[*Inspired by ~this~ verse & ”You are wise and proud. People look up to you and respect you. You are kind and polite to everyone. You have a sophisticated and regal manner. Sadly, you died before Henry VIII, mainly because you didn't give birth to the son he always wanted. Your daughter went on to become one of Britain's most infamous Queens: Mary I.”]
In this AU, Prince Arthur of Wales & Catalina D’Aragon did consummate their marriage — “successfully”, and Arthur lived long enough to become king before sickness did take his life and Alastair was named king, with Catherine of Aragon and her in-laws fighting over control over the boy king.
Brief Biography:
Born to Prince Arthur of Wales and Princess Consort Catalina D’Aragon in 1502, believed to have been conceived on their wedding night based on when Alastair was born. The baby boy was born with an already redhead of hair, and emerald eyes. He was truly his parents’ child, but healthier and more robust than infant Arthur had been.
Prince Arthur of Wales was crowned King Arthur II of England in 1509 after the death of his father, and made Catalina his Queen, not just Queen Consort. He wished for her to be able to rule in his absence, and not just as Queen Regent for their young son.
At age 30 (1516), King Arthur II passed away from a sweating sickness or smallpox — it is still unknown. His fourteen year old son was left to compete with his brother, ‘Harry’ who was twenty-four and a strong, athletic young man versus the scrawny yet ambitious Alastair.
Catalina negotiated a way for both princes to live, and both be king. She married Henry VIII, as the Holy Texts say you are to marry your brother’s widow in some sections, and Henry named Alastair his heir with it being in writing as law, even before any sons she and Henry had.
Catalina and Henry had two children that lived to adulthood — Prince Henry (1518) and Princess Mary (1520). Her providing Henry with his own male heir pleased him, and he never took Anne Boleyn as a mistress wife or any of the subsequent wives until Catalina’s death in 1536.
Henry VIII died soon after his wife, it believed of heartbreak after a loss with her banner at a jousting tournament.
Alastair and his half-brother/cousin Prince Henry were amicable, and he had a good relationship with Princess Mary. He set them up with good situations in all way once he was coronated king of England and Ireland in 1537 once he was thirty-five.
Alastair and Henry agreed that Henry could rule Ireland under Alastair’s guidance from England, as to better rule the two kingdoms as a united front. The brothers were like-minded, strategic pacifists, unlike Henry’s father.
Alastair was dubbed King Alastair I of England, and Henry dubbed King Henry IX of Ireland. The two brothers celebrated the alliance annually on the border of the two kingdoms.
Alastair married swiftly after his coronation, there being a rush for heirs due to fearing ‘weak genes’ from his father, Arthur. He was married by age twenty-five — before he was even being fitted for king as his step-father/uncle seemed fit enough when Alastair was only twenty-five. He and his spouse began producing or adopting heirs almost immediately.
Regarding Scotland, in 1542 a queen was born, and Alastair’s own child was born within five years of then, so an alliance was arranged so that the infant Queen of Scotland would eventually marry his eldest son — or whichever son she preferred. However, the French made a better offer and Alastair accepted Scotland taking the better option for them, and still offered an alliance
King Alastair had only one spouse, never taking a lover on the side as he valued loyalty in a relationship and felt he should live up to his standards for others. He even enacted laws against adultery.
With his spouse, via either adoption or birth by spouse, he had five children — a surprisingly low number for a king, as they usually tried to have as many as possible to assure an heir that outlived them.
Alastair’s Children Include: (1) Crown Princess Anastasia Anne Tudor, Future Queen of England, (inherited from her father) (2) Princess Elizabeth Marie Tudor, Future Queen Consort of France (m. A younger son of Catherine de Medici) (3) Prince Henry Alastair Tudor, Future King Consort of Spain (m. A distant Hapsburg cousin) (4) Princess Mary Catalina Tudor, Future Empress of the Holy Roman Empire (m. A distant cousin to become Empress/Co-Ruler) (5) Prince Arthur Richard Tudor, Future King Consort of Scotland (m. Mary Stuart in 1561 and avoided more warfare between Scotland and England by uniting the isles).
Alastair passed away peacefully in his sleep when he was nearing eighty years old (1581). His eldest daughter, Princess Anastasia “Anya”, became Queen Anastasia of England in 1582 after the country mourned for a year due to how beloved King Alastair was.
His younger siblings attended his funeral in good graces, mourning him for the rest of their lives, and his spouse didn’t remarry. The youngest and longest to live, Mary, tended to his mourning children as all of them had loved their father dearly.
Alastair’s reign had been dubbed “The Second Coming of Camelot”, due to him being the son of the previous King Arthur and the peace and prosperity that occurred during his reign.
