alternatehistory.com

1540

  • In Scotland, on the 21st of May, the Queen goes into labour, having been married to James V, King of Scots for almost exactly 2 years. The labour goes as well as could be expected, with Marie de Guise giving birth early the next day to a son, named James after his father, grandfather, and many other Stewarts. It was a name very often used in the family, to the point that the current King of Scotland had had his father, uncle and elder brother share his name, and in the case of his uncle and father, both had been alive at the same time. Thus, the family had succeeded in bringing forth another James.

  • All seemed well and good in the Kingdom of Scotland. Having had his son, James V now at least matched his uncle in Scotland, and many predicted great things for the young Duke of Rothesay, who nuzzled at the breast of a nurse hungrily already. However, the Queen of Scots did not thrive as easily. The 24 year old Marie de Guise, in spite of two previous pregnancies and a hardy disposition, favoured poorly under Scottish doctors, and it seems that she had not been properly attended to following the birth of the Prince. Thus, a week following the birth, while preparations were made to improve her lying in, the Frenchwoman was found collapsed in her bed, and she could not be woken. The coma lasted two days, and was kept hidden from the King, until, on the third day, she died.

  • The death of his Queen so shortly after the birth of his son shook the King of Scots greatly. James V had lost a bride previously, but while Madeleine de Valois had been a delicate woman, Marie de Guise had been described as sturdy, and the possibility of her early death was not a consideration until it had occurred. The country went into mourning, and the King began his search for yet another bride.

  • In England, the news of Marie de Guise’s death reached and brought the court to an official mourning, although the King of England seemed awfully smug that the bride he had been denied had obviously not been as perfect as he had been told. Thus, while the King of England found his own bride not to his taste, he did hold his own opinion that she might prove more lucky than his nephew’s wife had been.

  • While the King of England gloats, the Kingdom of England sees, early in the year, the final two priories left in England fall, as the Dunstable Priory and the Waltham Abbey both fall victim to the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

  • Sometime shortly following the death of his bride, James V sent word to his uncle that, now a bachelor again, he wished to negotiate a marriage contract between his sister, Margaret Douglas, and a man at his court by the name of James Douglas, the heir to the County of Morton under the title Earl of Morton. His reasons for this match seem shady, but in any event, he also announced that he would be visiting England, if his uncle would not mind.

  • The announcement came at an awkward time for Henry VIII of England, for two reasons. The first was, despite his lack of humility and arrogance following the death of the Queen of Scots, he himself wanted gone his wife, although in his case, a bad labour would not do the trick. Instead, Henry planned to divorce the quiet Anne of Cleves for his mistress, the Lady Catherine Howard. But, if he were to be embroiled in an annulment while his nephew was to be visiting, it might be embarrassing. That was not something England, or rather Henry, would suffer. And thus, Henry demanded that the annulment be sped up, if possible, and that all Anne’s demands be met as long as they were not too far ridiculous.

  • Anne’s requests were simple. That her loss of title be met with a title of adequate prestige, that she be given freedom to stay in England and be treated with respect, that she be compensated financially with lands and monies that she might have received as the King’s widow, and that these monies and lands be made her to gift hereditarily, should she remarry after the annulment was passed. It seems Anne wanted to keep the door open on remarriage. However, the idea that she would own the lands and monies outright, and they might be inherited by her children, should she have them, were worrisome for the King’s councillors. But as the date for James V’s visit to London were agreed to, Henry found himself desperate to end this troublesome marriage and marry the Lady Catherine, who would not submit to his advances otherwise.

  • In Spain, the Prince of Asturias, at age 13, celebrated as his father inferred upon him the Dukedom of Milan. Of course, others would dispute his right to the Duchy, in particular the French, but for now it was a nice title and a neat excuse for parties with his sisters, who he remained devoted to.

  • As the year ended, negotiations began, however minor, for a match to be made between James V of Scotland and Christina of Denmark, widow to the Duke of Milan and another woman the King of England had pursued and failed to marry. However, James V would be less successful in his attempt at a third marriage, due to her current engagement to the Duke of Bar, who was the heir to Lorraine. However, the betrothal in question was recent, and Charles V looked to James as a potential counterpoint to Henry VIII on the British Isles.
Top