[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

In the autumn of 1537, the day after the birth of Edward, Duke of York, Jane Seymour's body was escorted by her brother to Peterborough Cathedral, and then the funeral was held as quickly as possible.

Out of respect for his first wife and the Spanish emperor, Henry VIII neither buried Jane Seymour next to the tomb he had chosen for himself, nor attended the funeral of his third wife, but appointed the Duke of Norfolk instead. own seat at the funeral, and then took the Prince of Wales and John Perrott for a series of celebrations at Greenwich Palace.

All of London cheered the birth of Henry VIII's second son, the Duke of York.In stark contrast, there is the solemnity in Peterborough Cathedral, and Brother Seymour's sombre face almost dripping with ink.

The Duke of Norfolk, who was full of sarcasm, glanced casually, and found that only friends of the Seymour family and nobles brought by Bishop Gardner were present.Their faces were perfectly masked in mourning, except for the holes in their eyes that burst out with mockery and envy.

"The spring of Seymour's house is completely over." The Earl of Surrey, who was sitting next to the Duke of Norfolk, twitched the corners of his mouth, and said unceremoniously: "Your Majesty the King is really old-fashioned. The guy got the Knight of the Garter."

The Duke of Norfolk glanced at his son lightly, and found that he was staring at the Knight of the Garter medal on Edward Seymour's chest, his eyes almost burst into flames.

Because the wearers of the Order of the Garter are limited to the King of England, the Prince of Wales, and 24 living members, they can have their own coat of arms, flags, and even exclusive seats in churches, so the gold content far exceeds that of viscounts or even earls.

It is no wonder that the historical Thomas Cromwell would provoke the aristocrats to attack him.

The Duke of Norfolk pressed the Earl of Surrey's hand calmly, signaling him not to show his anger at this time: "If Edward Seymour still has any brains, he should give up everything that doesn't belong to him."

When the Duke of Norfolk thought of Henry VIII's attitude, he gloated a little: "I heard that His Majesty the King is already considering the candidate for the fourth queen, and let the ambassadors of Spain and France participate in the Greenwich celebration together."

"Why, His Majesty the King still wants to marry a wife?" The Earl of Surrey said in disbelief: "This is already the fourth term, and he still wants to marry a wife and have children?"

"Hmph! It's only the fourth term." The Duke of Norfolk attacked personally: "The Duke of Suffolk still wants to marry a beautiful lady when he is over [-] years old. His Majesty the King is less than [-] years old. Marry a queen? Besides, is His Majesty out of a woman's temper?"

Speaking of this, the Duke of Norfolk also asked: "Look at the crooked appearance of the Duke of York, and Jane Seymour was not crowned queen before her death, so does His Majesty want a third son?" Guaranteed order of succession? Edward I was nearly [-] years old and had to marry a wife to ensure England's strategic position, not to mention Manuel I of Portugal, who married his sister and then married his sister, and married his sister and then married his niece. Your Majesty But one of the richest men in Europe, even if the princesses of those big Catholic countries don’t want to marry, but those small German countries or lowland duchies, the counties are not necessarily.”

"Marrying His Majesty the King is not an easy job. It is estimated that many noble ladies will be frightened by the fate of his first three wives." The Duke of Norfolk did not think that Henry VIII could find a foreign wife, after all, he After marrying two "Cinderellas", who wants to be inferior to Anne Boleyn or Jane Seymour?

"Maybe the king wants to find a wife in the country." The Duke of Norfolk narrowed his cloudy eyes, not hiding his ambition: "I know what kind of woman he wants, maybe this is our opportunity."

"Are you referring to Mary, or Margaret?" The Earl of Surrey thought that his father wanted to find Henry VIII's former mistress Howard, so he casually said, "Although Mary is married, her husband doesn't mind The wife and the king are rekindled, and as for Margaret..."

The Earl of Surrey thought of the woman who betrayed the Boleyn family and was expelled by Edward Seymour, and felt that she was not suitable to return to the king: "That is a poisonous snake comparable to the Viscountess of Rocheford, let her live in the country." Live in peace!"

"Not Mary, nor Margaret, but your Uncle Edmund's youngest daughter, Catherine Howard." The Duke of Norfolk said with some pride: "Young, beautiful, and inexperienced. This kind of little girl who is easy to control The girl must be in line with His Majesty's appetite, and Catherine's mother is also a prolific woman, presumably His Majesty the King will be more satisfied with her after knowing this."

"The question is how do you send Catherine to the king." The Earl of Surrey did not object to having a queen in his family, but following Anne Boleyn's example, they had to be more cautious in sending someone to the king's pillow: "Too Doing it deliberately will definitely arouse the king's suspicion, and Catherine's temper..."

The Earl of Surrey was well aware that his uncle did not understand late-born children.

After all, although Howard has a big family and a great business, the main property is in the hands of the Duke of Norfolk. As for the side branches, he relies on rich relatives to live a muddle-headed life.

Catherine Howard, like Mary Howard, was brought up at an early age by her unruly step-grandmother, Agnes Tierney.

The Earl of Surrey had been to Lambeth Palace, Duchess Agnes's house, and he knew that it was a smoky high-class club, full of legitimate and illegitimate children who were free.

And Henry VIII never wanted to see his wife growing up in this environment, which would cause their future children to be criticized a lot because of their mother's condition when she was young.

"Catherine is only in her teens, and she cannot take on the responsibilities of the queen." Regarding the Duke of Norfolk's ambition, the Earl of Surrey hesitated and said: "But in terms of appearance, she is indeed the best of the Howard girls. "

"You don't have to worry too much about this." The Duke of Norfolk said confidently: "I have asked Elizabeth Bronte to train Catherine, and I believe she will soon grow into a satisfactory appearance."

"I hope!" During the conversation between the Earl of Surrey and the Duke of Norfolk, Jane Seymour's funeral was also drawing to a close, and they joined the crowd in praying for the queen's soul.

At the same time, William Tudor, who was far away in Greenwich Palace, was strolling in the hunting ground with his entourage, listening to the voice of Henry VIII flirting with a young woman not far away.

"Poor Queen Jane." Richard Cromwell was used to the love between his parents and aunt and uncle, so it was hard to imagine that there would be a man in this world who would have fun with his mistress on the day of his ex-wife's funeral.

"She is indeed a poor woman." William Tudor rarely minded Bishop Gardner's insistence on holding a Catholic funeral for Jane Seymour, pointed his gun at the wild ducks in the sky, and then accurately shot his prey : "However, in the eyes of many people, her sacrifice is a lucrative business."

Richard Cromwell couldn't help but get a chill on his neck, only to find that William Tudor was calmly handing the gun to the servant on the side, asking him to load it: "She bought a gun for the family. An Earl, a Baron, and a Knight of the Garter."

"Compared to the Seymour brothers, Elizabeth Woodville is not greedy. After all, her efforts are worth it, aren't they?"

Richard Cromwell did not reply, but changed the subject after a long time: "My father is looking for a new wife for His Majesty the King, and the Spanish and French ambassadors recommended their own women with great interest. "

"Recommendation?" William Tudor squinted his eyes, a little playful: "Is this recommendation mandatory by my father, or they sent it on their own initiative?"

Richard Cromwell couldn't help showing an embarrassed expression, because Henry VIII was really not a suitable candidate for marriage: the king of England was nearly fifty years old, and he married three wives who did not die well. ties and is ostracized by many Catholic countries.

Even so, he was one of the most powerful and wealthiest monarchs in Europe.

Henry VIII expects that he can marry a young and beautiful princess of a powerful country in his later years like Manuel I of Portugal, but for the budget-conscious Charles V, Henry VIII, who already has two sons, is not worth it. He wasted a princess, but William Tudor has more capital to marry.

Moreover, England is not as close to the territory of Spain as Portugal is, and can contribute money and efforts in the war against the Ottoman Empire, so Charles V did not want to marry his niece in Denmark or his sister who was regent in the Netherlands to Henry VIII. On the contrary, Princess Mary of Portugal was proposed—she is the niece and half-sister of Queen Isabella of Spain, but it is a pity that Princess Mary of Portugal is like Marie of Austria, and she is used to the same regency life. I'm not interested in going to England, thousands of miles away from home, to be a sequel to a king.

So Henry VIII's marriage proposal negotiations in Spain froze, and he had to turn his attention to France.

King Francois wanted to draw Henry VIII to his side so that he could deal with the Spanish emperor together.It's just that he, like his rival Charles V, did not want to marry his daughter to Henry VIII, so he recommended the daughters of the Duke of Guise.

As a result, Henry VIII did not take a fancy to the unmarried daughter of the Duke of Guise. Instead, he became very interested in the widowed eldest daughter of the Duke of Guise, Marie de Guise, but the other party was a Catholic and had been taken by King Francois. Betrothed to the Scottish king who had lost his wife and had no legal children, so Henry VIII had to give up his marriage with France and, on Thomas Cromwell's suggestion, try to marry a Protestant princess who was trying to expand his influence.

"Anne of Cleves?" William Tudor thought that Henry VIII would give up marrying Henry VIII on the premise that Jane Seymour was dead and Thomas Cromwell was not eager to find a backer who supported Protestantism. The foreign princess turned to find another Cinderella in China.

It's a pity that history is such a wonderful thing.

Perhaps it was because the brothers of Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour quickly occupied a favorable position after their sisters were favored, which caused Henry VIII to feel that domestic politics had been affected to a certain extent, so he was determined to find a foreign princess who had no roots in the country .

Moreover, in terms of upbringing, the education and sophistication that foreign princesses have received since childhood are not comparable to that of domestic minor nobles.

Especially in his marriage with Jane Seymour, Henry VIII found it difficult for him to find a common language with the other party, so he missed the benefits of Catherine of Aragon more and more, and thus strengthened his desire to marry a foreign princess.