Scotland and France

They eventually are ruled by the same royal family. A son or nephew of a French King becomes king of Scotland. How would England deal with this.
 
Like when Mary Stuart married Francis II of France? Let's suppose they have a child, heir of both France and Scotland. Elizabeth I would love that :p
 
"The Great and Very Catholic Kingdom of France, Scotland and Ireland, Daughter of the Church and Mistress of the Sea"
 
Really unlikely -

Assuming Francis and Mary have a son then Mary stays in France - even if Francis dies young as in OTL - the Guise's dominate Mary and her regency for the infant King of France (lets call him Henri III).
She is ruling Scotland from a distance and it is firmly in the hands of the Protestant Lords (with some financial support from England) - the pressure on Elizabeth to offer more support (she was always reluctant even on religious grounds to support people she regarded as rebels to their lawful sovereign)

Mary was pretty content to allow her Scots subjects to continue their faith without imposing her own - however at a distance and under pressure from her arch Catholic Guise relations - she might try and impose a new settlement on the Scots - but at a distance with France in its own domestic religious war she has neither the cash or will to do so initially.

If the Scots resent it and many would they might move to distance themselves from their foreign Queen and her heir - they might not go so far as to depose her but it will be a temptation and there are alternatives for them.

France will quite frankly struggle to hold the Scots crown if the Scots don't want a French Catholic King and by this period it might be too late and too difficult for the French to do so.

The pressure for Elizabeth to marry will mount and if she doesn't then the pressure for her to at least give tacit approval for a domestic heir will increase. You have just removed the ideal solution for her - a Protestant married male (James VI) who was also her nearest relation by primogeniture and was already a reigning monarch.
 
Really unlikely -

Assuming Francis and Mary have a son then Mary stays in France - even if Francis dies young as in OTL - the Guise's dominate Mary and her regency for the infant King of France (lets call him Henri III).
She is ruling Scotland from a distance and it is firmly in the hands of the Protestant Lords (with some financial support from England) - the pressure on Elizabeth to offer more support (she was always reluctant even on religious grounds to support people she regarded as rebels to their lawful sovereign)

Mary was pretty content to allow her Scots subjects to continue their faith without imposing her own - however at a distance and under pressure from her arch Catholic Guise relations - she might try and impose a new settlement on the Scots - but at a distance with France in its own domestic religious war she has neither the cash or will to do so initially.

If the Scots resent it and many would they might move to distance themselves from their foreign Queen and her heir - they might not go so far as to depose her but it will be a temptation and there are alternatives for them.

France will quite frankly struggle to hold the Scots crown if the Scots don't want a French Catholic King and by this period it might be too late and too difficult for the French to do so.

The pressure for Elizabeth to marry will mount and if she doesn't then the pressure for her to at least give tacit approval for a domestic heir will increase. You have just removed the ideal solution for her - a Protestant married male (James VI) who was also her nearest relation by primogeniture and was already a reigning monarch.

The Guise would firmly control France in this scenario. No way they would withdraw support for their key into England. Another thing to consider is foreign support. OTL the Valois Kings and Catherine de' Medici tried to remain moderate, even after St. Batholomew, which cost them any support from the Habsburgs. Here, with the Guise in firm power via their half-Guise King, the ultras are in control and can count on Spanish and Catholic arms and men if needed. If the Guise can firmly crush the Huguenots early on (which is possible without the Crown making short lasting peace agreements) then we could see an active French foreign policy in the second half of the 16th century, which would be directed primarily towards England at this point, the Netherlands and Italy being more or less closed to expansion for the time being.
 
something about Mary (2)

Someone should write a timeline about that.

something from my cellar ....

5 year old Mary Queen of Scots is shipped off to the Valois household in France in 1547 by her mother Marie of Guise. She becomes cultured in the ways of the French court and becomes perfect marraige fodder in the eyes of Catherine de Medici, mother of the future King of France. In time she marries the Dauphin Francis in 1558. Before Francis dies in 1560, he and Mary consummate their union and Mary becomes pregnant. But Francis does die and Mary is left to give birth to the heir to French Throne, under the manipulation of Catherine. She gives birth to a boy, Francis III. Catherine usurps Mary's role as mother and the control that would give her and creates an untenable situation where Mary has to flee France.
the Guise ( Mary's maternal familiae ) were in ascendancy, but Catherine won the day.

The unconsolable 18 year old Mary (she has lost her husband, child and mother in one year), has to pass through England in her rushed circumstances, this brings her face to face with 23 year old Edward VI (who hasnt died in 1553) and who has just lost his wife in childbirth. Despite their clear religious differences but possible political affiliation they marry in 1561. Mary gives birth to Henry (the future Henry IX) in 1562. But Edward does die in 1563 and the machinations of the protestant peers of the realm force Mary to abandon England and her second son because of her Catholicism.

Mary escapes to Scotland, and this is where the POD's returns to OTL. She marries Lord Henry Darnley, has the heir to the Scottish throne by him, (James VI) in 1566 and Darnley is blown up in 1567. She becomes reaquainted with Earl James Bothwell, they marry in 1567 and fall foul of the Scottish peers, having to make their escape from Scotland. She is pregnant with twins and has to find a safe haven for herself, her husband and her unborn children. She doesn't miscarry and finds herself in exceptional circumstances.
Phillip II is looking for a bride around these times ....right?

Three questions arise here for a potential ATL. What could happen when three (half) brothers ( Francis, Henry and James ) are kings to competing kingdoms; and where would Mary, her husband and twin (lets say sons) children go for sanctuary ?
 
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Perhaps Hapsburg

Mary's sanctuary couldnt lie in Denmark (despite Fredrick II marrying his daughter to James VI in the future) due to Bothwells legacy in that country.
a stupidity with a Danish maiden.

England is out of contention due to the Protestant regency of Henry the IX.

And Catherine de Medici in France is still alive and kicking having troubles of her own with the Huguenots.

Could Mary turn to Philip II of Spain for sanctuary based on mutual Catholicism and his marraige to Mary I (1516 - 1558) of England 10 years beforehand ? He is not marrying a sister (though Hapsburgs are fond of niece's) here, but perhaps because she has a son on the throne of England, and a (potential) daughter could unite what he hoped to achieve with Mary I.

A potential political coup in the offering ?

If he we to marry her instead of Anne of Austria .... lets throw Eduardo, Prince of the Astruria's into the equation (born 1572) .... 4 child kings across Europe ( Go Mary !)
 
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Wow! Mary has had a busy - and fertile - time of it!

In strictly dynastic terms, Mary's first son, Francis III would also be heir to the Scottish throne as her eldest. Henry IX would just inherit England, and the son James, born to her and Darnley, shouldn't inherit any thrones at all. Obviously the Scots might object to being ruled from France - especially by a Catholic King - and might try and push James as a replacement. The question then is how badly France would want to control the Scottish throne. As it would give them easy access to their old enemy England, they probably wouldn't give it up without a fight. However even that situation is complicated as the Kings of France and England would be half brothers and in royal terms family ties do matter. Is it possible that a strong Anglo/French/Scottish alliance could result?

To be honest, if Mary had given birth to the next King of France then I don't think Catherine de Medici would have been able to drive her from the country and her Guise relatives would have backed her to the hilt. Also, as Mary had lost her own father as a baby and spent most of her childhood without her mother I think she would fight like a tiger to stay with her infant son.

If, in the suggested timeline, Mary did end up in Scotland, marrying Darnley and then being implicated in his murder, I don't know if the Scots would have found it easy to get rid of her. One of her sons would be the King of France and another the King of England - both of them far more powerful countries than Scotland. Basically, she would just be too well connected to be simply deposed and shunted aside and even if she did have to flee the country I think both England and France would have been forced to welcome her as she was the Queen mother in both places.
 
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