Chapter Three: The King's Bride
A painting of King Edward IV of England as a young man, dating to the early 1500s [1]
With the Scottish border temporarily secured, Edward began to consider the matter of diplomacy. To that end, he sent members of his court to both France and Burgundy, to see what terms in an alliance they would be willing to offer. Richard, Earl of Warwick volunteered to lead the negotiations with King Louis XI of France, which Edward accepted. Edward's brother Edmund, Duke of Rutland soon grew very pro-Burgundy and would become the leader in the court for a Burgundian alliance, sending his own men to negotiate with Duke Philip III and his heir Charles, Count of Charolais.
Meanwhile, in France, Richard, Earl of Warwick was greatly enjoying the experience of visiting the court of Louis XI. He wrote that Louis’s court truly reflected the great riches that France contained, although Louis was careful to keep Warwick away from his other guests from England - Margaret of Anjou, Edward of Westminster and the Duke of Somerset. Part of Warwick’s mission in France was to negotiate the surrender of these three to Edward. Louis XI offered to put all three into Warwick’s custody if Edward agreed to marry his sister-in-law, Bona of Savoy. Such an offer symbolised a lot more than a marital alliance with the Duke of Savoy and the King of France. It would symbolise an end to the ongoing war between England and France that King Edward III had started in 1337, and it would allow Edward to finally crush the Lancastrian cause. However, as tempting as the offer was, it was not the only marriage proposal Edward had.
On 3rd August 1461, news reached England from the court of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy. Philip’s heir Charles, Count of Charolais’s wife Isabelle of Bourbon had gone into labour late in February with the couple’s second child, following the birth in 1459 of a daughter, Marie. Isabelle went into labour three weeks early, leading to complications with the birth. The baby survived - another girl, who was named Emma after Emma of Normandy - but tragically, Isabelle of Bourbon did not. She died on 28th July 1461, four days after giving birth to young Emma [2]. The death of Isabelle of Bourbon, tragic though it was, came at an interesting time for the court of King Edward IV. At a time when Edward was beginning to consider his foreign policy - whether he would prefer an alliance with France or with Burgundy - here came an opportunity to forge an alliance with Burgundy by offering the hand of one of his sisters to Charles, Count of Charolais. With the Earl of Warwick in France negotiating an alliance, early in 1462, Edward sent Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex to Burgundy to see what terms the Burgundians would be willing to offer. Upon his arrival in the Burgundian court, Essex was greeted by Charolais himself, with whom Essex personally negotiated with. Charolais suggested a lucrative double marriage proposal between England and Burgundy. He suggested that he remarry to Anne, Edward IV’s elder sister, who had been a widow since her husband Henry, Duke of Exeter died at the Battle of Towton, and that Edward himself marry Catherine of Bourbon, the sister of Charolais’s late wife.
The idea of Edward marrying Catherine of Bourbon was not a new one. Catherine was the younger sister of John II, Duke of Bourbon and the niece of Philip, Duke of Burgundy (and therefore the first cousin of Charolais - in marrying Isabelle of Bourbon, he had married another of his first cousins). Edward’s father had considered the possibility of Edward marrying Catherine, but nothing came of these plans. At this time, Charolais and Bourbon were planning a rebellion against Louis XI against the increasingly centralised state of the French kingdom. This conspiracy had - as well as Charolais’s and Bourbon’s support - the support of the Dukes of Brittany, Lorraine and Nemours, an array of significant counties and lordships, all under the figurehead of Louis XI’s brother Charles, Duke of Berry. If Edward threw his lot in with Bourbon and Burgundy, it represented not just a trade alliance with Burgundy, but a chance for England to regain territory lost in the war against France.
Once Edward had these offers from Louis XI and Charles, Count of Charolais, he began to consider his marriage very carefully. His options were not simply limited to either Catherine of Bourbon or Bona of Savoy. Some of his advisors suggested Mary of Guelders, the mother and regent of James III of Scotland, who was eight years Edward’s senior. After her death in 1463, these advisors instead suggested her daughter Margaret Stewart, although Edward dismissed this idea on the grounds of Margaret’s age compared to his - Margaret had been born in 1455, making her thirteen years Edward’s junior, and Edward needed a bride he could have an heir with immediately. There was also the possibility of marrying a Lancastrian heiress to bring one of the great noble families onto his side, but Edward soon made it clear he would prefer to marry a foreign princess to establish the fledgling Yorkist dynasty on the continent. King Christian I of Denmark offered his daughter Marguerite, and in 1464 Edward received an offer from Henry IV of Castile, offering his sister (and current heir) Isabella as a bride [3]. He also received offers from a handful of Breton brides, with various relations to Francis II, Duke of Brittany.
Baynard’s Castle, 1st February 1464
King Edward’s advisors were gathered in Baynard’s Castle, a fortress held by the king within London. He had summoned his highest nobles to Baynard in anticipation of what was described as “grand news for the future of our realm.” One could only assume that he had made his decision about his bride, and the theatrical and charismatic king wanted an audience to hear his decision.
At the top of the table sat the king himself. Immediately to his right were his brothers, sat in age order - Edmund, Duke of Rutland; George, Duke of Clarence; and Richard, Duke of Gloucester. On Edward’s left sat William Herbert, whom he had made Earl of Pembroke, and next to him was Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. It rankled Warwick to see his position next to the king taken by a man of such new blood such as Pembroke, but he kept his discontent quiet.
The conversation - and wine - flowed, and Warwick spent the night facing his brother John, discussing their grasp on the north, when Edward stood up. “Gentlemen!” He cried out, tapping a silver spoon against his ceramic cup, creating a sharp tink-tink-tink noise. The crowd fell silent, and all eyes shifted to the king. He cleared his throat and began to speak.
“As you know, I summoned you all here to give you, from my own mouth, news for the future of our realm. I wished not to allow this news to become mere rumour, you see.” Edward said.
There was an excited murmuring at the table. He’s building up to something,
Warwick thought. Please, God, let him pick Bona of Savoy.
For Warwick, it more than just the fact that he believed an alliance with France was for the best. They could put the century of warfare behind them and focus on building something new. But that wasn’t all - Warwick had negotiated the alliance himself. If Edward rejected his offer now, how much influence over him did Warwick really have? Did Edward even have any use for him?
“I have decided who I am to marry.” He said. Any slight murmurings died immediately, and every noble gathered strained their necks as if they would somehow hear the answer before everyone else. Edward paused dramatically, relishing in those moments of undivided attention. “The lady I shall marry is,” he began, “Catherine of Bourbon.”
Just next to the king, Rutland smiled and began to clap. His supporters in the council applauded the king’s wise judgement, while Warwick just closed his eyes and hung his head in disappointment. Edward had ruled against Warwick’s hard work, and had proven that Warwick’s word meant little compared to Rutland’s. Could he not see the power of a French alliance?
Then I must make my word mean more.
Warwick told himself. I must find a way to re-assert myself at court, and Edward
will listen to me.
He thought as his dismay gave way to a steely determination.
The agreement for the double marriage between England and Burgundy was celebrated across both realms, and plans were drawn up for the marriages to take place early in 1465. Anne of York left England on 28th December 1464, arriving in Burgundy just before the new year, and Catherine of Bourbon left Burgundy just days after Anne had arrived. The two marriages ended up being just a week apart - Anne and Charles were married first, on 12th January 1465, and Edward and Catherine were married on 19th January.
[1] - AI generated image. I'm sure you could tell, but I thought it's probably best to clarify anyway.
[2] - my thanks to the wonderful
@eliamartin65 for allowing me to bring Emma of Burgundy (albeit a different Emma) into this TL as well. Consider Emma's existence here as a tribute to the fun I've had talking to you
[3] - the idea of an Edward IV m. Isabella of Castile TL fascinates me, but the potential butterflies are so huge that I don't know whether I'm quite brave enough for it to tackle it all on my own! If anyone fancies discussing it, though, my DMs are always open.
