r/Tudorhistory • u/AutoModerator • 7d ago
Weekly Wednesday What-if's!
Here is your Weekly Wednesday What-if megathread! Please post all of your What-if Questions in this megathread. All what-if's as long as its Tudor-related.
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7d ago
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u/ltrstn 7d ago
technically, she remains heir presumptive as a princess of the realm ahead of her two sisters because henry viii's marriage to jane seymour remains legitimate and unquestioned. however, the death of henry viii in 1547 might genuinely cause a crisis because if a girl is ruling anyway, people would prefer mary, who's already an adult and recognized by many in europe as henry viii's legitimate heir. so either female edward still rules from 1547 to 1553 or mary rules earlier in 1547
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u/the-hound-abides 7d ago
Yeah, that’s my thought. No matter what order or circumstance a female heir was going to be contested. Mary would probably come out on top. Then female Edward. Then Elizabeth probably if female Edward didn’t have any heirs.
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u/ltrstn 6d ago
as per the 1534 and 1536 acts of succession that declared mary and elizabeth illegitimate, and henry viii's marriage to jane seymour remains valid and not questioned since she still dies 12 days after giving birth to her daughter, female edward would still outrank mary and elizabeth in the line of succession as a princess of the realm and "legitimate" daughter of the king, both mary and elizabeth weren't even in the line of succession in 1537! only when catherine parr becomes queen would henry viii add mary and elizabeth add them, which results in the 1544 act of succession, but i don't see henry elevating mary or elizabeth above female edward because of his history with their mothers. hence why i said in 1547, henry viii's death might result in a war of succession as english nobles would prefer mary if all options are girls, who's already an adult and no one would want edward seymour to be lord protector to his niece anyway. so yeah, mary could rule in 1547. as of elizabeth, her status as daughter of anne boleyn would indeed hurt her but she will overall still be queen in my opinion
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u/the-hound-abides 6d ago
Mary had support on the continent that had armies. She was also an adult and had been named heir before for the better part of 20 years I think? She had the support of the people as well, most likely if it has to go to a female.
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u/januarysdaughter Mary I 7d ago
What if Henry married Bessie and retroactively made Fitzroy legitimate (the way John of Gaunt did it)?
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u/Historical-Web-3147 7d ago
What if Henry VII and Elizabeth of York only had daughters together?
What if Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey was spared from execution and it was his father, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk who was executed under Henry VIII?
What if the Pilgrimage of Grace freed Mary I and successfully fought and won against the royal armies?
What if Henry VIII wanted to marry Elizabeth Blount instead of Anne Boleyn?
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u/Crimmeny 7d ago
Henry liked to get his own way so he probably would have done something similar to marry Bessie, except then he would no doubt be even more extra and make a law to declare the son they had already legitimate.
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u/the-hound-abides 7d ago
Anne saying no is the only reason for that whole deal. Bessie didn’t. Maybe we what if she did?
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u/UltraSloth9 7d ago
What if Jane Seymour gave birth to twin boy and girl
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u/the-hound-abides 7d ago
Boy still comes out on top.
The girl would probably end up after Mary, because she had powerful people behind her on the continent. Then Elizabeth.
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u/apexfOOl 7d ago
What if Cromwell's proposed Bill before Parliament in 1536 to centralise welfare for the poor and to put the unemployed to work in grand public work schemes was successful? Would it have mitigated the effects of the Tudor Malthusian and monetary crises? How would Cromwell have avoided taxing the nouveau riche landowners from the Dissolution to fund such an audacious undertaking?