In OTL, Anne of Brittany had a daughter named Anne of France who died on her day of birth. But what if the opposite happened? What if Anne of Brittany died in childbirth while Anne of France lived? Let’s also assume that Charles VIII still dies on schedule leaving Louis of Orleans King. Obviously he’s going to keep her in France, in hopes he can marry her to a son of his or a French Prince and pursue an annulment of his marriage ASAP. Who does he marry here? Is an Italian Princess possible or would he marry elsewhere? Could he remarry to Margaret of Austria if John still dies? How does this affect the Italian Wars
WI: Anne of Brittany died in 1498 instead of Anne of France?
- Thread starter RedKing
- Start date
Louis XII still wants annulment of his marriage (and thus would need alliance with the Pope). Options for him? Besides Margaret of Austria it may be Catherine of Aragon (if short living alliance between Louis and Ferdinand is not butterflyied away) or Elizabeth of Poland (her brother John Albert and Louis XII attempted to create alliance against Habsburgs). Meanwhile Anne of Foix-Candale, not being French Queen's cousin ITTL, is not going to marry in Hungary (propably is replaced by Germaine).
Charlotte of Albert could still be married to Cesare Borgia in that case, or one of the other proxies considered. As for Catherine of Aragon marrying Louis, she was already promised to Arthur by that time. Isabella of Aragon is still alive though, so Maria is still free, maybe she could marry Louis instead? Other Louis marrying Elizabeth and Germaine marrying Vladislaus is a good idea since it surrounds the Habsburgs.
I don't know how realistic Catherine of Aragon would be for a marriage to Louis, though I suppose that would be determined by whatever gains and concessions were going to be agreed to between him and Fernando and Isabel. Fernando would need some serious concessions, such as the return of Roussillon and acknowledgement of Navarre being within Aragon's overall sphere, while he would probably need to acknowledge Louis' claims to Naples. Louis may actually prefer Fernando's niece Joanna of Naples since that would give him a much stronger claim to the Neapolitan throne. I imagine however that if Fernando and Isabel were to offer one of their daughters, it would probably be Maria instead of Catherine in order not to break the betrothal agreement with Henry VII.
As for Anne of France, I think Louis would want to hold onto Anne until he is able to have a son with whoever his new wife is, then marry Anne to his son in order to secure Brittany to the French crown.
As for Anne of France, I think Louis would want to hold onto Anne until he is able to have a son with whoever his new wife is, then marry Anne to his son in order to secure Brittany to the French crown.
Off the top of my head:
- Maria of Aragon and Castile (b.1482)
- Margaret of Austria (b.1480)
- Joanna of Naples (b.1478)
- Charlotte of Naples (b.1480)
- Margaret Tudor (b.1489)
- Cecily of York (b.1469)
- Bridget of York (b.1480)
- Louise of Bourbon, later Duchess of Montpensier (b.1482)
Joanna of Naples does make since and she is free by now, but I am not sure if Ferdinand would want to give Louis that claim to Naples, since it would be stronger than his own, so he might opt for one his daughters or cousin of his. Also Isabella of Castile would probably protest against the match.
Agreed, Maria just makes more sense and she is in need of a suitor.
Definitely, Anne would probably grow up a hostage. I could see the Bretons attempting to free her or installing a Rohan as Duke in a bid to remain free from French rule.
Bridget and Cecily would never be offered, Henry wouldn’t risk marrying them into France, though he would probably offer Margaret since she has her two brothers ahead of her. Charlotte of Naples is a possible local match since she is rich (I think) and has a claim to Naples. John and/or Isabella would probably need to live for Maria to be offered. Margaret of Austria does have a lot of benefits for Louis and Maximilian, though I could see discussions of how big how dowry should be hampering the negotiations.
Anne of France will inherit Brittany, she will be kept in France until Louis has a son, and if he does not have a son then he will marry her off to his heir presumptive
Agreed, though the Bretons would likely try to make sure that isn’t what happens.
They can make trouble for Louis in small ways but what can they do? Anne jr is their Duchess
Yeah, I’d imagine if they get really desperate, they might try and install someone else as Duke, but aside from that the best they can do is try to
They might, but even then I think the Breton nobility were pretty well crushed after the mad war so it might be difficult getting enough people who care so much.
Is that Anne of France you’re referring too? If so that makes sense, though Louis might try to give it to someone more loyal to him.
It could be easier for Louis to have Anne de Beaujeu assume the regency for her niece and remain responsible for upbringing, with the caveat that she definitely marry his future heir. It would be a goodwill move towards the Bretons and Anne has always done what was best for France and would honor her brother's memory.
They cannot install another person as Duke as long as she survives, so what they CAN do instead is to choose her husband.
That would require Louis getting custody of Anne II first and in that circumstances is pretty impossible (as Louis NEED to keep Anne de Beaujeu friendly for prevent her from supporting her sister Jeanne in the annulment cause).
I doubt who Louis would be able to impose such clause to Anne de Beaujeu, specially considering his OTL deals with both Anne of Brittany and Anne de Beaujeu
Little Anne being engaged to Louis‘ future son if he was born early enough is not impossible, and Francis of Angouleme will be a strong candidate for her hand
As second wife for Louis, I would say who the most credible options are Margaret of Austria or Charlotte of Naples (but the latter require Louis trying to conquer only Milan in Italy at first)
True, giving Anne de Beaujeu custody of Anne of France would help ensure her support for Louis alongside the other things in OTL.
They could if they were desperate enough, but that would be a last resort.
I said if Louis married Margaret.
True, giving Anne of France to Anne de Beaujeu isn’t the worst thing in the world either.
Yeah, I’d imagine as long as the son is born within 4-5 years of Anne, then the two would be married, otherwise Francis of Angouleme works for her.
Charlotte of Naples does work, though I am not sure if other monarchs would approve it since it’d give Louis a better claim to Naples. Margaret of Austria would be interesting, especially when it comes to what happens with the Italian Wars.