Epilogue
Charles Brandon, Duke of Richmond-and former King of England and Duke of Suffolk-died peacefully in his sleep in December, 1564 at eighty years of age.
He was missed throughout England-mostly by his family.
It was not long before Mary died, age forty eight, a mere week after Charles was buried in the royal vaults of Westminster Abbey. Tears flowed endlessly from the eyes of not only royals, but nobles and peasants throughout England. She was mourned in other kingdoms such as Austria and Spain, but her death was met with great relief in Navarre.
Both Charles and Mary were survived by nine children and lived to see the births of seventy three grandchildren and one great grandchild. The deaths of Charles Edward, 1st Duke of Suffolk, Katharine Charlotte, Holy Roman Empress and Margaret Helena, Countess of Angouleme brought grief to the couple, but the remainder of their children led prosperous lives, which led to later historians dubbing them 'the Illustrious Generation' and often compared them to their predecessors, the Portuguese Infanta and Infantes of the Portuguese 'Illustrious Generation'.
Henry IX-also known as 'Henry the Great', was famed for his skills in diplomacy and warfare.
After Charles and Mary's deaths, his fame increased.
He was feared and loved; a tyrant and a peacemaker.
His conquest of France was a story told over and over again, filled with pride by the English, and bitterness by the French and Bretons. After a lengthy confession to his brother John, he became more of a family man than ruthless monarch. He grew close to his seven children (Marie, Catherine, Henri, Isabelle, Edouard, Guillame and Marguerite) as they grew older, and mourned together when Queen Marguerite died a few months after Charles and Mary. His desire for Marie to marry the King of the Romans never materialised, but his relationship with Mimi increased for the better.
After he rescued her from the lecherous clutches of Armand de Gontaut, Duke de Biron (a French-Navarrese nobleman), Mimi was constantly grateful and agreed for a match between Marie and her eldest son, Felipe, Prince of Asturias.
All the anger between them vanished and was replaced by gratitude and forgiveness.
Mimi became colder towards her husband, who did not seem to care for her traumatising experience with the Duke de Biron in his foreboding lair, the Chateau de Biron.
She remained in England after he became infatuated with a brazen Spanish woman.
Only a few times, did she visit Spain-for the sake of her children.
It was said by contemporaries that Mimi was the one responsible for maintaining peace between England and Spain, and for that, she was nicknamed 'the Peacemaker'. Due to her actions, England and Spain remained good allies-at some times uneasy friends-throughout the remaining few decades of the sixteenth century and lasted well up to the twentieth century.
Mimi was also in favour of her niece, Isabelle's marriage with the Spanish grandee, Don Antonio Alvarez de Toledo, Count of Lerin and heir to his childless uncle's (the Duke of Alba) estates.
To many people's surprise, Henry IX agreed to it.
Bella remained the loving wife to Henry Willoughby, 1st Earl Willoughby de Eresby and became a leading woman in fashion and culture. Her country manor design was copied (with her permission) by other nobles, and she became a loyal patroness to the rising playwright, William Shakespeare, who's plays and sonnets had caught her attention. She lived a long, prosperous, mostly uneventful life, and her connection with Shakespeare was strengthened when one of her grandsons (Sir Henry Willoughby) married Shakespeare's daughter, Mistress Susanna Shakespeare.
As Sir Henry was the son of one of Bella's younger sons, his marriage with Susanna Shakespeare was not viewed a misalliance or a morganatic match.
Historians labelled Bella as 'Shakespeare's Patroness'.
Bess remained as stubborn and determined as she was when her parents' were alive, and that caused a rift between her and certain family members.
As expected by certain people, her husband, the Duke of Norfolk, began acting in a manner similar to that of the 3rd Duke of Norfolk which irritated Henry IX. To his frustration, Bess took her husband's side, even with a mountain of evidence of his illegal activities such as embezzlement came to light. He was imprisoned for life in the Tower of London and Bess found herself under house arrest with her children with threats of disinheritance and possible exile.
"I married a Howard, I stay a Howard," she was said to have declared.
In an attempt to take her children by royal decree, Bess escaped to Ireland with them and bought her and her children protection through marrying her second daughter Lady Frances, to Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles, heir to the 9th Earl of Ormond. She further secured her safety through marrying her eldest son (Thomas, Lord Maltravers) to one of Bella's daughters, Lady Joan Willoughby. Bella and Bess had remained close, and with Bella's influence, Bess's actions were reluctantly forgiven and she was welcomed back to Court.
To cement her loyalty to Henry IX, she handed her remaining children to him.
For the rest of her life, Bess was in and out of favour, but she didn't care.
She never cared.
She had a close relationship with her half-aunt and namesake, Elizabeth, Countess of Leicester, and together, they were called 'the Two Elizabeths'.
Even though he was the target of immoral practical jokes-mostly from Will-John stayed true to his vows and remained celibate, devoted to religion and found no interest in women. He had an illustrious career, moving up the religious ladder, beginning as a bishop, becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury and ending as a cardinal. He was loved by the poor, and was genuinely respected by the French, as he treated everyone-despite their background and social status-with equal esteem and politeness. After his death, he was beautified as a saint.
Ever since the reign of Charles I and Mary I, the family have decided to uphold the importance of religion and vowed at least one Brandon Prince and one Brandon Princess would willingly take a religious path to ensure the Almighty's good will remain in England.
Among the forty children of Brandon Princes and Princesses, five became dedicated to religion and pulled themselves away from matrimony.
All five of them were truly willing to devote themselves to God.
Apart from Prince Christian of Suffolk, who was also created a cardinal later in his career, Lord Thomas Willoughby (Bella's youngest son) became the Archbishop of York, Prince Edward of Lancaster (Eustace's youngest son) succeeded as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Prince Thomas of Kent (eldest son of Tom) was also made cardinal, and his sister (Princess Mary of Kent) chose to relinquish her royal titles and to be a sister-and later Abbess-in the abbey of Waltham.
The royal ambassador, Prince Eustace, Duke of Lancaster, left an eventful life, travelling to different kingdoms of Europe, staying in various royal and ducal courts and even ventured into the New World, accompanied in every step by his dear wife, Infanta Maria of Guimaraes.
Together, they had five children, four sons and a daughter. Apart from his youngest son having an ecclesial vocation, Eustace made his mark in history as the first English ambassador visiting the culturally different Court of Russia and arranging a match between the Tsar's grandson, Grand Duke Feodor of Russia and his own daughter, Princess Katharine of Lancaster.
With permission from Henry IX, Eustace, Infanta Maria and their children all journeyed to Russia for the prestigious wedding.
Unfortunately, Infanta Maria died upon arrival and was mourned by her children and widower.
Before marriage, the Tsar granted the Lancaster Princes and Princess the title 'Prince Romanov' and 'Princess Romanova'. Even with their roots in England, Eustace's second and third sons (Princes Henry and Louis of Lancaster) stayed in Russia with their sister, who eventually became Empress Ekaterina Feodorovna of Russia, the mother of Tsar Ivan V 'the Peaceful'.
It was predicted by a madman when the remaining Lancastrian Princes (Eustace's heir, Charles, and Edward) and Eustace returned to England, that the Brandon House of Lancaster will rise to supreme power once again, and fall drastically at the hand of the turning wheel of fortune.
His words seemed true, as Eustace's eldest son, Prince Charles, had nine children with his wife, Princess Jeanne of Brittany.
Eustace's famous last prayers were documented and remembered by his youngest son.
"Please, oh Lord, protect them from harm," he was said to have murmured on his deathbed. "Save
them from the words of that madman. May my descendants remain in the monarch's favour and for them to enjoy the possessions they have. Please keep them away from the poisonous chalices of ambition, power and greed. Please, oh Almighty Lord, save them from fortune's fickle hand."
His words were thought to have been the ravings of a dying man.
Thomas, Duke of Kent was as adherent a Catholic as John, and equally as devout, had regardless married Lady Margaret More (granddaughter of Sir Thomas More) and they were blessed with three children (Prince Thomas, Princess Mary and Prince Charles), two of whom chose the path of working for the Almighty. The couple travelled with John to Italy, and were kind to the poor and together, found a prominent brother and sister convent, St Thomas and Margaret Abbey. Throughout history, the significant abbey held close ties to the House of Kent, and a son and daughter of each Duke of Kent took the vows and became a monk or nun of St Thomas and Margaret Abbey.
Like John, the Duke and Duchess of Kent were beautified as saints and were easily recognised by the statues of them holding the Bible together.
Poor Cecily was the only Brandon girl who seemed to have suffered.
Her career of misfortune began with her arranged marriage to Grand Prince Francesco de Medici for political reasons (a whole list of motives with the main one being a direct request from the Pope). Unlike Kate and Mimi who met their political spouses before their weddings and Henry IX, who's wife was part of the Treaty of Rheims, Cecily had never saw the Grand Prince and was extremely nervous. Of course it was an honour 0to be related to Pope Pius IV (the pope at that time), but she had mixed emotions. Her calamities continued during her four consecutive pregnancies which ended with only one child living to adulthood-a girl, Princess Maria de Medici.
It was not long before her husband ascended the throne as Francesco I, and died tragically from an influenza only mere months after his accession. His successor was his younger brother, Grand Duke Ferdinando I de Medici, who was affianced to Cecily's niece, Archduchess Anna of Austria. He favoured an alliance with powerful Austria rather than England and loathed Cecily.
As a sonless widow, she found herself isolated from the Tuscan Court.
When her only daughter was betrothed to Archduke Maximilian of Austria (Archduchess Anna's younger brother), Cecily was given the option to depart to Austria with her daughter as the bride's mother, or return to England as the Dowager Grand Duchess of Tuscany.
She chose the latter.
Cecily died in another wave of the plague a year after her parents' deaths.
She was only twenty three.
The last surviving child was William, Duke of Gloucester.
He was considered one of the most honourable and knightly of Charles and Mary's children and many historians sympathised for him. Despite numerous times when he almost strayed from his wedding vows, Will remained faithful to his unhappily married wife, Princess Renata of Lorraine. He tried everything to please her, and even agreed to allow her to stay in France with the children, when he was declared the Regent of Navarre with Louis Bourbon, Prince of Conde as his co-regent.
Despite everything he did for her, Renata remained aloof from him.
Henry IX trusted him greatly, and as Will was an excellent soldier, he was tasked with the almost endless duties of crushing rebellions.
He succeeded in stopping all forms of resistance and was hailed a military hero.
His death was a shocking blow to England, as he died on the battlefield against the Bretons in their fourth attempt to invade France.
The day after his death, Henry IX tried to wrest Will's children into his custody, but the wily Renata had them quickly married to French nobles who never accepted Henry IX as King of France, and those who were allies to Lorraine. Before Henry IX could arrange for Will's only son (Francis, 2nd Duke of Gloucester) to marry Princess Catherine of Navarre (sister to Henri, Prince of Viana), Renata had him married to her niece, Princess Christine-Louise of Lorraine.
William's death led to the House of Gloucester's slow rise against the Royal House of Brandon. Under Renata's vengeful guidance, his descendants became enemies of the Crown.
With the Gloucester threat looming in the air, historians agreed that during the reign of Henry X & III,
the grandson of Charles and Mary, the ministers and Henry X thought it was truly a danger to England.
It was that risky, that a marriage between one of Henry X's daughters (Princess Philippa Brandon) and William's grandson (Prince William) was arranged.
Never, was another Brandon Prince given the dukedom of Gloucester.
William was distinguished as a loyalist, but his descendants were considered the King's enemies.
Renata was banished from France, but it was too late to stop her evil influence.
Even for the three Brandons that predeceased Charles and Mary, contemporaries wrote many praises for them and their place in history.
Katharine was called 'the Good Empress' for her dedication to caring for the sick and poor, and was known for handing out alms and talking to people of lower social status than herself. She was respected and no one could say she neglected her duty of bearing royal heirs! Everyone mourned for her after she died in childbirth. It was said that her widowed husband, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II wore black for the rest of his life, and on every anniversary of her death, he would lock himself in his chambers for the whole day.
Charles, Duke of Suffolk was also complimented greatly.
His explorations in the New World were legendary tales told throughout generations, and he was labelled 'Peaceful Father of the Americas' by later historians for his ability to negotiate peace between the natives and the English colonists. Even the natives admitted he was the finest diplomat they had ever dealt with and was merciful in comparison to the Spaniards.
HIs widow, Dona Maria Catalina Chapuys, remained welcomed at Court, but near the end of her life, she entered a nunnery.
Apart from their youngest child (Prince Christian of Suffolk) as a cardinal, their eldest son (Charles, 2nd Duke of Suffolk) was a trusted councillor and married twice, firstly to Mary Seymour, 1st Countess of Sudeley (only daughter of Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley and Katherine Parr) and secondly to Princess Catherine Brandon (Henry IX's widowed daughter).
Their two daughters, Princesses Catherine and Cecily of Suffolk, were married to Henry IX's two younger sons, Edward, Duke of York & Orleans and William, Duke of Clarence & Anjou, most likely to join the bloodlines between the Suffolk line and the royal Brandon line.
A pretender-especially one with royal blood-is always dangerous.
Like Katharine, Margaret, Countess of Angouleme also died in childbirth.
With Charles de Valois, Count of Angouleme (illegitimate son of Francis I of France), they had nine children, five daughters and four sons. Her relationship with Henry IX improved after her husband's illness, and she fully forgave him before her death.
"We are sister and brother," a contemporary scholar had documented. "We should not depart on ill terms. I understand what you did and why you did so. I wish you well for the future and only regret I will not be there to see your reign prosper. May God watch over you..."
All of Mary's half-siblings greatly missed her as well.
Elizabeth, most of all.
For a week, she stayed away from Court, mourning privately.
Mary and Charles had impacted greatly in her life.
She could not imagine life without them.
Of course, after the week of isolated bereavement, Elizabeth learnt to continue living in Court without seeing Mary like she did every day before her death.
As the years passed, her children were betrothed to royals of Henry IX's choosing, who also arranged for her two younger sons to marry Margaret Greville, 6th Baroness Willoughby de Broke and Mary Gamage, 2nd Baroness Gamage, with her first and eldest son marrying Princess Philippa-Rose of Lorraine, with the promise of an elevation to a dukedom upon inheriting the estates.
She grew close to her third surviving daughter and namesake (Princess Elizabeth of Leicester) who was fortunate to marry Henry Percy, 3rd Marquess of Pembroke and stay in England.
Together, with Bess and Lizzie of Leicester (her daughter), historians named them 'the Elizabeth Trio', three women who were all red heads, strong-willed and full of determination. The trio also seemed to have a habit of irritating the ruler, as proven by Bess's hasty marriage with Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, and Lizzie of Leicester's marriage with Henry Percy, 3rd Marquess of Pembroke. However, historians agreed that the three Elizabeths also had an alluring nature.
Anna of Cleves kept in contact with Charles and Mary throughout her life.
After her daughter's marriage with an Austrian Archduke, she moved to Austria and lived there for the remainder of her life, taking care of her grandchildren until her death a few months before Charles and Mary. It was said that Anna was addressed as a Princess of Cleves and respected as an Archduchess Consort's mother.
Like her mother, Catherine of Richmond wrote many letters to Charles and Mary, and was perfectly happy being an Archduchess, distantly related to the imperial family.
When she gave birth a week after Mary's death, to a bonny Archduchess, she immediately named her 'Maria', after her dearly departed half-sister.
She was never quite as close to her as Elizabeth, but mourned her just as much.
Before her death, Kathryn Howard left Henry VIII two daughters, Joyce and Margaret.
After she was caught sleeping with Thomas Culpeper, the two girls were declared illegitimate, and neither Charles nor Mary legitimised them. Unlike Elizabeth and Eleanor whose mother was innocent of any crime, Kathryn Howard was indeed guilty, and the youngest two Tudor girls were truly illegitimate children. However, Mary tried to make their lives easier and arranged for them to have the best chambers and to be educated well. She even arranged for the nineteen year old Lady Joyce to be the wife of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton and affianced the fifteen year old Lady Margaret to Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland a month before her death.
Historians concluded from the written works left behind by both Joyce and Margaret Tudor, that Mary and Charles's deaths impacted England forever.
February in the next year remained cold, and the snow refused to leave.
The long Winter continued throughout February and March, and finally began retreating in April to allow the crops to grow.
Farmers interpreted it as nature's sorrow for the co-rulers' departure.
Henry IX commissioned statues of his parents in every royal residence, and buried them with great pomp and magnificence that they would have protested to. A marble statue of Charles and Mary, together clasping a sceptre with Charles holding a sword in his other hand and a dove ready to fly on Mary's open palm can still be seen in the town square of London. Another statue of the royal couple remained in Westhorpe Hall, which was opened to the public as a historical site.
However, not everyone was upset about Charles and Mary's deaths.
Some more closer to them by blood or marriage.
Henry Willoughby, 1st Earl Willoughby de Eresby for one, almost rejoiced with delight when he received news of his in-laws' deaths. It was due to his wife's grief that he wore a mask of sorrow in public, while cheered scandalously in private.
He celebrated with his allies, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk and William Paulet, 3rd Marquess of Winchester privately in Winchester's chambers.
It was in some way treasonous, but they did not care.
Henry IX trusted them, and that was all they wanted.
With trust, was the baggage of heavy responsibilities, but that brought its rewards.
Wealth, power, estates...
Only some of the numerous incentives for loyalty.
Under Henry IX's reign, England only boosted its position in all of Christendom, as one of the leading cultural countries and one of the strongest kingdoms along with the Holy Roman Empire and Spain, both Habsburg lands. Scotland trembled under England's threatening shadow, and the Scottish councillors offered their infant Queen Mary I of Scots to Henry IX's young grandson, Henry, Duke of Cornwall. Also, he was the first king to bestow the esteemed title 'Prince Regent of France' upon his own son once he reached his twentieth birthday.
Like the introduction of the title 'Prince of Wales' for the heir apparent from Edward I of England, the title 'Prince Regent of France' rose into prominence and it became traditional for the heir apparent to remain as Prince of Wales until his twentieth birthday, when he will take the new title of Prince Regent, simultaneously relinquishing his former title of 'Prince of Wales', depart for France and rule in the King's behalf. The new customary title for the King's grandson was the 'Duke of Cornwall'. The English Court became home for talented musicians, artists and writers.
The Brandons became so powerful that they were the first royal family to unite four countries through marriage for some time before its mutual separation.
War hardly existed in the four centuries of Brandon rule.
Peace was held with a strong grasp, and England retained Spain and Austria as its strongest allies against the troublesome Bretons, who never ceased in their efforts to recover France, even with the French citizens happy under Brandon control.
The Golden Age of England lasted approximately from the beginning of Charles and Mary's co-reign and ended at the outbreak of World War One with the assassination of Prince Francis Brandon by a disgruntled and mentally ill Breton criminal during his visit to Austria.
By then, England was an industrialised, cultural, nationalistic, peaceful kingdom that had permanently recovered from the damage left by the tyrannical reign of the infamous Henry VIII.
Well, that's the last chapter of A Change of Destiny! Thank you dedicated readers and reviewers! I hope you enjoyed the story! Tudor ideas are always welcomed!