Union of a Tudor Rose and a Noble Rose

Hmm, Bothwell, so early? Mary Stuart's reign might be even shorter. He was very jealous during their short marriage, he forbade Mary from taking part in things she loved, and got extremely angry when she even so much as looked at someone besides him. She bewailed the marriage given the circumstances: he was loyal to the crown, but Protestant. Their marriage was a Protestant ceremony and Mary was split between loving him and bewailing her situation.
If there hadn't been a Religious War then she probably wouldn't have married for another 5-10 years, however with the immediate issue of an unstable country that's still massively divided Mary would need to try and stabilise her position as Queen - Marriage and, inevitably, children are the best ways at doing this.

He was Protestant? Oops... I'll have to change the marriage now (see comments below).
Mary Stuart and Mary Tudor would have an OTL relationship like Elizabeth and Mary. Even though Mary had two heirs, they are mere children, which brings Mary only two steps away from the English succession. Mary herself would be more likely to accept her as an heiress if her children died. She even toyed IOTL to name Margaret Douglas her successor over Elizabeth, stating she'd be a much better choice. So I don't see why Mary Tudor would have an issue doing away with Henry VIII's will and giving succession rights to Mary Stuart should Mary Tudor and the heirs of her body go extinct. She's already had two children and is still healthy. She was thirty seven when she became Queen, had two children around 38. She could probably have at least one or two more children. Catherine Parr finally became pregnant at 33; when the Duke of Savoy married Margaret of Valois, the Duchess of Berry, she was 38 too. She bore her only son at 39. Mary could even possibly have a fourth child in her early fourties, before menopause sets in.
I think the Marian relationship would be much better than OTL Mary-Elizabeth, they're both Catholics and wish for their Kingdoms to be reverted to Catholicism. The main difference is that England is already mostly Catholic (again) and will continue along this path, Scotland will be a tough slog, if at all possible. I agree with you and in one of the next updates I'll go into detail over the new 'Marian Settlement' in which Mary, Queen of Scots moves back into the line of succession by Mary I of England's Will.
I think Mary Stuart would take an English husband with Mary Tudor's blessing. Probably Norfolk, as that would be best. I suppose the Lennox Stuart's would work too, given their Tudor connections, but Darnley was... quite unstable. Mary would still be paramount to have position in the line of succession recognized, so I think she'd pick an English husband supported by Mary. After all, Mary and Courtenay wouldn't be callous as Elizabeth was when she suggested Darnley.
I see your point, I think I will change it to Norfolk. You raise valid points and also it would seem the best case for both Mary's. For (Scottish) Mary she creates immediate better relations with (English) Mary, while it gets rid of Norfolk from England. While he was a supporter of the Crown his tutor as a child was John Foxe - Bringing his religious beliefs into potential disrepute. Getting him to marry a devout Catholic in a country that has now got very set ideas on religion.
Also vis-a-vis Elizabeth... Philip II in OTL wanted her to marry the Duke of Savoy. Of course Mary chose Courtenay, but she still seems quite close to the Spanish Habsburgs. Maybe the idea is heeded? After all, Mary has heirs, it'd get Elizabeth out of the country, and effectively cut off her succession rights. Elizabeth might try and refuse, but her position is too weak. I think she could be browbeat into it. OTL Commons would never consent to such a match given she was the heiress presumptive, but Mary is married to an Englishman and has two children.

Another funny idea might have her marry Philip II, especially if he's still widowed following the death of Mary Manuela. If he did remarried, perhaps she could die? It'd be quite... interesting to see Elizabeth as Queen of Spain. Miserable for her, of course, but would be interesting. Philip had a bad track record with his wives dying young or in childbirth... so it could be interesting. Taking Elizabeth out of the country also removes her as a focal point for rebellions. There will be Protestant discontent, but no Elizabeth to rally around. All that would be left is Frances, the Duchess of Suffolk, and her remaining surviving daughters... who were bumbling and not charismatic at all. The only other Protestant would be the Earl of Huntingdon, a dark horse candidate briefly considered to succeed Liz when she became ill in 1562.

Just some friendly suggestions. Thoroughly enjoying this TL. :)
More on Elizabeth and marriage later ;):p
 
Also, from the previous chapters, regarding Mary's burnings. They were actually her idea. She thought it the best way to bring England back into the Catholic fold by "purging heresy out of the land." Philip was actually very opposed to the burnings, and the Imperial Ambassador wrote to him to temper Mary's behaviors as "continued burnings could provoke ill feelings against the Catholics and create a severe situation." The Black Legend would paint Philip II as a bigot, which he certainly was.. but Mary was even more bigoted than him. Still, perhaps Courtenay is less against the burnings and due to her infatuation with him and such, she agrees to temper herself for his sake. Burnings are definitely not the way to go and I'm glad you're avoiding it.
 
Also, from the previous chapters, regarding Mary's burnings. They were actually her idea. She thought it the best way to bring England back into the Catholic fold by "purging heresy out of the land." Philip was actually very opposed to the burnings, and the Imperial Ambassador wrote to him to temper Mary's behaviors as "continued burnings could provoke ill feelings against the Catholics and create a severe situation." The Black Legend would paint Philip II as a bigot, which he certainly was.. but Mary was even more bigoted than him. Still, perhaps Courtenay is less against the burnings and due to her infatuation with him and such, she agrees to temper herself for his sake. Burnings are definitely not the way to go and I'm glad you're avoiding it.
Fair enough, though from my readings it was always Mary being rather bitter that led to the burnings, she was primarily bitter due to her lack of a loving husband (or at least one who was close by) and also the lack of children.
 
Chapter Four: Developments in Spain and Poland​

In the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis Elizabeth of Valois, eldest daughter of Henry II of France was promised to Don Carlos in marriage. However initially this peace got off to a rocky start as the issue of Mary, Queen of Scots cropped up and Philip hoped to marry Carlos off to her and thus spread the Hapsburg influence to another realm in Europe. However with the marriage of Mary to the Duke of Norfolk after the prolonged Scottish Wars of Religion Philip was forced to give the marriage between Carlos and Elizabeth another look. In August of 1563 Elizabeth and Carlos were finally married in Toledo Cathedral, thus finally fulfilling the peace that had been signed some four years previously. Don Carlos cared deeply for his wife and their story was one of true love and affection for a year-and-a-half, however tragedy struck Carlos when Elizabeth gave birth to their only child, a boy. The baby itself was healthy, however Elizabeth wasn’t and within a week of giving birth to the child Elizabeth died of massive internal bleeding. This tragedy hit Carlos hard, he’d already suffered some minor mental instability since childhood and this death of the woman he genuinely loved pushed him over the edge. When told about the death of his wife he flew into a fit of rage and bludgeoned the poor messenger boy to death before the guards could stop him and bind him to stop him harming anyone else.

After this double tragedy hit the Spanish Hapsburgs of the death of Elizabeth and insanity of Carlos Philip II was forced to lock his son away, after this he had his grandson, named Ferdinand, put into care to bring him up away from Carlos. A month after the insanity of Carlos Philip II and Anna of Poland had good news, Anna was pregnant. Philip, though he didn’t love his wife, was genuinely happy over this as he saw her more as a friend than a wife. While there was initial happiness nationwide just a month after the announcement of the pregnancy Anna had a miscarriage, thus scuppering Philips hopes for another child in the immediate future. It would take another two years (1567) before Anna was pregnant again and this time no such tragedy struck, Anna gave birth to a healthy baby boy (physicians noted he was healthier than most normal babies). While there was initial fear Anna would die too she was in fact perfectly healthy and survived the birth, Philip and Anna named the child Charles. However happiness wasn’t to be in the Hapsburg family for long as Carlos died in confinement, thus making his son – Ferdinand, the new heir to the throne.

In 1572 the Poles had a mild dilemma on their hands; Sigismund II had died without an obvious heir to elect. Two initial candidates popped up, the French candidate Henry of Valois (third son of Henry II) and the Hapsburg candidate Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. The electors were stuck on who to elect as they didn’t want Poland to simply become another Hapsburg province, though the support and money from the Hapsburgs would make any wars with Russia or the Ottomans a lot easier. Not only that but the sister of Sigismund II, Anna (wife of Philip II) supported a Hapsburg to be elected to the throne (most likely under influence from Philip II). However the electors still didn’t want to elect Maximilian II, they wanted to have at least some Polish influence in the monarchy still and Maximilian was married to another Hapsburg already, thus barring the possibility of him marrying a Polish Princess. In order to sort this dilemma the candidate changed from Maximilian II to his youngest, unmarried brother – Charles II, Archduke of Austria [1]. Charles would then be married off to Sophia Jagiellon in order to keep some Polish blood in the Crown. This arrangement was accepted by all involved and so, in 1573, Charles was elected to the throne as Karol I of Poland and Grand Duke Charles I of Lithuania. Initially he didn’t gain much support, however a month after being elected he led an army into Poland as a show of force. Rather than descend into civil war the Polish and Lithuanians recognised him and backed down, thus the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth became another Hapsburg territory.

[1] – ITTL he’s not married to Maria Anna of Bavaria.
 
A Hapsburg PLC? Awesome!

Looking down the road a bit, that line could end up ruling a domain exceeding the Jagiellonians before them, and a stronger king in the PLC is probably a good thing for it.
 
A Hapsburg PLC? Awesome!

Looking down the road a bit, that line could end up ruling a domain exceeding the Jagiellonians before them, and a stronger king in the PLC is probably a good thing for it.

Indeed, I agree a Habsburg PLC can be interesting.

ITTL, even more than IOTL, the PLC under the Polish Habsburgs, will ally with the Austrian Habsburgs against the Ottomans. Which will give the possibility of an earlier recovery of the kingdom of Hungary under the Austrian Habsburgs (which from the Habsburg (dynastic) point of view have the legal claim).
However the Polish Habsburgs probably will get involved in the politics of the HRE too.

Internally I wonder whether the Polish Habsburgs have a long term goal of making their Crown hereditary, however as an intermediate step they might settle for a Crown which de facto is hereditary.

Finally, keep up the good work NordicBrit! :)
 
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