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Basically, what if Mary Tudor's younger son had survived into the reign of Elizabeth Tudor. Let's say he marries his intended, Catherine Willoughby, 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, and had a few children that survive.

Scenario: At the death of Edward VI of England, Sir Henry Brandon, Duke of Suffolk is named his heir, but rejects the offer made by the Duke of Northumberland, for his eldest son to marry the Duke's daughter Katherine Dudley and for the two of them to place themselves in front of the Tudor Princess, Mary Tudor. In his own words at the time:

"I am no King, nor are you a Kingmaker."

Thus, he rides with the Queen of England and her sister, paving their way to London and leading them to victory. He is also amongst those that stand in opposition to the marriage suggested between Mary Tudor and Philip II of Spain, instead offering his son, or if not him than to support any Englishman who the Queen might marry instead. Unfortunately, his proclamations come to nothing and he is excluded from the marriage celebrations between the Queen and her husband, although he is soon brought back to court. During the later years of Mary I of England's reign, the Duke of Suffolk attempts to arrange a marriage between her sister and heir Elizabeth and his eldest son. The papers were, in actuality, being drawn up upon the Queen's death and it seems the King of Spain had support this plan, as after his marriage Brandon had proved a solid ally.

In preparation for this marriage, Elizabeth, who had been forced to the Tower of London in 1552, was brought early in 1553 to the London house of the Duke of Suffolk, and was able to live with his wife, two daughters and their younger son, while the father and elder son stayed at court. While the arrangement was very comfortable, Elizabeth would rebel against the marriage that was being procured and was said to have been tying bed sheets in an effort to escape when her potential mother-in-law rushed to her rooms to tell her she was now queen.

With the new Queen of England, Brandon's position at court was subtly changed. No longer was he the beloved cousin of the Queen, but the representation of an older, more conservative group than the new monarchy. His offer for his son still stood, but Elizabeth refused completely in 1562, and it was then he began to look for an alternative bride for his son. It was in 1564 that the heir to the Dukedom was married, at 25, to the 15 year old Anne Russel, daughter of the Earl of Bedford.

While the elder son was not popular with Elizabeth, as he reminded her too much of being 'kept' by the Brandon clan during the last days of her sister's reign, his younger brother William found great success at court, and in 1580 was made the Duke of Richmond. Having surveyed his lands with his wife, he promptly died two years later, leaving an infant heir, to be warded by the Queen of England.

Of the two Brandon daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, the elder was to make the grander match with the Queen's cousin, the Duke of Norfolk. With him, she would have 5 pregnancies, ending with the birth of twins that almost killed her, and definitely killed the twins. The younger sister, Elizabeth Brandon, married briefly the Lord Charles Neville, before dying young. She had married against her father's wishes, as he had envisioned a marriage with another of the Queen's Howard cousins.

The Brandon familys, both Suffolk and Richmond, survived into the Stuart Dynasty, although Edward Brandon, the eldest son of the 3rd Duke of Suffolk, found himself placed at the center of a plot to keep England seperate from Scotland, a plot that didn't work. Ultimately, although the Brandon family had a strong link to the English throne and the blood to back up a claim, they ultimately chose to keep their involvement as subordinates to whoever was officially the next in line. They grew rich and influential, but never truly reached for the top prize and, in many ways, were much more stable for that.

Henry Brandon, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, 1st Earl of Lincoln, 2nd Viscount Lisle (b.1523: d.1572) m. Catherine Willoughby, 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby (b.1519: d.1580) (a)

1a) Henry Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, 2nd Earl of Lincon, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, 3rd Viscount Lisle (b.1539: d.1573) m. Anne Russel (b.1548: d.1604) (a)

1a) Edward Brandon, 4th Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Earl of Lincon, 14th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, 4th Viscount Lisle (b.1567)

2a) Margaret Brandon (b.1570)

3a) Charles Brandon (b.1571: d.1577)

4a) Robert Brandon (b.1573)​

2a) Charles Brandon (b.1541: d.1544)

3a) Mary Brandon (b.1544: d.1621) m. Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (b.1536: d.1572) (a)

1a) Anne Howard (b.1565)

2a) Grace Howard (b.1568)

3a) Thomas Howard, 5th Duke of Norfolk (b.1570)

4a) Margaret Howard (b.1571)

5a) Matthew Howard (b.1574: d.1577)

6a) Francis Howard (b.1574: d.1574)​

4a) Stillborn Son (c.1546)

5a) William Brandon, 1st Duke of Richmond (b.1550: d.1582) m. Frances Grey (b.1550: d.1621) (a)

1a) Susan Brandon of Richmond (b.1567)

2a) Barbara Brandon of Richmond (b.1570)

3a) Ursula Brandon of Richmond (b.1572)

4a) George Brandon, 2nd Duke of Richmond (b.1581)​

6a) Elizabeth Brandon (b.1553: d.1571) m. Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland (b.1542: d.1601) (a)​
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