Thank you so much, King of Danes! You really provided me with some tremendous feedback and support. I went back and forth with Anne/Anna and where she ultimately ended up... but I ultimately liked the idea of Friedrich the best, especially given his checkered history IOTL: Catholic/Imperial supporter, briefly Protestant and a supporter of the Princely League before turning coat back to the Imperial and Catholic side. Perhaps a truly Protestant wife (with no imperial connections) who's given him a long sought after son (after many years of barrenness) might cause him to change his tune.I love all of these <3 I’m glad to have helped with what little I could, although I do see some changesMost notably that Anna ended with Friedrich after all hahah
Obviously we discussed some other ideas... one will work well as a Vignette, I think. The other big idea we discussed can/will definitely be incorporated into a chapter proper when we revisit France... but perhaps a vignette down the line, too. 😉
Yes, I thought it was quite interesting! I feel like even today, modern histography does Jane Seymour a poor service. She was queen but briefly... and more well remembered for the fact she gave Henry VIII a son versus her own short life. Her motto as queen was to obey and serve. Even still, she attempted to use her influence to spare those involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace, until Henry VIII essentially told her to shut it by reminding her what happened to her predecessor. She didn't meddle thereafter.
I like to imagine in Anno she has found a rather kindred spirit in William Paget: a man who recognizes and cherishes her strengths, and who sees his wife as his foil and confidant. His future is their future, and Jane as Mistress Paget is prepared to do whatever she can to support her husband. Perhaps now she hosts dinner to the Queen's Clerk and other minor men of the royal house, but who is to say that she may not be one day soon hosting members of the Privy Council?
I think that's one of the funnier things about this TL, in that Henry VIII will be remembered totally differently. As you said, he's already beginning to be idolized as a Renaissance King Arthur, and even some twenty years after his death, little grocer boys are telling stories that will someday be national legends: a king asleep in the mountain legend around Henry VIII, who will return to save the kingdom/nation when it's in peril. Not unlike the legends in Germany surrounding Friedrich Barbarossa or the last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos. Or to speak more recent to this time period, the legends that would eventually surround King Sebastian of Portugal as a Portuguese patriot and slumbering king.
I felt it somewhat poignant how these OTL women who were connected to Henry's life might feel when they gaze upon his portrait IATL. They have completely different lives IATL, and most (sans Catherine of Aragon) never even met him. but I cannot help but wonder if any of these women (Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr) who manage to look upon his portrait in Anno might perhaps feel a tug or twinge... a feeling that makes little sense, but fades as quickly as it goes. A tug towards our reality.
I can only imagine Anne Boleyn at the French court, gazing upon his portrait and feeling unsettled... pins and needles running across the back of her neck for just a moment.
Or the adoring Catherine of Aragon, who IATL never endured the miseries of her OTL counterpart, perhaps looking upon the visage of her one true love and king... feeling an ache in heart, if only for a moment as she wonders: If only we had been able to grow old together, what might have unfolded... how many sons and daughters I might have given you? With us, of course, knowing the true outcome of that tragedy.
I am definitely prepared too! I hope you can continue to give me some great ideas and feedback.
Indeed, that is very true and worth mentioning! Of Henry VIII's OTL children, obviously the most famous and recognized is Elizabeth. She had a long and successful reign. Edward and Mary were sovereigns and preceded her, but each reigned for such short periods that their reigns were really nothing more than transitions from the era of Henry VIII to Elizabeth I. Tudor histography tends to focus primarily on Henry VIII (and to an extent, his father Henry VII as the founder) and Elizabeth. There has been more focus in the last few years on Edward and even Mary (with a lot of focus on her role as England's first true queen regnant, and how shaped the role for Elizabeth).
IATL, Henry VIII's reign spanned only four years. He died at twenty-two, and his council at the time of Thérouanne was still primarily staffed with Henry VII's trusted councilors. Tudor histography IATL will likely focus on Henry VII as the founder of the dynasty and his restoration of England post the War of the Roses... but Henry VIII's reign will likely be seen as the transitional period leading into his daughters. ATL Henry VIII didn't live long enough to do anything: he wed Catherine, executed two of his father's unpopular ministers, and executed Edmund de la Pole. By June of 1513, he was dead and Catherine gave birth to Mary in December. There's not much to explore there, beyond the bridge from Henry VII to Queen Mary.
Queen Mary's reign will be highly researched (likely divided into two distinctive 'eras'... Mary's youth and Catherine's regency from 1513-31; and her personal rule from 1531 onward). People IOTL tend to think of Henry VIII or Elizabeth when we talk about the Tudors... in ATL, Mary will be the one who people think of. She takes the place of Mary and Elizabeth from IOTL, all rolled into one: she is England's first queen regnant, and will be considered one of England's greatest queens period. Succeeding to the crown upon her birth means she will have a very lengthy reign that will span a great portion of the 16th century.
Thank you so much, Victoria. I know when I started Anno, the plan was to give Catherine (and by extension, Mary) totally different lives from ATL. When Mary and Anne Boleyn went off into France, I of course occasionally thought of Henry VIII and how his other mistresses and wives might end up IATL. I enjoy that this is a TL where Catherine, Mary and Anne have all come out ahead compared to their OTL fates, so I suppose I also want to give the other women who were in his life different fates as well.
Thank you, FalconHonour! Hers was particularly fun to write. I already had an idea in mind she was going to get married, because her brother was likely to use her as a marital pawn regardless, and I knew I wanted her to have a child IATL. It just... took some time to whittle down the marital choices. 😅 I had long settled on the Palatinate Wittelbachs, but it was a bit of discussion of who... there was Friedrich II of course (IOTL he married Christina of Denmark), but I also pondered Otto Heinrich, his eventual heir, and briefly considered Friedrich III, presently the Count Palatine of Simmern. I didn't really like the Otto Heinrich idea, and Simmern is presently too far away from the succession to nab Anne as a wife, and I didn't feel like cleaving through 3-4 people to move him up higher. Friedrich II was the eventual choice that came to mind, since he's the current Elector and I'd taken his OTL wife away. His advanced age also means the possibility of an underage elector and perhaps Anne of Cleves being ending up regent.
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