The White Rose in French Soil

In early 1484, Elizabeth of York was sent from the English coast in a secret vessel by her mother and sisters, to arrive in France on January 18th. The English royal then rushed through the country in secret, to Brittany, where she was brought through the rest of the journey by Francis II of Brittany, who had recently lost his daughters Anne and Isabelle to sickness. The English Princess finally arrived in Paris on March 2nd, where she announced her family’s predicament. Her brothers were lost to the Tower of London, thought dead and hidden. Her mother and sisters hid in the Sanctuary she had escaped from.

Elizabeth offered herself to Charles VIII, who accepted her offer after the possibility of marrying Brittany into France had gone. The two married in March 16th, 1484, to which Richard III of England sent a series of furious letters to the French King and his sister-regent, Anne de Beaujeu. However, the act of marriage King Charles had undertaken was approved of by Anne, who welcomed Elizabeth of York with open arms.

The marriage of Charles and Elizabeth proved fruitful when, after almost 10 months of marriage, the two welcomed the Dauphin Louis of France on December 3rd. The son was quite healthy and large, which pleased almost all but the English King. As a form of punishment, he had his son Edward of Middleham recite a poem about the bastard Queen of France after the pregnancy was announced in July, 1484. Unfortunately, Edward then died a month later of unknown causes. Rumours circulated that the young boy was poisoned, though others simply put the blame on his infamously but constitution, inherited from his frail mother.

A claimant for the English crown, one Henry Tudor, was also an occupant of the French court at this time. He was the last Lancastrian possibility for the throne. Elizabeth of York was told of the promises the man had made during the past year, prior to her appearance to England. He was to have overthrown her uncle and married her. So she sought him out.

Her terms were simple. She would support his claim to the throne, but only if he promised to marry her eldest sister, Cecily. She wanted the Yok line to stay to the throne. And, with the deal that she would support his plan to Charles VIII, the two separated as allies, though Elizabeth would always be hesitant of Tudor.

In 1485, Henry Tudor arrived in England with the might of the other English exiles and a French army, in which he fought for the English crown. He won by the might of Lord Stanley, his stepfather. As promised, he married Cecily of York in 1485, shortly after his coronation. The two would have their first three children within the next five year: Margaret Tudor (b.1587), Mary Tudor (b.1491: d.1495) and Arthur Tudor (b.1490). Cecily then joined her sister in an extended visit to France, which ended up lasting two and a half years, until the death of Arthur Tudor in 1493.

During these years (1485-1493), the French royal nursery introduced three royal siblings: Charles of France (b.1486), Marie of France (b.1490) and Francis of France (b.1493: d.1494). The royal family seemed a quite tight knit group, with the King taking full control of the country in 1490. His elder sister Anne de Beaujeu would write that the country could have no better King and his wife, while the usually quiet Elizabeth of York was said to have called her husband the kindest man in the world. However, most knew the King of France was not the true ruler of the country, no matter how kind he was.

Joan of France, Duchess of Orleans, lived a miserable life as the bride of Louis, Duke of Orleans. The Duke Louis was said to have openly derided the sickly Joan, who spent months at a time away from her cruel husband. She, between the years 1492 and 1494, spent time in England, where she played as an ambassador for her brother. However, she was called back to France by her husband, who continued to talk about how he is cursed with a barren wife.

However, in the case sent to the Pope in 1495 to have the marriage annulled, his case was denied. He put forward that he was too young to have made that decision and obviously the marriage had not been consummated. But, with the seven witnesses to her husband’s boasts to the contrary, the rumours of a pregnancy earlier that year (unfounded), which her husband had encouraged and just the general knowledge that Louis had been very open as to her sexual disappointment, the marriage of Joan of France and Louis, Duke of Orleans stayed put until her death in 1506. After her death he would marry Margaret of Angouleme (b.1492) in 1509 and the two would have two daughters: Joan of Orleans (b.1511) and the short-lived Renee of Orleans (b.1513: d.1515). Unfortunately, the Duke of Orleans died in 1514 and the Duchess of Orleans was left a widow at the young age of 22.

During these trying times for the Orleans couple, the subject of the Dukedom of Brittany was studied. After the death of his two children in 1484, Francis II remarried for a third time in 1487, to Marie de Savoy (Maria of Savoy), who was 14 years old at the time of their union. She would have two children before her husband’s death in 1489: Eleanor (b.1488) and Catherine (b.1489) of Brittany, both of whom died young. After these unfortunate events, the next heir was the Princess of Orange, however, she had renounced her claims upon marriage, for her and her children. The next heir then, now that the Princess of Orange was shown to be unsuitable, was Rene, Duke of Alencon.

He gratefully accepted the title and became: Rene, Duke of Brittany and Alencon. The lands were tied together. With his wife, Margaret of Lorraine, he had three living children: Charles (b.1489), Francoise (b.1490) and Anne (b.1492). The three became great marriage prizes and two would marry the children of Charles VIII of France: Charles of Brittany would marry the Princess Marie of France in 1507, which would produce the children: Anne of Brittany (b.1508), Margaret of Brittany (b.1511) and Rene of Brittany (b.1513), as well as the short lived girls Charlotte of Brittany (b.1519: d.1519) and Isabel of Brittany (b.1520: d.1520). Anne of Brittany, in turn, married Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou (b.1496) in 1512. The marriage, unlike the previous Brittany/Valois marriage described, was a love match and they would have three daughters, two of which would grow to adulthood: Elizabeth of Anjou (b.1514), Joan of Anjou (b.1517: d.1521) and Jacquetta of Anjou (b.1520).

Elizabeth of York and Charles, meanwhile, welcomed the second half of their royal children between the years 1496 and 1502, with the children Philippe (b.1496), Anne (b.1499) and John (b.1500). Unfortunately, Prince John died two years after birth. However, the royal family seemed strong.

Of these other royal children, Anne had the most tragic of ends. A beautiful girl, she attracted the notice of many parties. Up until 1513 she was betrothed to Henry VIII of England (becoming King in 1509). However, the betrothal was broken due to frictions between the two countries after the King of England repeated an offensive ditty about the Queen of France. Anne of France would not take long to find a replacement and in 1514 she was married to Francis, Count of Angouleme, who could have been one of the closest claimants to the French throne. However, he was merely a particularly popular royal favourite. The two’s marriage, however, was cut short after the birth of their first and only child, Margaret of Angouleme in 1515. Both mother and daughter died shortly after the birth and there was much mourning for the pretty French Princess.

In 1502 Louis of France, the Dauphin, married for the first time to Catherine of Aragon. The youngest daughter to the Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs, she was considered a beauty at the time. The two would have 5 children before her unfortunate death due to a tennis accident in 1512: Princess Claude (b.1503), Prince Louis (b.1505: d.1505), Prince Charles (b.1508), Prince John (b.1509: d.1509) and Princess Isabelle (b.1511: d.1512). Of the two living children, only Charles would produce children, due to the severe physical deformities that became apparent in Claude shortly after her birth. She did, however, become an abbess in 1527 and, after much consideration from the Catholic Church, would become a Saint.

In May of 1513, the Dauphin was married for a second time, this time to Anne Tudor, Princess of England. The two would have three children: Philippe (b.1515: d.1515), Marie (b.1516) and Charlotte (b.1520: d.1520). The marriage was unhappy and, upon the death of the Dauphin in 1521, Anne Tudor would undertake a scandalous affair with her stepson, the new Dauphin Charles. The two would have the twin daughters Madeleine and Diane, who became the Mademoiselles de France by reputation. After this, Anne Tudor would marry for a second time to Francis, Count of Angouleme and have three sons: Francis (b.1525), Henri (b.1528) and Charles (b.1531). After these children, she would finally reignite her relationship with Charles IX and would have her last child, Michelle in 1536.

In 1516, Henry VIII of England finally married, after many issues in finding a bride, Eleanor of Austria. The bride he had been given was beautiful and fertile, giving him 6 children over his lifetime: Edward Tudor (b.1518: d.1520), Joan Tudor (b.1520), Mary Tudor (b.1521), Henry Tudor (b.1524), Cecily Tudor (b.1526: d.1529), Elizabeth Tudor (b.1530). Henry VIII and his Queen Eleanor would live two separate and fulfilling lives, only really returning to each other in the times they had to make princes and princesses. After the birth of Elizabeth almost killed the Queen, they agreed to keep separate courts and each in turn took lovers. Henry would find pleasure in a series of mistresses and, after she had finally entered menopause in 1542, Eleanor would take secret lovers.

In Scotland, there was many things that took place. In 1496, after much wrangling, Bridget of York was married to James IV of Scotland. The two would have three living children before her death in 1503: Mary (b.1497), James (b.1500) and Elizabeth (b.1503). The marriage of the Scottish royals was extremely unhappy and Bridget would be known for her extreme piety, which contrasted with her husband’s licentious nature. During her final days, which were considerably painful for the Queen, she spoke of the need for her husband to save his immortal soul and repent his sins. He responded by marrying her niece Margaret Tudor in 1504. The two would have three children before his death at battle in 1515: Alexander, Duke of Ross (b.1508), Dorothea Stewart (b.1511: d.1519) and Arthur Stewart (b.1512: d.1513). He died in a failed attack on England and his children by Margaret Tudor would grow up at their uncle’s English court. The Princess Dorothea was considered a match for a few noblemen, until her death in 1519. Alexander, meanwhile, married an obscure noblewoman named Jane Seymour and would have two sons: Alexander Stewart, his heir (b.1525) and Henry Stewart (b.1529). The two would also welcome three short lived daughters: Catherine Stewart (b.1532: d.1537), Margery Stewart (b.1535: d.1538) and Elizabeth Stewart (b.1537: d.1537).

Elizabeth of York’s last decade or so was quite peaceful and happy. The French Queen enjoyed a good relationship with her husband and would have a much improved health after the end of the sexual relationship with her husband, brought on by the traumatic birth of Prince John in 1500. This meant that, after the death of Prince John in 1502, she would lavish much of her energy on their children, particularly her two youngest: Philippe, Duke of Anjou and Princess Anne of France.

The Queen’s obvious favouritism to her youngest son was one of the few major sources of tension in the family and her efforts to marrying him off to many of the biggest heiresses she could find distressed mainly the Duke of Berry, who fought to marry his cousin Suzanne de Bourbon in 1510, after the death of his first wife, Isabelle of Lorraine. He ultimately won the battle through seduction, getting the Lady Suzanne pregnant in 1511 and marrying her to prevent scandal. Their child, Louis de Berry, would become the Duke of Berry after the death of his father Charles in 1542. Their next child, Peter de Berry (b.1515), would become Peter, Duke of Bourbon after his mother’s death in 1518. She died, unfortunately, giving birth to stillborn twins Anne and Margaret de Berry.

Philippe, Duke of Anjou, would eventually marry Anne of Brittany in a love match. The two would have three children: Elizabeth of Anjou (b.1514), the quickly gone Joan of Anjou (b.1517: d.1521) and Jacquetta of Anjou (b.1520). The children were named for women who Philippe had much love for. Elizabeth was for his mother and grandmother, Joan was for the woman to pull France from the grip of English oppression and Jacquetta was for his great-grandmother. The girls would grow into great beauties and Jacquetta would be considered for her royal English cousins: the Princes Edward Tudor (b.1518: d.1520) and Henry (b.1524). Eventually the girls would each marry well, Elizabeth to Duarte of Portugal, Duke of Guimaraes and Jacquetta to James VI of Scotland.

In Portugal, Elizabeth would live a somewhat quiet life as a new Portuguese Infanta. Her husband was generally a man of homier, domestic tastes and the two would spend the first decade of their marriage in their estates. They enjoyed each other’s company and the two would have four children in this period of their marriage and Elizabeth would fall pregnant seven times, ending up with four living children: Maria (b.1540), Eleanor (b.1543), John (b.1545) and Catarina (b.1548). Duarte, on the advice of doctors, attempted to end their sexual relationship in 1549 after his health began failing and in 1552, in an attempt to help her husband, Elizabeth organised a two year progress through Portugal and Spain to France, to visit her parents. The trip invigorated the couple and their final child, Isabel, was born in 1554. However, on the journey back to Portugal, Duarte forced haste by going by ship, which pushed him into further ill health. Eventually, in 1556, the Portuguese Duke and Prince died at sea. Upon arriving back in Portugal, Elizabeth had her son John proclaimed the new Duke of Guimaraes and returned to their estates to grieve.

Jacquetta, meanwhile, was married in the first few months of 1538 to the Prince of Scotland. A beautiful and social young woman, she became known as a flirt and at the birth of her first child Marie, in 1540, there were rumours that her father-in-law had sired her. In spite of this, to the disappointment of rumour-mongers, Jacquetta and James would become very partial to each other. The turning point in their relationship from cordial to adoring came in 1541, when Jacquetta miscarried twin boys. In the face of such a tragedy, James treated his wife as kindly as possible. The two would have five more children after this: the Princess Christine Stewart (b.1544), the Prince James Stewart (b.1547: d.1558), the Princess Louise Stewart (b.1550), the Prince Alexander Stewart (b.1554: d.1562) and the Princess Margaret Stewart (b.1558: d.1565). Unfortunately, the boys born to the union died young, along with the youngest daughter. This mirrored the difficulties faced with the former Queen, Isabel of Portugal, who lost all but two of her eight children (James VI and Princess Margaret) young and died young at 40. However, with the support of the Scottish court, who respected James even though they did not ultimately respect his wife (The poem “The Lady From The Waters”, about a woman who sleeps with every fish in the ocean, is attributed this a particularly hostile Lady Elizabeth Hay) Princess Marie was made the official heir to the Scottish Throne in 1565. However, she was forced to marry Robert, Duke of Ross in 1566 and the two would detest each other. Lord Robert was a known homosexual, constantly with a new favourite. However, the two managed a son, born in 1568 and named James, and a short lived daughter named Catherine, born in 1573.

In England, Henry VIII contracted a marriage for his children into Spain. Princess Joan married the Infante Philip in 1577 while the Prince of Wales married Infanta Maria in 1540. However, the marriage of the Prince of Wales was troubled and the two would not produce a child for the first 13 years of their marriage, until eventually the Princess Martha was born. She was followed by three brothers, all of whom died young: Henry (b.1555: d.1557), Edmund (b.1558: d.1558) and Edward (b.1559: d.1560). Because of this, Martha became the heir to England.

In Spain, Princess Joan would give birth to three daughters before her death in 1539: Margaret of Austria (b.1535: d.1535), Anna of Austria (b.1537) and Isabella of Austria (b.1538: d.1544). After her death, her husband would marry the Princess Margaret Stewart (b.1531), who gave her four sons before her death 1566: Charles, Prince of Asturias (b.1549), Philip of Austria (b.1555: d.1560), Ferdinand of Austria (b.1557) and Martin of Austria (b.1561).
 
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