Ring Around the Rosie: Scions of the Tudors

[ordinarylittleme]

Cast

Charlotte Hope as Katherine of Aragon, Queen of England
Eric Bana as Henry VIII, King of England
Isolda Dychauk as Katherine Tudor, Queen of Spain and Holy Roman Empress
Maria Valverde as Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of Portugal
Ruairi O'Connor as Henry Tudor, Prince of Wales
Sam Claflin as Edward Tudor, Duke of York
Linus Wordemann as Edmund Tudor, Duke of Lancaster
Saoirse Ronan as Mary Tudor, Queen of Scotland
Eleanor Tomlinson as Margaret Tudor, Dauphine of France and Duchess of Brittany
Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn, Queen of England
Margot Robbie as Anne Tudor, Queen of Denmark and Norway
Richard Armitage as Thomas Tudor, Duke of Pembroke
Ben Barnes as George Tudor, Duke of Beaufort
Henry Cavill as John Fitzroy, Baron Beauchamp
Dominic Cooper as Jasper Fitzroy, Archbishop of Canterbury
Holliday Grainger as Susan Fitzroy, Countess of Devon
Hugh Dancy as William Fitzroy, Baron Hastings

 

[ordinarylittleme]

Henry VIII had not been expected to become king at all, that honor was meant to be his brother, Arthur's while he himself went into the church to aspire for the papacy. Though he would never say he was grateful for the throne, so to say, as that required the death of his older brother, Henry could not deny that he was quite pleased to be the one wearing the crown and having the power. Arthur, so scholarly and melancholy, would have plunged England into a reign identical to their father's and while Henry appreciated that his father had been a good king, the final years of his reign had been plagued with the people's discontent, especially when it came to the succession crisis. Thankfully, this was not a problem now, as Henry had many legitimate children (although it could NEVER be said that he mistreated his bastards). He had established himself as the ancestor of half of Europe at least, and as yet another great-grandchild clung to his leg, he grinned and picked up the happily burbling child. Yes, he was a very happy king and a happy king meant a happy kingdom...

 

[ordinarylittleme]

Chapter One

Due to her pregnancy, Queen Katherine of Aragon had entered confinement. She found it much less unpleasant than described by the women in her life - boredom never settled in, as she could talk to the child in her womb, and besides, through the many sicknesses and pains it was not like she had a lot of time with all her mental faculties intact. Her protuding stomach prevented her from being able to see her own feet and she often felt very bloated, not to mention the horrid flashes of hot and cold that she experienced.

Her water had broken during such reminisces. She shrieked in pain as the contractions began, while her midwives and maids crowded around her. And for what felt like an eternity, she was consumed fully by the pain of childbirth; her hands tore at the bedsheets as she tossed and turned, and she did her best to focus on delivering the child. Why was it taking so long? Her mother had always described her own pregnancies as quick, easy and painless processes. Katherine felt like she was being burned alive.

At last she felt a weight slide out of her. She groaned in agony and her body twisted, despite her maids' attempts to hold her down. "Oh, there is another child!" Maria de Salinas, her lady-in-waiting and the closest thing she had to a friend, exclaimed. "The queen is having twins!"

Twins? The only experience Katherine had with twin children was her older sister, Maria, whose twin had died in their mother's womb. "Are both alive?" She gasped desperately, before screaming again as another excruciating contraction wracked her body. She had torn holes through the bedsheets with her nails. But, at last, when the crying of her children could be heard, she calmed down. Her breath came rapidly, she felt as if she had been reborn anew. She was quickly changed into a clean dress after her body was washed, and she lay on the bed, very sore and tired when King Henry VIII bustled into the room. Her daughters, now cleansed and swaddled, were handed to her by the midwives.

"God has blessed our union," Henry said cheerfully, sitting down besides Katherine. "Two beautiful princesses at the beginning of our new age." He brushed his wife's sweaty hair out of her eyes and pressed a kiss to her clammy forehead. "This is a good omen, my pomegranate. Imagine, we have only just started filling our nursery!" His joy emanated from his very being, but Katherine was not entirely reassured. "What shall we name them, my love?"

"I would like one to be named after myself," Katherine said. "I did all the labor of childbirth, after all." Her voice was playful towards the end, but Henry nodded seriously. "And the other one, of course, will be named after our mothers." It was providence that their mothers had almost the same name, it reduced the fuss.

"So, Elizabeth and Katherine." Henry mulled the names over before nodding. "That sounds good to me. They are lovely names, suitable for our lovely girls." He kissed her again, and Katherine gently rested her head on his shoulder. Henry was so warm, and she was so tired that she almost fell asleep, but...

"Are you not concerned that we do not have a son?" Katherine murmured, that old anxiety still gnawing at her. "After all, England has never had a queen in her own right. And my brother..." It hurt to bring him up a decade later, all the lost hope and potential that had died with him, but she did not mention that.

Henry looked at her in astonishment. "Katherine, you gave me two hale and hearty children on your first try. I could not ask for more right now besides the health of both yourself and our children. Besides," he grinned, placing a finger under her chin and tilting her head up so their eyes met, "I am your Sir Loyal Heart, am I not? I meant that. I would love you if you had twenty children and I would love you if you had none." He kissed her forehead again. "Now, I will go to arrange the announcements for the births of our little daughters. Rest well, my love."

"I love you," Katherine whispered, pressing a kiss to the back of Henry's hand. Henry smiled as he left, gently shutting the door behind him.

 

[ordinarylittleme]

Katherine of Aragon, Queen of England felt like she was on top of the world. As the year began, so her little boy arrived to the world. The New Year's Prince, he was called. Christened after his father, his birth was celebrated with extravagance: jousts, plays, feasts and tapestries. England's succession was secured. The king's jubilation was clear to see when he handily won all his jousts while his wife held their son and watched him devotedly. It seemed like everyone wanted a glimpse of their future king - oh, sure, nobody dared to touch his royal person, but Katherine could not avoid the curious eyes and whispers that surrounded her court. Letters of congratulations poured in, and she happily responded to all of them as her boy gurgled beside her. Oh, she was alright with having wet-nurses and ladies to care for him like they'd cared for her daughters, but if the queen wanted some time with her heir, who were they to refuse her?

Katherine had to admit she was relieved. She no longer had to worry about an English queen in her own right. Oh, her daughters would all be queens if she had her way. But England was not Castile and she had seen the looks on some noblemen's faces when she was an ambassador. Honestly! To so summarily dismiss the thoughts of half the world, the half that was the sole reason men like them existed...she had learned of the horror that was her sister Joanna's story, battling for control against their father, and losing...she thanked God that she had been spared such pain, praying that Joanna would one day find her freedom. But she had heard of her namesake niece, a blue-eyed beauty, four years old and a perfect future queen of England. Perhaps it was time to have the idea brought up to Henry?

Well, perhaps after he was done celebrating.