Tradgedy at Westminster: The Death of Henry VIII

Tragedy at Westminster: The Death of Henry VIII
Chapter 1
1511

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In 1511 England appeared to be in wonderful shape. Not only had the Wars of the Roses become a distant memory but the Kingdom itself was in the best shape it had been since the early years of Edward III's rule. The King Henry VIII, descended from both Lancaster and York, was young, brave, and eager. To top this all off the King's wife Catherine of Aragon had just given birth to the couple's first surviving child, which was a son (much to the delight of his father). Celebrations were ordered all across the Kingdom as the heir to the throne, Prince Henry the Duke of Cornwall, enjoyed his first few days of life. The joy would not last however and darker days loomed on the horizon.

Henry VIII took part in the massive celebrations held across the Kingdom by participating in a jousting tournament. Under the banner "Sir Loyal Heart" the King sought to further the already blossoming relationship between himself and his wife, Catherine of Aragon who was likewise enamored with him. The jousting began uneventful, but soon turned violent by midday when Henry was throne from his horse with deep injuries. The wounds were too deep for medical assistance and so the King called upon Catherine as well as some of his other advisers. He ordered for Catherine to be named regent for the couple's son upon his death before dying in the early hours of the morning.

Catherine, a foreigner, knew that several steps had to be taken to prevent any pretenders and revolts from arising. With the backing of those whom had been at Henry VIII's deathbed, the Queen Dowager waited several days to announce the death of her husband. During this period she began to plan her regency and worked to earn the loyalty of many English families and nobles. It took 1 week after Henry died in the tournament for the news to be officially released, although rumors had circulated throughout the country on the fact that he had been injured. Catherine enjoyed broad support which was only broadened by sympathy for her loss. Henry had been struck down despite a promising future and his heir was only weeks old.

The news caused a large amount of attention from abroad. While Castille and Aragon were somewhat bolstered by good luck (Catherine's father was in control of both realms), France and Scotland were suspicious. Rumors abounded in the French Royal Court that Catherine sought to arrange Henry's death due to an affair and that Henry IX wasn't even the king's son at all. Likewise, these spread to Scotland where James IV began to prepare an invasion, using the rumors as an excuse to install his wife Margaret Tudor, who was first in line to the throne, was Queen. He departed Edinburgh with a large force in August 1511 and set out to snuff out Catherine's regency before it got too established. He expected significant French support, which had been guaranteed by ambassadors from Paris and believed Spain wound not involve itself in such a distant dispute.

Catherine took the news of the advancing Scottish Army extremely well. The Queen Dowager had been facing increasing opposition from a few nobles who viewed her as too much of a foreign influence. The news of James IV's actions brought them back into line however. A Spanish Princess ruling from London appeared to many to be better than an English Princess ruling from Edinburgh. Catherine knew that a failure in dealing with Scotland would likely not only cost her her job as regent but also could lead to her death. She dispatched an army to head north and in the meantime used the threat to a three way invasion (England, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire) as a way of deterring French recognition of Margaret Tudor, much to Scotland's dismay.

When news reached James of France's lack of support, the morale in his army crashed to an extreme low. Many men deserted in order to return to their families, viewing the war as already lost, despite James' promises of land, glory, and gold to those who stayed. With his numbers greatly reduced by desertion and disease throughout September, the Scots resorted to pillaging settlements in Northumbria. This in turn infuriated many local who had largely been indifferent to the conflict. When Catherine's army arrived in October the location of James' men was given to them by several peasants whom had had their homes raided and destroyed.

The two armies made battle just outside of Carlisle. James' men were severely outnumbered and lacked morale and so it was only mid-morning when the retreat was sounded. The Scots didn't expect a second group of soldiers to be flanking them however, and fled right into another group of English soldiers who massacred them among those killed was the second in line to the Scottish throne, John Stewart and the King's illegitimate son Alexander. James was caught and taken prisoner as the few men who escaped fled back towards Scotland.

When news of James' defeat reached Edinburgh, the situation became extremely dire. The next in line to the throne, after the King's slain cousin John Stewart, was not even from the House of Stewart. All of James III's and James II's legitimate descendants were deceased and so the throne would technically pass down to John Douglas, the Earl of Morton. John was descended from James I via his 5th daughter and was one of the few who had legitimate claim to the throne. By December John arrived in Edinburgh to officially push for the ousting of James IV, although this was considered improper and wrong as James IV was merely imprisoned, not deceased or mentally ill. Matters got even worse when it became clear that Margaret Tudor was pregnant, having conceived in July, a month before her husband's departure.

Queen Dowager Catherine had James IV moved to the Tower of London where she decided that England would watch the current events in Scotland unfold before taking action. While she wished for the Scots to choose to keep James as king, despite his imprisonment by the English (which had led to great troubles for James I many years prior), and believed that if the realm descended into Civil War, it would be beneficial for England. If John Douglas was given the throne however, further action would be taken including the prospective release of James IV to add additional confusion and leave the doorway for an English invasion of Scotland open.

 
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Asami

Banned
You better get the Anglican church into existance, even if Henry VIII had a child 22 years before Catherine lost her head >:<
 
You better get the Anglican church into existance, even if Henry VIII had a child 22 years before Catherine lost her head >:<

Catherine didnt lose her head....she naturally died (cancer i believe), after he divorced her and shunned her away from court and their daughter....your thinking of Anne Boelyn (mother of Elizabeth) and Catherine Howard
 
Tragedy at Westminster: The Death of Henry VIII
Chapter 2
1512
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Chaos in Scotland continued as the year 1512 dawned. England, while still technically at war with the nation due to the surprise attack by James IV, stopped advancing into the territory in order to allow it to dismantle itself and give them an excuse for further involvement. Catherine was for the most part content with England's now increased standing in European affairs. France however, was not. King Louis XII announced his support for John Douglas in January 1512, believing that Scotland under him would be more stable than under the regency of Margaret, who was English. He pledged several thousand troops to fight for the House of Douglas and managed to sneak them by the English by taking the far way around Ireland.

Upon hearing the news of France's support for her enemy, Margaret Tudor sent several messages to Catherine of Aragon and her sister Mary Tudor. She evoked sympathy from Catherine when describing her position of being a foreigner not entirely trusted by the people, Catherine changed little and continued her wait and see policy regarding the Scottish Civil War. With her advisers she drew up proposals regarding the child Margaret was pregnant with. If it was a male, Catherine would keep James IV in captivity, as the country would undoubtedly be further divided. The prospect of a regency was not attractive to many Scotsmen and Catherine knew this. If James and Margaret had a daughter she would be betrothed to Henry IX in exchange for the release of James IV. Not only would the fact that the child was female ensure the end of the house of Stewart, but it would also ensure the English inheritance of Scotland as opposed to the Scottish inheritance of England(assuming James and Margaret had no further children).

On April 9th, 1512 Margaret gave birth to a daughter in Edinburgh, much to her personal disappointment. It appeared that her position had been weakened (largely due to the fact that she was unaware of the English plots behind her back) and caused several clans to switch their allegiance from the House of Stewart to the House of Douglas. John Douglas gained French troops during this period as well, much to his relief, who pledged to fight for him. Everything would soon change however.

Catherine reacted happily to the news that a daughter had been born to the Scottish King and Queen. A messenger was sent north to Margaret offering a marriage between Henry IX and Margaret and was accepted almost immediately by Margaret Tudor. England was to enter the war against Scotland and release James IV and in return Scotland would likely become an English possession. This alarmed France, who realized their mistake in supporting John as in the event of James' victory the Auld Alliance would be finished, and caused Pope Julius II (who had been largely silent on issues involving the war) to officially proclaim the Stewarts the legitimate rulers of Scotland.

James IV and a sizable English force reentered Scotland in June and swiftly moved north. Margaret Tudor and the couple's daughter, and heiress to the throne, moved South where they met James in early July. John Douglas moved south as well with an army of the nobles who stood by him despite James' return. The two men did battle a few miles from the capitol, Edinburgh,

James' army crushed John Douglas'. John fled north into the highlands with his now few supporters and eventually went to France where he was an unwelcome reminder of the defeat in Scotland and the loss on an ally. John died just 2 months after arriving in Paris and it was believed by many that Louis XII had him poisoned. His eldest son, James Douglas, and his wife Jane Crichton, both abandoned by John in Scotland, proclaimed their loyalty to James IV and renounced any claim they had to the throne.

Despite the instability which had plagued the nation for the previous year and a half Scotland soon recovered. James IV was only a reluctant partner of the English however, and began trying for further children in order to keep both his house and his throne viable. Margaret suffered a miscarriage in November, much to the disappointment of the Scottish Court, but further attempts were made.

Meanwhile in London Catherine of Aragon only faced token opposition over the fact that the King was to marry a Scottish noble. She was ruling England better than many men had, and began to shake the stigma against females inheriting the throne. France was at bay, the treasury was full, and the realm was stable.
 
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James died just 2 months after arriving in Paris and it was believed by many that Louis XII had him poisoned. His eldest son, James Douglas, and his wife Jane Crichton, both abandoned by John in Scotland, proclaimed their loyalty to James IV and renounced any claim they had to the throne.

It should be John not James dying in Paris.

And the year should be 1512.

But interesting stuff, I think I can guess that Henry IX will die soon.
 
Catherine didnt lose her head....she naturally died (cancer i believe), after he divorced her and shunned her away from court and their daughter....your thinking of Anne Boelyn (mother of Elizabeth) and Catherine Howard

Catherine of Aragon was from Royal descent (the house of Trastamara) and she was related to the Holy Roman Emperor, king of Castille, Aragon etc. Charles V of Habsburg and king of Bohemia & Hungary (and later also king of the Romans) Ferdinand I of Habsburg, which were her nephews.
All those diplomatic implications saved her life, but it didn't save her from her life being made miserable though.
 
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