monarch

When the leaves of the sycamore trees in the garden of Whitehall Palace were gradually dyed yellow by the bleak autumn wind, the Spanish ambassador finally presented the king with credentials: Princess Mary’s fiancé, Philip of Spain, had arrived in Antwerp in the Southern Netherlands, From there he will arrive in England by boat to marry his fiancée, Princess Mary.

In order to make his son's title equal to that of his English relatives, the Emperor Charles V of Spain chose one of his vast collection of titles as a wedding present for his son.Prince Philip has now become the king of the Kingdom of Naples, and after Princess Mary marries him, she will also become the queen of Naples, although the couple may never set foot in Naples once in their life, and the state affairs of Naples are still up to them. The Emperor himself in Madrid.

The fleet carrying the king of Naples left Antwerp on September 9, and three days later the English court left Whitehall for Winchester in Hampshire.King Edward VI will be there to welcome King Philip of Naples.This is the intention of Emperor Charles V: the Crown Prince of Spain needs to go to London to meet the King of England, while the King of Naples needs Edward to go out of the palace to greet him on the way, otherwise it is a lack of etiquette.

The king waited in Winchester for three days. The local nobles, officials and celebrities arranged a lot of entertainment for His Majesty, hoping to help His Majesty and the nobles in the court to relieve the boredom of waiting.Fortunately, before the king got tired of these sideshows, news came from Dover that the Spanish delegation had disembarked.

According to the communication between the diplomatic representatives of the two sides, the two kings will meet in a hunting ground outside Winchester on the morning of October 10.This fine property belonged to a local squire, on the road to Winchester, who had kindly lent it to two kings for a time.

In the early morning of this day, the imperial guards had already enforced martial law in this forest.Soldiers were stationed within a radius of two miles, and no one else was allowed to enter.On a wide meadow in the middle of the woodland, a huge golden tent was set up, and a banner with a white background was flying on the top of the tent, on which was painted an English rose wrapped around a Spanish pomegranate tree.

At about one o'clock in the afternoon, the royal motorcade finally passed through the forest and stopped in front of the huge tent.The ministers and nobles have already arrived and have been waiting here for a long time.

King Edward VI and Robert stepped out of the same carriage. The king didn't look very excited. From the eyes of those around who looked down at the king quietly, it was obvious that the king was not satisfied with the Spanish marriage. Signal.However, this is not surprising. Since the marriage contract negotiations began, the Spaniards' various small actions have made many English people feel that the other party is insincere.Regarding this marriage, domestic public opinion is also mixed, so the king's lack of interest in today's ceremony is undoubtedly a matter of course.

The king went into the tent, where drinks and refreshments were already set.The tent was furnished with the same ornate furniture as in the palace, in fact many furniture had been shipped all the way from the warehouses of Whitehall Palace and Hampton Court Palace.With thick Persian carpets on the floor and even a few landscape paintings as decorations, the whole tent looked like a real palace.

Princess Mary was sitting in the second carriage behind the king. The entire carriage was painted garnet red, and she herself wore a gorgeous garnet red palace dress today.Her attire was completely Spanish, and even the jewelry she wore was brought to England by her mother from the Spanish court as a dowry.

Princess Mary's outfit made many people frown: an English princess looks more like the daughter of the King of Spain.Protestants saw her as the mouthpiece of Spain and the Pope, and the attire fueled fears and misgivings that the marriage would bolster the Catholic side.Although the religious conflicts in England have been temporarily suppressed by the king, under the calm surface, undercurrents are still surging. The scars left by decades of hatred, strife and blood are still far away from being fully healed. Watch out, the wound will open again.

As far as most Catholics are concerned, although they follow Rome in their faith, it does not mean that they want the Kingdom of England to dance with the baton of Spain and the Pope from now on.Although the Catholics expect Princess Mary to become the queen of England one day, her series of performances and this marriage also make them worry that once Princess Mary becomes queen, England may become a vassal of Spain.

Bishop Gardner, who was standing in the front row of the crowd, didn't look very happy either.As Bishop of Winchester and host of the ceremony, he had to take on the responsibility of planning a marriage he did not approve of.What made him feel even more stuck in his throat was that at the wedding to be held in London three days later, as the leader of Princess Mary's party and one of the highest-ranking clergymen in the country, he was also entrusted with the responsibility of presiding over the wedding .

Although Bishop Gardiner was a Catholic, as a politician, he still tried his best to advise Princess Mary to choose an Englishman as her husband.In his opinion, even the aging Cardinal Eugenard Pearl is better than the heir to the Spanish throne. After all, the former is not only an Englishman, but also the only remaining descendant of the Plantagenet Dynasty, and he is undoubtedly married. Will greatly strengthen Princess Mary's claim to the throne.However, Princess Mary is bent on marrying her trusted Spanish mother's relatives, trying to draw Spain, the largest empire in Europe today, as foreign aid. Little does she know that although the support of the Spanish can greatly increase Princess Mary's confidence, but in the king and According to domestic public opinion, this is no different from taking refuge in the Spaniards.From then on, everyone will think that she is just a puppet of the Spaniards.And marrying a certain nobleman in England can also increase the popularity of one's side, and once the situation changes, the support provided by the English husband will be more effective than the Spaniard who is far away in the sky, unless Princess Mary really intends to attract The Spanish came to invade and used the Spanish army to fight a civil war for her.

Princess Elizabeth has been confronting her sister for the past few years, but today her clothes look very simple and elegant, as if she is deliberately covering up her brilliance, and she does not want to be different from her sister at this time.Many simple people admire Princess Elizabeth's noble character, but those big figures at the top of the power pyramid raise their evaluation of Princess Elizabeth to a higher level in their hearts-she never does meaningless things, never Get carried away by the battle of emotions, and this is the necessary quality to be a good statesman.

Marriage with Spain may seem tempting, but for Princess Elizabeth, it was a poisonous bait.Unlike Princess Mary, Elizabeth has always shown herself as a Protestant princess. Once she marries the defender of Catholicism and the future King of Spain, the power she gathered before will collapse, and no Protestant will think that she can represent the future. their interests.Therefore, when Spain explored the possibility of marrying Princess Elizabeth, Elizabeth herself immediately rejected it. However, the reason for her refusal had nothing to do with the "unwillingness to destroy her sister's happiness" she claimed to the outside world, but only out of coldness and ruthlessness. political considerations.

The two princesses entered the room one after the other and curtseyed to the king.

The king nodded and motioned them to sit down.

Princess Mary lifted her skirt gracefully and sat on the armchair to the left of the king. She looked radiant, but thirty years of time had left some traces on her face, which gradually covered her face like a creeper. The fine lines under the eyes and the dull skin that cannot be concealed by makeup remind everyone and Princess Mary herself all the time: she is no longer young.

The red rose is past flowering, but the white rose is just budding.Princess Elizabeth, who just passed her 20th birthday a month ago, has gradually shed the youthful charm of a girl and replaced it with the charm of a young woman.However, unlike common beauties, Princess Elizabeth's appearance is quite vigorous and beautiful. The red curly hair is naturally scattered on her shoulders, and there is always a firm expression in her beautiful eyes. Under the tall nose, it is because A pair of thin and indifferent lips.Many compared her to Diana the huntsman, which she embraced, and on her 20th birthday she commissioned a painting depicting her as Diana the huntsman, while her brother the king His Majesty is depicted as Diana's brother, Apollo, the sun god.Beside them, Jupiter, the king of the gods, and Juno, the queen of the gods, have the faces of the former king Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, the mother of the two siblings, respectively.Not surprisingly, Princess Mary, who has always regarded herself as orthodox, was furious at this painting, but it would be unseemly to go to the king to make a fuss over such a thing, so Princess Mary had to put this unknown fire on his servants.During that time, the servants in Princess Mary's house were eager to walk on tiptoe, so as not to draw the princess' attention to themselves.

Princess Elizabeth and Princess Mary sat opposite each other. They nodded and greeted each other. Obviously, neither of them was interested in saying or listening to polite words.As soon as they sat down, they immediately picked up the drinks on the table and brought them to their mouths, making their silence less awkward.

There was complete silence in the room, and it looked more like a funeral than a groom welcoming a wedding.Except for the three distinguished members of the royal family, everyone else in the tent lowered their heads, watching their noses, noses, and hearts, as if they wanted to disguise themselves as statues.

After 10 minutes, as painful as ten centuries, a panting courier finally relieved everyone from this embarrassing pantomime-King Philip of Naples was about to arrive.

The expression on the king's face seemed a little relieved. He stood up hastily and strode out of the tent. The servant at the door would have time to open the curtain for him.Everyone followed him and filed out, as if cholera had broken out in the tent.

At the far end of the continent, the smoke from the horses' hoofs had begun to drift in the air.At the head was a detachment of English cavalry, half of whom carried the English standard of St. George's, and the other half the black eagle of the House of Habsburg. Behind them, four bay-red Andalusian horses, pulled A gorgeous black and gold carriage galloped all the way, turned a corner in front of the tent, and stopped slowly.The horses pulling the cart were panting, white hot air enveloped them, it looked as if Perseus had just landed on a Pegasus flying through the clouds.

The coachman jumped off the front seat and opened the door. At this time, the Spanish ambassador trotted all the way to the door like a puppy that has seen its owner for a long time. He opened his mouth wide and showed a funny face. Giggling, looking like he's going to stick his tongue out any second.The ambassador, who was over 50 years old, showed no less vigor than a young man at this moment. When he ran to the door of the car and pushed the servants aside, he happened to stretch out his arm to help the nobleman get off the car.

A pale and unremarkable young man's face emerges from the car door. He has dark blond hair and beard, a long face with a big chin that is the hallmark of the Habsburg family, and looks the same as he was sent before The portrait in England by Titian is no different.

Philip from Spain leaned halfway out of the car door and put one hand on the ambassador's shoulder, causing the ambassador's expression to twist for a moment.He looked around blankly, his eyes fixed on Edward standing in the middle of the crowd.

Edward was also looking at each other in the same way, and the eyes of the two met in the air.After about ten seconds, the two sides almost looked away. Philip stepped on the pedal of the carriage and helped the attentive ambassador out of the carriage; while Edward put on an official smile and strode forward. greet him.

The Spanish ambassador bowed to Edward with a smile, "Your Majesty, please allow me to introduce the successor of Emperor Charles V, the King of Naples and the Crown Prince of Spain, the Netherlands, Milan, Franche-Comté and other European princes. and heir to the overseas territories, His Majesty Philip of the House of Habsburg."

Edward reached for his hat and bowed slightly.

The ambassador turned to Philip of Spain again, "Your Majesty, please allow me to introduce the king of England, Scotland and Ireland, His Majesty Edward VI of the Tudor family."

Philip of Spain also bowed in return, and the two shook hands and kissed each other's faces.

"Welcome, my brother," said the king in Spanish, apparently out of concern for Philip, who did not speak English.

"I'm honored." The other party also replied in Spanish.

The king stretched out his arm, made a gesture of invitation, and led Philip towards Princess Mary.

"My sister, Princess Mary Tudor of England, your fiancée." The king introduced.

Princess Mary took a step forward and curtseyed, and when she stood up the King was surprised to see a blush spread across her face.

Philip of Spain also bowed, but he didn't seem as excited as his fiancée.Obviously, His Majesty the King of Naples is not very interested in this cousin who is 11 years older than himself.

"I'm glad to meet you, my love." He gently held Princess Mary's hand with his right hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it lightly.Then he put down his hand and snapped his fingers. His personal servant hurriedly ran to a carriage behind him, and returned with a bouquet of bright red roses not long after.

He handed the bouquet of roses to Philip, and Philip picked up the large bouquet of roses and put it in the hands of Princess Mary, "This is my gift to you."

Princess Mary looked at a loss, "Thank you very much." Her voice was a little excited.After a moment of silence, she spoke again: "It's already autumn, please prepare so many roses." Princess Mary looked at her fiancé with a satisfied look with a shy smile on her face.

"My pleasure." Philip replied briefly, and then he fell silent again, as if he had made up his mind never to speak out.

In the end, it was Edward who broke the silence, "This is my other sister, Princess Elizabeth." He pointed to the girl in white standing beside her.

Philip also greeted Elizabeth with the same indifferent attitude, but the king noticed the light in his eyes, which had been like the frozen river in winter when he looked at his fiancée.

Elizabeth smiled and curtseyed, but her smile was obviously serious. Anyone could see that she was not interested in the King of Naples at all. This made Philip a little disappointed, but it made many people relax. in one breath.

"May I invite you to ride with me in a carriage, my brother?" said the King.

Philip nodded, "Follow your order." Every word he spoke seemed to come out of his throat one after another.

The servants hurriedly opened the door of the carriage that brought Edward here from the city. Edward motioned for Philip to get in the carriage first. Philip nodded and stepped on the pedal to board the carriage.Edward followed him into the car and sat on the seat opposite him.

The servant who had just opened the door closed the door again, and someone brought a horse to Robert. He immediately turned on it, gently pinched the horse's belly, followed the king's carriage, and ran all the way to the city.