!!!! He can’t even pull the old Henry VIII trick from when he said it was ok to marry his sister in law because she’d never consummated her marriage. Here there very clearly was consummation- are there any other examples of sister in law matches?
Mary Stuart is one that comes to mind sans Catherine of Aragon. IIRC, the Guises harbored some hopes of marrying her to Charles IX after François II died. Like Catherine though, Mary was a childless widow and certainly there have been discussions over if there marriage was ever actually consummated. And then Manuel of Portugal famously married Isabella and Maria, who were sisters. He did have issue with Isabella, though their son died young.
RE: Henry VIII—that was primarily his own flimsy argument. In reality, when Henry VII and Ferdinand sought a dispensation for Henry VIII to marry Catherine, they were provided with two dispensations—one for the situation where her marriage with Arthur was not consummated, and another for if it was.
Levirate marriage (ie. a brother marrying his brother’s widow) is discussed in the Old Testament too, but mainly in the situation of childless widows. Regardless, questions of affinity within the Catholic Church are resolved with a dispensation. Affinity is considered a part of ecclesiastical law, not divine law. A dispensation can deal with such issues and make such a marriage possible.
Mary has no reason to risk such chaos, but I think given our introduction to La Petite Danoise, she might just throw herself behind her father in laws plans against her mothers wishes out of love.
To be fair, if Mary is open to the idea then a dispensation can be easily obtained. I suppose the prime issue might be France’s bad relations with the papacy in this moment, but given that England’s relations are still good and the Pope is an Englishman, I wouldn’t foresee any issues in Mary being able to obtain it. Snagging the heir of France was a major win for Mary, so I think there could be interest on both ends. While Mary could try and renege and reclaim Boulogne, she’d also be on the hook to repay what the French have already given her. The Dauphine marrying her brother in law would be a more tidy solution.
This could end up leading to religious chaos in France if it splits the episcopacy over the legality of such a marriage, and there will always be those that claim that since all issue from it would be bastards, the true heirs of France are the dukes of Milan. Depending on how future religious conflict in France shakes out, I could even see a faction coalescing around suspending Salic law and giving the throne to whoever ends up marrying Marie Reverie, as shes the legitimate fille de Francois.
Unlikely. As mentioned above, affinity is not considered divine law. If they have a dispensation, the marriage will be valid and legal. I suppose the Duke of Milan could try and argue against it using some Henry VIII tactics, but we saw how that shook out IOTL. Beatriz, for all her faults, was always desirous that had son should have a crown of his own—but not France. I’d say the Milanese line is firmly focused on Italy for now, though that could change!
Some French clerics and scholars might even argue that the new Dauphin has a duty to wed his sister-in-law because his brother was “childless” (ie, had no male heir under Salic Law).
I can’t see any situation where Salic Law ends up suspended. François II still has an heir in his younger son. I suppose the main issue would be if Isabella and Charles married and have no children (a sort of reverse Henry VIII situation), but even then there remains the Milanese line. Even when the House of Valois died in the male line and the heir to France was a Protestant, very few had interest in abolishing Salic Law (it didn’t help that the candidate being championed was Philip II’s daughter). If for some wild reason Marie Révérie was the only child born within the royal family of that generation, I presume that the crown would probably want to reach a compromise with the Milanese line and would probably seek to marry Marie to the eldest son of the Duke of Milan.
Will Italy in the late 16th century suffer from the same economic stagnation that happened in the OTL?
It's definitely possible—some factors are still present such as the Italian Wars and constant conflict within the peninsula, and the development of the Atlantic Trade. Italy is not well placed to really carve out a role in such trade, being fragmented into various statelets. I do not think that Italy's stagnation is guaranteed, but there are many factors that could cause it too still happen.
Kinda impressive that England went so long without yeeting a princess across the channel. Otl Henrietta of England was the first one, right?
Mary Tudor (the Elder) actually (at least IOTL!). She and Eadgifu of Wessex are the only English princesses who ever became Queen of France. I found that very surprising. Henrietta would actually be the last, though of course she wed the Duke of Orléans, not the king.
Damn… We’re gonna see trouble in Portugal soon I imagine
Yep. The Portuguese royal family is kinda in a tough spot. João III had three surviving children: we already know Maria, the Duchess of Viseu is unwed. Carlos Manuel has no (surviving) issue and Beatriz who was married to Fernando Alonso died giving birth to a son (who also died). There are no heirs of the present generation.
Damn, Girl… It’s not that bad here
It is not... but we already know how much Mary hates Christian II 😅
So do I, friend.
Oh dear… Hopefully this won’t turn into a Polish situation… Also, how are things going in Poland btw?
Things are... interesting. Will need to be covered in a proper chapter. I'll leave it at that. 😅 All I'll say is that Sigismund II dies in the mid-1550s without heirs. His brother Alexander would be king at this point.
Oh damn! Isabella as a dauphine twice over? We’re getting Francesca vibes too it seems. I can’t wait to see what drama and hysterics will come from this. I imagine it’ll be a mess. Isabella could deffo be game, but I can see Mary doing her best to secure a good deal from this
Yep, that is François II's plan. While he is fond of Isabella, it mainly political interest. In true Henry VII fashion, he wishes to maintain Isabella's dowry and keep England hopefully friendly, but if not then at least neutral. He fears Mary wishing to repurpose Isabella for another marriage alliance (shades of François Ier IOTL when Mary was widowed....)
I feel saddened by Dauphin François's death in this tl . His character, reminiscent of Philippe the Fair of France, was engaging. Without wanting to make presumptions, I wonder, are we veering towards the path of our actual historical timeline for France? This is more of a question than a certainty.
Dauphin's personality appealed to me significantly. However, I think it would be intriguing if Charles also possessed the crafty intellect reminiscent of that of Louis XI of France. In such a scenario, Philippe of Milan might find it challenging to rival Dauphin Charles for the throne of France.
Perhaps there might be other sons born to the king and queen of France. It seems improbable too, that Brittany would secede from France simply because the Dauphine has given birth to a daughter.
There are perhaps some troubles ahead for France, but nothing like OTL. The House of Valois will make it through the duration of Anno. They do not die out or go extinct.
Charles shall definitely be an interesting character. We've seen but one side of him—but given Isabella's own intellectual interests, it would not be surprisingly if he has similar interests. Regardless, she will be a boon to France if the marriage comes to fruition and she becomes queen.
In 1559, Queen Isabelle is only ~38 and François II is only 40. However, I will say that their last child born was a daughter named Jeanne in 1552. They haven't had a child in over seven years, though perhaps they may try again in Henry VII / Elizabeth of York fashion. With the death of François, Charles is their sole living son.
Great chapter, sad to see the Dauphin dead but hopefully Francis II will manage to get Charles and Isabella wed so they can be happy together
Thank you so much Kurd! It absolutely gutted me to kill the Dauphin off, honestly. Had he lived, he likely would've been one of the great generals / strategists of the age. But I'd decided this from the beginning and so he had to go. I do have interesting plans for Charles and Isabella, too.
If it is possible and convenient, I was wondering if there might be a way to obtain a portrait depicting the late Dauphin and Dauphin Charles.
Ask and you shall receive:
The Dauphin François, c. 1559:
Charles, the Duke of Angoulême:
She has her father's eyes 😭 and is a Tudor to boot. I love her so much.
Yes 😭 I feel like some of Mary's children I've shown thus far have had more Tudor features. I loved the idea of one having more resemblance to her father, with her own mother's fiery personality.
#Girlboss I am more in love with her than ever. And the Dauphin isn't that bad, Isabella give him time! I'm sure you two will have plenty of years together. *sarcasm*
🤐🤫
Isabella, I will take him of your hands if you need. I like him, my poor doomed Prince. And she's going all Eleanor of Aquitaine here.
Indeed, the comparison is very apt...
Wonder if she will have heirs with Charles? Because if she doesn't, who does the crown goes to? Philip down in Milan? Be careful what you wish for.
Yep—the Duke of Milan would be Charles' heir if he fails to have any sons.
Holy shit, she's made of fiery stuff indeed. And Francis, you are as deluded about this as you are about other things.
I'd say she's more explosive than Mary herself! As for François II, I'd say that was more him just trying to appease the squawking hens because he had no intention of lifting a finger against his precious daughter-in-law.
Great chapter. I love Isabella.
Thank you Victoria!
Exactly. This kind of dispensation was no trouble to the Catholic Church. It was done in Portugal to Manuel, in Poland (both Sigismund II and Sigismund III) and in Parma with Dorothea of Neuburg. People think it was a problem due to the case of Henry VIII, but it only shows that the origin of "the great matter" had much more to do with how much he wanted to divorce Catherine and marry Anne than any religious concern.
Indeed, you've provided more examples. Henry VIII's main issue was trying to use a biblical argument within the papal courts. Leviticus meant nothing when the marriage had a dispensation. He would've been better to argue on the validity of the dispensation (though given the political situation of OTL, he likely would've been denied a divorce regardless bc the Pope wasn't about to upset Emperor when he's an imperial hostage).
Can we have some family trees?
Yes, I will provide some updated trees soon.