OTL, Henry VIII died in 1547, while his first son Henry Duke of Cornwall died in 1511. What if this was reversed? Katherine of Aragon becomes queen dowager, queen mother and presumably queen regent for her son's minority. What else changes?
WI: Death dates of Henry VIII and Henry, Duke of Cornwall are switched?
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I doubt who Catherine would be able to take (and keep) the regency for her infant son here as England had no tradition of female regents.
Though England had no tradition of female regents, I think she could take and keep the regency, she has done her duty by providing an heir after all. Her son will be crowned and she could wield a lot of political influence and autonomy, like Margaret Beaufort did
Her son would not be crowned for many years, and Margaret Beaufort was never intended to be regent of England for at least 12 years. Also Margaret was an Englishwoman and her son had inherited the claim to the English crown (and his English royal blood) from her
Dowager Queen Catherine would be regent but would still be subject to the privy council holding slightly more power as a Regency Council made up of many influential men such as:
- Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
- Chancellor, William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury
- Treasurer, Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey (Hasn’t been elevated back to 2nd Duke of Norfolk)
- George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
Any wrong move by Catherine would be pounced on.
I can also imagine that Louis XII pushing for a war with England as he will see Catherine and Spain as a threat, which could bring James IV of Scotland into war early and before his son and heir is born.
If war does come to England, Catherine and King Henry IX are in a delicate position as there are claimant to the throne who swore loyalty to House Tudor when they were forces to recon with, now just a month old the new king could be usurped.
Family Tree
Henry VIII (28/6/1491–22/2/1511) m. 1509, Catherine of Aragon (16/12/1485–7/1/1541)
- Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
- Chancellor, William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury
- Treasurer, Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey (Hasn’t been elevated back to 2nd Duke of Norfolk)
- George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
Any wrong move by Catherine would be pounced on.
I can also imagine that Louis XII pushing for a war with England as he will see Catherine and Spain as a threat, which could bring James IV of Scotland into war early and before his son and heir is born.
If war does come to England, Catherine and King Henry IX are in a delicate position as there are claimant to the throne who swore loyalty to House Tudor when they were forces to recon with, now just a month old the new king could be usurped.
Family Tree
Henry VIII (28/6/1491–22/2/1511) m. 1509, Catherine of Aragon (16/12/1485–7/1/1541)
1) Stillborn daughter (31/1/1510)
2) Henry, Duke of Cornwall (1/1/1511–28/1/1547) m. 1527, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal (31/12/1504–8/1/1538)
Catherine will most likely NOT take the regency as nobody would likely give it to her and in any case Beatrice is way too old for Henry IX. If you want a Portuguese princess then keep alive Beatrice’s youngest sister Maria (two years younger than Henry).
Still Catherine would most likely push for her namesake niece, the OTL Queen of Portugal who is only four years older than Henry IX (and so a more acceptable match) and the most likely alternative to her is Renée of France, only a couple of months older than the young King.
Renee of France works, she is fertile OTL which would not change with butterflies of this TL, plus she is daughter of HDOC's godfather, this would be a good reason for Katherine to push this couple together
Why is Katherine living to 1541, out of curiosity, not saying it's bad, just curious. Why would Louis XII push for a war? He is godfather to Henry, Duke of Cornwall. Surely he will take advantage of this
Catherine would be firmly against a match with Renee (she hated France) and would strongly try to get her namesake niece as daughter-in-law but is not guaranteed who she would be able to get her way.
Right. And I would add who James V would be unlikely to join a war against England when he is without heirs and a baby of few months is the only thing between his wife and the Crown of England.
Though Katherine hated France, she could be persuaded to see the benefits of such a match, her namesake niece is a little older than her son which would cause a bit of concern in terms of fertility whereas Renee is closer to his age. Plus, her niece is needed for a Portuguese alliance. That being said she would still try to get her niece as daughter-in-law but the other regents would likely put their foot down
As former Queen consort and mother of the King, I believe she will serve as the leading regent among other on the regency council she was regent during Henry’s campaign in France 1513.
The age between Beatrice and Henry is nearly the same as Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII’s age gap.
I chose Beatrice as a link to Catherine’s family connection and with Portugal.
The problem with Maria is does Henry’s death cause the butterfly’s to change her being stillborn.
Catherine of Portugal is better and Renée isn’t a bad shout but again it’s the issues I could see cropping up with France, unless a marriage is formed as part of a treaty.
The reason I believe Louis XII would push for a war is to claim land in northern France and make himself look good, godparent isn’t as good as controlling Normandy.
Plush Catherine is from Spain which is a thorn in his side in the south. Louis would want to limit their power as soon as possible.
Catherine died in OTL 1536 due to giving up on life, not eating and allowing the cancer to take over. Where as ITTL she wants to be around to see her child grow up and eventually her grandchildren.
At this point Catalina is fully free, and would not be need for Portugal as Charles V would marry Mary Tudor here meaning who John III would be free to marry Eleanor. Plus this Catherine is only four years older than Henry (same age gap between Charles V and his fiancée Mary Tudor), while her aunt was 7 years older than her husband.
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Wouldn’t the fact that his wife should be Queen rather than a few month old baby?
He could believe he’s fighting for his wife’s claim.
Here she had nothing of that, and she would be likely to follow the fate of precedent former Queen consorts…
The age gap was seen as too big by many.
England at this point has just Calais
No, as young Henry IX has clearly a much better claim than Margaret. Margaret would be the legitimate heiress if the baby King died, so James would wait to see what happen as little kids can easily fie for fully natural causes
Who would support Margaret over Henry IX's claim? Especially when she is a foreign country's consort. That would take England under Scotland's interests, no way will the English stand for that.
OK true, but I still think Renee works better than Beatrice, certainly in one of the billion Anglo-French treaties, a marriage could be suggested
Family Tree
Henry VIII (28/6/1491–22/2/1511) m. 1509, Catherine of Aragon (16/12/1485–7/1/1541)
Henry VIII (28/6/1491–22/2/1511) m. 1509, Catherine of Aragon (16/12/1485–7/1/1541)
1) Stillborn daughter (31/1/1510)
2) Henry IX (1/1/1511–28/1/1547) m. 1527, Catherine of Austria (14/1/1507–12/2/1578)
1) Princess Catherine (b. 1527)
2) Princess Joan (b. 1528)
3) Princess Elizabeth (b. 1529)
4) Henry, Prince of Wales (b. 1530)
5) Prince Arthur, Duke of York (b. 1532)
6) Princess Eleanor (b. 1534)
7) Prince Edward, Duke of Richmond (b. 1536)
8) Prince Philip of Somerset (b. 1538)
9) Prince Charles of Suffolk (b. 1539)
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Wow nine kids! You know Katherine is dancing with joy at each grandkid's birth
She served as regent in 1513 without any trouble, albeit for a much shorter period.
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