The Queen is Dead!: Katherine of Aragon dies in 1518
- Thread starter FalconHonour
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I can imagine a GIGANTIC catfight between Bessie and Marie. And poor Mary Brandon is gonna need aspirin...
Bessie will not take it well, no. I think that goes without saying. As for Mary Brandon... There's only one thing that could reconcile her to Henry's choice of wife, really.
That was very sweet. . . or very politic.
Either way, brilliant writing as usual.
Bessie won't take it well, not will her family - so i look forward to that.
I was going for sweet.... But Marie is a Boleyn. Politics is probably in her blood.
Section XXXIII - June 1520
I am in the midst of editing this TL - I hate writing war, I have decided - so have another chapter!
“Dearest Annie,
I don’t know how much you’ve heard of this over in Paris, but much has happened here in England since I last wrote. To start with the family news, I suppose you must know that Papa is to be recalled from Paris and invested as Earl of Ormonde and Viscount Rochford, which means I shall never marry James, of course. Ostensibly, this ennoblement is as thanks for his years of diplomatic service, but it’s not really. Oh, that I could tell you the real reason! Unfortunately, I have been sworn to secrecy, so you’ll just have to wait and find out through official dispatches like everybody else.
Of course, Papa’s ennoblement isn’t the only thing pending here at Richmond. King Henry’s bastard by the Lady Blount is to become Duke of Richmond and Somerset and Earl of Nottingham. Not even three months old and he is to become one of the premier noblemen in England. Some people say it’s a farewell present for the Lady Blount and that she will be married off as soon as a suitable husband can be found; others that the King intends to marry her and make young Hal Fitzroy his heir and that this is but a first step to that. Everyone here at Court waits with bated breath to see who is correct. Some know, of course, but are too loyal to His Majesty to say.
Anyway, how are you, my dearest sister? How is life in France? Busy, I presume, since you’ve scarcely written since Christmas, except for a hasty note for my birthday. Take care of yourself and do write soon.
Meanwhile, I remain, as ever,
Your sister Marie.”
You can’t leave your note at that, you vixen! You know I hate when you tantalise me so, I always have. Either tell me properly or don’t tell me at all, mon dieu! But you guessed right, I did know that Papa was to be called back to London and made Earl of Ormonde. How could I not? He was cock-a-hoop when the news came from London. Honestly, I’ll be relieved when he finally sails. If nothing else, I need a respite before he’s back here, breathing down my neck like the dragon we all know he is.
I only hope the rest of the Embassy stays here. There is a young man in the party, Henry Percy, who is ‘tres charmant’, as we French say. Madame Marguerite says he’s much taken with me and while I don’t know whether to believe her, it is true I enjoy his company at balls and feasts and the like. I look forward to getting to know him better once Papa is gone and can’t always remind me to act as befits the Lady Anne Rochford. Mon dieu! As if I haven’t had the best example of courtly behaviour I could possibly have in Madame Marguerite!
But now I am growing careless and ungrateful in what I have to say, and the hour grows late and my candle short, so I shall end my letter here. God be with you, ma soeur. God and my blessings.
A toi pour toujours,
Annabelle
“Dearest Annie,
I don’t know how much you’ve heard of this over in Paris, but much has happened here in England since I last wrote. To start with the family news, I suppose you must know that Papa is to be recalled from Paris and invested as Earl of Ormonde and Viscount Rochford, which means I shall never marry James, of course. Ostensibly, this ennoblement is as thanks for his years of diplomatic service, but it’s not really. Oh, that I could tell you the real reason! Unfortunately, I have been sworn to secrecy, so you’ll just have to wait and find out through official dispatches like everybody else.
Of course, Papa’s ennoblement isn’t the only thing pending here at Richmond. King Henry’s bastard by the Lady Blount is to become Duke of Richmond and Somerset and Earl of Nottingham. Not even three months old and he is to become one of the premier noblemen in England. Some people say it’s a farewell present for the Lady Blount and that she will be married off as soon as a suitable husband can be found; others that the King intends to marry her and make young Hal Fitzroy his heir and that this is but a first step to that. Everyone here at Court waits with bated breath to see who is correct. Some know, of course, but are too loyal to His Majesty to say.
Anyway, how are you, my dearest sister? How is life in France? Busy, I presume, since you’ve scarcely written since Christmas, except for a hasty note for my birthday. Take care of yourself and do write soon.
Meanwhile, I remain, as ever,
Your sister Marie.”
*** *** ***
“Marie,You can’t leave your note at that, you vixen! You know I hate when you tantalise me so, I always have. Either tell me properly or don’t tell me at all, mon dieu! But you guessed right, I did know that Papa was to be called back to London and made Earl of Ormonde. How could I not? He was cock-a-hoop when the news came from London. Honestly, I’ll be relieved when he finally sails. If nothing else, I need a respite before he’s back here, breathing down my neck like the dragon we all know he is.
I only hope the rest of the Embassy stays here. There is a young man in the party, Henry Percy, who is ‘tres charmant’, as we French say. Madame Marguerite says he’s much taken with me and while I don’t know whether to believe her, it is true I enjoy his company at balls and feasts and the like. I look forward to getting to know him better once Papa is gone and can’t always remind me to act as befits the Lady Anne Rochford. Mon dieu! As if I haven’t had the best example of courtly behaviour I could possibly have in Madame Marguerite!
But now I am growing careless and ungrateful in what I have to say, and the hour grows late and my candle short, so I shall end my letter here. God be with you, ma soeur. God and my blessings.
A toi pour toujours,
Annabelle
Actually, with Angouleme dead and Spanish threats in Milan and the surrounding areas this summer - which I won't be covering, because Henry's too self-centred to notice - it's Francis who really needs to be careful...
If Mary marries Henry, does that make Anne an acceptable match to her OTL beau, the Percy heir to the Northern Marches?
I know I read too much Game of Thrones, but this smell like a too happy ending for all involved that must be punished. And punished harshly.
I know I read too much Game of Thrones, but this smell like a too happy ending for all involved that must be punished. And punished harshly.
I'm no GRRM, but I promise it's not all sunshine and roses for Marie and Henry from hereon in. That just wouldn't be realistic.
As for Anne, read her letter again and that's all I'm going to say....
I'm not sure why they must be punished. Nobody did anything wrong. Not even Henry VIII, much to my amazement...
Okay...
Henry is self-centered. Perhaps even monstrously so. He was also...monstrously insecure. His father wasn't the most loving individual, and may have done considerable damage to Henry's psyche.
Besides, Henry wasn't really evil until the latter parts of his reign, and those may have been caused by brain damage issues. He was knocked out cold during jousts at least twice, and now we know the damage concussions can cause.
You said you might butterfly those concussions. If you do that, you butterfly the dames caused by the concussions.
Lastly, you outright killed "The King's Great Matter". No terrible treatment of Katherine of Aragon. No beheading of Anne Boleyn. Before all of that, Henry's reputation was absolutely stellar. Try to understand the Henry VIII this TL will be seeing will be-in many ways-an entirely different Henry VIII. His reputation, and what people centuries down the line think of him could be entirely different.
Oh, I don't deny any of that! And he is a very different man. But he's still very self-centred. He's still going to think he's right in all circumstances and be very good at burying his head in the sand as to the damage his instinctive reactions can possibly be causing to everyone else around him. We saw it with little Princess Mary earlier ITTL, and she's not the only one he's going to damage...
A lot of that was standard for King Behavior in the Sixteenth Century. Indeed, it was highly expected. King Francis also behaved badly, in perhaps different ways than Henry. Long story short, Kings in the Sixteenth Century were expected to behave in ways that we, with our modern morality, would find reprehensible.
Oh I know. But expected or not, I don't see that Henry's behaviour isn't going to have an impact on those around him emotionally. Even Katherine of Aragon railed at Henry the first time he took a mistress before she learnt to shut her eyes and endure, and she was almost every inch a model Queen. Different sensibilities or not, these are still human women. It is still going to hurt them when Henry acts carelessly.
Of course. But the simple truth is that Henry was nowhere near the worst offender in that particular department. Charles Brandon's otl Marriages and affairs were even spottier than Henry's, and when it comes to royal Mistresses, King Francis was the hands-down winner, and all-time Champion. Sadly, the mores of the times not only allowed this kind of behavior, but actively encouraged it.
Henry IV and Louis XIV and Louis XV would strongly disagree with your affirmation about Francis I...
French Kings were surely the worst about mistresses
I was sort of being sarcastic when I posted that. Francis was known for having mistresses. Lots and lots of them. But they all did.
Henry VII was peculiar in that he only seems to have had one, or two...