Alternative history: Henry VIII & Christina of Milan

Yes, I believe so. That does sound like him, doesn't it? I think it was when he wanted  to consider a French princess for a possible bride, I am not sure when, but after Anne Boleyn or during her. He asked Francois, the king of France, if he could come to France ( like the field of the cloth of gold), and meet all the eligible French princesses, in person, all together to see if he wanted to marry any. Francois was rather shocked, and said no.

Yes, I believe so. That does sound like him, doesn't it? I think it was when he wanted  to consider a French princess for a possible bride, I am not sure when, but after Anne Boleyn or during her. He asked Francois, the king of France, if he could come to France ( like the field of the cloth of gold), and meet all the eligible French princesses, in person, all together to see if he wanted to marry any. Francois was rather shocked, and said no.

He also wanted Mary of Guise. Her height was a factor in it, apparently. He said--paraphrasing of course--that he was a big guy and needed a big lady too    But then she went and married James V of Scotland and the rest is history...

Right! That happened about the time of the incident that I mentioned. It would have changed history had it happened, it would have been alternative. Later, both their daughters would be enemies, and what they did would be pivotal. One, Elizabeth was not very old, and Mary wasn't even born. But still, history waited in the wings.

I think the "trot them out like horses at a fair" ( or similar words) was after Jane Seymour and just before the betrothal of Anne of Cleves actually, but I am having a bit of a "senior moment" at the moment

I think the "trot them out like horses at a fair" ( or similar words) was after Jane Seymour and just before the betrothal of Anne of Cleves actually, but I am having a bit of a "senior moment" at the moment

He backed off when the French ambassador asked if he'd like to 'mount' each princess too! 

Lol! 

Thanks for telling me when it probably happened, even if you can't remember the details..

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What a fascinating idea! Henry VIII married to Christina of Milan--I think it would have been the clash of the titans! 

Yes, Christina would have been a dazzling catch for Henry. She had an impeccable lineage, she was young (about 16 if I remember correctly), she was I believe amazingly rich, and she was hailed far and wide as one of the great beauties of her time. And if all that weren't enough  she was obviously a highly intelligent young woman, vivacious and spirited (yes, much like Anne Boleyn!) and--also like Anne--witty, cultured, and altogether fascinating.

Yes--she had the "clout" of a Catherine of Aragon, the wit, style and spirit of an Anne Boleyn, the fertility of a Jane Seymour, the youth and charm of a Katharine Howard, plus a quite extraordinary beauty---I bet Henry would have loved to get his hands on her!

And I bet she would have ruled him with an iron fist. 

I love that idea---Christina, Queen of England! LOL!

She was a dazzling catch for the reasons you mentioned, yes. I think she would have been quite a wife, and she would have been quite hard to behead.

i think henry would have ended up hating her - like he ended up hating anne boleyn. i think he was attracted to but scared of women with strong personalities.

Well, he might have ended up hating her, but it would not have been easy to get rid of her as it was with Anne Bolyen, due to the fact she was royalty and had connections. I would say she would not have been beheaded. In fact, I think she would have been hard to divorce. It might have been much of the Catherine of Aragon thing over again.

yep, but then again... christina was not married to his brother so it would have been really hard to find a reason... were they related?

She was Catherine of Aragon's great-niece (Christina's grandmamma was Juana la Loca- Catherine's sister)

It would have been difficult for him to find a reason. But, given his ability to assert his will, he might well have found a reason to divorce her, if not behead her. Henry never settled for second best, and he didn't have to. 

he couldn't have beheaded her. she had too many powerful relations.

and her being catherine's niece is not a relation to henry... but since catherine was a distant cousin of henry's, probably so was christina. but too distant to count even today.