Disclaimer: I do not own the Tudors.
Happy 488th Birthday to Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn.
Chapter Seventy-Five: Elisabeth of Hesse.
19th of March 1535 - Milan, Italy
Holding her head high, Elisabeth of Hesse knew that when her brother had told her of his plans for her that she had never thought that he would be able to pull it off. The very idea that she would be the Queen of France had felt like a fantasy in some way, she had never pictured herself as anything more than what she was now.
When her father has passed away when she was a child, Elisabeth never pictured that her life would amount to anything more than perhaps a Duchess of some local land. Her father had attempted to arrange a marriage with a Prince of Saxony who had connections to Poland but that had fallen through when her father had died when she was seven.
Left in her mother's care with little finances while her brother had been kept far away from them until Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin had regained control of Hesse in 1512. The chapel where she was being wed, was a stark contrast to the one of her childhood where she had spent the better part of three years praying with her mother.
The gloomy chapel that had marked her mother's grief at losing her husband and having her son stolen from her, was very different to the beautifully decorated one where Elisabeth would wed the King of France. Of course, the beauty of Italian architecture was something to be greatly admired and it was a blessing that she would be wed in such a place as this.
Elisabeth took a deep breath before she linked arms with her brother, she should have known that Philip would get what he wanted especially when Hesse did not have much to offer the alliance as Sweden or Denmark. There were a few notable French nobles in attendance along with several ladies that Elisabeth guessed had been gathered to witness the union.
Her brother had assured her that the King had promised that once the fighting was done that, she would find herself truly crowned the Queen of France in such a grand ceremony that not even the Emperor's sister had been blessed with. Her hands felt sweaty and she tried to keep her face blank as she made her way up the aisle to where her intended was waiting for her.
Several of the nobles turned to look at Elisabeth as she walked up the aisle, each taking in and forming their own opinions of the woman that was set to become the next Queen of France. Cardinal de Tournon watched the bride approaching, a frown set upon his face as he took in the woman that in a few moments would be the queen of his country.
He had been surprised when Francis has insisted upon him being the one to wed them, the ceremony was to be a Catholic one and the bride had been told of what had been expected of her. France was a catholic country afterall and heresy would not be tolerated by the people, her actions would be watched and while Francis would turn a blind eye on private worshipping, their children would be raised in the faith of their father and older siblings.
Francis had left nothing to chance and Philip had been eager to agree to anything during the negotiations especially when the French King had waved the offering of the dowry. Instead, he had instructed that the dowry be turned over to Elisabeth, so that she might use it for her own purposes along with the finances that he would provide for her as her husband.
Reaching the altar, Elisabeth nodded to her brother as he pressed a kiss to her hand before gifting it to the french king who wore a serious expression of his face while his deep brown eyes searched Elisabeth's face. 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.
I recommend Bed of Deceit by BellalunaMcKenzie, For Even as Love Crowns You by wizardfantasy and Sanctuary by Cattyfan. Also check out My Lord Husband,The Enemy by Esme24, That Subtle Wreath by EvilFluffyBiteyThing and its sequel, A Progress in Kent.
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