Francis II of France never dies in 1550

[afleitch]

Something I'm going to be working on

It is December 1550. The young King of France is suffering a grave illness, one that may claim his live. His young Queen, Mary of Scots is at his bedside...but he survives and the union between the French and Scottish crowns is secured. Whats up next is a whirlwhind through European history; Wars of Religion tear through Scotland, France builds an empire in America and Scotland prospers as a trading post, Scotland becomes a monarchist refuge during the French revolution and a battlefield during the Napoleonic Wars. What brings France on the side of the CSA? And England on the same side as Imperial Germany in the Great War resulting in Trench Warfare from Carlisle to Sunderland?

Will post the first part soon

[afleitch]

1561-1582

As Francis recovers, Mary is persuaded to set out on a 'goodwill' tour of France, bringing the French court with her. Her mother, Mary of Guise continues to run affairs in Scotland, indeed it is rumoured that the Guises continue to run the entire French monarchy. Relations with England are typically sour, but Queen Elizabeth is able to take solace in Mary's reluctance in claiming the English throne. 1563 opens with the Perth Uprising, with Protestant lords denouncing Mary of Guise's regency and the spread of French influence within the Edinburgh court. Guise also orders a French garrison to Coldstream near the English borders which alarms Elizabeth. Francis recalls Mary of Guise and sends his brother Charles to Scotland. With Mary's reluctance to visit Scotland. Francis creates a title to be bestowed upon the youngest brother of the king or dauphin, the Duc D'Ecosse and visits Scotland in 1566 , granting the title to his brother. 1567 sees the surprise birth of twins for Mary and Francis, christened Francis and Jacques. Francis is deemed older by 12 minutes and is declared Dauphin.

In 1569, the excommunication of Elizabeth by Pope Pius V, resulted in the Northern Rebellion by the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland. Durham was seized and fortified and York was threatened. The rebellion was aided, in part, by Catholic support flowing from Scotland. With Elizabeth's reign under serious threat, and marriage possibilities waning, William Cecil forces her marriage to the possibly bisexual, flambouyant Alexandre, Duke of Anjou, 18 years younger than the Queen.  This pleased Francis and, on condition of the marriage, helped to violently subdue the Northern Rebellion and was granted control over Berwick. Durham was raised to the ground and Alexandre took it upon himself to oversee its restoration.  Elizabeth give birth to a son, Henry in 1571.

The next few years were years of great stability. The Duke of Scotland was popular, Mary and Francis pacified France (violently subduing Protestant revolts) and Elizabeth and Alexandre, though distant, reigned without threat. This was shattered when a wayward protestant lord, James Stewart, Earl of Moray and half brother of Mary assasinated Charles in 1579. He was apprehended by the French garrison in Edinburgh and under Mary's instruction was sent to France for trial. He was forced to kneel before the new 12 year old Duke of Scotland, Jacques and was promptly executed the next day. In 1580, Portugal was annexed by Phillip II of Spain and England's willingness to side with the Netherlands coupled with Alexandre's open conversion to the protestant faith prompted Francis to align with Spain, in the hope for a share of the territorial spoils in any ensuing war.

In 1582 Mary unexpectedly fell pregnant. Complications arose late on and Mary suffered internal bleeding, resulting in a miscarriage and death at the age of 39. Marys death sent shockwaves through France and Scotland and a distraught Francis had Mary's doctor imprisoned, but was later released under pressure from the Dauphin. The French King isolated himself and descended into a deep depression.

[afleitch]

1584-1590

By 1584, Francis' grip over both his kingdoms was under serious threat. Elizabeth's secret aid to the Huguenots and Philips Dutch ambitions were troubling the French court and Francis' long standing health problems surfaced once again. The twin princes were now 17 and Jacques, as Duke of Scotland had a mastery over affairs in a capacity that the Dauphin Francis did not. By early 1585, The Dauphin effectively ruled France while his father pined at court, eager to prove himself. Jacques reached a religious settlement, the Grand Settlement, with Scottish protestant lords in 1586 and pacified the Dukedom and began re-construction of the Great Palace at Holyrood.

Pressure from the Vatican, coupled with a lack of French support for his Dutch ambitions (and ambitions for the Englsih crown), Sir Frances Drake's failure to scuttle the Spanish fleet at Cadiz, hastened the fabled 'Ocean War' of 1587-1590. The Spanish Armada, launched a successful attack on the English Navy, scattering her fleet and proceeding to sail northwards. The Spanish landed at Margate and patrolled the Medway aiming for London. A further fleet headed northwards, landing at the mouth of the Tyne and proceeded towards Durham. King Alexandre, who was foolishly supervising personally his 'baby', the new Durham Cathedral directed the scattered English to keep the Spaniards from Durham but the town was soon surrounded and Alexandre fled northwest, crossing the Solway into Scotland. With London under threat in early 1588 and her husband in Scotland, Elizabeth pleaded for French intervention. The King was not sympathetic and had little time for anything, but the Dauphin was and sent troops to the port of Boulogne and put the navy on standby. A month later King Francis was dead; he was obese and in poor health. Francis was crowned King Francis III and the French stood down from intervening with Spain on England's behalf.

Elizabeth was 'arrested' by Spanish troops in Greenwich, where she had remained despite calls for her to flee. This prompted the new French king into action. As the Spanish swept inland, the English, headquartered in Shropshire advanced on Spanish held Bristol. In a bloody engagement, the Spanish were defeated. At the same time French troops landed in Portsmouth and headed northwards to meet the English and the Scottish headed south to distract the Spanish and their allies in Durham under the command of King Alexandre. 1589 was a stalemate year, but by the spring of 1590 the Spanish were on the defensive, scattered and the country was faced with foreign revolts.  The Spanish surrendered on May 17th 1590 and Elizabeth was released.

[minionofmidas]

He'll be turning 500 soon!

[afleitch]

He'll be turning 500 soon!

He dies in 1588 if you had read it

[ATFFL]

He'll be turning 500 soon!

He dies in 1588 if you had read it

Then fix your faulty thread title. 

[afleitch]

He'll be turning 500 soon!

He dies in 1588 if you had read it

Then fix your faulty thread title. 

Done, it's been fixed But if these are the only comments I can muster I may just put the idea to bed.

[ilikeverin]

Maybe I should make a timeline where Francis II of France never dies, period

Nifty timeline so far

[Erc]

If it weren't for the whole Elizabeth getting married thing, things would get interesting in 1603 when Elizabeth dies.

The obvious successor is, of course, Mary herself (or, in this case, her son, the King of France).  Somehow, I don't think that would go over too well with the English--making Elizabeth's marriage more likely or, alternatively, coming up with another claimant for the throne [hey, the French did it in the 1300's, why can't we?].

Most likely, this is Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley--who, in RL, was actually Mary's wife and James VI's father.  Since there's no fancy Salic Law trick to get out of having Mary come to the throne, a claim would have to be made that Mary was illegitimate (a believable enough claim to make, considering that she took the throne at 7 days with her father out of the country at the time).  This would also give the presumptive King Henry IX claim to the Scottish throne, as well--as he was at the time the next in line to the Scottish throne after her sons.

Thus, we would have, in 1603, two people who independently claimed the thrones of England, France, and Scotland.  (Henry IX's claim to France, is, of course, the weakest, but still remained in the titles well after the Hundred Years' War).

This is, of course, assuming that Darnley survives until 1603.  He would have been nearly 60 at the time...and, furthermore, would have been a serious threat to Mary and Francis--as, before they had children, he would be the next in line to the Scottish throne, endangering that union...and would be a rather obvious threat to the potential English claim as well.

Another potential claimant is Darnley's younger brother, Charles (if he survived beyond his actual death date of 1577) or any of his children (in RL, one daughter, Arabella).

Then come the Baron Castle Stuarts [whose descendants in the male line continue to live]...

Then come two who can claim a Lady Jane Grey connection...

The Dukes of Somerset [until 1750 or so]

The Earls of Derby [until 1730 or so].


So, there were no shortage of domestic English (or Scottish) claimants to the throne, had there been a desire to dispute it.

Most likely, there would have been a succession war extraordinaire between England and France/Scotland.

The real question is...who else gets involved?  As much as the Spanish hate the Valois, it would be strange to see Habsburgs turning around and supporting an independent England--unless, of course, Darnley stayed Catholic, in which case he might have some problems finding English support.  Alternatively, the Spanish could try to resurrect their own claims (through Mary and Philip II) on the English Throne...although it may be a bit too soon 15 years after the Armada.   In any event, it's a godawful mess.

[minionofmidas]

Most likely, this is Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley--who, in RL, was actually Mary's wife

Ah yes.