Ah yes, living with a three year old myself I am much aware of the fascination that toddlers have with taking their clothes off haha. I imagine the potential for mix ups between Henry and Edmund is going to be quite the problem as they get older. And I hope Mary gets to see little Lady Cecily often, a happy Mary is a Mary that I can get behind! Excellent update.
 
Last edited:
Oh, this is such an adorable update! Elizabeth has a little sister! And Cecily is such a pretty name for the new Lady. It's my favourite name from the period, I think. So much so that if I ever have a daughter, Cecily is already on the shortlist for her name...

Also, Henry and Edmund are going to be such trouble when they're older, aren't they? If they're practically identical, I could see them playing tricks on people like Ambassadors, and sitting at opposite ends of the room so that the diplomats don't know which one to bow to, that sort of thing.

Also, I agree with @curlyhairedhippie - I am very pleased to see that Mary is warming to her siblings, and I hope she gets to see lots of little Lady Cecily over the years.
 
I am glad that Mary Tudor seems happier (especially considering everything she went through up to this point). She loves Cecily and it is very sweet to see.

It is funny how the Tudor Princes are being confused with each other. Jane Seymour is such a diligent nursemaid! I hope that she gets a happier life than OTL (since she won't be queen anytime soon). And at least FItzroy gets to see his godson. Will Fitzroy's child become the ruler of Ireland? Or will he give the position to Edmund (if he has no children)?
 
Will Fitzroy's child become the ruler of Ireland? Or will he give the position to Edmund (if he has no children)?
If I remember correctly, Fitzroy is engaged to Catherine de'Medici...considering her OTL gynecological record, I'm thinking that he'll have at least one surviving child but maybe not for a while yet.
 
Ah yes, living with a three year old myself I am much aware of the fascination that toddlers have with taking their clothes off haha.

And the extreme reaction they get when their clothes come off just makes them want to do it again. It's a vicious cycle.

I imagine the potential for mix ups between Henry and Edmund is going to be quite the problem as they get older.

When their older they'll be doing it on purpose.

And I hope Mary gets to see little Lady Cecily often, a happy Mary is a Mary that I can get behind! Excellent update.

Thanks :) I'm glad you enjoyed it!
 
If they're practically identical, I could see them playing tricks on people like Ambassadors, and sitting at opposite ends of the room so that the diplomats don't know which one to bow to, that sort of thing.

I’m kinda basing the two of them on a pair of twins I grew up with. I almost had it down which one was which and then they’d started lying to me, and then my confidence is shot. To this day I never know which is which.
 
Top