...I like the idea of Louise of Savoy: Secret Lutheran Sympathizer and it's a nice way to introduce the Reformation to England. But, uh, Luther wasn't even a monk in 1504. The 95 Theses weren't published until 1517/1518 IIRC.
If Henry Tudor (OTL Henry VIII) is destined for the Church TTL with two older brothers, perhaps in due course he introduces his intelligent and classically educated sisters-in-law to such aspects of English religious history as John Wycliffe and the Lollards. Catalina will, of course, be horrified but Marguerite could still be your point girl for the Reformation in England. This would work even better if Arthur dies before he and Catalina can have a son.

I completely get what both of you are saying, and I did know that Martin Luther was not active at the moment (I put it in an A/N at the top of the chapter) it was just that I was struggling to find a ‘Protestant’ writer at the time that I could use.

I think that the idea of Henry introducing her to the Reformation ideas is very interesting, but I wanted her to already have sympathies before moving to England in order to slowly begin to influence William and also to be the one to steer Henry further from the Catholic Church, so now I’m unsure as to whether I want her to already have sympathies or whether she should develop them in England 😂

I’ll have to have some time to think about it before I edit this chapter. Thanks for your replies!
 
The WHOLE point of Catherine marrying Arthur was that England would side with Spain over France.

The whole point was to have a grandson who was King of England. Trying to have the marriage annulled because England wouldn’t fight France would make them something of a laughing stalk.
 
If a grandson were the whole point then the Tudor could have married Arthur to Elizabeth of Demark or something. Henry VII were drooling over a his daughter in law being a daughter of the prestigious Catholic Monarchs, the newly united Iberian kingdoms.

Not fighting the french is not the same as marrying into France. Allying with France is a pretty huge deal when your heir marries a spanish infanta. And its not a good deal. If William's hand is to be given to someone, give it to a english or scottish lady, better to shore up your internal support.
 
If a grandson were the whole point then the Tudor could have married Arthur to Elizabeth of Demark or something. Henry VII were drooling over a his daughter in law being a daughter of the prestigious Catholic Monarchs, the newly united Iberian kingdoms.

Not fighting the french is not the same as marrying into France. Allying with France is a pretty huge deal when your heir marries a spanish infanta. And its not a good deal. If William's hand is to be given to someone, give it to a english or scottish lady, better to shore up your internal support.
Henry VII ITTL is basically playing James I's via media a century early. One son married to Spain, one son married to France and let England be the counterweight that holds all of Europe together. It's a smart move as far as the Tudors are concerned. Spain won't be happy no, but I'm with @isabella on this one. If Katherine is already married to Arthur by the time William marries Marguerite, which she probably will be, given William is born in November 1489, and therefore can't wed before 1503 at the very earliest, and more likely later, given Marguerite is born in 1492, then Isabella and Ferdinand aren't the kind of parents to get involved in their daughter's marriage. If Catalina can't hold her own against a French vixen five years her junior, then that's her problem, not theirs, as long as England doesn't become too openly pro-French...

If Ferdinand and Isabella had really cared for their daughters happiness and health, rather than seeing them primarily as dynastic pawns, then they would have done something about Phillip's treatment of Juana, or brought Katherine home to Spain after Arthur's death. They did neither.
 
If a grandson were the whole point then the Tudor could have married Arthur to Elizabeth of Demark or something. Henry VII were drooling over a his daughter in law being a daughter of the prestigious Catholic Monarchs, the newly united Iberian kingdoms.

I'm not sure what Isabella and Ferdinand wanting the prestige of monarch for a grandson has to do with Elizabeth of Denmark. My point was Isabella and Ferdinand wanted their daughter to be a queen and England was the country that worked out. And Henry VII was hardly drooling, when the dowry failed to appear, Catalina's market value went way down.

Not fighting the french is not the same as marrying into France. Allying with France is a pretty huge deal when your heir marries a spanish infanta. And its not a good deal.

Sure it's not a good deal, but it was never a promised deal. Unless specifically stated in the marriage agreement marriages do nothing to guarantee military support. I mean look at the handful of times France and Spain married each other and still kept fighting.
 
"If Catalina can't hold her own against a French vixen five years her junior, then that's her problem, not theirs, as long as England doesn't become too openly pro-French"

Pro-french and marrying the duke of York to a french lady who's brother is a possible heir in waiting is the same thing. Marriages between rulers means commitment in this era. But for the sake of everyone, I'll step away from this TL now.
 
"Marriages between rulers means commitment in this era."

Francis I literally married a Habsburg, this did not stop him from trying to make nice with England (a couple of times with various degrees of success) who wasn't getting along with the Habsburg or even fighting the Habsburg himself.

Either way, I think this timeline is delightful and I can totally see Henry VII hedging his bets by marrying his second son to a French woman. I like the idea of Prince Henry (OTL Henry VIII) in the church. I remember reading a timeline where a Bishop Henry ended up with Anne Boleyn, which could be very interesting.

I'm really excited to see the dynamic between Catherine and Marguerite. Especially how Arthur reacts to it. He could either side with his wife or be frustrated that his wife is picking fights with his brother and sister-in-law. Either would be fascinating.
 
"Marriages between rulers means commitment in this era."

Francis I literally married a Habsburg, this did not stop him from trying to make nice with England (a couple of times with various degrees of success) who wasn't getting along with the Habsburg or even fighting the Habsburg himself.

Either way, I think this timeline is delightful and I can totally see Henry VII hedging his bets by marrying his second son to a French woman. I like the idea of Prince Henry (OTL Henry VIII) in the church. I remember reading a timeline where a Bishop Henry ended up with Anne Boleyn, which could be very interesting.

I'm really excited to see the dynamic between Catherine and Marguerite. Especially how Arthur reacts to it. He could either side with his wife or be frustrated that his wife is picking fights with his brother and sister-in-law. Either would be fascinating.

Seconded!
 
"If Catalina can't hold her own against a French vixen five years her junior, then that's her problem, not theirs, as long as England doesn't become too openly pro-French"

Pro-french and marrying the duke of York to a french lady who's brother is a possible heir in waiting is the same thing. Marriages between rulers means commitment in this era. But for the sake of everyone, I'll step away from this TL now.

Sorry I’m a little late to this, I’ve kind of been half watching whilst attempting to get all my school work done in the first week off.

Anyways, the whole reason I wrote the French alliance in was because that’s what I truly could see Henry VII doing. As you said earlier in the thread, his dynasty is brand new, so I don’t see why he would be immediately taking sides. He was a clever man, thus I see him placing his ball in both courts and appearing neutral - after all, England needs to be stable in itself before it starts fighting other people’s wars.

You, and others, are right when you say the Spanish wouldn’t be that impressed but it’s not like they’re going to end the alliance over it (as is somewhat expressed in the first chapter I believe). After all, it’s not England picking France over them at all. If England had said: let’s marry a French woman to Arthur and give Katherine to the Duke of York then they’d probably end the alliance.

This is simply England remaining neutral, and the Spanish would have no reason to think that the future Queen of England wouldn’t have more influence than the Duchess of York, therefore giving them the impression that England would be pro-Spanish during Arthur’s rule, so the marriage would not be a waste.
 
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