A place for images, links, and discussion relevant to the Tudor period. The Tudor period is defined as from the beginning of Henry VII's reign in 1485 to the end of Elizabeth I's reign in 1603. All history (economic, social, religious etc) and discussion of all types of people (monarchs, nobles, commoners) welcome. Submissions pertaining to the Wars of the Roses may be accepted or removed at the discretion of the mods.
I know this has probably been done to death but after “the who would make the best mother thread?”I’ve been thinking about my biggest Henry VIII what ifs?
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Had Anne Boleyn married Henry Percy would Henry have still annulled his marriage to CoA or would they have stayed together until her death and then maybe married Mary of Hungary strengthening ties with Charles V.
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If Henry Fitzroy hadn’t died before the pilgrimage of Grace would the catholic north have, had him being named as his successor as part of their conditions- I can imagine Thomas Howard would have thrown his weight behind them for the chance to have a daughter as queen.
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What if Jane Seymour hadn’t died- would the reformation progress falter?, would Mary I have found a spouse? Would Edward be less dogmatic? If she had, had more children would we have Mary I or Elizabeth I. 4)What if Anne of Cleeves had know about Henry’s penchant for dressing up would their first meeting have led to a happy marriage and would this have saved Cromwell’s head?
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What if Mary Tudor had, had a son with King Louis would Henry have named himself as king of France and tried to take control on behalf of his nephew?
There’s so many- I would love to hear others
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What if Henry's and CoA's son Prince Henry had survived. Would love to know how he would have been as Henry IX.
This is the biggest one for me! We would never have had Henry’s 6 wives. We’d likely never know the name Anne Boleyn, Cathrine Howard would have likely had a normal long life- so many lives changed forever when that poor little guy died as a baby.
Maybe Henry would have still had Anne Boleyn as his mistress but he definitely couldn’t have divorced Catherine if she was the mother to a legitimate male heir!
That’s true, he probably would have still had multiple mistresses, but with a living son or two I think his love for CoA would have held- it seemed he really cared about her. Also curious about what if he’d never suffered that head wound? Would he have been kinder in his later years?
He probably would have married again if Catherine still died at the same age. He wouldn’t have been comfortable with one son, especially considering that he was a second son with a dead older brother. It wouldn’t have been nearly as dramatic, though.
What if he hadn’t had his head injury? He became paranoid and beheaded Anne like four months later.
That is another What if of mine but I’ve always believed in the Thomas More adage “If the lion knew his own strength, hard were it for any man to rule him” Henry once he knew his power would have still become a tyrant without the head injury
I think the paranoia specifically was because if the head injury, and without it a lot of things would be different.
Classic traumatic brain injury stuff.
Henry was already thinking on the marriage, without Anne Boleyn. My what if is if Catherine died of Sweating sickness in 1527, with Anne married to Henry Percy. ? She’d still be Queen and get a Queen funeral, but that could really change England.
What if Catherine pestered Maria for control of her nephew, Luis of Portugal and raised him in England as a husband for Mary? And Henry accepted him and they married in 1530?
What if Henry got the idea of a united Scotland and England and pushed his sister for a betrothal to James V for Mary and it held and the Scottish advisors agreed with the plan? What if James V and Mary married in 1530?
What if Mary died in 1527? Would Catherine let Henry have his annulment then?
Margaret of Austria died six years before Catherine of Aragon.
I meant Mary of Hungary Charles’s sister🤦♀️
There are so many Hapsburg women of note at the time. Easy to confuse them.
There’s like 4 women 50 years named Isabella of Portugal. Very confusing!
What if Kathrine Howard’s affair was never uncovered? Cathrine Parr would never had married Henry, Kathrine Howard would most likely had outlived him and then what! The Howard’s vs the Seymour’s
I often wonder what kind of woman KH would have been had she lived to see her twenties. Would she have made smarter decisions? Would she have seen the wisdom is being a dowager queen and living her best life without a man controlling her body, her choices, her fiance's? Or would she have fallen for the first pretty face who said the right things?
I think 1 is a yes. Just to someone else. He needed an heir.
My biggest is WHAT IF ARTHUR LIVED??? Would Henry try to take out his brother? Would he fade into existence as brother of the king? Could he have married Anne as a lady in waiting and made the royal family bigger?
Henry wasn't raised to be a King like Arthur was. He probably would have enjoyed a life of womanizing and partying. Most men in the Courts cheated then, especially during the whole periods their wives took before giving birth and after--it was the custom of the time.
Absolutely I think he had a fair few of his uncle George of Clarence’s negative attributes selfish, entitled, failure to take responsibility, happy to throw those who have been helpful/loyal to him under the bus for short term gain
What if Jane Seymour didn’t die? Would they have more kids? Would Mary 1 and Queen Elizabeth 1 been accepted by Henry?