WI: French Wars of Religion with King Edward VI of England

King Edward VI of England is described as being as staunchly loyal to Protestantism as his sister, Mary, was staunchly loyal to Catholicism. Assuming he avoids or survives the illness that killed him IOTL and still marries Elisabeth of Valois, he would have been around during the start of the French Wars of Religion between the Catholics and the Huguenots.

Basically, would being married into the French royal family have stopped Edward from giving aid to the Huguenots? Personally, the only things I could see him getting out of joining would be:

1. A souring of relations and trade between England and France.
2. The loss of Calais.
3. Any expelled Huguenots.
4. A strain on the treasury.

Your thoughts?
 
King Edward VI of England is described as being as staunchly loyal to Protestantism as his sister, Mary, was staunchly loyal to Catholicism. Assuming he avoids or survives the illness that killed him IOTL and still marries Elisabeth of Valois, he would have been around during the start of the French Wars of Religion between the Catholics and the Huguenots.

Basically, would being married into the French royal family have stopped Edward from giving aid to the Huguenots? Personally, the only things I could see him getting out of joining would be:

1. A souring of relations and trade between England and France.
2. The loss of Calais.
3. Any expelled Huguenots.
4. A strain on the treasury.

Your thoughts?

Well, how much influence does Elisabeth have on Edward? France isn't always the most consistent alliance to have so it's definitely plausible that relations between England and France have soured by that point. Also, Edward felt that he could persuade Elisabeth to his beliefs so maybe Elisabeth becomes Protestant after a few years of being married, if not I could see Edward shutting her out of politics. Besides, Edward's faith was of the utmost importance to him. Edward very well may send aid to the Huguenots even if he's married to Elisabeth.
 
Well, how much influence does Elisabeth have on Edward? France isn't always the most consistent alliance to have so it's definitely plausible that relations between England and France have soured by that point. Also, Edward felt that he could persuade Elisabeth to his beliefs so maybe Elisabeth becomes Protestant after a few years of being married, if not I could see Edward shutting her out of politics. Besides, Edward's faith was of the utmost importance to him. Edward very well may send aid to the Huguenots even if he's married to Elisabeth.

Elisabeth is described as being shy and timid, similar to Jane Seymour, so the relationship between Edward VI and Elisabeth of Valois could be similar to that of Edward's own parents. Alternatively, Elisabeth could just as easily come out of her shell, and I could easily see the relationship ending almost the same way as Tsar Peter III and Catherine II of Russia. She was also said to be close friends with Mary, Queen of Scots, so if the queen ends up captured by Edward, she might try to help her.

As for the French position, like you said, France isn't always consistent. King Henry II of France severely persecuted Huguenots while allying with the Protestant princes of the Holy Roman Empire against Emperor Ferdinand, Francis II and Charles IX were under the influence of their mother, Catherine de' Medici, a devout Catholic but who was willing to work with the Protestant Princes of Conde against the zealous House of Guise, and Henry III and Francis-Hercules of Anjou both became or were inclined towards Protestantism.

Depending on which King is on the French throne, Edward could also become King of the Netherlands. IOTL, before becoming a republic, the Dutch asked both Francis, Duke of Anjou and Queen Elizabeth of England to be their ruler/protector.
 
Elisabeth is described as being shy and timid, similar to Jane Seymour, so the relationship between Edward VI and Elisabeth of Valois could be similar to that of Edward's own parents. Alternatively, Elisabeth could just as easily come out of her shell, and I could easily see the relationship ending almost the same way as Tsar Peter III and Catherine II of Russia. She was also said to be close friends with Mary, Queen of Scots, so if the queen ends up captured by Edward, she might try to help her.

As for the French position, like you said, France isn't always consistent. King Henry II of France severely persecuted Huguenots while allying with the Protestant princes of the Holy Roman Empire against Emperor Ferdinand, Francis II and Charles IX were under the influence of their mother, Catherine de' Medici, a devout Catholic but who was willing to work with the Protestant Princes of Conde against the zealous House of Guise, and Henry III and Francis-Hercules of Anjou both became or were inclined towards Protestantism.

Depending on which King is on the French throne, Edward could also become King of the Netherlands. IOTL, before becoming a republic, the Dutch asked both Francis, Duke of Anjou and Queen Elizabeth of England to be their ruler/protector.

I think Edward would be inclined to accept such a proposition. He's not going to be as cautious as Elizabeth.
 
Could be interesting but could just as easily be a disaster for England. After all Mary's decision to join her husband's war lead to the loss of Calais while Elizabeth's Huguenot intervention and seizure of Le Havre led to the French temporarily uniting to retake that city. Having a King instead of a Queen on the English throne wouldn't make much of a difference in terms of military success. So I'd guess Edward VI basically ends up a combo of Mary and Elizabeth in terms of France: intervenes in the early 1560s, loses Calais and is forced to retreat from intervening anymore or wasting losing men, money and arms.

As to Elisabeth de Valois, she was initially timid but that quickly changed during her marriage to Felipe II. The idea that she'd convert to Protestantism is ludicrous and if Edward really believed he could do so it makes him look like an idiot. And to the Netherlands, with a POD in 1553 there's no guarantee that the Dutch would successfully become independent or be in a position to offer their crown to Edward in the 1580s.
 
Could be interesting but could just as easily be a disaster for England. After all Mary's decision to join her husband's war lead to the loss of Calais while Elizabeth's Huguenot intervention and seizure of Le Havre led to the French temporarily uniting to retake that city. Having a King instead of a Queen on the English throne wouldn't make much of a difference in terms of military success. So I'd guess Edward VI basically ends up a combo of Mary and Elizabeth in terms of France: intervenes in the early 1560s, loses Calais and is forced to retreat from intervening anymore or wasting losing men, money and arms.

I wouldn't say it was as certain as that but the mid 16th century saw English power vis a vis France or Spain at a comparative low point. Whereas in the Hundred Years War England had been the more unified country with a strong, wealthy monarchy able to project power on a roughly similar scale to the ostensibly much more powerful France thanks mostly to the stresses of the Hundred Years War France had more than caught up and probably overtaken in terms of the effectiveness of it's government and military machine. Which combined with France's substantially larger population meant that any English intervention would be extremely risky to say the least.

As to Elisabeth de Valois, she was initially timid but that quickly changed during her marriage to Felipe II. The idea that she'd convert to Protestantism is ludicrous and if Edward really believed he could do so it makes him look like an idiot.

I think you're massively overstated your case there. She married Phillip II of Spain age 14 and you while in the particular environment of the Spanish court she grew massively in self-confidence and in the extremely pious atmosphere of the Hapsburg court became almost be default a devout Catholic it's very easy to posit that a different upbringing in the English court would have a significant impact on her character and religious beliefs. I'm not saying she would convert, in fact I would suggest that Edward VI would probably come on far too strong, put her back up and entrench her Catholicism but it's by no means certain.

And to the Netherlands, with a POD in 1553 there's no guarantee that the Dutch would successfully become independent or be in a position to offer their crown to Edward in the 1580s.

I think some kind of revolt is pretty much inevitable, by 1553 Protestantism is probably the majority faith in urban area's, especially in the North though rural areas probably made the 17 Provinces majority Catholic, taxation issues had been ticking over for ever and Charles V's attempts at Centralisation were already causing problem's. Charles V however had been able to keep a lid on things because a.) having been born and raised there he had a fairly firm grasp on the loyalty of the people and b.) he knew the area and knew how far her could push things. When he hands over to Phillip those two factors are gone, Phillip is a Spaniard through and through who basically never leaves Madrid plus he's far more oppressive on the Protestant issue and more demanding with the taxes. As for whether a revolt will succeed the 17 Provinces are the richest, most developed place in Europe at this point and possibly the world, the Hapsburgs meanwhile are suffering from chronic and structural overstretch. I give the Dutch pretty good odds.
 
I suppose Edward being involved in the French Wars of Religion might actually worsen the position of the Huguenots. French Calvinism was being increasingly adopted by the mid-1500s, but it could be seen as a bad thing if it's associated with one of France's traditional enemies.
 
Bumping for interest. I've been thinking about Edward VI again, and, especially after reading this thread & post (https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/edward-vis-spanish-match.369406/#post-11422537), I can see two scenarios for Edward's involvement in France and future marriage:

1. King Henry II of France dies on schedule, and so does Francis II. Mary, Queen of Scots, who was said to have been pragmatic and maybe not as staunchly Catholic as she was later in life, returns to the British Isles and marries Edward in the face of rising Protestantism in Scotland.

2. King Henry II of France does not die. If the Dauphin Francis still dies of an ear infection in 1560, Mary of Scotland would find herself in a similar position to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Catherine de Medici may have hated her, but I could see Henry II being willing to keep Mary around and maybe betroth her to the new Dauphin, Charles. If not Charles, then another loyal French noble. As for Edward, the possible brides I could see are Anna of Saxony (she might not be the daughter of a King, and a Lutheran, but she was said to be one of the wealthiest heiresses in Germany at the time, and England could certainly use the money), Catherine or Cecilia of Sweden, or (and this is probably the most out-there choice) Lucrezia d'Este, daughter of the Calvinist convert, Renee of France.

Either way, I could see Elisabeth of Valois being married off to King Philip II of Spain as a matter of expedience.

Any thoughts?
 
As for Edward's contributions, I believe that the English were bound to lose Calais at some point, but if Edward involves himself with the Huguenots, especially the artisans and merchants among them, I think such a loss could still be beneficial in the long run.
 
As for Edward's contributions, I believe that the English were bound to lose Calais at some point, but if Edward involves himself with the Huguenots, especially the artisans and merchants among them, I think such a loss could still be beneficial in the long run.

Wouldn't he be worried about the Spanish, just as Elizabeth was?
 
Wouldn't he be worried about the Spanish, just as Elizabeth was?

At the time, I believe Spain was already busy with Charles V's abdication, the Italian Wars against France and the Ottoman Turks. From a Spanish standpoint, what's England compared to that?
 
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