On the 2nd of April, 1502, Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales pulled through an illness that had plagued the Prince and his bride Catherine of Aragon for the past month. The Prince would return to London in May and his father, the King Henry VII of England, found the Prince's colour and general demeanor worrying. Heading the advice of his mother, the King began to look for a bride for his second son, the 11 year old Henry Tudor, Duke of York.
The initial main option was the Princess Eleanor of Austria, who would bind them further to the Spanish/Austrian alliance. However, the princess in question was 3 years old and, with the continued ill-health of the Prince of Wales the line needed to be secured much faster than that. There was of course the widowed Joanna of Naples, but she was 12 years the Duke of York's elder and would lack any real dowry. However, 3 main candidates from France were put forward. Germaine de Foix, 3 years the Duke's elder and cousin to the Prince of Wale's Wife. The second option was Margaret of Angouleme, who was niece to the King of France and would balance out the alliance with the Catholic monarchs. Another option was the Princess Anne de Navarre. She was the only full Princess by birth, but would bring the least in terms of a dowry.