Festina Lente

Chapter Ninety-Four: Catalina of Aragon

6th of January 1536 - Richmond Palace

A delighted laugh escaped Queen Anne as she held onto Princess Beatrice's little hands and helped her walk across the carpeted floor of her apartments; the fire roaring as it continued to lightly snow outside and her ladies were gathered to attend to her. 

While her elder children were in their lessons, Anne had decided to take a break from her royal duties to spend some much-desired time with her youngest. 

Her elder two children were currently learning French, Swedish and Danish at their mother's most eager request; it would only be a matter of time before Beatrice would be joining them in their lessons. 

Anne had been firm in wanting to make sure that her children were well educated, she would have no one think that they were fools and she encouraged that their educations should be as broad as possible. 

Alexander was to be King of England one day and Elizabeth was destined to be the Queen of Sweden through her marriage; it was imperative that they both were prepared for such greatness. 

As for Beatrice, it appeared that her daughter was destined to marry into the french royal family even if she would never be a Queen like her older sister. 

It had been Henry that had written to her that he had achieved her great desire to see one of their daughters married to a French Prince; the new Duke of Anjou had been offered as a future husband for their youngest daughter. 

Francis himself had offered the match stating that there could be no finer bride for his newest son that the daughter of Queen Anne once the negotiations had concluded on Naples being transferred into Valois hands. 

The new King Charles IV of Naples would be wed to Maria of Austria when they were both of age, the seven-year-old would make the trip to Naples in the coming years when she was old enough to do so. 

No doubt Isabella would be doing as Anne now did to preparing her daughters for the future roles that they would occupy; Spain was in dire need of strong allies especially now that Charles was gone and his desire for war dying with him.

The doors to her chamber opened and Anne paused in her movement looking up to see her father entering, he looked rather sweaty and she could only imagine what could be so important that he had rushed to her. 

"Your Majesty," the Duke of Wiltshire greeted, he bowed his head low to his daughter and prepared to break the news that they had all been expecting for some time. 

It had been him that had come across the messenger that had just arrived from Kimbolton with the message from the royal doctors. 

"What is it?" Anne asked allowing Lady Bryan to come forward to collect Beatrice while she turned her full attention to her father, her heart pounding in her chest knowing that her next decision would be vital depending on what he had to say. 

She could see from his face alone that this was a serious matter, there was only one thing that could bring such concern. 

"It's the Spanish Infanta, they say she has not long left," Thomas stated passing on the message that he had been given before sending the messenger to get warm and get something to eat while his horse was stabled. 

At last, they would have that wretched woman off their books and Thomas knew that they had to act accordingly even if Spain was in no position to threaten them now. 

Joanna had many children that still lived, it any one of them took offence to their treatment of Catalina then they could find themselves fighting off an invasion just as peace had been called on the continent.