The Auld Union: Mary Stuart has a French Son

Part 1: One Royal Marriage and Many Royal Deaths

Mary, Queen of Scots, came to throne at infancy, her father dying after a depressing, bed-ridden last few months. Her influential mother, Mary de Guise, had ensure a smooth transition of power, transition of power to her, that is. Mary de Guise sent her daughter to the French Royal Court, to be married to the Dauphin, Francois. This was, of course, in both Marys' best interests, de Guise ruling in her daughter's name, and the Queen safe from the threat of English Tudors and Radical Protestants. Once the Prince of France and the Queen of Scotland came of age, they were married. It has been discovered that throughout the marriage Mary was unable to birth a viable heir. Even after her coronation as Queen of France she seemed to be infertile. However, it is quite possible that the Queen and King hardly ever saw each other, and never really tried to have a child. Only two years into Francois's reign, he died of an ear infection, his brother Charles was the heir apparent. Unfortunately for Mary, she was at last pregnant. Though this may seem great for her, it in fact put her in the most danger she could have possibly been in her whole life, as she now threatened the validity of the King of France's claim to the throne. Mary left the French Court and escape to her cousins, the powerful Guises. It was from there she announced she was pregnant with the Late King's child.
After mere days, a royal correspondent arrived demanding the release of Mary Stuart over to the Valois. The Guises politely declined. Later that year Mary gave birth, naming her son James, after her father. She wrote a letter to her brother-in-law stating, "My son, the King James, will be arriving in Paris in the following months, after which he will endure the coronation ceremony. Afterward, you will renounce all claims on the throne of France and the Duchy of Valois. Your Loving Sister in Christ, Marie Stuart, Reine D'Ecosse " This tone was hardly befitting a woman of the time, however Charles submitted. James arrived and was welcomed as the New King. He officially took the throne as Jacques I of France, Prince of Scotland.
Catherine de Medici, who had since her oldest son's death resigned to Florence, was appalled at the news of the James' ascension. She traveled back to France in order to reclaim her son's lost throne. Once arriving, she managed to convince the former king to take back what she saw as rightfully his and persuaded him to seize Paris. Though a seemingly rash decision, this took months to plan and coordinate with the Valois Loyalists. Three years into the reign of his nephew, Charles attempted to seize the throne. This was supposed to be effortless and clean, but it instead broke into a civil war.
When the Valois force attempted to take Paris, the King and Queen Mother made it safely away, deep in friendly territory. The war was between the Stuart-Valois, backed by Scotland and the Guises, and the "True Valois" backed by Florence and the Medici. In the end, Catherine's forces were destroyed by the Stuarts, and were forced to retreat to Florence. Even though his chances at the throne were long gone, Charles continued to use the title "King of France" until his death. His son using the title "Dauphin" and briefly "King of France" until James ordered his renouncement on all such claims, reducing him to a mere Prince of France, which was even taken away from him by Mary, during her reign.


More Coming Soon.....
 
Whenever a reigning king dies without an heir apparent the next in line is able to inherit, as would be the case with Charles; however, it is understood in every hereditary monarchy that an heir presumptive can be replaced by the birth of a more eligible heir. If Charles were proclaimed king, there would have been a caveat in his proclamation that would preserve the rights of any heir born of the late king's consort, Mary Stuart. More often than not, a dowager queen who has had no male issue would go into confinement for forty days to confirm whether or not she may be pregnant. There could be no legal opposition to her son's claim to the French throne, and no one would dare to insult the alternative Catholic heiress to the throne of England and Ireland with expecting anyone's child but that of her late husband. Mary's Guise uncles would most definitely maintain their authority over the government, in the name/authority of the heir presumptive Prince Charles, Duke of Orleans and Queens Mary and Catherine, The Dowager Queens of France. Jacques would literally be born "King of France," and there could be no opposition from the French nobility or Dowager Queen Catherine de'Medici.

Mary, now Queen Mother, would be installed as Queen Regent until her son came of legal age, most who assumed the sovereignty before the age of majority would remain under a regent until the age of 18-20. The real power would lie with Mary's Guise uncles, who would likely seek to keep the king's uncles at court. I also have very little doubt that Catherine would be fully supportive of an heir to her first-born, and noted favorite, as care for François had always been her primary concern. Also, leaving French court would not be in the best interest of her younger children, who would most likely be placed in marriages with supporters of the Guise cause, aside from Elisabeth Queen of Spain who was already married at the time. Members of the royal family cannot marry without direct consent from the crown, and thus the Queen Regent, Mary, Queen of Scots. One might even expect the queen mother to take her brother-in-law as her husband, with a papal dispensation, in order to keep the Stuart-Guise hold on France.

If anything would be called into question I would think that the security of the Stuart hold on the Scottish crown, with no physically present monarch and the raging religious disputes between Catholics and Protestants, might be in jeopardy. If not the Stewart/Stuart's as a whole, just Mary's and her son. Not to mention France had it's own religious quarrels at the time, which would need to be dispelled, spreading the French army thin between France and Scotland. Unless Mary would assent to allow Scotland to convert to Protestantism, and focus mainly on returning France to Catholicism, there could be serious repercussions. That, or she would need to empower the Catholic Lords in Scotland and reach some sort of agreement peace agreement with Elizabeth in England.
 
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