WI: Edward IV Denies Richard Anne Neville

Savoy seems a rather poor match for the king's eldest sister. Also, here there's no Margarethe of Austria-Burgundy to displace her, which means she'd most likely get first jump at the French king. And France is going to be wanting that match even more if Plantagenets are ruling in England and Burgundy. The only other match, besides Anne of Brittany - who I assume has either been married to Charles VIII here or not been born or died in infancy - mentioned for Charles VIII was Charlotte of Naples for a brief minute between Margarethe of Austria and Anne of Brittany. Now, Elizabeth can be married to Charles by Louis XI's death, whereas Anne is likely to still be in single digits. And her being replaced by Isabelle/Elizabeth of Burgundy makes no sense, since Isabelle would have two brothers ahead of her, plus a surviving mother as duchess-regnant, unlike Margarethe, who was heiress presumptive once Marie died in a freak accident OTL (which was why the French threw Lizzie over for her).

As to another possibility for Lizzie, Maximilian of Austria expressed interest in her as a second wife OTL. She's born in '65, so a marriage won't be happening before 1480, but Maximilian would be more likely to take one of the OTL proposed matches with either England (Lizzie) or Sophia of Poland than some random princess of Saxe-Lauenburg.

Margarethe of Burgundy has been replaced by Elizabeth of Burgundy in the position of future-Queen of France. Elizabeth, now set aside, was too late to marry Maximilian of Austria, who, for lack of any better options married the Saxon girl. So, in the regency years, with her mother worried about the lack of available Kings, she married the Duke of Savoy. Anne of Brittany has been born here, and around 1490 Elizabeth of Burgundy would be set aside for her with Charles VIII, leaving her free to probably marry Juan of Asturias. Margarethe was also betrothed to the King of France because Burgundy was a better ally OTL, due to proximity and their already strong relations with Spain, both of which apply here. The betrothal to Elizabeth of Burgundy also causes cracks in the Anglo/Burgundy alliance, which helps France a great deal.

Matches, betrothals and children as of 1487:

Richard Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester (b.1452) m. Mary de Valois-Burgundy, Duchess of Burgundy, Brabant, Limburg, Lothier, Luxemburg and Guelders; the Margravine of Namur; the Countess Palatine of Burgundy; the Countess of Artois, Flanders, Charolais, Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland and Zutphen (b.1457) (a)

1a) Elizabeth of Burgundy (b.1474) b. Charles de Valois, VIII of France (b.1470)

2a) Charles of Burgundy, Heir to the Duchies of Burgundy, Brabant, Limburg, Lothier, Luxemburg and Guelders; the Margraves of Namur; the County Palatine of Burgundy; the Counties of Artois, Flanders, Charolais, Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland and Zutphen (b.1478) b. Maria of Burgundy (b.1482)

3a) Francis of Burgundy, Heir to the Duchy of Gloucester (b.1482) b. Charlotte of Naples (b.1480)

4a) Margarethe of Burgundy (b.1486) b. James Stewart (b.1486)
Edward Plantagenet, IV of England, Lord of Ireland (b.1442: d.1483) m. Elizabeth Woodville (b.1437) (a)

1a) Elizabeth of York (b.1466) m. Charles I of Savoy, Duke of Savoy (b.1468) (a)

1a) Charles Edward Philibert of Savoy, Heir to the Duchy of Savoy (b.1487)
2a) Mary of York (b.1467: d.1482)

3a) Cecily of York (b.1469) m. James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, Heir to the Kingdom of Scotland (b.1473) (a)

1a) James Stewart (b.1486)
4a) Edward Plantagenet, V of England, Lord of Ireland (b.1470) m. Isabella of Naples (b.1470) (a)

5a) Margaret of York (b.1472: d.1472)

6a) Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and Norfolk (b.1473) m. Anne de Mowbray, Duchess of Norfolk (b.1472: d.1481) (a)

7a) Anne of York (b.1475) b. James Stewart, Duke of Ross (b.1476) (a)

8a) George Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford (b.1477: d.1479)

9a) Catherine of York (b.1479) b. Juan de Trastámara, Prince of Asturias and Girona (b.1478) (a)

10a) Bridget of York (b.1480)
Sir Richard Grey (b.1457: d.1487) m. Anne Neville (b.1456) (a)

1a) Edward Grey (b.1473) b. Anne St. Leger, Baroness de Ros (b.1476) (a)

2a) Richard Grey (b.1478) b. Muriel Howard (c.1480)

3a) Lionel Grey (b.1483)
Maximilian von Hapsburg, King of the Romans, Heir to the Archduchy of Austria, and the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola (b.1459) m. Sophia of Saxe-Lauenburg (c.1460) (a)

1a) Maximilian von Hapsburg (b.1476) b. Juana of Aragon (b.1479)/Anne of Brittany (b.1478)

2a) Eleanor von Hapsburg (b.1479)

3a) Frederick von Hapsburg (b.1483: d.1483)
 

Wasn't Anne's fertility kinda iffy? Could she have three kids, and live?

I know you said further upthread that Richard is popular for not appropriating any titles, but wouldn't he/his son get some of Warwick's titles as part of their share of the Neville inheritance (especially once George is out of the way and can't protest)? IOTL Edward of Middleham was created Earl of Salisbury.
 
Wasn't Anne's fertility kinda iffy? Could she have three kids, and live?

I know you said further upthread that Richard is popular for not appropriating any titles, but wouldn't he/his son get some of Warwick's titles as part of their share of the Neville inheritance (especially once George is out of the way and can't protest)? IOTL Edward of Middleham was created Earl of Salisbury.

Anne's fertility may have just been an awkward pairing with Richard, or she may have had short-lived/stillborn/miscarried children along with her OTL son. With Richard Grey, she might have had better luck. He did, after all, come from an extremely fertile family. I think 3 surviving children, over 10 years, with 5 years between each, should give her enough time to recover each time. I've read theories that she suffered multiple miscarriages, that may have ruined her health and led to an early death. She also may have been a victim of the cold in Northern England, which may also have not been an issue ITL, if she spent more time in London, with brief journeys North to inspect lands and the like. I also did not mention Anne is still healthy, just that she has survived her husband as of late.

The same sort of ideas come with the marriage of Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Mary of Burgundy. Obviously she hasn't died due to a horse riding accident ITL, and she did have two healthy pregnancies OTL, so we know she's fertile. Again, I have tried to space them out, and I do theorize that Richard of York and Anne Neville were just unlucky/a bad genetic match. They were, after all, cousins, and their most direct comparison, George of York and Isabel Neville, had 4 known children, of which 2 survived infancy. That close familial relationship probably did not help them, and with a marriage for each outside the family tree, there was more hope for surviving children.

As to Richard Grey's titles and ambitions, that's a matter of his hopes and dreams. He'd been Regent for 4 years, but during that time rode a sort of tight rope. His son was betrothed to the King's first cousin, after rumours he might marry one of the Princesses left many furious. His brother was constantly looking to take over, as was his mother and many of the biggest noblemen of the country, in particular the Duke of Buckingham. So any large grants to his family were hard to do without upsetting the balance. By serving the King well, he hoped to have the King himself grant him a title, possibly as high as a Dukedom, although he realistically aimed to become an Earl. With his death, however, the King looks to his nephews, remembers that their father, his brother, was a kind man who taught him well, and with that has allowed their wardship to go to his widow. That in itself is a great gift, as the young Edward Grey is now the heir to one of the richest estates in England, and betrothed to a girl who herself is one of the richest heiresses. Richard Grey the Younger, meanwhile, is betrothed to the Howard girl, despite the Howards not having the Dukedom of Norfolk or the Earldom of Surrey. What they do have, however, is strong, royal blood, and a healthy disposition. Lionel is set for the church, and lives away from his mother at a religious house. Richard Grey the Elder wasn't expecting to die of poisoning/food poisoning, and given a year or two, would have let the King into his personal rule gently, been granted a title and maybe fathered a fourth child. Instead, he has left his family in the King's goodwill, and the King is quite kind to them.
 
@Kynan: As I said, besides Mary of Burgundy, the only other match that was considered for Max as a first wife was Sophia of Poland - who's royal (as opposed to this girl from Lauenburg who's father is not even of electoral status). Besides, Sophia of Poland married in 1479, and she was only a year older than Lizzie.

I get that Elizabeth misses marrying him the first time round, but the reasoning for her not getting the king of France is still iffy. Charles VIII (or rather his father) threw Elizabeth over for Margarethe of Austria after Duchess Marie of Burgundy died, with the hope of snatching up some of the Burgundian lands that weren't covered by Salic Law, because if Philippe le Bel died, Margarethe would've inherited the lot (Burgundy, Austria's a whole different story). Here, Isabelle of Burgundy won't even be that, one, her mom's still alive, two, she's got two brothers ahead of her in the succession, so she's can't snag anything (which means that on the face of it, to France, wanting to beat back the Plantagenet tide, she's useless, since Richard isn't going to betray his family in England for the king of France's gold - George maybe, Richard unlikely (he was loyal to his brother and nephew until he wasn't), Marie possibly, but still unlikely, since she was close to her stepmother (who also happened to be English).
 
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