So, in early (April?) 1565 Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, fell ill with measles. Mary Queen of Scots famously nursed him back to health and they married shortly thereafter. Said marriage turned out to be very short and very calamitous.
What if he had died?
Lets assume Mary does not go into some depressive grief spiral that ruins her fragile health and causes her to die. Though Mary might go into mourning for a while.
What happens next, marriage wise? Foreign or domestic?
There's England- Elizabeth obviously took a keen interest in Mary's marriage IOTL. She had suggested Bob Dudley but I doubt that would ever happen- both because Mary would be reluctant to marry a Protestant of relatively lowly stock and I doubt Elizabeth would want to see Dudley go north to Scotland permanently. The rumours surrounding Dudley (wife-murdering, sexual relations with Elizabeth, etc.) would likely also prove an impediment. There's also the fact that Dudley himself wasn't too keen on the idea. Norfolk's name as a potential husband obviously came up later, but that was in radically different circumstances.
Anyhow, without the Darnley marriage relations betwixt England and Scotland stay friendly (for a bit longer, at least).
On the foreign front- she'd considered Don Carlos, but he's had his fall and is unmarriageable by this point. Would the Imperial Habsburgs be interested? None of Emperor Max's kids are the right age (his eldest son Rudolf was born in 1552), but his brother Charles is, being born in 1540.
This Charles persistently courted Elizabeth IOTL (and this process was ongoing at the time Darnley dies ITTL) which implies a willingness to relocate to the British Isles (but England is a far greater prize than Scotland). The wiki says Mary's uncle the Cardinal of Lorraine urged her to do this IOTL, but Mary disagreed and Max was lukewarm on the idea.
Am I right in thinking that Elizabeth, being sensitive to such things, would be pissed if Charles ''spurned'' her to marry Mary?
Domestically, who is there? James Hamilton was suggested but he's crazy by this point (though his younger brother John is floating about). Is any domestic match likely to cause unrest because the lords will be disgruntled by one of their number being elevated to the kingship?
Much depends on who she marries, but how much can the lack of the Darnley marriage stabilise Mary's reign? I presume religion will still be a big issue? At minimum, she doesn't have a son whom she can be deposed in favour of.
What if he had died?
Lets assume Mary does not go into some depressive grief spiral that ruins her fragile health and causes her to die. Though Mary might go into mourning for a while.
What happens next, marriage wise? Foreign or domestic?
There's England- Elizabeth obviously took a keen interest in Mary's marriage IOTL. She had suggested Bob Dudley but I doubt that would ever happen- both because Mary would be reluctant to marry a Protestant of relatively lowly stock and I doubt Elizabeth would want to see Dudley go north to Scotland permanently. The rumours surrounding Dudley (wife-murdering, sexual relations with Elizabeth, etc.) would likely also prove an impediment. There's also the fact that Dudley himself wasn't too keen on the idea. Norfolk's name as a potential husband obviously came up later, but that was in radically different circumstances.
Anyhow, without the Darnley marriage relations betwixt England and Scotland stay friendly (for a bit longer, at least).
On the foreign front- she'd considered Don Carlos, but he's had his fall and is unmarriageable by this point. Would the Imperial Habsburgs be interested? None of Emperor Max's kids are the right age (his eldest son Rudolf was born in 1552), but his brother Charles is, being born in 1540.
This Charles persistently courted Elizabeth IOTL (and this process was ongoing at the time Darnley dies ITTL) which implies a willingness to relocate to the British Isles (but England is a far greater prize than Scotland). The wiki says Mary's uncle the Cardinal of Lorraine urged her to do this IOTL, but Mary disagreed and Max was lukewarm on the idea.
Am I right in thinking that Elizabeth, being sensitive to such things, would be pissed if Charles ''spurned'' her to marry Mary?
Domestically, who is there? James Hamilton was suggested but he's crazy by this point (though his younger brother John is floating about). Is any domestic match likely to cause unrest because the lords will be disgruntled by one of their number being elevated to the kingship?
Much depends on who she marries, but how much can the lack of the Darnley marriage stabilise Mary's reign? I presume religion will still be a big issue? At minimum, she doesn't have a son whom she can be deposed in favour of.