monarch

Although it is difficult for Mr. Agnolo Bronzino to compare with his fellow Florentine Michelangelo in terms of art, Mr. Bronkino's techniques are still well received in the portrait painting market.Objectively speaking, even in Florence, a place where artists gather together, he is generally considered by the public to be a master of today's era.He had been the royal painter of the Medici family for a long time, and now the entrustment of the English royal family also allowed him to add a strong stroke to his long list of distinguished patrons.

On the ceiling of the Venus Hall, the goddess of love born from the foam of the ocean in the zenith painting is watching the crowd gathered in the hall with affection.Surrounded by several portraits in gold frames in the center of the crowd, Mr Buronchino looked like a proud father showing off his beauty to the surrounding audience at a country ball daughters.While stroking his beard triumphantly, he greeted the dignitaries around him who were admiring the paintings in English with an Italian accent.

Four portraits are arranged in four corners, each portrait depicts a woman in a palace costume with its own characteristics, and on the lower right corner of the portrait, four flamboyant Italian signatures clearly show that these paintings are The masterpiece of the painter.

The king came five minutes later than expected. At five past eleven, the main door of the hall finally opened, and the king walked into the room under the eyes of everyone.

Edward noticed those curious eyes, and everyone was obviously guessing whether the king would choose one of these four ladies today as his wife, the future queen of the kingdom.

The king walked up to the painter, nodded to the painter who was bent at [-] degrees, and looked around the four portraits, "You really deserve to be a master, Mr. Bronzino."

Mr. Buronchino's mustache was trembling with excitement, "Thank you very much, Your Majesty." The mouth on that rich face couldn't close the smile, it looked like a ripe and split grapefruit, "If As you know, I have traveled to some of the most prominent courts in continental Europe in the past six months, and now I humbly present before you the portraits of four European princesses created by me." He stretched out an arm, pointing to The surrounding paintings rotated in a circle, just like a rotating compass.

"May I have the honor to introduce these portraits to Your Majesty?" Mr. Buronchino put down the next door, his waist bent even lower.

"Please, sir." The king nodded slightly, looking unenthusiastic, but not forced, as if making a visit out of courtesy.

Mr. Buronchino walked excitedly to the first painting on the left.The portrait shows a woman with a long face, about 25 or [-] years old, wearing a black dress embroidered with gold thread, and the velvet collar wraps her neck tightly.She has a broad forehead, thin eyebrows, and the iconic big chin of the Habsburg family.Her left hand was placed on top of the head of a little black man standing at her skirt, as if it were a pet dog for fun.

"This is Joanna Austria, Her Royal Highness Princess of Spain, the second daughter of Emperor Charles V, who is exactly one year older than Her Majesty." Mr. Bronkino introduced.Today, Spain is ruled by the Habsburg family from Germany. The headquarters of this family is located in Austria, so they are also called the Austrian family, and the members of the family often use "Austria" as their title.

There was a chuckle from the crowd: this princess does not look like one at all, in fact, in the eyes of many people, the portrait of this princess is no different from the portrait of her brother Prince Philip sent by the Spaniards before , if it weren't for the princess wearing a dress, she would look like a man.

"It seems that Mr. Buronchino did not accept bribes from Spain." A middle-aged nobleman in the crowd turned his head and said to his female companion.When Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves, he was very satisfied with her portrait, but was disappointed when he saw the real person. The reason was that Mr. Hans Holbein, the court painter, accepted the Duke of Cleves Bribery with Thomas Cromwell, the power minister who tried his best to promote the marriage at the time, carried out a certain "artistic processing" on the princess's appearance.

His Majesty took a closer look at the portrait of Princess Joanna. He looked very fascinated by it, but in fact it was just to avoid any eye contact with the expectant Spanish ambassador.After looking at this portrait for about 1 minute, he raised his head and looked at Mr. Buronchino, indicating that he could introduce the second one.

Mr. Buronchino hurriedly walked to the next painting, "This is Maria de' Medici, the daughter of the Duke of Florence, my homeland. In my personal opinion, she embodies the meaning of our Italian nation. all the advantages."

The girl in the portrait also has a broad forehead, but compared with the Spanish princesses before her, this looks more like the effect of combing her hair back than natural.Unlike the brown skin that is common among Italians, the girl's skin is fair, and the blush on her face looks like red dye smeared on white paper.She was wearing a gorgeous blue-gold dress, and the collar on the chest was spread out, revealing the slender and graceful neck and the pearl necklace hanging on it.

"I have heard that she is very intelligent," commented the King, looking at the portrait.

"Indeed, Your Majesty." Mr. Bronzino's tone could not conceal his pride, "I watched the Duke's daughters grow up, and when the Duke's heir, His Excellency Francesco, did not understand his During the Greek class, the tutor always asks Miss Maria to explain to his younger brother... If the lady is a man, she must be the undisputed heir of the Medici family." As a Florentine, Mr. Bronzino has always Being generously sponsored by the Medici family, he spared no effort to speak well of them in front of the king.

"It seems the king is happy with her," someone whispered. "Perhaps the Medicis are going to have another queen." Now that the Medicis have a pope and a queen of France, maybe there will be another. An English queen appears.

The French ambassador also looked at the king excitedly. The Spanish princess undoubtedly represented the interests of Spain, and the daughter of the Duke of Florence was the candidate proposed by France.The present Queen of France, Catherine de' Medici, is the lady's cousin, so she is quite interested in facilitating the marriage.

To the disappointment of the French ambassador, however, the King also merely nodded, apparently not fascinated by Mademoiselle Maria de' Medici just because of a portrait or a few words of praise.

Robert stood aside with some sourness, watching Edward admiring the portraits indifferently.For a long time, the king has been noncommittal about the potential marriage partners proposed by the ministers, and many of the previous candidates have been prevaricated by His Majesty with various reasons.However, as Edward grew older, the ministers put more pressure on the king, and public expectations for His Majesty's marriage continued to rise.Can the King withstand the mounting pressure?In other words, is he willing to bear the pressure?A dynasty without an heir will undoubtedly fuel the ambitions of enemies at home and abroad. For the king, the easiest solution is to marry a foreign princess, leaving a male heir who will continue the blood of the dynasty. From a rational point of view, the king There is every reason to do so, so would he do it?

Someone tapped Robert on the shoulder, jerking him out of his own contemplation.Turning his head, he saw that not far away, his father, Lord Lord John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was examining him with probing eyes and a playful smile on his face.

Robert bowed slightly, "Father." There was a hint of guard in his voice.In the palace, the identity of the father always has to give way to the chief minister, and when facing the chief minister, everyone should be very energetic to deal with this old fox, even his son is no exception.

The Duke of Northumberland seemed completely oblivious to his son's blunt attitude, "Long time no see, my son."

"You know, I'm busy every day, and His Majesty can't do without me." Robert replied.

"Ah, that's true." The Duke laughed, "I believe His Majesty cannot leave you for a moment." His smile somehow had a hint of irony, making Robert frown involuntarily.

Before Robert could say anything, the Duke quickly changed the subject, "What do you think Your Majesty thinks of this Florentine lady? He seemed a little interested just now, but he became indifferent after that."

"Is she the candidate you fancy?" Robert asked back

The Duke laughed, "Do you think that if our king takes a wife, the future queen will have the slightest political influence? You are his closest friend, how much influence do you think you have on his decision?" Strength? Our Majesty only listens to himself, so I won't do such meaningless things."

Robert lowered his head and did not answer.

"If I were Your Majesty, I would choose one of these four people to be my wife." The Duke watched the king walk towards the third painting, "If I were you, I would also persuade him to seize this opportunity, even if you are right His influence is limited." He was silent for a few seconds, leaned closer to Robert's ear, and lowered his voice a few degrees, "I'm doing it for the benefit of both of you."

Robert looked at his father in astonishment, but the other party turned around after saying this, and walked to the other side of the room without looking back.So Robert could only turn his head again, just in time to see the king walking in front of the third portrait.

"Princess Anne of Denmark, the eldest daughter of King Christian III of Denmark and Dorothy of Saxe-Lauenburg." Mr. Bronkino introduced again, "Princess was born in 1532 and is 21 years old this year."

Princess Anne's appearance looks ordinary. She has ginger-red and red hair similar to Princess Elizabeth. She has a round face that is slightly fatter. She also looks a few years older than her actual age. .

Compared with the previous two candidates, Princess Anne is obviously a safer choice. Unlike the previous two candidates who believe in Catholicism, Princess Anne from Protestant Denmark is a devout Lutheran.For those Protestants who fear that the Catholic faith of the future queen will affect the king, the king's choice of Princess Anne will undoubtedly avoid many troubles.For Catholics, after Princess Mary married the Spanish royal family, the guardian of Catholicism, another marriage with Spain will undoubtedly push England back to Catholicism.The king's final choice will undoubtedly have a huge political impact, which is one of the reasons why Edward has been able to delay this matter before.

"What do you think of Her Majesty Princess Anne?" The king looked at the painting, turned his head suddenly, looked at Mr. Buronchino, and began to ask.

Mr. Bronkino thought for a moment, "Princess Anne is a very quiet young lady, even a little taciturn." He glanced at the king, who seemed to be looking at him, and the painter lowered his head in fright, "She There is a unique hobby - herbal medicine."

"Herbalism?" The king was a little curious, which is a rare hobby among ladies in high society, let alone a princess.

"Yes, Your Majesty. When the princess was a child, her mother taught her how to gather herbs, and also taught her some simple prescriptions. Since then, Her Royal Highness has always loved research in this area."

The king was noncommittal, he looked at the portrait again, then he turned and walked towards the last portrait.

Compared with the previous portraits, the characters depicted in this portrait are obviously much more outstanding.The girl in the portrait has fair skin and graceful facial features.She was wearing a light white dress, and she was teasing a butterfly resting on a white rose in the garden with a fan in her hand.However, her face is not facing the butterfly, but looking in the direction of the audience outside the painting.She has big blue eyes and looks smart and agile.A pair of pink lips with a faint smile, as if carrying a hint of provocation, made the hearts of many male nobles who saw this painting for the first time couldn't help but beat faster.

However, the king did not belong to one of these men. He still watched this portrait with the same calm attitude as before, which was no different from the previous three portraits.

"Duchess Margaret of Saxony, sister of the Elector of Saxony, is 19 years old this year." Mr. Bronkino's voice sounded in the king's ear without losing the opportunity.

Edward raised his eyebrows slightly, "She doesn't look like a German."

"That's true, Your Majesty." Mr. Bronkino said with a smile, "Usually German ladies are not known for being petite and feminine, but Her Highness the Duchess is obviously an exception, she feels like an exquisite doll to me. "

"The cabinet and I agree that no matter which of the four candidates your majesty chooses as the future queen of the Kingdom of England, it will be of great benefit to you and the country." The Duke of Northumberland is like a tiptoe Like a cat, it slipped behind the king at some point.At this moment, he spoke suddenly, and Edward couldn't help being startled.But the king quickly collected himself, and turned to face his chief minister.

"Which one do you want me to choose?" The king looked at the expression of the Duke of Northumberland. "Personally, which candidate do you support more as the future queen of the kingdom?"

The crowd fell silent all of a sudden, and everyone stretched their ears, waiting for the Duke of Northumberland's answer. Even Robert's attention was involuntarily attracted.

"As I said, no matter which candidate Your Majesty chooses, it will be popular with me and the whole country." The Duke seemed not to hear the probing meaning in the king's words, "But the point is, Your Majesty, you should do it as soon as possible." There is no choice, the kingdom needs a prince as heir."

"Don't you think you're a little too impatient?" The king had a smile on his face, but his words were rather harsh, "I'm only 17 years old now, don't you think it's too early to discuss my heir?" ?”

The Duke's face turned pale for a moment, but that was only for a moment. His superhuman self-control quickly restored his calm. "It's not early at all, Your Majesty. Even if you make a decision today, the complicated diplomatic negotiations that follow mean that it will take at least a year for us to sign a marriage contract. After that, it will take another year to prepare for the details of the wedding. , and it will take more than two years to add up.”

"It's only two years," the king shrugged. "Do you think I can't afford to wait two years?"

"It's not just two years, Your Majesty." The Duke waved his hand and sighed, "After you get married, if everything goes well with God's grace, it will take a year for your first child to be born, and The other half may be a girl... If you are unlucky, it may take a long time for you to get the male heir that the whole country dreams of. With all due respect, His Majesty the previous king also married at your age, but when When you were finally born, he was over forty years old, not to mention the twists and turns for your birth. There is never such a thing as 'too early' when it comes to heirs."

He looked into the king's eyes and said in a tone that surprised Edward, "I know what you think of me...but I must tell you that what I said today is all for your benefit, please You must carefully consider my opinion."

The king was taken aback by the Duke's sudden confession, and he looked into the Duke's eyes, as if to judge whether what the other party said was the truth or a higher disguise.

"Thank you for your kindness. I have no doubts about your loyalty. I will carefully consider what you said." The king nodded towards the Duke and walked towards the exit.

Although he didn't look back, Edward had a feeling that the expression on the Duke's face must be extremely disappointed.

As the king had guessed, although the Duke of Northumberland had no expression, his slightly drooping eyes and dark eyes clearly showed his dissatisfaction.When the figure of the king disappeared from the hall, he sighed slightly, turned around, and glanced around the four portraits expressionlessly.

"What a pity," he whispered.