WI: Elizabeth I Has Only Catholic Heirs

This is a bit of a stretch, but bear with me. Elizabeth I's main choice between heirs in 1600 were as follows:

  • James VI, King of Scots (eldest male from Henry VIII's elder sister, Margaret, Queen of Scots' line from both her 1e and 2e marriages)
  • Arabella Stewart (eldest female, descended from a line junior to James', but only through Margaret's 2e marriage)
  • Edward Seymour, Baron Beauchamp (eldest male from Henry VIII's younger sister, Mary, Queen of France's line. However, his parents' marriage was invalid).
  • Anne Stanley, Baroness Chandos (eldest heir descended from a legitimate marriage from Mary, Queen of France)
Of these, most were Protestant. Yet Arabella and Baroness Chandos' father were both implicated in Catholic plans (Arabella was to be made queen of England and married to the duke of Parma's brother, for instance; Lord Stanley in the Heskeith Plot). James' mother was Catholic and his wife later converted, plus he seemed very interested in finding a Catholic match for his son(s). Seymour I can't find anything on (religiously speaking).

Now, say all four of these main heirs somehow end up going Catholic at some point during Elizabeth's reign. That it becomes clear to her ministers that the next person, with a claim to the throne of England, is a Catholic. What happens next?
 
They probably look further down. The Hastings Earls of Huntingdon, descended from George of Clarence, were staunchly Protestant, and one of them had been mentioned as a possible successor during Elizabeth's near-fatal illness in 1562
 
If there are no feasible Protestant relations, could the English parliament advertise for a minor foreign prince? (Ideally a younger son, to avoid potential personal unions.)

Alternatively, could they require an "acceptable" Catholic candidate maintain the Church of England as Protestant, in exchange for moderating the restrictions against Catholics?
 
Tudor's ruled by conquest not inheritance so that effectively ends any other claimants - if you extinguish the Tudor line -

Honestly - Elizabeth's lack of a direct heir as she aged began to bother her courtiers and parliament less because they had an alternative in the Protestant-raised James of Scotland - if he dies young say without issue (because it is exceptionally unlikely that he converts) and he is succeeded in Scotland by the Hamilton's - then you have a bigger issue in terms of the other heirs.

Arbella is the nearest heir by primogeniture to England - and was raised in the Protestant faith - the marriage to one of the Farnese was more Papal wishful thinking and was scotched by Elizabeth before Arbella was even approached - hardly evidence of her favouring Catholicism - she later got herself into trouble by rumours she wanted to marry Seymour - ironically she eventually fell for William Seymour when James was King.

In reality its hard to see circumstances where all the putative heirs were Catholic given they were all either English or Scots by birth.

Stanley's religion (Ferdinando Earl of Derby) was up for debate but even Catholic's who hoped he was on their side were aware of his ambiguity - he himself turned Hesketh over to Burghley - his daughter's were all raised in the Protestant faith - under Statute his mother (Derby predeceased his mother) and then his daughter were the legal heirs to Elizabeth.

The court has a problem given that Elizabeth loathed most of her relations (and she would never consent to the Seymour's being made legitimate as it would make a joke of her insistence that Catherine Grey's marriage was invalid)

Other alternatives - would be the Hastings - the senior heirs of line of Richard Duke of York (George Duke of Clarence - Margaret Pole - Henry Pole - Catherine Pole - Henry 4th Earl of Huntingdon)
Henry the 3rd Earl was married to a Dudley but was childless (he died in 1595) - his heir was his brother George the 4th Earl - whose heir was his grandson - Henry.
The 3rd Earl was a devout Puritan which would have made him quite an unattractive choice to Elizabeth and some on her council.
Ironically Henry the 5th Earl would marry Elizabeth the youngest daughter of Ferdinando Earl of Derby (and legally she was third in line at the time of her marriage in 1601 under Henry VIII's will)
 
Tudor's ruled by conquest not inheritance so that effectively ends any other claimants - if you extinguish the Tudor line -

Honestly - Elizabeth's lack of a direct heir as she aged began to bother her courtiers and parliament less because they had an alternative in the Protestant-raised James of Scotland - if he dies young say without issue (because it is exceptionally unlikely that he converts) and he is succeeded in Scotland by the Hamilton's - then you have a bigger issue in terms of the other heirs.

I don't know. If his mom isn't deposed and has a say over his upbringing, I think the possibility of him being raised as a Protestant goes way down. That said, wasn't there the question at the Scots' court about just who was the rightful heir should James VI die without issue? The Hamiltons were the senior most, but there was something about the duke of Chatellerault's (or his parents') marriage being a bit fishy - the divorce from the first wife wasn't even through when he married the second wife or somesuch - and the Lennox Stewarts were also regarded as James' heirs IIRC
 
If James isn't offered the throne, there may be a war (started by James for the throne). After all, it's been pointed out here that the Tudors came to the throne by conquest.

Who among the English nobility has a son (or is unmarried for whatever reason) to be Arbella's husband and the ability to command/rally support from the other nobles? Arbella is in her late twenties and presumably able to have children. OTL, she didn't wed until after Elizabeth's death, so she's single and for the taking (Bothwell & Mary Stuart, anyone?).
 
Is there a Plantagenet descendant around at this time? Arabella could marry him and consolidate claims to the throne.
 
Is there a Plantagenet descendant around at this time? Arabella could marry him and consolidate claims to the throne.

There were quite a few Plantagenets around.

The Stafford family (staunchly Protestant) was descended from George of Clarence, while the Howard Dukes of Suffolk (a Protestant branch of that family) sprang from the Dukes of Buckingham, who were of Beaufort stock. The Dukes of Rutland were descended from Anne Plantagenet, elder sister of Edward IV et al.

More distantly, the late Earl of Essex (!!) was descended from Isabel Plantagenet, aunt of the Yorkist kings. But in the circs of 1603 I don't suppose his family would have much chance.:)
 
Top