Queen Mary's six husbands: Henry VIII dies in 1516, how could Mary Tudor end up having six husbands?

[The Gybson Boy]

The Young Queen Mary in her younger years
"Queen Mary Tudor was born on February 18, 1516, at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, her birth was seen with some disappointment by her father, King Henry VIII, who had long hoped for a son to guarantee the continuity of the Tudor dynasty, the The king's wish would never be fulfilled however, for four days after the birth of his daughter, on the Twentieth day of February in the Year of Our Lord 1516, the 24-year-old King Henry VIII went hunting in the vicinity of the Palace of Placentia. never to return, the story goes that during the hunt, carried out in celebration of the princess's birth, the king was violently thrown from his horse after the poor animal was frightened by one of the hunting dogs, causing the king to hit head on a tree and dies from a head injury. Young Mary was acclaimed as queen by parliament a few days later, becoming the youngest monarch in the history of England, with just three days to live, as well as the first monarch reigning female"
"The Reign of Mary, or as it is better known, the Marian Era began on February 20, 1516 until the queen's death on June 10, 1588, Mary reigned for an incredible 72 years and 111 days, practically as long as she lived , breaking the record for the longest reign in English and human history, her early years were marked by the regency of her beloved mother, Catherine of Aragon, from 1516 to 1532. One thing she is well known for however are her six husbands, all of whom reigned as Jure Uxoris kings of England and turned the queen's life and reign into a perfect Drama, although Shakespeare exaggerated certain parts of his famous play "Glorious Queen Mary" it is a fait accompli that the queen's husbands have been object of curiosity and admiration for many"

Sarah Bolger played a young Queen Mary in the 2007-2014 series "Mariana"; Romola Garai played an older Queen Mary in the third season of the 2018 series "Becoming Mary"​

---

The Challenge is this, with a Pod of Henry VIII's death in 1516, how could we make Mary Tudor end up having six husbands?

 

[ordinarylittleme]

The Challenge is this, with a Pod of Henry VIII's death in 1516, how could we make Mary Tudor end up having six husbands?

She marries James V to unite their crowns, he dies and leaves her with a posthumous daughter who becomes Queen of Scots. She remarries to Charles V upon her mother's advice (Isabella of Portugal here dies giving birth to Maria) and they end up annulling the marriage due to consanguinity (probably has a daughter to inherit Burgundy). She remarries to the Dauphin who lives longer ITTL (Katherine's dead by then) but he still dies young, leaving their daughter as Duchess of Brittany. French wars of religion happen and she ironically ends up willing to accept Protestantism, remarrying to the Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg, Philip. She might have her hoped-for son with him, but whether or not she does, her final two marriages end up being with local noblemen because at this point she'd like a bedwarmer more than a political partner (and as she's getting older her hand in marriage is less appealing).

 

[The Gybson Boy]

She remarries to Charles V upon her mother's advice (Isabella of Portugal here dies giving birth to Maria) and they end up annulling the marriage due to consanguinity (probably has a daughter to inherit Burgundy).

If Mary and Charles were to get married they would have asked for a papal dispensation for consanguinity, you can't annul a marriage for a reason after asking for a dispensation for that reason, it's easier to have Charles die sooner, which would have interesting repercussions, with Felipe II and Ferdinand I becoming king and emperor early.

She remarries to the Dauphin who lives longer ITTL (Katherine's dead by then) but he still dies young, leaving their daughter as Duchess of Brittany.

Without Henry VIII's unfortunate treatment of Catherine she would definitely have lived longer than OTL, being able to reach her 60s, although of course I love the idea of the English stealing Britain from the French

French wars of religion happen and she ironically ends up willing to accept Protestantism, remarrying to the Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg, Philip.

Definitely No, Mary may not have come under scrutiny from Henry VIII but she would still have been raised by the religious Catherine of Aragon, and considering she is Queen of England and he is a Duke of an incredibly small state in the sacrum empire I think such a marriage it definitely wouldn't happen, and if it somehow did, it would be easier for him to convert to Catholicism to marry her than the other way around. A more viable option would be Duke Wilhelm of Julich Cleves Berg

She might have her hoped-for son with him, but whether or not she does,

Not necessarily, you could leave her with just one or two children with her second or third husband. Henry VIII, for example, married three more times even though Edward was still alive.

her final two marriages end up being with local noblemen because at this point she'd like a bedwarmer more than a political partner (and as she's getting older her hand in marriage is less appealing).

Maybe a Howard? It would be cool if Thomas Howard pushed his grandson Thomas onto Mary, another option would be one of the Staffords if Buckingham could manage to remain complacent

 

[The Gybson Boy]

(Isabella of Portugal here dies giving birth to Maria)

You could have her die during Joana's birth too, it wouldn't exactly make much of a difference, since Mary would probably get married in 1532 and Joana was born in 1535

 

[Tudorfan]

The thing is, Mary probably cannot marry any foreign ruler at all; there'd be too much of a risk of England becoming a vassal state to one of them if she has a boy with them. And the English would never allow that at any point under any circumstances ever in the history of ever. Remember how much of an OMGWTFNOOOOOOOO!!!!! reaction they had to Philip IOTL?

And, of course, at this point, the Wars of the Roses only ended thirty one years ago - in living memory of most courtiers. No, if she marries, she's marrying second sons at most - to create alliances, but avoid personal unions that could swallow up England and avoid pulling England into foreign wars too.

 

[Violet Rose Lily]

Husband number 1: Henry Stafford (1520-1528).
Husband number 2: Hans of Denmark (1518-1532)
Husband number 3: Duarte, Duke of Guimarães (1515-1540).
Husband number 4: King James V of Scots (1512-1542)
Husband number 5: Duke Charles of Orleans (1520-1544).
Husband number 6: Emperor Charles V (1500-1558).

 

[Tudorfan]

James V and Charles V are unlikely - they're both rulers. And if Mary has daughters as her heirs, there's a chance they could try and seize England by overthrowing Mary's young daughters/Mary herself in the future.

 

[Violet Rose Lily]

James V and Charles V are unlikely - they're both rulers. And if Mary has daughters as her heirs, there's a chance they could try and seize England by overthrowing Mary's young daughters/Mary herself in the future.

Perhaps James V's brother, Alexander lived a bit longer in this AU. As for Charles, my thought is he could work as husband number 5 as his heir is old enough to have his own son and persumably Mary has already had a son or two with her previous husbands.

 

[HortenseMancini]

Suggestion...

Husband 1: Henry Brandon, earl of Lincoln/possibly King Henry IX (the one born in 1516), m. 1530, d. 1530, dies young of an unknown disease (possibly tuberculosis)
Husband 2: James V, King of Scots, m. 1532, d. 1536, drowned in the North Sea when his ship is capsized
Husband 3: Hans, Prince of Denmark, m. 1536, d. 1537, dies in battle trying to reclaim the throne of Denmark
Husband 4: Duarte, Duke of Guimarães, m. 1538, d. 1541, dies in a hunting accident
Husband 5: Charles, Duke of Orléans, m. 1542, ann. 1542, annulled by Mary for non-consummation after Charles refuses to leave France (insisting that Mary was responsible for the deaths of her previous four husbands)
Husband 6: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, m. 1546, marries Mary because for all of her marriages she still has only one son to show for it and Charles wants a second son to ensure that the Netherlands are inherited separately from Spain

 

[Stahlo]

I could see James V possibly, possibly, given Scotland's geographical closeness and the fact that England would be the stronger partner in that union. James keeps Scotland, Mary keeps England, and their hypothetical son gets both. The Auld Alliance is going to be a major sticking point though with the Scots. Charles V and the Dauphin, definitely not.

 

[HortenseMancini]

Perhaps James V's brother, Alexander lived a bit longer in this AU. As for Charles, my thought is he could work as husband number 5 as his heir is old enough to have his own son and persumably Mary has already had a son or two with her previous husbands.

yeah charles is almost certainly fathering mary's spare plus the english would love to be in pu with the low countries also scotland is a totally different beast than, say, france or spain

 

[The Gybson Boy]

Husband number 1: Henry Stafford (1520-1528).
Husband number 2: Duarte, Duke of Guimarães (1515-1540).
Husband number 3: King James V of Scots (1512-1542)
Husband number 4: Duke Charles of Orleans (1520-1544).
Husband number 5: Emperor Charles V (1500-1551).
Husband number 6: .....

James V and Charles V are unlikely - they're both rulers. And if Mary has daughters as her heirs, there's a chance they could try and seize England by overthrowing Mary's young daughters/Mary herself in the future.

Honestly, although Charles V is a very controversial choice of husband and would hardly happen with Mary as queen, James V would not, Margaret Tudor would be regent of Scotland and will definitely want her son married to Mary, the same with Catherine of Aragon, the English will certainly they will want to place Scotland under their control and end the Auld Alliance once and for all.

 

[HortenseMancini]

Honestly, although Charles V is a very controversial choice of husband and would hardly happen with Mary as queen, James V would not, Margaret Tudor would be regent of Scotland and will definitely want her son married to Mary, the same with Catherine of Aragon, the English will certainly they will want to place Scotland under their control and end the Auld Alliance once and for all.

Charles V is a good choice of husband for mary if it is agreed that the son of theirs who inherits england will also inherit the netherlands

 

[The Gybson Boy]

Suggestion...

Husband 1: Henry Brandon, earl of Lincoln/possibly King Henry IX (the one born in 1516), m. 1530, d. 1530, dies young of an unknown disease (possibly tuberculosis)
Husband 2: James V, King of Scots, m. 1532, d. 1536, drowned in the North Sea when his ship is capsized
Husband 3: Hans, Prince of Denmark, m. 1536, d. 1537, dies in battle trying to reclaim the throne of Denmark
Husband 4: Duarte, Duke of Guimarães, m. 1538, d. 1541, dies in a hunting accident
Husband 5: Charles, Duke of Orléans, m. 1542, ann. 1542, annulled by Mary for non-consummation after Charles refuses to leave France (insisting that Mary was responsible for the deaths of her previous four husbands)
Husband 6: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, m. 1546, marries Mary because for all of her marriages she still has only one son to show for it and Charles wants a second son to ensure that the Netherlands are inherited separately from Spain

I like the choices, although I think James V would definitely be husband 1, perhaps husband 6 could be Thomas Howard's grandson Thomas

 

[HortenseMancini]

I like the choices, although I think James V would definitely be husband 1, perhaps husband 6 could be Thomas Howard's grandson Thomas

First off i went with lincoln for husband 1 because i think the english would be more comfortable with him as king than a scotsman like james also at this point i don't think the scottish would be terribly interested in the match, that would only come after james takes power for himself. as for thomas howard, i think you need to be more specific about which one lol, if you're talking the son of henry howard, earl of surrey then he's way too young and if you're talking the brother of the 3rd duke then idk why mary would be interested she was a very status conscious woman iotl and no doubt will have at least some of that impulse here

 

[Tudorfan]

Suggestion...

Husband 1: Henry Brandon, earl of Lincoln/possibly King Henry IX (the one born in 1516), m. 1530, d. 1530, dies young of an unknown disease (possibly tuberculosis)
Husband 2: James V, King of Scots, m. 1532, d. 1536, drowned in the North Sea when his ship is capsized
Husband 3: Hans, Prince of Denmark, m. 1536, d. 1537, dies in battle trying to reclaim the throne of Denmark
Husband 4: Duarte, Duke of Guimarães, m. 1538, d. 1541, dies in a hunting accident
Husband 5: Charles, Duke of Orléans, m. 1542, ann. 1542, annulled by Mary for non-consummation after Charles refuses to leave France (insisting that Mary was responsible for the deaths of her previous four husbands)
Husband 6: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, m. 1546, marries Mary because for all of her marriages she still has only one son to show for it and Charles wants a second son to ensure that the Netherlands are inherited separately from Spain

TBH, Henry Brandon works well. He's a descendant of Henry VII, he's English, and he'd know his place.

Honestly, although Charles V is a very controversial choice of husband and would hardly happen with Mary as queen, James V would not, Margaret Tudor would be regent of Scotland and will definitely want her son married to Mary, the same with Catherine of Aragon, the English will certainly they will want to place Scotland under their control and end the Auld Alliance once and for all.

Actually, if I remember right, Margaret was against the marriage of James to Mary IOTL, so it's unlikely she'll support it here.

First off i went with lincoln for husband 1 because i think the english would be more comfortable with him as king than a scotsman like james also at this point i don't think the scottish would be terribly interested in the match, that would only come after james takes power for himself. as for thomas howard, i think you need to be more specific about which one lol, if you're talking the son of henry howard, earl of surrey then he's way too young and if you're talking the brother of the 3rd duke then idk why mary would be interested she was a very status conscious woman iotl and no doubt will have at least some of that impulse here

Seriously, why can't the Howards pick a name other than Thomas, Elizabeth or John? It's terribly annoying to keep track of them.

 

[HortenseMancini]

Charles V and the Dauphin, definitely not.

Not the Dauphin, for sure, but charles v would work if the english were assured that there would be no pu with spain

 

[HortenseMancini]

Seriously, why can't the Howards pick a name other than Thomas, Elizabeth or John? It's terribly annoying to keep track of them.

early modern and medieval european naming conventions go brrrrr

 

[HortenseMancini]

TBH, Henry Brandon works well. He's a descendant of Henry VII, he's English, and he'd know his place.

the only downside i can see is his dad

 

[The Gybson Boy]

First off i went with lincoln for husband 1 because i think the english would be more comfortable with him as king than a scotsman like james also at this point i don't think the scottish would be terribly interested in the match, that would only come after james takes power for himself. as for thomas howard, i think you need to be more specific about which one lol, if you're talking the son of henry howard, earl of surrey then he's way too young and if you're talking the brother of the 3rd duke then idk why mary would be interested she was a very status conscious woman iotl and no doubt will have at least some of that impulse here

I'm talking about Henry Howard's son, I thought he was older