[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

William Tudor had never seen Henry VIII look so sad.

When his mother, Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife, died, Henry VIII merely mourned at his funeral subtle enough to be painted as a work of art.But less than two months after the death of Catherine of Aragon, negotiations over a second marriage for His Majesty the King are in full swing.

Not only Anne Boleyn, who had a fierce fight with Henry VIII at the time, but even the French ambassador and even the Spanish ambassador were vying for the crown of England.

However, Henry VIII's next queen was not much luckier than Catherine of Aragon.

Anne Boleyn, who had been married for three years and had several miscarriages, was beheaded for adultery, incest, and treason.And on the day she returned to God, Henry VIII became engaged to Jane Seymour, and married the first two noble maids shortly thereafter.

The third Jane Seymour was the queen with the shortest term. She only sat in that seat for more than ten months, and she also paid the price of her life for the premature Duke of York.When she died, Henry VIII was not even with his wife, and even the Duke of Norfolk was sent to attend the funeral in his place, and then celebrated the birth of the Duke of York with his children.

Now, it is Anne of Cleves who wears the cursed crown, a German princess who is more than 20 years younger than Henry VIII and even only five months older than Princess Mary.

She was not favored by Henry VIII because of her mediocre appearance, but the old king only wanted a safe queen and partner after three failed marriages, so the German princess who had no childbirth pressure was doing well.At least leaving aside her husband's pursuit of flowers and willows and sexual disharmony, the English court is much more comfortable than the old and gloomy Cleves Castle.

"Your Highness." Her Majesty the Queen, pretending to be sad, wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.William Tudor noticed a little wet spot on it, but Anne of Cleves didn't get red-eyed.

"How is the Duke?" Although William Tudor knew that the Duke of Suffolk would not last long before he came, he still wanted to show concern in front of Henry VIII.

Anne of Cleves glanced vaguely at the distraught Catherine Willoughby, who had almost no desire to survive after suffering the death of her two sons on the same day and her husband's sudden illness.

She looked no less than ten years older than her real age, sitting numbly beside the bed of the Duke of Suffolk, like an aging statue nailed to a chair, waiting for someone to throw her in In the match pile, burnt out.

"The Duke of Suffolk has requested the unction of the dying, and Bishop Gardner is on his way." Anne of Cleves sighed, slightly sympathizing with Catherine Willoughby's experience.

Even though this woman is seen by the outside world as a vicious woman who secretly made peace with her father-in-law and pissed Princess Mary to death, Anne of Cleves is too aware of the real experience of old couples and young wives who can't be the masters. Live the real heartache.

A girl with dead parents and a fiancé, how much resistance can she make in the face of a powerful duke who covets her youthful beauty and family property?

Even if Catherine Willoughby told Princess Mary the truth, she probably would not end well. Instead, she would be driven back to her natal family, where a few greedy distant uncles would squeeze her dry to death.

But Anne of Cleves was luckier than Catherine Willoughby after all.

Even if Henry VIII suddenly fell, she could continue to live a superior life in the English court by virtue of her status as a German princess and the support of the Schmalkar Alliance.

William Tudor didn't care about his stepmother's lament at all, and his focus was all on the fact that Bishop Gardiner hadn't fallen yet.

According to Henry VIII's child protection plot, Bishop Gardiner, who conspired with the Seymour brothers to kill the Prince of Wales, would spend the rest of his life in the Tower of London even if he was not sentenced to death.

However, when William Tudor saw Bishop Gardner rushing over, he was relieved—because Bishop Gardner was escorted by two guards from the Tower of London.

Because it was the request of the Duke of Suffolk, Bishop Gardiner packed up before departure and changed into a brand new priest's uniform and silver cross.

Of course, this is incomparable with the extravagant attire he wore when he was a cardinal.After all, Henry VIII had stripped Gardiner of all his identities, so William Tudor could no longer call him "My Lord Bishop", but changed to "Father Gardiner".

Anne of Cleves, noticing William Tudor's gaze, thought he was wondering why Father Gardiner had been let out of the Tower of London, so she whispered in the Prince of Wales' ear: "The Duke of Suffolk is dying. At that time, he hoped that His Majesty the King would allow him to accept a Catholic funeral, so His Majesty the King released Father Gardner on purpose.

"This is understandable." William Tudor sighed: "Except for the Duke of Suffolk, I am afraid that no one can enjoy this kind of treatment."

William Tudor remembered that before the Duke of Norfolk accepted the death penalty, Henry VIII refused to arrange a Catholic priest for the Duke of Norfolk on the grounds of religious reform, but randomly sent a Protestant priest to be in charge of the Duke of Norfolk's deathbed confession.

The attitude of whether you like to use it or not made the Duke of Norfolk completely cut off the idea of ​​​​begging Henry VIII for mercy, and instead agreed to William Tudor's conditions.

After Father Gardiner finished his deathbed prayers to the Duke of Suffolk, the First Minister of England reluctantly opened his eyes, and showed a weak smile to Henry VIII as if he had returned to the light: "Henry, it seems that I I can't accompany you to conquer France."

"Don't say such sad words, even if you reach God, you are one of the conquerors of France." Henry VIII held the left hand of the Duke of Suffolk tightly, his eyes gradually turned red, and said: "Everyone will Remember that Charles Brandon accompanied Henry VIII in the conquest of France and the Netherlands, and your deeds will be remembered by all and praised by God."

"If this is true, then I have no regrets in this life." The Duke of Suffolk glanced at Catherine Willoughby, whose cold eyes made him lose the last bit of desire to survive.

Henry VIII followed the gaze of the Duke of Suffolk, thinking that he was worried that Catherine Willoughby would be treated unfairly after his death, so he promised to his friend who was about to die soon: "Don't worry, I will be here soon." After you return to the bosom of God, I will give Baroness d'Eresby an annuity of £[-] a year until she remarries."

If it weren't for the Baroness de Herres who had passed the age of being coerced by patriarchy earlier, and it would be extremely shameless to force a lady.Otherwise, Henry VIII would definitely let Catherine Willoughby become a nun, lest the wife of the Duke of Suffolk be defiled by other men.

What a selfish man.

Catherine Willoughby was almost amused by Henry VIII's kindness, and she clutched the cloth on her knees tightly to prevent a distorted expression on her face.

It wasn't enough for Charles Brandon to ruin the first half of her life, should he also ruin the second half of her life?

Standing in the corner of the room, the Marchioness of Dorset could see Catherine Willoughby's expression clearly, and her whole body felt comfortable, as if the pores all over her body were also opened.

Her ruthless father and shameless "stepmother" were finally punished by God, and I believe that her mother's spirit in heaven will also rest in peace.

However, among the people present, not only the Marquis of Dorset thought of Princess Mary.

The Duke of Suffolk could often dream of his third wife, who died less than ten years ago, during the years when he was dying.

Princess Mary's deathbed curse did not fade with time, but became more and more clear in the mind of the Duke of Suffolk.

"Everything you take from me will never belong to you."

The Duke of Suffolk closed his eyes, and said somewhat resignedly: "I have betrayed Princess Mary, so God will punish me to this point. Not only took away my two sons and Catherine, but now also my life .”

Seeing the Duke of Suffolk like this, Henry VIII felt a little bit rejoiced while pitying him.

The Duke of Suffolk has married four wives, but the sons born to the last two all died when they were about to reach adulthood, which is more unacceptable than having a stillbirth in the first place.

If Catherine of Aragon had not given birth to the Prince of Wales, then Henry VIII would definitely not be at ease even if he died.

But this is the end of the matter, and the Duke of Suffolk's remorse is of no avail.He knew very well that after his death, the title would definitely fall into the hands of Princess Mary's descendants.

As for the helpless Catherine Willoughby, if she does not want to be tortured to death by the Marchioness of Dorset, her best choice is to become a nun and spend the rest of her life in Catherine-Mary Abbey in Wales.

But the Duke of Suffolk did not wish this to happen to Catherine Willoughby.

It's not because he loves his little wife so much, but that when a person is about to die, he will always do something good to give himself some psychological comfort, and by the way, he will go to God, and he will also have some capital to justify.

The Duke of Suffolk did not like his eldest daughter with Princess Mary.

Frances Brandon is a fool who is more than smart and not enough.

It's okay for this kind of person to be a leisure nobleman. If he gets the capital to climb up, he will probably bring the whole family to hell.

As for his marquis son-in-law—after all, he is a descendant of the White Queen, he does not have a very noble aristocratic blood, and unlike Thomas Cromwell, he won the title based on his ability, so the Duke of Suffolk does not optimistic about his political future.

But to whom could he pass the title of Duke of Suffolk to the Marchioness of Dorset?

Because the Duke of Suffolk annulled his marriage to his second wife through religious amnesty when he married Princess Mary, neither his eldest nor second daughter had the right to inherit his estate.

Today, it is the Marchioness of Dorset and the Countess of Nottingham (the granddaughter of the Duke of Suffolk whose mother is Eleanor Brandon, the second daughter of the Duke of Suffolk) who are eligible to inherit the estate of the Duke of Suffolk.The former is an idiot, and the latter is still a child, neither of which can bear the responsibility of the family.

At this moment, the Duke of Suffolk regretted that he did not train his daughter to be an heir early like Enrique II or Juan II of Castile.

However, at the last moment of his life, he did not have time to hesitate, but before dying, he said decisively: "Your Majesty, after my death, according to the succession regulations, the Marquess of Dorset should inherit the title of Duke of Suffolk. But I feel guilty for my daughter Eleanor Brandon who died young, so I hope you can distribute most of the property under my name to my granddaughter, the Countess of Nottingham."

The Duke of Suffolk thought about how his granddaughter was also the granddaughter of Henry VIII and the adopted daughter of the Prince of Wales.So if the Marquis of Dorset did something stupid after his death, the Countess of Nottingham could also keep most of the property of the Brandon family.

This is the policy of putting eggs in two baskets.

However, after hearing her father's final arrangements, the Marchioness of Dorset's originally confident smile suddenly froze on her face.

It wasn't until her husband reminded her to cry out loud that the Marchioness, who hated her father, recovered and squeezed out some invisible tears.