[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

"Why are they all Catholic countries?" After dealing with her father's funeral and the French invasion crisis, Queen Juana temporarily entrusted the state affairs to a few trusted nobles, and hurried back to London—because she heard that William III was with Charles V During the meeting, Joan's marriage was mentioned, so Queen Juana felt that it was necessary for her to have a good talk with William III.

Although in traditional society, fathers have full power to handle their children's marriages, with the birth of humanism, as well as the Catholic double kings and the "Madame" of France (the eldest daughter of Louis XI, who served as regent for Charles VIII), With the birth of Anne of France, the title she gained during her reign, the voice of mothers and sisters in the family also increased.

Especially with a ruling royal mother like Queen Juana.

William III's move to decide his daughter's marriage without saying hello undoubtedly made Queen Juana feel extremely dissatisfied, so that she did not give William III a good face when she returned from Belgium.

In this regard, William III also felt very wronged: "I didn't know that the Roman emperor would suddenly mention the marriage between Joan and the Prince of Asturias. After all, Spain has not always been in contact with Austria, saying that it is to let the Austrian Archduke. Will the eldest granddaughter marry the Prince of Asturias?"

"Besides, I didn't agree to let Joan marry to Spain. Although I value the Duke of Richmond more among the three children, Joan is also my daughter. It's not that I don't know the true face of the Prince of Asturias. , how could it be possible to push Joan into the fire pit?"

Queen Juana's expression eased a little, but she still said angrily, "Are we really going to let our daughter marry into a Catholic country?"

William III glanced at Queen Juana, who was not reconciled, and asked back: "In Protestant countries, Christian III of Denmark has no grandsons of suitable age, and you know the situation of the German princes."

After all, the third stepmother of William III was the princess of the German princes, and although the Principality of Cleves was a poor family in England, how could it be possible for a family in the German region to marry the Duke of Lorraine and the Elector of Saxony? Not the top part.

Sure enough, when William III mentioned the German princes, Queen Juana frowned subconsciously, showing her dislike for the German princes.

Although both are Protestant countries, Queen Juana is more willing to support the German princes internationally, rather than become relatives with her sons and daughters.

To put it even more cruelly, if Queen Juana and William III have a second and third daughter, then they can barely be called the right family when they marry the German princes.

But Joan can't.

She is the first princess of this generation in England, so her marriage will determine what level of marriage the next royal women will get.

Neither William III nor Queen Juana would consider marrying Joan to the king, the king's first heir, or someone other than the heir to the principality.

If the heir of the Elector of Saxony asked to marry Joan, then Queen Juana could still consider it, but the other German princes... forget it!

Princesses of England are noble, they are not qualified enough.

"In addition, the Protestant Prince of Transylvania also wanted to marry Joan, but considering his age and the fact that Transylvania has always been in the tit-for-tat battle between the Ottoman Empire and Austria, so his marriage proposal It can also be excluded." William III said while throwing an unopened letter aside.

Under the conversation between the husband and wife, more than half of the marriage proposal letters on the table were cleaned up, and only a few letters remained in the end.

"These are letters from Catholic countries." Queen Juana rubbed her sore forehead, and the wrinkles on her face deepened: "The most suitable ages are Sebastian of Portugal and Henry of France, It's just that the latter has two older brothers, while the former..."

When Queen Juana thought of Portugal's extinction crisis and Joao III's great achievements in losing nine children in a row, she was very pessimistic about the physical fitness of the Portuguese crown prince.

After all, in this day and age, poor fertility is the woman's fault.

Even if Joan is married to the Crown Prince of Portugal in her second marriage, the pressure on her childbirth will not be relieved.

"Let's take a look again!" William III felt that the generals picked out of this dwarf seemed to be not very good.

Queen Juana also agreed: "Joan is only four years old, so I'm not in a hurry."

After all, there is no suitable marriage partner now, and it does not mean that there will be no suitable Protestant prince in the future.

If it's just a few years or an age difference of eleven or twelve years, it's no big deal.

Because Queen Juana's mother was 12 years older than Enrique II, and William III's mother was also six years older than Henry VIII, Joan could wait a few more years before getting married.

What's more, with the strength of England and Joan's expensive dowry when she got married, William III is enough to put William III on the picky side in the marriage market.

As for the children, William III and Queen Juana hadn't seen Joan for a long time, so they had her picked up from St. James's Palace.

Because William III did not want the smog in the Whitehall Palace to ruin the physical and mental health of several children, so far, no matter whether it is the Duke of Richmond, Guillaume, or the youngest Joan, Part of his childhood was spent at St. James's Palace, and he was brought up at Ghent Castle in Belgium, or at a manor outside London.

This is also the most common way of raising nobles in the sixteenth century.

William III spent his childhood in his mansion in Suffolk, and Princess Mary and the Countess of Surrey were sent to the countryside far away from London to be raised after they became sensible.

Seeing that Joan is already four years old, William is also considering letting Joan leave London and spend her childhood in the countryside of England.

After all, Anne of Cleves also needed a peaceful retirement life, so William III didn't want to add too much trouble to his stepmother.

Queen Juana did not spoil Joan too much because she was the youngest daughter, so the princess of England must behave as well as her two elder brothers in front of outsiders in order to get the appreciation and favor of her parents.

Unlike the blond Duke of Richmond and Guillaume, Joan inherited Queen Juana's brown hair, with a delicate and soft face, more like Catherine of Aragon in appearance, and did not inherit Henry VIII's small eyes, Or the big nose of Valois.

William III hugged his daughter on his knees, and was very satisfied that Joan was not a thin body that would collapse in the wind.

For example, the first wife of James V, Madeleine of France, was the embodiment of slender beauty, and died of tuberculosis within six months of marriage.

Considering the premature death rate under consanguineous marriage and the medical environment in the [-]th century, William III must ensure that his children can grow up healthy. the main reason.

When Joan was a little older, William III would arrange for her gym and fencing lessons.

Both Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were great sportsmen, and the former in particular, can be regarded as a typical example of the scourge of the Millennium.

Without good physical fitness, I am afraid that Henry VIII would not be able to drag his leg injury for seven or eight years under such a harsh medical environment, and he lived for more than 50 years before bidding farewell to this world.

While William III was thinking about his daughter's parenting style, Queen Juana was also asking about Joan's recent situation, making sure that her daughter could get the best care.

"It's better to send Joan to Wales." William III suddenly suggested: "The Countess of Nottingham is in Wales managing the ports to Scotland and Ireland, as well as the Royal Textile Factory. Sending Joan there can also influence the ears and eyes. Next, learn something from the Countess of Nottingham that cannot be taught in books."

Queen Juana stopped communicating with the princess nanny, and asked her husband: "You mean, when Joan is a little older, let her start managing Wales?"

"What's wrong with this?" William explained: "The Countess of Nottingham is almost 20 years old, and I'm not a vicious uncle who forbids my niece to marry, so after the Countess of Nottingham shifts her focus to the family, there will always be someone to take over from Nottingham." Countess seat, to govern Wales."

After all, William III also smoothed Joan's hair. The latter is much more well-behaved than Guillaume, but he will not be as old as the Duke of Richmond: "She will become a queen or a duke one day Madam, so it is impossible not to learn how to manage the land, or increase your own wealth. I have always believed that education is a thing that can be beneficial to women. Unless it is a man whose brain has been kicked by a donkey, it is impossible Before marriage, do not examine the quality and knowledge of the wife."

William III also praised his female relatives by the way: "I hope Joan can become an outstanding woman like you or my mother."

"Although the Habsburgs are our enemies and friends, I appreciate their education level."

"Whether it is Margaret of Austria or Mary of Austria, Joan should learn from it." William III remembered that the youngest daughter of Charles V also served as regent for her brother when Philip II set off.

"As for France..." William III also cited an example that Queen Juana was very familiar with: "Just talk about the two daughters of Louis XII, who do you like more?"

Although the former is the queen of France, he spends his whole life as a reproductive tool to completely merge Brittany into France, while the latter...

When Queen Juana thought of Renee of France who was still imprisoned, she couldn't help but regretted: "If Renee of France was the eldest daughter, maybe the current France would be a different scene."

After all, Anne of Brittany specially designated her second daughter to be the heir of Brittany before she died, but under the oppression of the French Conference, this proposal was rejected.

"We can't protect them forever, so Joan has to learn to protect herself, just like her two older brothers." William III asked Joan to be taken down for dinner, and discussed with Queen Juana: "Wales is I think The most suitable place for Joan to live, if you agree, I will make the Countess of Nottingham ready to take over."

Before Queen Juana could answer William III's proposal, she was interrupted by an anxious Richard Cromwell.

"Your Majesty, there is news from St. George's Church that Edward Tudor is critically ill. I hope you can rush there immediately."