Basic premise, either Henry Frederick survives and has issue, thus making Charles, duke of York a bit of a low match for the king of France's daughter/sister; or Charles I gets his Spanish bride (or a suitably Protestant one), leaving Henriette Marie, the youngest sister of Louis XIII without a husband (and possibly altering the course of the English Civil War - if it even occurs (which isn't the point of this thread).
Where does Henriette Marie marry? @Valena recently referred to a thread on the Russian site where she marries Frederik Hendrik of Orange. I'd think such a match would be rather fraught - the Calvinist Netherlands accepting a Catholic princess of Orange, I could see both sides arguing from their religious standpoint why the other's is unacceptable. The Dutch will say thanks to her dowry and no to her Catholicism; and the French will try and insist that she should have the right to at least practice her religion in private, blah-blah. Either way, Henriette's personality and her OTL making converts among the English nobility wouldn't be too popular in the Hague/Amsterdam IMHO.
Apparently the duke of Urbino also tried for a French match, but again, I don't think he's important enough to merit a king of France's daughter. Maybe a cousin from the Condé or Soissons branch, but not necessarily his daughter/sister. The Medici grand duke (Ferdinando II) was also mentioned in the thread quoted above, but Louis XIII disliked all things Medici thanks to his mother, so I think the odds are rather long.
Someone else did a post where she marries the duke of Lorraine, but another poster derided the marriage as being (like the Dutch match) rather low for the princess. Then there's the possibility of Wladyslaw IV of Poland. He's the only other non-Habsburg, non-Stuart, Catholic king in Europe, but again, I'm not sure if such a match is likely. And when we move on to Germany, the duke of Bavaria is a traditional French ally, but he's a) married and b) more pro-Habsburg than his Habsburg second wife was.
So, how do you solve a problem like Maria? Does she marry lower than a king (older sister Christine did, so it's not unthinkable)? or marry domestically? Either way, to who?
Where does Henriette Marie marry? @Valena recently referred to a thread on the Russian site where she marries Frederik Hendrik of Orange. I'd think such a match would be rather fraught - the Calvinist Netherlands accepting a Catholic princess of Orange, I could see both sides arguing from their religious standpoint why the other's is unacceptable. The Dutch will say thanks to her dowry and no to her Catholicism; and the French will try and insist that she should have the right to at least practice her religion in private, blah-blah. Either way, Henriette's personality and her OTL making converts among the English nobility wouldn't be too popular in the Hague/Amsterdam IMHO.
Apparently the duke of Urbino also tried for a French match, but again, I don't think he's important enough to merit a king of France's daughter. Maybe a cousin from the Condé or Soissons branch, but not necessarily his daughter/sister. The Medici grand duke (Ferdinando II) was also mentioned in the thread quoted above, but Louis XIII disliked all things Medici thanks to his mother, so I think the odds are rather long.
Someone else did a post where she marries the duke of Lorraine, but another poster derided the marriage as being (like the Dutch match) rather low for the princess. Then there's the possibility of Wladyslaw IV of Poland. He's the only other non-Habsburg, non-Stuart, Catholic king in Europe, but again, I'm not sure if such a match is likely. And when we move on to Germany, the duke of Bavaria is a traditional French ally, but he's a) married and b) more pro-Habsburg than his Habsburg second wife was.
So, how do you solve a problem like Maria? Does she marry lower than a king (older sister Christine did, so it's not unthinkable)? or marry domestically? Either way, to who?