If Henry IV/Henry V/Henry VI reborned as a Queen of Henry VIII, what would they do?
Anon, I gotta congratulate you on one of the wildest asks I've ever gotten. Thanks. Wow. The implications of this question have driven me wild for days. How did this happen? Did Henry VIII look at his kingly predecessors and was like "I know, my ideal woman is a Lancastrian king"? Did Henry IV/V/VI just suddenly wake up in the body of a noblewoman in Henry VIII's reign or were they were born and raised as girls and women? How aware of their past lives are they? So much to consider...
Honestly, I think if Henry IV/V/VI knew who they had been, their reactions would go exactly like this cartoon. Screaming, crying, violence. I think they would react like that just upon realising they were women. I don't want to suggest that royal and noble women didn't possess a great deal of power and freedom - but it was a lot less than their male counterparts and all three Lancastrians had been kings who enjoyed the privileges of rule. This doesn't mean they couldn't have enjoyed life as a woman but it would have meant quite an adjustment. While I think a female Henry V and a female Henry VI might have been tempted into religious life as a way to escape marriage and/or gain access to one of the few ways women could wield power independently of a man, the reign of Henry VIII was... not a great time to pursue that career.
