All About - History - Hitler Versus Stain
All About History offers a energizing and entertaining alternative to the academic style of existing titles. The key focus of All About History is to tell the wonderful, fascinating and engrossing stories that make up the world’s history.
All About History offers a energizing and entertaining alternative to the academic style of existing titles. The key focus of All About History is to tell the wonderful, fascinating and engrossing stories that make up the world’s history.
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What if…<br />
Queen Elizabeth I<br />
had married?<br />
The Virgin Queen is famous for having never<br />
married or producing an heir, but what would have<br />
happened to the Tudor dynasty if she had?<br />
Written by Jack Griffiths<br />
Elizabeth’s sister and previous Tudor monarch,<br />
Mary, had been married to King Phillip II<br />
of Spain until her death in 1558. There was<br />
a possibility that Elizabeth would marry<br />
her half-sister’s widower, but neither were<br />
particularly interested in the match and Phillip<br />
would have only proposed for the good of<br />
Catholicism. Elizabeth also realised Phillip had<br />
been an unpopular Spanish king with the people<br />
of England during his marriage to Mary. Another<br />
candidate for the queen’s hand was Eric of Sweden,<br />
but her advisers believed there would be few<br />
benefits from an alliance with the House of Vasa.<br />
Elizabethalsoinsistedonnevermarryingsomeone<br />
shehadn’tseenbefore,soArchdukesCharlesand<br />
FerdinandofAustriawereoutoftheframe,aswas<br />
JohnFrederic,dukeofSaxony.Noneofthemwould<br />
riskthepublicridiculeofjourneyingtoEnglandto<br />
face being rejected. As for potential English suitors,<br />
Sir William of Pickering and the Earl of Arundel<br />
were never considered seriously, while Robert<br />
Dudley,whowasthoughttobeElizabeth’strue<br />
love, was out of contention due to the rumours<br />
that he had murdered his wife. Therefore, the best<br />
choice of husband for Elizabeth I would have been<br />
Francis, duke of Alencon. An alliance with France<br />
would have supported the English cause against<br />
the Spanish, and Alencon had met with Elizabeth<br />
on two prior occasions, even sending his servant<br />
Jean de Simier to woo the queen on his behalf in<br />
January 1579.<br />
With the union of Elizabeth and Alencon, the<br />
English and French dynasties join as one. The<br />
marriage shocks Spain, which delays its attacks on<br />
England, and no armada is ever raised. Alencon<br />
postpones campaigns in the Netherlands for the<br />
occasion and the French influence on England<br />
increases. This isn’t welcomed by everyone, and<br />
thecountrybeginstotearitselfapartsocially.<br />
Thetensionsimmersfordecades,butElizabeth<br />
gives birth to a son, Henry. Being older than her<br />
husband,shediesleavingAlencontoruleFrance<br />
and their son to rule England as king. This is not a<br />
popularmovewithvastswathesofthepopulation,<br />
asProtestantismisnowwellestablishedandthe<br />
ideaofaCatholicFrenchkingismetwithmuch<br />
disdain. Uprisings begin all over the nation and a<br />
civil war eventually breaks out in England between<br />
Catholic and Protestant factions. James VI and the<br />
Scots join with the Protestant cause while Ireland<br />
benefits from a lack of Tudor campaigns in the<br />
Emerald Isle. The bloody war means the Stuart<br />
dynasty never claims the English crown as the<br />
Catholic forces, bolstered by the French, eventually<br />
come out on top. There’s no union of the crowns,<br />
but the opportunity for Scottish armies to move<br />
south once again is possible, and they seek to<br />
install James’s son Charles as a puppet king. The<br />
conquest of the New World is now a joint Anglo-<br />
French venture as the two powers focus their<br />
efforts on nullifying the growing Spanish Empire.<br />
EXPERT: ELIZABETH NORTON<br />
ElizabethNortonisahistorian specialising<br />
inthequeensofEngland and the Tudor<br />
period. Her most recent book is The<br />
Temptation Of Elizabeth Tudor, which<br />
looked at the relationship between Thomas<br />
Seymour and the future Elizabeth I. She<br />
has a forthcoming book on The Lives Of<br />
Tudor Women, which will be published by Head of Zeus, and<br />
has also written biographies of four of Henry VIII’s wives.<br />
Elizabeth is also regularly featured on television and radio.<br />
How would it be different?<br />
Move to marriage<br />
Francis, duke of Alencon,<br />
decides the time is right to ask<br />
for Elizabeth’s hand for a second<br />
time and sends a trusty servant<br />
over on his behalf.<br />
1578<br />
Royal wedding<br />
A grand wedding is held. The<br />
duke postpones his campaigns<br />
to the Netherlands, and with<br />
a new Anglo-French alliance,<br />
there is no war with Spain and<br />
no armada. 1581<br />
Royal baby<br />
Fast-forward a few years and<br />
Elizabeth gives birth to a son.<br />
The child’s dual nationality<br />
brings England and France<br />
closer together in an alliance.<br />
1582<br />
An uncertain royal future<br />
Alencon succeeds to the French<br />
throne. Elizabeth divides her<br />
time between France and<br />
England and the population<br />
becomes uneasy over who will<br />
be her heir. 1589<br />
Death of Elizabeth<br />
The last Tudor queen’s death<br />
triggers a changing of the guard.<br />
Francis stays on the French<br />
throne and installs his young<br />
son as the regent of England,<br />
surrounded by advisers. 1603<br />
84
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