Actually he's just remarried to Henry VIII's ex mistress Jane Popincourt, but they have no children yet... I chose not to cover it in the trees because they are mostly about the main characters friends/ladies. Thank you!
There and Back Again: The English Journeys of Catherine of Aragon
- Thread starter Awkwardvulture
- Start date
Why? It's not as if I have any nefarious plans for my characters 😏...
Chapter 62, January 1514
Greenwich Palace, Kingdom of England, January 1514
Exhaustion was what she felt when the furs were wrapped around her shoulders. The baby had kicked relentlessly, and Eleanor had been able to get little sleep over the past few days. A strong boy he certainly will be. Naturally, she had no way of truly knowing, but Eleanor strongly suspected that she would birth a son in the coming months, a mother’s intuition so to speak. One of Johanne’s daughters, Carolijn, a young girl with copper hair, the only one not to have inherited her mother’s blonde hair, passed her a goblet,”Water my Queen...”
She sipped the cool liquid and nodded,”The King will return soon, will he not?”
“Yes, I believe that he will is likely to return to court within the next week.”
Eleanor sighed,”Good, I have missed Henry very much.”
This was true of course, but Eleanor had also been incredibly worried for her husband and his safety, that he thought himself invincible even though he was a man who would bleed like any other. Her great-grandfather, Charles, known as the Bold, had conducted himself in the same way and had gotten himself killed for his trouble. It seemed that her Henry had avoided the same fate and had even won himself some glory on the field of battle, yet it did little to ease her concerns. He may be less fortunate next time. The Queen of England had to ready herself for court nonetheless, and she had to admit, she was starting to like it. It was not the court of Burgundy, but Eleanor had enjoyed bringing some continental culture to England, and of course, the fact that she herself was in charge of it all also helped. With the door opened before her, Eleanor slowly made her way to the grand hall, accompanied by nearly a dozen ladies in tow to attend to her needs. Striding up the dais to where she would address the court, Eleanor smiled to herself, enjoying the fact that she was the center of attention of both in eyes of the court and her husband. The courtiers, themselves of course all stood further down the hall, among them being the only mistress that her husband had taken before their marriage, Jane Popincourt, and her husband the Baron Willoughby. Eleanor had heard that Jane was pregnant with her husband William’s child, something that inordinately pleased the Queen, for it seemed unlikely that Jane would ever win back her former lover. Sinking into the throne, with her crown atop her head, Eleanor called out to the crowd,”The King shall soon return to court, and, will be here when I deliver our Kingdom a Duke of Cornwall.”
The courtiers seemed pleased, even though Giovanna of Naples had done well as regent, while Eleanor experienced similar success in organizing the court, the King brought a merriment that was sorely needed.
Speaking of which, the man himself entered the hall, and all those gathered bowed as he did so. She got to her feet just as her husband walked the dais, and she embraced him,”I am so happy that you have returned Henry.”
Henry kissed her head, and let loose a booming, boisterous laugh as he laid a gentle hand upon her swollen belly,”Of course Eleanor, I have come to ensure that you were with child, and I can see that you have not disappointed.”
Eleanor looked to her husband, beaming at him,"Of course, our son will be a great and powerful King one day, just like his father.”
Yaaay Henry is back safely and Eleanor’s pregnancy is going smoothly! Hopefully she gives Henry the promised son.
It's going well enough and hopefully she does, but we're a few months away from it... Thank you so much!
Loved this part! But out of curiousity, wouldn't Eleanor refer to their son as a Prince of Wales? I know that the Duke of Cornwall title is created at birth for the male heir apparent, but they would normally be invested as Prince of Wales afterwards, which would be a higher ranking title, and it's what the male heir is known as usually
Thank you, I'm glad to hear that you liked it! I mostly used the Duke of Cornwall title because that's what they would refer to their son at their birth, and it normally wouldn't be until they were older that they would be called the Prince of Wales. You have a good point though!Loved this part! But out of curiousity, wouldn't Eleanor refer to their son as a Prince of Wales? I know that the Duke of Cornwall title is created at birth for the male heir apparent, but they would normally be invested as Prince of Wales afterwards, which would be a higher ranking title, and it's what the male heir is known as usually
That is completely understandable also! And I think you can do both
Hahaha that would be how things typically go with Henry, but we'll see.. Thank you very much!
Your welcome! Hopefully Eleanor can give him his son, I fear she may meet the same fate as Lady Margaret Beaufort, which means if she gives Henry a daughter, she'll be in hot water a decade or two down the line.
Yeah true, but she's not quite that young to the point where it can cause traumatic damage.
He'd likely be slightly disappointed but would be pleased that he has a living legitimate child... Thank you so very much!
Margaret Beaufort was younger. Eleanor is already 15, Margaret was still 13 years old at Henry’s birth
I think she's approximately the same age as Maggie though, give or take a few months. Though then again I have read Margaret just chose not to get pregnant again and could have actually been able to bear more children, so who knows for sure. Anne of Brittany also gave birth at a similar age too, so maybe I am just being too pessimistic. Probably am tbh.
EDIT: I am wrong about Eleanor's age. I messed up my math, lol.
Anne of Brittany also was around Eleanor’s age at the birth of her first son (both around 15 years and half, with Anne maybe a couple of months older than Eleanor)
Yeah Eleanor should be ok, but we'll have to see how things unfold..
Nice update; it's great to see Eleanor's been having success managing the royal court, and good to see Henry hasn't lost interest in Eleanor yet!(Yet...Henry's a fickle thing, after all...)