Festina Lente

Chapter Seventy-Five: Elisabeth of Hesse

A part of him most pleased to see that the portrait that he had been provided with had been true to the likeness of his bride; he had already ordered that it be sent on to France to be hung in one of his palaces. 

The last thing that he wished were for any issues, he was sure his sister would make Elisabeth feel very welcome when she finally arrived in France and had ordered celebrations across the country for his remarriage. 

It would be Marguerite that would welcome Elisabeth with the grace that the new Queen of France would deserve especially in the absence of the King. 

King Francis was dressed in a gown of cloth of gold that was embroidered with great flowers of silver and banded with black fur, a coat of crimson satin slashed and embroidered and fastened with diamonds. 

His outfit making Elisabeth feel rather plain beside him despite her gown of cloth of gold embroidered with large flowers of great Orient pearls, in the Dutch fashion, with a round skirt and no train. 

Her long fair hair hung loose to symbolise her virginity, and she wore a coronet of gold upon her head that was set with precious stones and trefoils that resembled bunches of rosemary. 

The coronet had been the same one that her mother had worn on her own wedding day, one that Elisabeth hoped to pass to her own daughter if she was so blessed. 

The Cardinal de Tournon's words echoed around the small chapel and the gathering was silent while they watched the King of France wed the Hessian Princess. 

It was no secret that this match was expected to produce more heirs for the throne, the King had five children from his first marriage but there were concerns that they would not be enough to secure the Valois throne. 

Prince Charles was here in Milan with his father, he stood not far behind his father while he wed and it was expected that he would rule Milan while the conquest continued to move south through the country. 

Francis thought it would be the perfect place for his son to learn to rule, he had grand plans for his third son and he knew that Charles would need to learn to rule especially if he planned for him to take the throne of Naples. 

Of course, his plans for his youngest son had rubbed the Duke of Orleans the wrong way but Francis would not hear of it; he needed his eldest two boys in France because they were his direct heirs. 

Charles watched as his father was wed to the woman that was to be his new mother, he could only hope she was better prepared than the last had been for what it would mean to be married to his father. 

Eleanor had be a kind woman but her brother's actions against the Valois would never be forgotten or forgiven, at least Elisabeth did not have this mark against her as she became the Queen of France. 

***

Sitting upon the dais overlooking the wedding celebrations, the newlyweds sat in silence while their servants served them and neither had spoken much since they had been produced husband and wife in the eyes of God. 

There had been little expense spared in the celebrations at the Milan court, the wedding of the King of France had been arranged in a hurry especially considering the fact that plans were already being made for the march on Florence. 

There was little doubt that Florence would not prove as easy as Milan had when it had fallen, news from Florence stated that Alessandro was preparing for a siege. 

He would not dare risk all out war with the armies of the alliance, instead he would draw this out as long as possible in hopes that his father-in-law would arrive to aid him. 

The Holy Roman Emperor would not hide away forever after his first defeat, already news reached them that he was calling the entire Habsburg empire to arms and planned on marching on them as soon as possible. 

However, it had been noted in the recent dispatches that while Ferdinand had travelled to Spain at his brother's command and readied his army; there was no sign of his army joining up with Charles' forces. 

Francis could not help but wonder if Ferdinand's inaction so far came from the fact that Charles had imprisoned Eleanor for the end of his marriage to her. 

A part of him did regret the outcome for her but he knew that there was no way that his marriage to her could have remained, he needed to further secure his line and he could not have Habsburg blood meddling with it. 

There was no doubt in his mind that any Habsburg children he had with Eleanor would have been pushed towards the throne by their uncle in his attempt to gain control over France even if it meant killing his three living sons from Claude to do so. 

Sipping upon his ale, Francis leant back in his chair and glanced around the celebrations and pleased to see it was not a solemn affair as his last wedding had been. 

It had not been much of a celebration, a formal affair that had been forced upon him so that he could gain his freedom and that of his sons from the prison in which they had been held. 

This time there was much more to celebration, including the idea that soon the Emperor would not be able to threaten France anymore.

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Happy 488th Birthday to Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn.