The Emperor Who Dropped Mary Tudor For a Better Dowry (And Changed History Forever)

In 1525, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V broke off his engagement to the young Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, and married his cousin Isabella of Portugal instead. The reason? Isabella came with a dowry of 900,000 ducats, and Charles needed the money more than he needed the alliance. That one financial decision may have changed everything. In this alternate history, we ask: what if Charles had waited and married Mary? What happens to the English Reformation? To Catherine of Aragon? To Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, and the Spanish Armada? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The Emperor Who Dropped Mary Tudor For a Better Dowry (And Changed History Forever)

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