Elizabeth the Queen and her Brood

1553: Mary I of England ascends to the throne, with her first big action to broker a marriage deal with the Habsburgs. Wishing to marry into her mother’s family, she is immediately offered Phillip of Spain. But, in an effort to secure Habsburg dominance if the older Mary dies, Charles V offers his nephew Ferdinand of Austria or Infante Edward, 5th Duke of Guimarães for the Lady Elizabeth. While Mary doesn’t like the idea Elizabeth being seen as her successor, she does really want to marry Phillip. So she says she’ll consider it; to the anger of her parliament.
 
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1554: Mary I of England ultimately agrees to the conditions of the marriage, but adds some clauses of her own. Elizabeth would not have a right higher than her own children (a given). England would not become part of the Habsburg Empire, but would go to the second son of her marriage if Don Carlos was to die. If she was to die in childbirth, England’s regent would be Phillip with the help of a council. Very basic conditions, but they came at a cost. Elizabeth was betrothed to Infante Edward: 5th Duke of Guimarães and named her heir in the incident of the Queen’s unfortunate death. Parliament and Elizabeth are both unhappy with this outcome, but can’t really do much at this point.
 
What would be an appropriate Dukedom for Mary to give Elizabeth? I want to life her up to a similar station to her future husband? I was thinking the Dukedom of Richmond and Somerset to draw parallels to Mary's other illegitimate sibling Henry Fitzroy. Thoughts? :)
 
What would be an appropriate Dukedom for Mary to give Elizabeth? I want to life her up to a similar station to her future husband? I was thinking the Dukedom of Richmond and Somerset to draw parallels to Mary's other illegitimate sibling Henry Fitzroy. Thoughts? :)

I don't know. She might balk at giving Elizabeth a dukedom; you'll remember that the last woman raised to a peerage in her own right was Anne Boleyn, Mary's sworn enemy.

Then again...when Anne was made Marquess of Pembroke, the remainder was to heirs of her body. Not lawful heirs, not heirs male. It would be possible to reverse the attainder and allow Elizabeth to inherit her mother's title as Marquess of Pembroke while still affirming her illegitimacy. Not only would this superficially give Elizabeth standing at court, it would also underline for Mary that Elizabeth was nothing more than the "concubines"'s daughter: a two-faced "honour" that would also be slap in Elizabeth's face.
 
I don't know. She might balk at giving Elizabeth a dukedom; you'll remember that the last woman raised to a peerage in her own right was Anne Boleyn, Mary's sworn enemy.

Then again...when Anne was made Marquess of Pembroke, the remainder was to heirs of her body. Not lawful heirs, not heirs male. It would be possible to reverse the attainder and allow Elizabeth to inherit her mother's title as Marquess of Pembroke while still affirming her illegitimacy. Not only would this give Elizabeth standing, it would underline for Mary that Elizabeth was the "concubines"'s daughter. She could mean it as a two-faced "honour" that would also be slap in Elizabeth's face.

Could that be done as well as the Dukedom? To meet the two ideas in the middle and put Elizabeth in the shadow of two illegitimate claims?
 
Could that be done as well as the Dukedom? To meet the two ideas in the middle and put Elizabeth in the shadow of two illegitimate claims?

You could. You have the problem that Mary sincerely liked her half-brother Fitzroy, so she might not want to give Elizabeth those titles. But the Emperor might press her to raise Elizabeth to a dukedom and she may feel that Richmond works. Not sure if she would give him Somerset, since Edward Seymour had it for a while. (It's available in your time period, but it was common for kings not to reassign titles if the old family still existed - they could hold out the possibility of restoration in return for good behaviour.)
 
You could. You have the problem that Mary sincerely liked her half-brother Fitzroy, so she might not want to give Elizabeth those titles. But the Emperor might press her to raise Elizabeth to a dukedom and she may feel that Richmond works. Not sure if she would give him Somerset, since Edward Seymour had it for a while. (It's available in your time period, but it was common for kings not to reassign titles if the old family still existed - they could hold out the possibility of restoration in return for good behaviour.)

I'll just give her Richmond than :)
 
1555: Elizabeth Tudor leaves England to meet her fiancé in Portugal. Newly made into a Duchess to match her husband’s station; the Duchess of Richmond is followed by a small court of Englishmen, including a friend Robert Dudley. She also received her mother’s title as Marquess of Pembroke. While Mary balked at presenting her bastard sister with that much land, she did see it as a chance to reinforce her illegitimacy by drawing very obvious parallels between Elizabeth and her now dead half-brother Henry Fitzroy and also emphasizing the fact that her mother was Anne Boleyn. Thinking that she has thoroughly embarrassed the girl, Mary is happy with this arrangement. But the infinitely practical Elizabeth is actually quite happy with this arrangement. It is giving her land while also offering her a base in England; and, in her mind, an exhibition of Mary’s forgiveness to her very existence. Both think they have won and neither will find out the other’s thoughts on the matter.
 
1556: As Elizabeth arrives to the Portuguese court, Phillip of Spain arrives in England. Much to Mary’s delight, the royal is both charming and handsome. Much to Phillip’s displeasure, the Queen is aging and already quite clingy. But they go on with the marriage. Putting on a long and luxurious wedding celebration; Mary wanted to show off to her husband. But their marriage would be rocky, and this would be very subtlety foreshadowed (if accidentally) by a remark of a man in Phillip’s small court of Spaniards:

“The king looks unhappy, but the queen looks positively gay. Maybe one will have a change of heart.”

In Portugal, Elizabeth’s arrival to the court causes a stir. Dressed simply in blacks and blues, she strikes a sharp contrast with the other court ladies. Someone who is especially impressed is John III; enjoying her simplicity over the extravagance of the rest of the ladies. Her husband, Infante Edward: 5th Duke of Guimarães, also enjoy the lady’s presence and is hopeful for their union.
 
1557: Mary Tudor announces a pregnancy, and then 5 months later unannounces it. A blow to the Queen, it is made even worse when Phillip leaves for Spain. While he assures Mary that it would be impossible for him to stay, privately he jokes to a close friend that:

“She is like a foul smell you can’t escape, following me around when she can and sending others when she can’t.”

Meanwhile, in Portugal, Elizabeth is the court beauty and the King’s favourite. Charming and polite, she is loved by all. And the Duchess proves herself fertile when, in late May, she is announced to be pregnant. And in October, Elizabeth proves that she is a better woman than her sister in matters of fertility when she gives birth to a son, named Edward for his father. Strong and pretty, the child is the spitting image of his grandfather Henry VIII. When Mary finds out she is furious.
 
1558: When Phillip returns to England, he finds his sad little wife has a bad side. Furious with her sister and hurt that her husband has taken so long to come home (he had told her that it would be about 5 months and it took about 9), she has taken to burning Protestants. While previously she had been quite tolerant (only 20 Protestants had been executed since that start of her reign) she now set new rules in place, and hundreds died in the fires. While Phillip agreed with the sentiment, he was appalled at the lack of forethought. She cared nothing for the possible consequences, merely attempting to destroy the religion as quickly as possible.

In Portugal, Elizabeth continues her charm tour. The men all love her, and that is what matters to her. But on the women’s side, she isn’t so lucky. While most went with the general opinion that she was a sweet and delightful girl from England, both Queen Catherine and Infanta Maria: Duchess of Viseu disliked her, though for different reasons. Catherine disliked her as she felt threatened by the King’s immediate fondness for the girl while Maria was angry that she had ‘been replaced’ as the pretty young girl of her brother’s affections (at 37). But neither of them could do anything and in November it was announced that Elizabeth was again pregnant.
 
1559: Mary I believes that she is pregnant again. While this time Phillip was wary, he was also optimistic. The Queen, meanwhile, went through massive mood swings, at one point slapping a lady-in-waiting and at another screaming at her husband in court, telling him why he was ‘such an abhorrent creature’. While Phillip was offended, he also hoped that this was the craziness of a pregnant woman.

In April, Elizabeth has her baby, or should we say babies. Pregnant with twins, the Duchess’ labour is hard. But at the end she had two healthy children, Henry and Elizabeth. While Henry continues the trend of ‘the children look like Tudors’, Elizabeth bucks it, appearing to have inherited the appearance of the Habsburgs at their best.

After her pregnancy is over, Elizabeth is ordered by her sister to return to England to help with the pregnancy. While happy to be returning to her home country, she labours over the decision to bring her children. But ultimately it would be a wasted opportunity to show off in front of her sister. So she leaves for England in July. Arriving in late August she is immediately brought to her sister, who is crying foul. How dare Elizabeth have three children already! She spent over two hours screaming at her sister then, without warning, embraced her and started crying. The Queen was scared, unsure of both the pregnancy and her husband.

When she finally calmed down enough, Elizabeth asked for her children to be brought in. While Mary loved her nieces and nephews, little Elizabeth was her favourite by far. With the Habsburg colouring and a slightly visible Habsburg lip, she was a stunning child.

Finally, in October, Mary goes into actual labour. Not a phantom pregnancy as some had feared, the queen actually held an heir in her. But the worst came when, after 4 days, the baby was pulled out small and sickly. The Queen, who had been shocked herself when the labour came, did not do well and died within 3 days of the birth. The child, a boy named Phillip, died a mere week after his mother. And so the Lady Elizabeth became the Queen Elizabeth the First.
 
If Infante Sebastion died, how far would Infante Edward: 5th Duke of Guimarães be in the Portuguese succession?
 
Interesting premise, I read a lot on Mary and Elizabeth as a child. I think Elizabeth was more shrew than you give her credit for, and if Mary manages to marry her to a Catholic and give birth to what I presume are Catholic babies, she shouldn't feel too threatened by her sister.

Also, what is the protocol for Mary to order her sister home? She's the wife of a foreign prince now, they must be particularly close and I'm sure it would have been less than force.

Would Elizabeth really name her own daughter Elizabeth? If not after her mother-in-law, perhaps after her sister Mary for "points"?
 
Interesting premise, I read a lot on Mary and Elizabeth as a child. I think Elizabeth was more shrew than you give her credit for, and if Mary manages to marry her to a Catholic and give birth to what I presume are Catholic babies, she shouldn't feel too threatened by her sister.

Also, what is the protocol for Mary to order her sister home? She's the wife of a foreign prince now, they must be particularly close and I'm sure it would have been less than force.

Would Elizabeth really name her own daughter Elizabeth? If not after her mother-in-law, perhaps after her sister Mary for "points"?

Well, Mary would never really trust her sister, no matter who she was married to. Based on what I have read about their relationship, Mary would definitely feel threatened if Elizabeth was showing herself as the 'better woman', so to speak.

On the ordering of Elizabeth to England, she was still an English citizen and as such was still under the lordship of the Queen. And also, when I said ordered it wasn't really "You must come now!" rather than "I am sternly telling you to come now, if it is possible."

Finally, the name she chose was really a 'neutral name'. It was her name, the name of both of her grandmother and the English version of Isabel, that being a name that many royals where she was situated had. I honestly thought that it would be a more likely name than Mary for those reasons. :)
 
1560: Elizabeth I sent for her husband from husband to come to the English court. When he finally arrives in March they stage a perfect coronation, proclaiming Elizabeth as the Mother of The Nation. While people are happy for the Queen, they are wary of the Infante. But Edward works his way into the hearts of the people; taking pilgrimages and donating a lot of money.

Soon, there is much to hope for and much to fear when the Queen again falls pregnant. While Elizabeth pretty much ignores her pregnancy this time, seeing it as an inconvenience more than anything else, parliament is worried as to how they will cope with a minority and a foreign possible regnant. But all their worrying came to nothing when, in November, the Queen gave birth to baby girl, named Mary for her newly dead sister. The child was very dark, closely resembling her grandmother. A frail girl, the baby defied odds when she survived the first 2 months, growing fatter and healthier. Elizabeth is pleased with her daughter, and now begins to feel out possible marriages for her children.

In France, Mary Queen of Scots is in quite the spot. Her husband is dead and her mother-in-law isn’t sure what to do with the girl. While logic would dictate that she should be shipped back to Scotland, the idea that Scotland might fall into other’s hands is too much to bear. So there is talk of marrying the young queen to her former brother-in-law Charles IX. With and eight year age difference and the big religious worry about their affinity, this looks like a bad idea. But Catherine is convinced, with the Habsburgs getting a foothold in England; France needs some sort of connection to the island.

Finally, Phillip II of Spain is looking for a new bride. While he would have liked someone like Elizabeth, her current marriage makes this idea quite difficult. So he searches for another wife; eventually looking towards France. There are two eligible princesses of marriageable age and he has a son, does he not? So he sends out the feelers of the royal marriage negotiations. Surely something can be arranged, right?
 
Also, wouldn't Mary's son reign under the regency (of Elizabeth?) for the week or so he lived longer than his mother? Shorter reign than Lady Jane!
 
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