Here is a rather mad idea, but it seemed so odd I had to write it down.
Ivan IV of Russia was married to Anastasia of Russia until she died in 1560. He married often sometimes divorcing after jsut a week, and yet as a Monarch his is suited to marry another monarch. So who? At first the answer seemed to be the Holy Roman Empire and the POD would be that Catherine of Austria (1533-1589) would have recieved a divorce when he husband requested one in 1554. That makes her royal, open to a foriegn monarch and so I had this nice big image of a unified Russian-German thing that... and it ended around there.
However I kept looking for a political wife for Ivan. Something to expand his reach into europe, and give him a little helping hand trade, and treasury wise for Ivans Empire building in the later stages of his life. So who? Who in 1560 (forget giving Ivan time to grieve) is open, who is from a nation with access to funds, and would have a women who'd marry Ivan yet only for political reasons. Elizabeth I of England seems like a perfect choice.
So the challenge is to show what happens when, for whatever reason, Ivan the Terrible marries Elizabeth I.
Ivan IV of Russia was married to Anastasia of Russia until she died in 1560. He married often sometimes divorcing after jsut a week, and yet as a Monarch his is suited to marry another monarch. So who? At first the answer seemed to be the Holy Roman Empire and the POD would be that Catherine of Austria (1533-1589) would have recieved a divorce when he husband requested one in 1554. That makes her royal, open to a foriegn monarch and so I had this nice big image of a unified Russian-German thing that... and it ended around there.
However I kept looking for a political wife for Ivan. Something to expand his reach into europe, and give him a little helping hand trade, and treasury wise for Ivans Empire building in the later stages of his life. So who? Who in 1560 (forget giving Ivan time to grieve) is open, who is from a nation with access to funds, and would have a women who'd marry Ivan yet only for political reasons. Elizabeth I of England seems like a perfect choice.
So the challenge is to show what happens when, for whatever reason, Ivan the Terrible marries Elizabeth I.