The Young King and the Queen Mother

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ordinarylittleme

ordinarylittleme

As stated in this thread, I had intended to write a timeline where Henry VIII and his firstborn son switch death dates (Henry VIII dies in 1511, the Duke of Cornwall dies in 1547). And thus, Katherine of Aragon gets a much happier life and England stays Catholic. Yes, I realize another user has taken my idea and run with it, but we have different interpretations of what would happen.
Cast:

Jacob Collins-Levy as Henry IX of England
Guiomar Puerta as Catherine of Austria, Queen of England
Sophie Skelton as Mary Tudor, Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Spain
Bianca Ceausescu as Maria of Portugal, Queen of England
Charlotte Hope as Katherine of Aragon, Queen Mother of England
 
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Kellan Sullivan

ordinarylittleme said:
As stated in this thread, I had intended to write a timeline where Henry VIII and his firstborn son switch death dates (Henry VIII dies in 1511, the Duke of Cornwall dies in 1547). And thus, Katherine of Aragon gets a much happier life and England stays Catholic. Yes, I realize another user has taken my idea and run with it, but we have different interpretations of what would happen.
Cast:

Jacob Collins-Levy as Henry IX of England
Guiomar Puerta as Catherine of Austria, Queen of England
Sarah Bolger as Maria of Portugal, Queen of England
Charlotte Hope as Katherine of Aragon, Queen Mother of England
Click to expand...
Guiomar's a good call. Sarah Bolger might be a bit old now
 
Chapter One
  • Index
    • ordinarylittleme

    ordinarylittleme

    Queen Katherine of Aragon could only describe the spring of 1511 as a dramatic rollercoaster, one which brought her up to the highest of heightened joys and sent her plummeting to the lowest depths of sorrow. After an unfortunate miscarriage, she had successfully given birth to a beautiful boy (named after his father, of course) on her second attempt and all of England celebrated with her. Her second marriage was never stronger than it was after the birth of her son, as her husband had praised her to the high heavens and styled himself "Sir Loyal Heart", the epithet he used when he died...

    Well, she supposed she must continue the tale, as tragic as it had been. She and Henry (her husband, not son) had planned extravagant celebrations for the birth of their son. Dances, hunts, feasts, masques...and jousts. Henry VIII had so loved to joust - he wore her favor as he rode out to cheers, their heraldic badge over his heart, where the lance of his opponent had unexpectedly pierced through his armour and caused the king to topple off and land beneath his terrified horse, bleeding uncontrollably to death as the physicians fruitlessly worked to move first the horse then the armour, far too late to save the king...

    She had watched first in pride at her husband's performance then in abject horror as all of her prayers failed and she became a widow for a second time, holding her son in her arms as they both watched the king Henry VIII die in front of them and the crowd turn towards them, crying out "God save the new king"...
     
  • Index
    • Chapter Two
  • Index
    • ordinarylittleme

    ordinarylittleme

    She had thought it would be easy to seize control on the regency council - it was certainly the tradition in countries such as France and Spain - but no, she had to share power with a bunch of men who thought they knew best on how to run the country and her son's life. For now her son was king, and in his little body was the divine power of English kings, but he needed to stay alive and have someone guide the country in a wise manner so he could learn. Scrambling for power - she had not expected to ever need to do so. Henry had always let her have a say (even if he didn't always take her advice), back when he lived.

    At least she had gained a place (even if the repulsive Buckingham tried to propose marriage to her), and she was still responsible for her son's betrothal: although she would prefer that he marry her namesake niece, that girl was promised to Portugal. France had offered their youngest princess, Renee, as an option and an English claim to Brittany would be quite interesting; the possibility of this marriage preserving Calais as an English domain was also tempting.

    She kept her son close to her, even sleeping in his chamber for fear of anything happening. She presided over his council, decided policy, and controlled state business and patronage. She accepted a request from some English artists to form an academy which allowed them to hone their craft, and even personally funded the construction. She signed all charters herself and worked faithfully at the royal pledges. She also battled fiercely with Charles Brandon who seemed to think that his friendship with Henry (and her sister-in-law Mary's fondness for him) enabled him to dictate what happened to the king, although they eventually reconciled and formed a triumvirate with Wolsey, knowing of the cardinal's talent in foreign policy.

    Yet all was not peaceful - especially when the Pope declared a Holy League against France.
     
  • Index

    • Dragonboy

    Well, at least Cath found a place of High ranking in the regency.

    And ohhh! I small cath's triumphal moment in Flooden approaching!
     

    isabella

    Pretty unlikely who Flodden will happen here as the Scottish invasion happened while England was invading France. James IV after all was (and is) married to the heiress presumptive of England (and here Margaret will keep that status for at least the next 13 years) and at this point Catherine of Austria was far from being taken in consideration for Portugal as Mary was the only one engaged among the daughters of Joanna (and both Eleanor and Isabella would be far likelier matches for John at this point)
     
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    ordinarylittleme

    ordinarylittleme

    isabella said:
    With a regency and an underage King? Pretty unlikely who they will want to be involved in wars
    Click to expand...
    I mean...true. Maybe James and Margaret see the opportunity to put her on the throne (Ferdinand/Isabella 2.0!) and cite Katherine's previous marriage to Arthur as the reason? It'd be a good in-joke to the Great Matter
     
    ordinarylittleme

    ordinarylittleme

    isabella said:
    at this point Catherine of Austria was far from being taken in consideration for Portugal as Mary was the only one engaged among the daughters of Joanna (and both Eleanor and Isabella would be far likelier matches for John at this point)
    Click to expand...
    I mean, yeah; I don't see any early engagements for Catherine when I researched, but I do want Queen Renee of England here, so...
     

    Dragonboy

    ordinarylittleme said:
    I mean...true. Maybe James and Margaret see the opportunity to put her on the throne (Ferdinand/Isabella 2.0!) and cite Katherine's previous marriage to Arthur as the reason? It'd be a good in-joke to the Great Matter
    Click to expand...
    That would be more than enough reason for Cath's Flooden moment, cementing her status as the power in England and guardian of her baby king.
     
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