Fanfic: An Endless Supply of Rubies Ch 42, Tudors | FanFiction
A/N: In history, Charles Brandon passed away suddenly and quietly on 22 August 1545. In real life, Charles did not have a French mistress. His final wife, Catherine Willoughby, was reportedly by his side the entire time, and mourned his death until her own in 1580. After Charles's death, Catherine went on to marry Richard Bertie, a member of her household who shared her beliefs as a reformer. It was rumored that King Henry VIII had considered taking Catherine Willoughby as a seventh wife.
I'm going to mess around a little bit and make Henry see all three of his wives on the same day.
After the new year, Charles had decided to retire from public life, and the King had allowed him to do so. After all, Charles was sixty years old. Amelia went with him back to Westhorpe, where they stayed together as a family.
Life had been peaceful since then. Charles helped teach the children as best he could. He began to teach the older boys how to handle swords and daggers, and helped everyone with dancing lessons by demonstrating waltzes with Amelia.
They lived in peace, and Amelia was content to remain with Charles in the English countryside until the Lord decided that it was time for him to leave.
She kept in contact with her sister and the Queen, writing to them frequently. Mary had written to tell her that she was pregnant again, and confident that this time, she would give her husband the son that she thought he deserved. The Queen wrote to update Amelia on her father's health and other happenings in the kingdom. Other than the Queen and Mary, Amelia had little contact with anyone else in the kingdom.
Then, one day, Charles developed a fever, and took to his bed. Fearing the worst, he summoned the priests to perform his last rites, as Amelia dabbed his forehead with a cool cloth, tears filling her eyes.
The next morning, he was gone. Amelia cried more, unable to control her tears. Charles had been the first person she had ever met when she had returned to England. He had been her best friend, her lover, and her confidant. Charles had been the one that she treasured and trusted above all others. And now, he was gone. There was change in the air for Amelia. She was a widow now, and terrified of what might happen to her next.
Charles asked for a private funeral in his will, a small and intimate service with Amelia, his children, and a few others. He had been a relatively private person, and the idea suited him well. However, Amelia was informed that the King would be taking over the plans for the funeral. Instead of a quiet burial, Charles would have a procession worthy of a king, and would be buried in St. George's Chapel at Windsor, at the King's expense.
Edward Seymour had attended Charles's funeral in place of the King. Amelia stood as strongly as she could muster, despite the crippling sadness that had taken hold of her. Only afterwards, when Edward came to give his condolences, did she collapse into his arms, sobbing over the loss of her closest friend. Edward did nothing more than hold her, which made her feel comforted.
Afterwards, she was relieved of most of her duties as a daughter of the King. She was excused when the French Admiral came to visit. But eventually, she knew she would be summoned to court to see her ailing father.
"What are you doing here?" Henry asked, rising from his seat. There, in the doorway, behind the painter, stood the ghost of Catherine of Aragon.
"I have come to see my daughters," Catherine responded. "Why should that surprise you, Henry?"
He walked forward, barely believing his own eyes. Mary and Amelia entered, standing on either side of their mother.
"You have not always been kind to Mary," Catherine said. "I have wept so often to have seen her alone, abandoned by her father. And Amelia, my dear daughter, who you prevented me from meeting when she returned to England. I barely recognize the woman she has grown into, but I am proud of her all the same, even if you are not."
"Is that why you've come back, Catherine?" Henry asked. "To chide me for all that I am not?"
"I have missed all the things that a woman needs her mother for," Catherine replied. "I was not there to see them married, to rejoice when they quickened with child, to comfort them if they miscarried or rejoiced when my grandchildren were born. Especially my youngest daughter. I was not there for the loss of her husband last year. And still, they are not good enough for you?"
"Go away, shade," Henry whispered angrily. His tone then softened. "Go away, Catherine."
"You sent me away before, though I loved you" Catherine responded. "But I was still your wife in God's eyes, and still am."
With that, the three women disappeared before Henry's eyes, leaving him confused.
"Why are you here?" Henry asked, not bothering to turn around. After his encounter earlier that day, he knew that Anne Boleyn was standing behind him.
"To see my daughter," Anne replied. "She was the only pure thing in my life, and in my life, I neglected her, since she was only a girl, and I wanted so much to give you a son. But now, I am so proud of her. Fiercely proud. She is so clever. And though she is like me in so many ways, she is not intemperate as I was. You must be proud of her too, Henry. Amelia has been an excellent mother towards her. Though, in my life, I hated her, I see now the goodness in her that I dared not think of before."
"I am," he replied, not bothering to turn around and look at the apparitions. "I am very proud of her, and I know how clever she is, and I wish that I could love her more." He turned, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "But from time to time, she reminds me of you, and of what you did to me," he said, pointing his cane at her.
"I did nothing to you," Anne replied, stepping forwards towards him. "I was innocent. All the accusations made against me were false. I thought you knew," she finished softly. She paused for a moment, looking down. "Poor Katherine Howard," she continued quietly. "She lies in the cold ground next to me. Poor child. It was not her fault either, but we were like two moths, drawn to the flame, and burned."
Henry had turned away halfway through her speech, sobbing deeply over his two lost wives. "Anne, please don't!" he shouted as he turned, only to find that he was once again alone, with nothing but his memories to keep him company.
"How is my son?" a voice asked as Henry entered his chambers.
Henry paused. "Jane," he whispered, the name rolling off his tongue in a familiar manner. His head turned to see the woman standing there, looking just as she had all those years ago. He took a few steps towards her. "He is well," Henry replied. "I have taken all care of him, sweet Jane, and soon, he will be King." He smiled, thinking of his young son following in his footsteps.
She shook her head slowly and sadly. "My poor boy," she said, sounding as though she were on the edge of tears. "My poor child."
"No!" Henry retorted. "He is the most beloved. He is my special boy." He reached out his arm as Edward appeared, asking the child to come to him, but Jane put her hand on the boy's shoulder.
"He will die young," Jane stated.
"No!" Henry exclaimed. "No!" He turned and took a few steps away from the shades.
"Poor child," Jane continued. "You expected too much of him. He was only a boy. Kings, too, are made of clay, and God forbid, you sent him away to be raised by your daughter, who was little older than a child herself. Although I praise her now, she was a child when you sent my boy to live with her."
"No," Henry muttered, breathing hard.
"Don't you understand?" Jane asked. "You have killed him!"
"No," Henry murmured, collapsing against the wall and sobbing. He could not believe it. In fact, he refused to believe it. After all his bad luck, the Tudor Dynasty would not end with his son.
"Herewith, my Lords, is my testament," Henry stated. "When I am dead, my daughter, the Lady Amelia shall marry my Lord Hertford, for I could not bear to see her with someone other than the Duke of Suffolk while I am alive. My Lord Hertford will act as Lord Protector during Prince Edward's minority, and the Lady Amelia shall assist him in acting in the Prince's best interests. He will also be supported by my Lord Chancellor Risley, and Archbishop Cranmer. It is my desire to be buried next to the body of my true and loving wife, Queen Jane Seymour, at Windsor. You shall raise and honorable tomb, upon which will be our effigies, fashioned as if we are sweetly sleeping."
King Henry died on 28 January 1547. The entire Kingdom mourned his death.
On 30 January 1547, Lady Amelia Brandon, Dowager Duchess of Suffolk, married Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset. On that same evening, Edward Seymour was pronounced the Lord Protector of England for King Edward VI.
King Edward VI was crowned on 20 February 1547.
Edward and Amelia had a relatively happy marriage. Things were a bit awkward at first, and understandably so, as they had known each other for a long time. Before their marriage, he had created himself Duke of Somerset, to give himself what he felt was a title worthy of marrying a Princess. They only had one child together, a son that they named Charles, in honor of the late Duke of Suffolk. He was born in 1551.
Together, Amelia and Edward ensured that King Edward VI's short reign was a successful one. With the new monarch came opportunities to heal the wounds left by the previous one. They successfully negotiated a peace treaty with the Scots, one that did not include a betrothal for the young Queen. They also managed to negotiate successful treaties with France and the Holy Roman Empire. It helped that all countries involved were eager to restore the trade links destroyed by war.
Catherin Parr went on to marry Thomas Seymour, in secret, on 4 May 1547. Initially upset that the Dowager Queen had remarried, the people of England had eventually come to accept it, and even rejoiced when Catherine had given birth to a baby girl. However, the joy was short-lived, as Catherin died six days later on 5 September 1548. Amelia took the infant baby in, although the child died shortly after her mother did, leaving Amelia heartbroken for the late Queen.
Thomas Seymour was arrested in January of 1549 and executed 2 months later, after it was revealed that he was planning to kidnap and marry the Princess Elizabeth, as well as usurp his older brother and kidnap the King.
In January 1552, the Duke of Northumberland, attempted to get rid of Edward Seymour and establish himself as Lord Protector. His efforts failed, however, due to the reforms that Edward and Amelia had introduced, which made England more prosperous than it had been for decades.
In June of 1553, crisis struck as King Edward VI lay dying. He had not been married, so he had no direct heirs. Although Amelia was fine with the crown passing to her sister, the King was not. In his last will and testament, he signed the crown over to his nephew and Amelia's son, John.
Mary, naturally, was furious, and attempted to seize the crown for herself. The people of England, however, backed John's claim. She left England with her husband and three daughters, and spent the remainder of her life in Bavaria. She passed away on 17 November 1558. Her daughters were never heard from again, although many believe that her eldest became a Duchess in some capacity.
As for the Princess Elizabeth, she eventually married Charles II de Valois, Duc d'Orléans, in 1550. She was seventeen years old, and he was twenty-eight. Charles was a handsome, charming man by all accounts, and Elizabeth quickly found herself falling in love. Their marriage helped to strengthen the ties that existed between England and France. Together, they had seven children, two boys and five girls.
John Brandon went on to be crowned King John II. He was nineteen years old when he took the throne, and reminded everyone of his grandfather when he first took the crown. John was tall and muscular, as a result of Amelia's encouragement of activity in his youth. His wife, Frances Hastings, was crowned Queen consort shortly afterwards, and had tremendous influence over her husband's dealings. The couple had three sons and one daughter that survived to adulthood. Their oldest son, William, took the throne after John's death. The House of Brandon is the longest continuing house in English history, with a member still sitting on the throne today. Like his father, he lived to be about sixty years old, passing away 1592. His wife outlived him by three years.
Amelia and Edward quietly exited from public life after John had been crowned. Amelia was thirty years old, and Edward was fifty-three. They still continued to offer John advice when he asked for it, but they mainly allowed him to figure out how to run the kingdom in a way that worked for him. After all, he remembered the disastrous end to Henry VIII's kingdom.
King John II was also known as John the Peaceful. His domestic policy soothed over religious discourse in England by allowing all religions to be practiced. He continued to reform the Church of England to reduce corruption, but did nothing to prevent the spread of Catholicism and Protestantism throughout the Kingdom. His foreign policy consisted of nonaggression treaties with various nations, mostly on the promise of keeping trade open. King John II went down in history as one of England's most successful kings.
Because John was crowned, the title of Duke of Suffolk was passed on to Owen Brandon. In 1556, when he was twenty years old, he married Jane FitzAlan, the daughter of Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel. The couple had three children, a son and two daughters, who went on to carry the title of Duke of Suffolk until 1782. Owen's wife died in 1567, after giving birth to their son, which devastated Owen. He never remarried, and devoted his life to making sure his children were properly raised. He passed in 1595, after living a long and fulfilling life.
Eleanor Brandon became renown for her intelligence, wit, and beauty, which attracted suitors from all over the globe. Many said that she looked just like her mother. By the time she was twelve years old, she had already received numerous marriage proposals from nobles all across Europe. However, her choice fell upon Gabriel de la Cueva, the 5th Duke of Alburquerque, a Spanish nobleman and military leader, who eventually became Viceroy of Navarre and Governor of the Duchy of Milan. They married in 1551 when she was only fourteen, and he was thirty-six. Eleanor's wedding was met with great disapproval. However, Amelia eventually came to accept the match. They had two daughters. Gabriel passed in 1571. Eleanor's second marriage was the following year to Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga, who became the Governor of Milan. In 1575, an outbreak of a plague claimed Eleanor's life. Her second husband outlived her by only one year.
Jane Brandon, like her sister, was desirable. However, her mother had discovered that Charles contracted her to marry the eldest son of Henry Howard, the former Earl of Surrey. Despite the fact that the Earl had been executed in 1547, his eldest son was still created Duke of Norfolk. Jane married Thomas Howard in 1556, when she was seventeen years old and he was twenty. Thomas held several public offices throughout John's reign. The couple reportedly had a strained marriage, as Thomas kept trying to use his position as brother-in-law to the King to gain power, but both his wife and the King were resistant to it. Despite this, they had one child, a daughter named Amelia. Thomas had at least three illegitimate children outside their marriage, which caused him to lose favor with the crown. In 1571, he was imprisoned on suspicion that he was plotting to put Mary, Queen of Scots on the English throne to restore Catholicism. He was executed in 1572, and made Jane a very rich widow. She never remarried, and passed her fortunes on to her daughter upon her death in 1589 at the age of fifty.
Amelia Howard, ashamed of the Howard name, never married. She acted as a governess to the royal children and used her fortunes to start a school to train others to become teachers. The school still exists in London to this day, named the Howard Teachers' College in her honor.
Nicholas Brandon was created Duke of Gloucester by his older brother when he was thirteen years old. In 1561, he married Dorothea of Denmark, the daughter of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway, when he was twenty-one and she was fifteen. Nicholas spoiled his wife, and spent large sums of money on gifts for her. His spending habits often caused him to go bankrupt, but he always managed to make back the money that he lost. Together, he and Dorothea had eight children, six boys and two girls, who carried the Duke of Gloucester name until 1815. Nicholas passed in 1605, at the age of sixty-five. His wife outlived him by twelve years.
Thomas Seymour and Philippa Brandon married in 1562 when they were both twenty years old. They had been raised together, and were as close as two people could be. Edward and Amelia knew that it was no use denying them, and that they would likely marry in secret if they did not get permission. Thomas inherited the title of Baron Sudeley from his uncle following his death in 1549. After Edward's death, Thomas inherited the title of Duke of Somerset. Thomas became an important advisor to both King John II and King William III. Philippa was known as one of the most charitable women in all of England, caring mostly for those who had been orphaned by disease. Since she had never really known her father, she felt as though she understood them. The couple had seven children of their own, all boys. Thomas and Philippa both died on the same day in 1611, each at the age of sixty-nine, within hours of one another. They were never separated for more than a day at a time their entire lives.
Charles Seymour was the only child of Edward and Amelia, and raised alongside John's eldest son, William. The two were fast friends, and Charles was given great favor when William became King. When Edward died, Charles inherited the title of Earl of Hertford. In 1575, when he was twenty-four years old, he married nineteen-year-old Marguerite de Bourbon, the oldest daughter of Louis, Prince of Condé. It was a happy match, and they went on to have two sons, who carried the title of Earl of Hertford to the present day. Charles died at the age of seventy-three in 1624, outliving all of his half-siblings and his wife, who died in 1612.
As for Amelia and Edward, they simply sat back and watched their children grow and take their place in the world. Edward passed quietly in his sleep in 1568, leaving Amelia a widow once more. Amelia continued to live as a widow, retiring to the English countryside and only returning to London for official duties. She passed away in 1590 at the age of seventy-three, outliving two of her daughters. She passed with a smile on her lips and warmth in her heart, ready to see all of those who had gone before her.