This is one of those things that is classed in my brain as "I am not sure I really care if this is true, it is such a good story that it is going straight into my headcanon." :D This is excellent and I had no idea it was even a possibility (I'd only known them as enemies) :D
They weren't always, that much is canon! :) Well, if you want to be precise, Elizabeth being nice/possibly flirting with Philip probably was strongly motivated by survival instincts, since like I said he was the only one who could override her sister re: her state of existence, and on Philip's part there was the awareness that Mary wasn't healthy and already in her late thirties so even if she did give birth to a child, her survival chances weren't good, and Elizabeth was the next heir. Unless, of course, he'd choose not to recognize her as such due to her being a Protestant bastard, but in that case the next heir would be Mary Queen of Scots, who was married to the then still living young French King Francis II., and as you might recall, France and Spain had been warring for decades, and Philip was about to fight the last big battle of that particular war. So it was in his interests to establish friendly terms with the next English Queen (should Mary die without a child).
These very practical reasons aside, though: they were, age-wise, much closer than Philip and Mary were, they were both very intelligent individuals, and in their youth also attractive. They probably never before or after met someone coming this close to being on their level in terms of education, age, looks and social rank, and so the idea that sparks might have flown isn't out of this world. Especially since once Mary had died, this happened:
Philip: *proposes marriage* Elizabeth: You're my sister's husband, and there's this bad precedent for this type of marriage in the family, you know. Also, I'm a heretic. Philip: I'm so not interested in you, and to prove it, I'm going to marry instantly to demonstrate to the world I was never serious about proposing to you. Of course, royal marriages take eons to negotiate, but it just so happens I have a bride available - my son Carlos' fiancee, Elisabeth de Valois. Ambassador! Tell the French I'm going to marry their princess myself instead. Elzabeth: What, you couldn't have waited five minutes? I might have changed my mind again. Ah well. May my name be a lucky one for Mlle de Valois Philip: .....
Margaret Irwin who wrote a series of novels about Elizabeth from birth to death dedicated one volume to this interlude, called "Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain". The AO3 RPF fics that manage to pull it off best for me are these:
Todos los bienes del mundo (1598): old Philip looks back on his relationship with Elizabeth through the decades. Not an AU, stays in canon.
Love is a stranger who'll beckon you on: AU in which Charles decides to marry Philip to Elizabeth, not Mary. Bonus Habsburg family scenes! Also Juana! And the main arranged marriage to love romance is pulled off credibly as a slow burn.
One kiss until we meet again: AU that twists from canon much later - early flirtation plus decades of rivalry ensue, but then Philip and Elizabeth decide to end the England/Spain wars in a unique way in their old age...
Wouldn't have mattered whatever else he did, I read that and I AM A FAN. YOU GO JOHN DUDLEY. (I may have laughed out loud.)
Would that there'd been more men like him in many an era! :) (Seriously, that eras tend to favor certain names sooooo much is truly a trial for historical RPF.
You're right, Charles ex Machina is in the four act version as well. BTW, I think Charles got an opera for himself, by Krenek, but I don't know it, so I can't rec or anti rec it to you. Otoh,
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Re: Dudleys, Verdi
Date: 2021-07-08 02:43 pm (UTC)They weren't always, that much is canon! :) Well, if you want to be precise, Elizabeth being nice/possibly flirting with Philip probably was strongly motivated by survival instincts, since like I said he was the only one who could override her sister re: her state of existence, and on Philip's part there was the awareness that Mary wasn't healthy and already in her late thirties so even if she did give birth to a child, her survival chances weren't good, and Elizabeth was the next heir. Unless, of course, he'd choose not to recognize her as such due to her being a Protestant bastard, but in that case the next heir would be Mary Queen of Scots, who was married to the then still living young French King Francis II., and as you might recall, France and Spain had been warring for decades, and Philip was about to fight the last big battle of that particular war. So it was in his interests to establish friendly terms with the next English Queen (should Mary die without a child).
These very practical reasons aside, though: they were, age-wise, much closer than Philip and Mary were, they were both very intelligent individuals, and in their youth also attractive. They probably never before or after met someone coming this close to being on their level in terms of education, age, looks and social rank, and so the idea that sparks might have flown isn't out of this world. Especially since once Mary had died, this happened:
Philip: *proposes marriage*
Elizabeth: You're my sister's husband, and there's this bad precedent for this type of marriage in the family, you know. Also, I'm a heretic.
Philip: I'm so not interested in you, and to prove it, I'm going to marry instantly to demonstrate to the world I was never serious about proposing to you. Of course, royal marriages take eons to negotiate, but it just so happens I have a bride available - my son Carlos' fiancee, Elisabeth de Valois. Ambassador! Tell the French I'm going to marry their princess myself instead.
Elzabeth: What, you couldn't have waited five minutes? I might have changed my mind again. Ah well. May my name be a lucky one for Mlle de Valois
Philip: .....
Margaret Irwin who wrote a series of novels about Elizabeth from birth to death dedicated one volume to this interlude, called "Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain". The AO3 RPF fics that manage to pull it off best for me are these:
Todos los bienes del mundo (1598): old Philip looks back on his relationship with Elizabeth through the decades. Not an AU, stays in canon.
Love is a stranger who'll beckon you on: AU in which Charles decides to marry Philip to Elizabeth, not Mary. Bonus Habsburg family scenes! Also Juana! And the main arranged marriage to love romance is pulled off credibly as a slow burn.
One kiss until we meet again: AU that twists from canon much later - early flirtation plus decades of rivalry ensue, but then Philip and Elizabeth decide to end the England/Spain wars in a unique way in their old age...
Wouldn't have mattered whatever else he did, I read that and I AM A FAN. YOU GO JOHN DUDLEY. (I may have laughed out loud.)
Would that there'd been more men like him in many an era! :) (Seriously, that eras tend to favor certain names sooooo much is truly a trial for historical RPF.
You're right, Charles ex Machina is in the four act version as well. BTW, I think Charles got an opera for himself, by Krenek, but I don't know it, so I can't rec or anti rec it to you. Otoh,