What if Arthur never died of his illness in 1502 and went on
to become King of England?
April 2, 1502 was an unsettling
day for the Tudor household in Ludlow Castle. Throughout the last few months,
both Prince Arthur and his wife Catherine of Aragon had been ill. The last six
months had been touch and go, with many in the household fearing that one or
both might die. It didn’t help that various members of staff caught the
sweating sickness that both had contracted in the last few weeks and had died.
Luckily, the two overcame their
illnesses. Nobody would speak of the fears, and it was now time to focus on the
future.
That meant consummating the
marriage – something that should have happened on their wedding night. Arthur
had been so overeager that he had failed to perform his husbandly duty, but
refused to let anybody know that. He’s boasted all about his “night in Spain,”
and Catherine wasn’t going to embarrass him further.
Sister and Daughter Born Together
Just a month after the fears of
death, Catherine announced that she was with child. Arthur’s mother, Elizabeth
of York, also announced her seventh pregnancy. Henry VII of England and Arthur
Tudor were overjoyed with the news. Unfortunately, nine months later the whole
family would deal with devastating news.
Catherine gave birth to a
stillborn daughter on January 31, 1503. Two days later, Elizabeth did safely
deliver a daughter, named Katherine, but she only lived for a few days. If that
wasn’t hard enough for father and son, Elizabeth followed in death on her 37th
birthday.
Henry VII spared no expense for
his wife’s burial, who would be buried with their daughter. He also arranged
for Arthur’s daughter to be brought from Ludlow to London, where she would be
buried with her aunt and grandmother. The English people wept, as three bodies
laid in state.
Already having an heir, a spare,
and two daughters, Henry looked half-heartedly for another wife. However,
Arthur and Catherine had to move past the devastation. Catherine was
heartbroken, fearing that she was at fault. One thing that Arthur assured her
was that it was God’s will and nothing she did. They were still young and they
would have more children.
If anything, the loss of a child
brought the two together much closer than ever before. They opened up about
their feelings and concentrated on providing more heirs for the Tudor dynasty.
Babies Elizabeth and Henry Follow the Devastation
There is always a rainbow at the
end of the storm. For Catherine and Arthur that was the birth of their
daughter, Elizabeth. Arthur chose the name for his mother. Two years later, a
son followed and Arthur chose the name Henry, after his father. Henry would
live for just 56 days, dying of an infant illness and fever.
On April 21, 1509 Arthur learned
of the death of his father. The news of the death was kept a secret from
England, as Catherine had just gone into labour with the couple’s fourth
children. Arthur needed this to be a success and had to push the grief of the
loss of his father to one side. Shortly before midnight, Catherine gave birth
to another boy.
This boy did live and Arthur
named him Edmund, after the brother who died in 1500. While Catherine recovered
from childbirth, she learned of the news that her father-in-law had died, just
before the news broke to the people. Arthur and Catherine were now the King and
Queen Consort of England, with the world learning that young Prince Edmund was
born on the day his grandfather died. It was viewed as a sign from God that
this boy would become their saviour.
Once Catherine was re-churched,
she and Arthur were crowned in a lavish coronation. Arthur spared no expense.
Unfortunately, Arthur learned
that two of his father’s ministers, Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley had
extorted money. Arthur made the swift decision to execute the men for treason,
but he would act more kindly towards the House of York potential claimants to
the throne. Deciding that he had nothing to fear, he released them, including
Edmund de la Pole.
When Edmund’s brother Richard
headed a rebellion against the young king, Arthur’s council advised him of
taking a stronger stance. To show that he would not be threatened, Arthur
executed both Richard and Edmund, after the council apparently found evidence
that Edmund had been involved.
By the time of the executions in
1513, Catherine had learned she was with child again. This one wouldn’t make it
to term, and Catherine miscarried what doctors believed was a girl at four
months.
Finding a Marriage for Mary Tudor
One thing that his father had
left undone was finding a marriage for his youngest sister, Mary. The
Unfortunately, that decision led
to the French deciding to invade some of the English-held lands. Arthur and his
army attacked in France, just as Scotland attacked in the north. Catherine used
her power as Regent, while Arthur was overseas, to lead the army against the
Scottish. Both king and queen won their respective battles, gaining praise from
the people around them.
The Scottish defeat led to the
death of King James IV of Scotland, making Arthur’s sister Margaret a widow.
Arthur did welcome the eldest of his two younger sisters back to English court,
but she decided to remain in Scotland.
As for Mary, Arthur turned to
Spain for a marriage upon the request of Catherine. It didn’t take long for
Mary to be betrothed to Charles, the son of Catherine’s sister Joanne of
Castile. The two were married by proxy and Mary travelled to Spain to be with
her betrothed. Mary would become the Holy Roman Empress and England kept the
support of Spain for a long time.
Luckily, Arthur didn’t have to
worry about a marriage for his younger brother. Prince Henry Tudor had opted
for a lifetime in the church – not that their father had given Henry much of a
choice.
Arthur could focus on the
political marriages of his children. Before he could settle anything for either
of them, Catherine announced that she was with child again. In February 1516
she gave birth to another girl. Arthur named her Margaret, after his favourite
sister – Mary Tudor had been Henry’s favourite sister. Two years later,
Catherine would give birth to another child, another stillborn girl.
Marriages for Arthur Tudor’s Children
It would be the last child for
the royal couple. Now Arthur had to seriously focus on the marriages. While
Edmund was the most important of the three children, Arthur knew that he needed
to set up some sort of peace with Scotland. Arthur wanted to make it clear that
there were no hard feelings from when Scotland broke the Treaty of Perpetual
Peace in 1513. His advisors had advised against this, but Arthur acted.
Princess Elizabeth was betrothed
to her Scottish cousin James V of Scotland. The marriage took place on March 3,
1519 and the 16-year-old Elizabeth left her English home for her new Scottish
one just a week later. It was a tearful moment for Catherine, but she could be
safe in the knowledge that her sister-in-law was still in Scotland. While
Margaret was in a tricky situation, Arthur’s support and this new alliance
protected them all.
The next child to work on was
Prince Edmund, Prince of Wales. Before Arthur could do that, he learned of the
son King Francis of France had. He realized there was an advantageous alliance
he could gain with his younger daughter, the infant Margaret. Sure, Catherine
wasn’t happy about a French alliance, but she couldn’t deny the powerful
element of it.
Arthur and Francis agreed to an
alliance between the young Princess Margaret and Francis, Dauphin of France. It
wouldn’t last. The French broke the alliance, after hearing that Arthur was
considering an alliance with the Spanish. What they hadn’t waited for was to
hear that Arthur was arranging a marriage for his son. By 1528 the French
alliance was over and Arthur put his focus back on an alliance with Spain.
Charles and Mary Tudor had
already given birth to a daughter and two sons. They were both open to
marriages to either Edmund or Margaret, although of course preferred Edmund.
They wanted their daughter Maria to become the Queen of England. The marriage
talks broke down after Mary’s death in 1533. Charles went into a state of
mourning and wanted nothing to do with the English for a short time. Arthur
stepped back to allow him time.
Nothing happened until November
1535. And it wasn’t the Spanish alliance that Catherine wanted. When Francis visited
the English court with his daughter Madeline, Edmund feel in love with her.
Arthur knew that this marriage wouldn’t work out as Madeline was a sickly girl,
but he wanted his son to be happy.
The happiness was short-lived.
On January 7, 1536, the world mourned the death of Queen Catherine. When
doctors found a black mark on her heart, Arthur instantly decided she had been
poisoned and would spend the rest of his life searching for her murderer. Just
a year later, Arthur had died and Edmund found himself king on April 2, 1537.
He chose his middle name Henry as his royal title, becoming King Henry VIII of
England, with Madeline as his queen consort.
Life as King of England
Edmund’s marriage wouldn’t be a
fruitful one. As Arthur had once expected, Madeline failed to provide heirs. On
July 7, 1537, Madeline died in her husband’s arms and Edmund was heartbroken.
Whilst in mourning, Edmund heard
of a protestant uprising. Europe had been overtaken by the religious
reformation. While Charles, the Holy Roman Emperor had tried to fight it back,
there were various nations making a switch to Protestantism. Edmund refused to
let that happen to England and his Uncle Henry, who was made Archbishop of
Canterbury and Henry’s close friend Sir Thomas More worked together to burn
heretics and prevent Protestantism from spreading.
But Edmund needed to do more. To
help do that, he decided to turn his attention to Spain. Allying with a strong
Catholic nation had to be the best for the country and that meant a marriage to
the young Maria. The 15-year-old girl was the perfect age for the now
31-year-old king. They married on April 29, 1541 at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral,
where his mother and father had married. Edmund hoped that it would lead to a
fruitful, caring marriage like his parents had.
Their marriage only produced one
child, a son named Arthur. Unfortunately, Arthur Tudor died before becoming
king and the crown passed to his Scottish cousins, joining the two countries
together. Despite Edmund’s attempts at holding back Protestantism, the Scottish
king introduced the religious reformation and Catholicism fell by the wayside.
It was the start of a new age.
Image of Arthur Tudor
Image of Catherine of Aragon
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