WI: Charles I of England Marries a Spanish Princess?

During the reign of King James I of England, there was a royal marriage proposal that was brought up between his son, the future King Charles I, and the Spanish Infanta Maria Anna, who would later go on to marry Ferdinand III of the Holy Roman Empire. This was intended to be accompanied by a treaty where the Spanish agreed not to interfere in Ireland and England agreed not to allow privateers to screw around in the Caribbean. Additionally, Spain would pay 600k pounds (with inflation that must be a fuckload today) to James so he wouldn't have to make concessions to Parliament for money like what happened with his son years later. The Protestant-dominated Parliament hated the Match because of the recent outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, which, alongside the King's sidelining of native English men for the Spanish would probably cause some great derision between the King and Parliament. Anyway, when the then-Prince Charles and the Duke of Buckingham secretly went to Madrid to arrange the marriage, they found that Maria Anna would only agree if Charles would convert to Catholicism, which he refused to do, as well as repeal the Penal Laws against Catholicism in Ireland. The two then returned to England empty-handed, and Charles would become King in 1625, eventually marrying Henriette Marie of France.

What if Charles and Maria Anna had been married? James would die soon after and he and Maria Anna would be the first Catholics to rule in England in 65 years since the death of Queen Mary, which would piss off the hell out of Parliament and possibly even cause rebellions like those of the Monmouth's when James II ascended the throne. I would assume he would be inspired by the Spanish and attempt to rule as even more of an absolute monarch than OTL, and any rebellions that would sprung up could probably be put down somewhat easily given the Infanta's dowry. I would expect him to pass a law that would permit Catholicism to be freely practiced within England, albeit stopping short of making it the official religion of his kingdom, and when the Bishop's War with Scotland would come up he would probably be more successful in his venture, given that he would have a huge sum of money at his disposal. I could see him sending support to Spinola in the Netherlands against the Dutch, as the English begin to notice the Dutch naval prowess and, given their already-existing alliance with the Spanish, decide to give the Spanish a bit of free help in their war.

Thoughts?
 
Might not be the most important impact, but the Baron Baltimore fell out of favor as a result of his support for the Match and began colonizing in response. If it succeeds, he probably stays involved in English politics a lot longer, which in turn butterflies a lot in North America as Baltimore was involved in colonizing both Newfoundland and, via his sons, Maryland.
 
Did Charles/James have any intention of actually keeping the terms of the agreement re: Charles' conversion, toleration for English Catholics etc, though?
 
Did Charles/James have any intention of actually keeping the terms of the agreement re: Charles' conversion, toleration for English Catholics etc, though?
They damn well would if they want Spain's money.

Also, this brings another issue to my attention. Due to the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, it is near imperative that the Winter Queen, a Stuart, marries someone other than Frederick of the Rhine, perhaps Victor Amadeus of Savoy, who was a suitor of hers and, even better, an ally of Spain.
 
If Charles did convert, there would be absolute hell to pay at home, and, frankly, in light of that fact and Spanish opposition to the union, there’s no chance of the match ever happening, to be honest.

The Spanish match caper that Charles and Buckingham pulled was so absurd that it was very unlikely to end in anything but disaster, even though I suppose the ‘Patriot Coalition’ came from it. If the marriage does happen - and, by the way, Olivares never really wanted the match to go through, but strung Charles and Villiers along - then expect the British populace to really dislike Charles, who was briefly very popular in the wake of his return from Spain.
 
If Charles did convert, there would be absolute hell to pay at home, and, frankly, in light of that fact and Spanish opposition to the union, there’s no chance of the match ever happening, to be honest.

The Spanish match caper that Charles and Buckingham pulled was so absurd that it was very unlikely to end in anything but disaster, even though I suppose the ‘Patriot Coalition’ came from it. If the marriage does happen - and, by the way, Olivares never really wanted the match to go through, but strung Charles and Villiers along - then expect the British populace to really dislike Charles, who was briefly very popular in the wake of his return from Spain.
But there wasn't hell to pay at home for the Duke of York when he converted. He only lost popularity when he tried to create an absolute monarchy, establish religious tolerance, and form a standing army all at the same time, which was very out of convention for English kings. Of course, by that time many of the Puritans of Britain had been expelled from power of course...
 
But there wasn't hell to pay at home for the Duke of York when he converted. He only lost popularity when he tried to create an absolute monarchy, establish religious tolerance, and form a standing army all at the same time, which was very out of convention for English kings. Of course, by that time many of the Puritans of Britain had been expelled from power of course...
Charles converts to Catholicism expect there to be murmurings of discontent that could spread
To war
 
Exclusion crisis? Rye house plot? Monmouth and Argyll Rebellions?
And all of those went down in shambles. The Duke of York was very popular when he initially came to the throne. There would likely be rebellions against Charles, but with the Infanta's dowry, he could hire whatever huge army he needed to put them down.
 
They damn well would if they want Spain's money.

Also, this brings another issue to my attention. Due to the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, it is near imperative that the Winter Queen, a Stuart, marries someone other than Frederick of the Rhine, perhaps Victor Amadeus of Savoy, who was a suitor of hers and, even better, an ally of Spain.

Um...at the time of Liz's marriage her older brother was still alive and Maria Anna would've been too young. Besides, it was the whole crapfest that WAS Friedrich V of the Palatinate accepting the Bohemian throne which turned James towards a Spanish Match to begin with. He wanted to play "mediator" between the Catholics and the Protestants. Before the 30YW he looked at French or Italian candidates for his sons.

So to go change Liz's wedding means to derail the reason for Charles needing a Spanish match. In fact, if she weds a Catholic - whether the duke of Savoy, Parma or Louis XIII - chances are very good Charls will wind up married to a Protestant for similar reasons as what James attempted to get a Catholic match for him OTL
 
And all of those went down in shambles. The Duke of York was very popular when he initially came to the throne. There would likely be rebellions against Charles, but with the Infanta's dowry, he could hire whatever huge army he needed to put them down.

Army's cost money. And an infanta's dowry - no matter how stupendous - will not last indefinitely. Charles - no matter which way you slice it - is bound to fumble the ball at some point. The man's stubborn and arrogant. Now you've just given him money that he's rich, stubborn and arrogant. Problem is when that money runs out. What does he do? I foresee a TTL ECW here
 
Um...at the time of Liz's marriage her older brother was still alive and Maria Anna would've been too young.

I agree with your general point re: Liz's marriage being too early to affect thinking on Charles, but pretty sure she married Fred after Henry had died?
 
I agree with your general point re: Liz's marriage being too early to affect thinking on Charles, but pretty sure she married Fred after Henry had died?

Was just before. Henry was going to go with his sister to Germany to find a decent Protestant wife for himself
 
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