1514 - Mary Tudor's Marriages

In 1506, when Philip of Burgundy and Juana of Castile visited England after their ship had been blown off course, they took refuge with Henry VII. While they were there, Henry’s daughter Mary played a key role in entertaining them. They were so impressed with the young princess that negotiations began for a marriage alliance between Mary, and Philip’s son, Charles who was five years younger than her. 

Philip died later that year. However, Maximilian - the Holy Roman Emperor and Charles’s grandfather - continued these negotiations, keen for the marriage to go ahead. Once Henry VII died, Henry VIII was still content for this to be pursued, despite being distracted by war, and wanted the matter settled by 1514, when Charles would turn 13. 

Despite apparent interest from both parties, by the summer of 1514, Maximilian had decided that he would prefer to pursue peace with France and therefore wanted to land his grandson’s marital alliances elsewhere. Mary was forced to formally repudiate this betrothal, much to the distress of both Henry VIII and Katherine. 

Henry (or more likely Wolsey) moved quickly, and within a week Mary was betrothed to Louis XII, the King of France. It's often fictitiously written that Mary agreed to this under the condition she would be allowed to choose her next husband. However tempting a narrative this may be,there’s no evidence that she was anything more than an obedient sister to the King.