Quite a facinating scenario could be unravelled by the thought of Mary surviving longer.
The country was nearly bankrupt thanks to the extravagance of Henry and the inneptitude of the Seymours.
Here's my imagination
What if Bloody Mary survived longer?
Reversing the reformation would have been possible had Mary survived longer. The main changes that had occurred under her Father Henry VIII, her Step Brother Edward and his Uncles the Seymours had only just took root. There were still many recusant Catholics about and these would back up her aim to reverse the religious direction the country was going.
However she was clumsy in her choice of husband. A Spanish husband and so King of England, did not go down too well in the hearts of the English, even though they loved Katherine de Aragon, the people always thought she was well Anglified and someone to trust. Not the same however for Phillip.
If I put on my “What if” hat this is how I think history would have been rewritten.
Points of clarity:
1. Mary lives for another 20 years on the throne.
2. Elizabeth survives Mary’s reign.
3. Mary is still childless, not a common occurrence is the birth of children at her age.
4. Elizabeth still comes to the throne but for only 30 year reign.
The Queen of England, Mary Tudor, will establish a stronger Papal Catholic Church in England than before the reformation. Many protestants will have died, a war with Scotland would have been won but with many casualties on both sides. Phillip never comes to England, the marriage is annulled as he wants to marry another. Mary never marries again and remains childless. Eliziabeth stays in the Tower for many years but is eventually released to a convent under house arrest. Some attempts by King James of Scotland to get Elizabeth released go unsuccessfully until Mary relents with a peace plan with Scotland and Elizabeth goes to Scotland for her own safety.
Jame’s Mother, Mary Stuart dies in mysterious circumstances whilst being wooed in her new role within Queen Mary’s court, Mary Stuart’s lover a Howard dies at the same time.
The war with Spain never happens, Holland and France are protestant and join together to fight the Spanish and her allies , England however sits on the political fence.
Mary Dies childless and Princess Elizabeth returns from Scotland to take up her throne, being a strong Protestant but clever enough to know the consequences of digging up the past, she tolerates the catholic presence but gets Parliament to allow any religion as long as they accept Elizabeth as the monarch. Elizabeth was married I Scotland and now has children, one boy and one girl. Her husband was from the Scottish nobility and was a marriage of love. They ruled England for 30 years as Queen and consort.
Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth, her son Prince Henry becomes King Henry IX, a strong Protestant ruler with an agenda to get rid of the Papal Catholics and install the true English Protestant church in its place with himself as leader. A political move to appease the French and the rest of Protestant Europe, Spain falls to Protestant rule, the Pope is defeated in battle and agrees to a watered down catholic doctrine taking into account the Protestant world and the notoriety of the Papal system.
Where would England be now in 2006 had these things actually occurred?
Our present monarch would have been from a different lineage, there would have been no civil war, no Cromwell, no execution of the King. I believe we would have followed the rest of Europe and have had a revolution, possibly on religious grounds but the outcome was the same, no monarchy.
A Parliament with a Presidential figurehead with no power for go to war.
So much for dying young eh!
The country was nearly bankrupt thanks to the extravagance of Henry and the inneptitude of the Seymours.
Here's my imagination
What if Bloody Mary survived longer?
Reversing the reformation would have been possible had Mary survived longer. The main changes that had occurred under her Father Henry VIII, her Step Brother Edward and his Uncles the Seymours had only just took root. There were still many recusant Catholics about and these would back up her aim to reverse the religious direction the country was going.
However she was clumsy in her choice of husband. A Spanish husband and so King of England, did not go down too well in the hearts of the English, even though they loved Katherine de Aragon, the people always thought she was well Anglified and someone to trust. Not the same however for Phillip.
If I put on my “What if” hat this is how I think history would have been rewritten.
Points of clarity:
1. Mary lives for another 20 years on the throne.
2. Elizabeth survives Mary’s reign.
3. Mary is still childless, not a common occurrence is the birth of children at her age.
4. Elizabeth still comes to the throne but for only 30 year reign.
The Queen of England, Mary Tudor, will establish a stronger Papal Catholic Church in England than before the reformation. Many protestants will have died, a war with Scotland would have been won but with many casualties on both sides. Phillip never comes to England, the marriage is annulled as he wants to marry another. Mary never marries again and remains childless. Eliziabeth stays in the Tower for many years but is eventually released to a convent under house arrest. Some attempts by King James of Scotland to get Elizabeth released go unsuccessfully until Mary relents with a peace plan with Scotland and Elizabeth goes to Scotland for her own safety.
Jame’s Mother, Mary Stuart dies in mysterious circumstances whilst being wooed in her new role within Queen Mary’s court, Mary Stuart’s lover a Howard dies at the same time.
The war with Spain never happens, Holland and France are protestant and join together to fight the Spanish and her allies , England however sits on the political fence.
Mary Dies childless and Princess Elizabeth returns from Scotland to take up her throne, being a strong Protestant but clever enough to know the consequences of digging up the past, she tolerates the catholic presence but gets Parliament to allow any religion as long as they accept Elizabeth as the monarch. Elizabeth was married I Scotland and now has children, one boy and one girl. Her husband was from the Scottish nobility and was a marriage of love. They ruled England for 30 years as Queen and consort.
Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth, her son Prince Henry becomes King Henry IX, a strong Protestant ruler with an agenda to get rid of the Papal Catholics and install the true English Protestant church in its place with himself as leader. A political move to appease the French and the rest of Protestant Europe, Spain falls to Protestant rule, the Pope is defeated in battle and agrees to a watered down catholic doctrine taking into account the Protestant world and the notoriety of the Papal system.
Where would England be now in 2006 had these things actually occurred?
Our present monarch would have been from a different lineage, there would have been no civil war, no Cromwell, no execution of the King. I believe we would have followed the rest of Europe and have had a revolution, possibly on religious grounds but the outcome was the same, no monarchy.
A Parliament with a Presidential figurehead with no power for go to war.
So much for dying young eh!