The Seat of Mars: England in the Edwardian Era

[Colonel Autumn]

Prologue
​

"... for example, if King Edward VI hadn't recovered from his bout of sickness early on in his reign, England would've never seen the Edwardian Era, and most likely his sister Mary Tudor would've become Queen, bringing England back into the Papacy's orbit once and for all." - An excerpt from John Douglas' bestseller novel, "The Reformation: How the Sun Set on Rome."​

In the year of our Lord one thousand five hundred and fifty three, King Edward Tudor of England continued to go through a cycle of becoming ill and appearing as if he would not recover just to shock everyone by fully regaining his strength. After a few weeks of being fine he would come down with fever once more, and the circle would repeat itself. And when the fever hit him particularly hard in June, most thought that would be it for the fifteen year old. The current leaders of England, men such as John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, feared their grasp on power would falter with Edward's demise. Others, such as Edward's confidante Thomas Cranmer, feared the work the King had done would be for naught and his policies reversed. However, the boy managed to surprise his court when once more he managed to pull through once more. [I] Despite most suspecting the young King would relapse back into sickness once again, he managed to astonish the lot by fully recovering - for good this time. Edward would, shortly after recovering, manage to accuse the Duke of Northumberland of poisoning him to keep him ill [II] in order to remove Northumberland from the position of regent. It was a well known fact that the duke had been growing rich at the expense of the crown, something the young King would no longer stand for. After the execution of John Dudley, Edward used Northumberland's own act against him: the regent had made it seem as if Edward was old enough to rule himself to strengthen his own position. Edward assumed the full role of kingship on September 23rd, 1553, and began to usher in the first of England's golden ages.

[I] The POD, which is that Edward Tudor recovers from the last bout of sickness he went through.
[II] The Duke did not poison him. It was just a scheme to get rid of the corrupt Duke and end the regency.
​

 

[ByzantineLover]

Nice start. I'm looking forward to where this goes. So, who's Edward going to marry? Jane Grey? Elizabeth of Valois?

 

[Jammy]

Interesting, i'll watch this.

 

[Curt Jester]

So... a super Protestant England? Cool.

 

[Colonel Autumn]

1554 - 1555
​

The Edwardian Age would open with vast spiritual reforms. Edward was very much a protestant when compared to his father (who was merely an alternate flavor of Catholic. King Edward promoted Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury and a supporter of the reformation, as Lord Chancellor and began to surround himself with like minded individuals. Indeed, the Privy Council of King Edward's early years were filled with radical puritans. He continued the work of Thomas Cromwell by stripping down Catholic churches and monasteries of their wealth, but didn't stop there. Many churches had their land taken as well, and their temples converted to hospices or schools. He pushed a bill through parliament that made it illegal to pray to Mary, Mother of Jesus or any of the saints, declaring it heresy and idolatry. Instead of all the money taken from these churches going directly into the Royal Treasury as with his father, instead a thirty percent minority went into better causes - such as helping the poor and sick. Despite these changes being arguably for the better, many disliked the new Monarchy and thought that Edward would return the status quo that was held before Henry VIII began the Anglican Church nonsense.

On the fifteenth day of March, Edward awoke in the night after a horrid nightmare. In the dream, he went into sickness once more, and his sister Mary was crowned Queen of England, beginning England's descent back into Catholicism. This greatly scared Edward, who realized he must do everything he could possibly do to stop such a thing from happening. In March he brought a new Act of Succession to the Parliament, which would sideline Mary in favor of Elizabeth if Edward passed without issue. However, that didn't entirely solve the problem - Elizabeth was preferable to Mary no doubt, but if either of them took the throne, it would end the Tudor dynasty. Thus, with the help of his Privacy Council, Edward began to look for a bride in 1554. Many candidates were found, mostly princesses from northern German states or the Scandinavian kingdoms, where Protestantism was well rooted and supported. One such lady was Princess Catherine Vasa of Sweden. Edward quite liked her, and in June began a correspondence with the Swedish royal family to decide on a dowry. These plans were interrupted by an escape attempt - Princess Mary Tudor, a firm catholic and the King's half sister, dressed as a maid in order to leave the castle. She was apprehended on her way to rendezvous with Spanish soldiers under the command of the Holy Roman Emperor. She confessed her plan was to escape to the Low Countries and from there travel by carriage to his court in Spain. Edward realized his nightmare could come true, albeit in a different way: if Mary ever got to the Spanish court, they could use her as an excuse to invade England and overthrow him. Sure, the Spanish were too involved in squashing Protestantism in their own Empire, as well as battling the French in Italy, but that wouldn't last forever. He realized he had but one option: ally with the French against the Spanish as his father once attempted. In doing so, he turned his sights towards another princess besides Vasa - Elizabeth of Valois. Back before Edward fully took over, his regent had toyed around with marrying him off to Valois, and the young King fully saw the wisdom in that. He began correspondence with the King of France, hoping to secure an alliance and engagement. King Henry seemed delighted in the idea, although it wouldn't be until 1555 that the engagement was finalized.

 

[kasumigenx]

1554 - 1555
​

The Edwardian Age would open with vast spiritual reforms. Edward was very much a protestant when compared to his father (who was merely an alternate flavor of Catholic. King Edward promoted Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury and a supporter of the reformation, as Lord Chancellor and began to surround himself with like minded individuals. Indeed, the Privy Council of King Edward's early years were filled with radical puritans. He continued the work of Thomas Cromwell by stripping down Catholic churches and monasteries of their wealth, but didn't stop there. Many churches had their land taken as well, and their temples converted to hospices or schools. He pushed a bill through parliament that made it illegal to pray to Mary, Mother of Jesus or any of the saints, declaring it heresy and idolatry. Instead of all the money taken from these churches going directly into the Royal Treasury as with his father, instead a thirty percent minority went into better causes - such as helping the poor and sick. Despite these changes being arguably for the better, many disliked the new Monarchy and thought that Edward would return the status quo that was held before Henry VIII began the Anglican Church nonsense.

On the fifteenth day of March, Edward awoke in the night after a horrid nightmare. In the dream, he went into sickness once more, and his sister Mary was crowned Queen of England, beginning England's descent back into Catholicism. This greatly scared Edward, who realized he must do everything he could possibly do to stop such a thing from happening. In March he brought a new Act of Succession to the Parliament, which would sideline Mary in favor of Elizabeth if Edward passed without issue. However, that didn't entirely solve the problem - Elizabeth was preferable to Mary no doubt, but if either of them took the throne, it would end the Tudor dynasty. Thus, with the help of his Privacy Council, Edward began to look for a bride in 1554. Many candidates were found, mostly princesses from northern German states or the Scandinavian kingdoms, where Protestantism was well rooted and supported. One such lady was Princess Catherine Vasa of Sweden. Edward quite liked her, and in June began a correspondence with the Swedish royal family to decide on a dowry. These plans were interrupted by an escape attempt - Princess Mary Tudor, a firm catholic and the King's half sister, dressed as a maid in order to leave the castle. She was apprehended on her way to rendezvous with Spanish soldiers under the command of the Holy Roman Emperor. She confessed her plan was to escape to the Low Countries and from there travel by carriage to his court in Spain. Edward realized his nightmare could come true, albeit in a different way: if Mary ever got to the Spanish court, they could use her as an excuse to invade England and overthrow him. Sure, the Spanish were too involved in squashing Protestantism in their own Empire, as well as battling the French in Italy, but that wouldn't last forever. He realized he had but one option: ally with the French against the Spanish as his father once attempted. In doing so, he turned his sights towards another princess besides Vasa - Elizabeth of Valois. Back before Edward fully took over, his regent had toyed around with marrying him off to Valois, and the young King fully saw the wisdom in that. He began correspondence with the King of France, hoping to secure an alliance and engagement. King Henry seemed delighted in the idea, although it wouldn't be until 1555 that the engagement was finalized.

Princess Mary should be married to a French Prince, in exchange of a Marriage to Elisabeth of Valois - I think Archbishop Charles de Bourbon of Bourbon-La Marche comes in to mind.

 

[The Professor]

Princess Mary should be married to a French Prince, in exchange of a Marriage to Elisabeth of Valois - I think Archbishop Charles de Bourbon of Bourbon-La Marche comes in to mind.

Princess Mary won't be married as it could provide a Catholic claimant down the line.
She'll be kept imprisoned until it is safe to release her to a nunnery. Or until she commits treason and is executed.

 

[Avrorrange]

Princess Mary won't be married as it could provide a Catholic claimant down the line.
She'll be kept imprisoned until it is safe to release her to a nunnery. Or until she commits treason and is executed.

Then you can execute her already.She already committed treason by trying to flee to the Spaniards.

 

[The Professor]

Then you can execute her already.She already committed treason by teying to flee tonthe Spaniards.

Not according to the Treason Act 1351

 

[Avrorrange]

Not according to the Treason Act 1351

"adhered to the King's enemies in his Realm, giving them aid and comfort in his Realm or elsewhere."
We can kill her now.

 

[Colonel Autumn]

Princess Mary should be married to a French Prince, in exchange of a Marriage to Elisabeth of Valois - I think Archbishop Charles de Bourbon of Bourbon-La Marche comes in to mind.

Unfortunately for Mary, she is a liability and not to be trusted. She'll be lucky if she keeps her head for her attempted treason.

 

[The Professor]

"adhered to the King's enemies in his Realm, giving them aid and comfort in his Realm or elsewhere."
We can kill her now.

If she had actually been with the Spanish guards when caught but she was intercepted before she could.
Even then the distinction would have been brought up.

 

[Colonel Autumn]

1555 - 1556
​

It was on the twelfth of January in 1555 that King Henry II of France and King Edward VI of England met in Calais and began terms for the alliance between their two Kingdoms. The marriage of Princess Elizabeth of Valois to Edward once they were both of age was only the first point; the second was the signing of the Treaty of Perpetual Friendship and Commerce [1]. This treaty would secure trade deals between the two nations as well as highlighted the terms of England's support of France in the Italian Wars. In order to help the French, the English would invade the Low Counties to distract Spain while France went in for the kill in Milan. William Paulet, a favored noble of Edward, was to lead the battle in Flanders while the Duke of Guise led it in Milan. The Princess Mary (recently allowed back into court, albeit always surrounded by guards) was very discomforted with the idea of joining in the war against Spain [2], and the catholic peasants decided that it would be wise to begin rebellion in her name. This rebellion was led by one Charles Thomas [3], who gathered many of those loyal to Mary and marched from York to London, where it was quickly realized that they had no idea how they were to go about a coup. Charles was captured the fourth day, and thrown in the Tower of London along with some of the other leaders of this rebellion, ending what would later be called the First Peasant's Crusade. Although the attempt was laughable, it scared Edward, who realized the next time it could be more serious, and Mary was once again put under arrest until a better way to deal with her could be figured out. In May, by suggestion of Edward Seymour [4] that she be committed to a convent. King Edward realized that it would not only keep her from marriage, but also keep her from being able to become Queen in any way, shape or form.

Although not needed any longer, the Act of Succession that would place Elizabeth above Mary in the line of succession passed through in August, greatly soothing Edward's fears. If he died without issue, then Elizabeth would inherit the crown. This Act of Succession also made it illegal for any Catholic to take the throne. This enraged the Pope, who declared a holy war against England. It was sort of a moot point, as Spain was already at war with the English and no one else really was paying attention to the Papacy at that point. In order to accomplish their war goals, King Edward vastly ignored the army in favor of the English Royal Navy. He had decided that, with a defensive alliance with France, Scotland wouldn't have the gall to attack at the moment. He was correct, and it was England's shiny new fleet that allowed the English to capture Antwerp and Amsterdam, crippling the Spanish Empire's income sources. Ironically, it was the fortune from selling off Catholic property (one of the main reasons that the Habsburgs were against England) that allowed the English to build their new fleet. To the ire of Edward, the city of Amsterdam was heavily looted by English troops - he had commanded that the cities of the Low Countries not be looted, as it would damage their economy, and he intended to capture and keep them. The English finished off the Habsburg's forces in the Low Counties in September, during the Siege of Brussels. This distraction allowed the French to fully conquer Milan, and had King Philip call a ceasefire. Finally, in order to secure the English-French-German alliance, it was decided in December that Princess Elizabeth would marry John Frederick II of Saxony, whose former wife Agnes died in November. The two officially would marry in February.