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Prologue: The Tudor in Green


"Indeed, it was the Crown Act of Ireland in 1536 that began what is today known as the Kingdom of Ireland; If Henry VIII had not arranged the matter as he did, perhaps Ireland would've continued in a way similar to Wales or even, later on, Corsica - vassals of England. Or even worse, succumb to the shackles of revolution that plagued Spain and other countries." - Professor Douglas Kent, History of the Isles: Volume Three.​

In the July of 1536, Henry Fitzroy, bastard son of King Henry Tudor VIII, recovered from a nearly fatal bout of sickness [1]. King Henry, overjoyed, had decided this was a sign from God to do something he'd been thinking of; giving Fitzroy a royal title. King Henry VIII went to parliament, and proposed the Crown Act of Ireland; this act would make Henry de facto King of Ireland. The King of England would remain as Lords of Ireland. Parliament, surprisingly enough, went for it - it was a way to be rid of a bastard who could try and claim the throne, as well as a province of savages. On the fifteenth of February, 1538, Fitzroy was crowned as Henry I Tudor-Richmond, King of Ireland. Although the Pope (Pope Clement VII [2]) was on bad terms with King Henry, he legitimized the young King of Ireland due to Fitzroy's marriage to his niece, Catherine de Medici, and Fitzroy's support of Catholicism, the Pope, and Queen Catherine in England [3].

[1] The first and main POD; Henry Fitzroy survives. His death had rendered all that 'King of Ireland' debating moot in OTL.
[2] A minor POD - Pope Clement VII didn't eat those bad mushrooms and survived a while longer.
[3] Second main POD; Henry Fitzroy married Catherine de Medici, giving him strong ties to Catholicism, the Papacy, and also bringing the interesting character of Catherine to Irish and British politics.
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