The British Royals Message Board: Re: Edmund Tudor

I was under the impression that Edward VI was actually hoping for male heirs of his cousin Francis and had there been a son or grandson he would have succeeded Edward VI. He only went for Jane because he was dying and there was no time left to wait for a boy to be born.
Yes technically Mary would have been the heiress of her father but female rule had not been really done in England. The fact that Mary did end up reigning is probably because all the potential heirs were female and of all those women her claim was the best. Had there been a male heir she might not have reigned or if Edmund had had a son of the right age she might have become queen-consort rather than queen-regnant.

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If Edmund had survived he would have been Heir Presumptive to his brother until the latter's first legitimate child was born ie. Mary in 1516 (In English Common Law daughters had rights of succession over uncles). No doubt Henry would still have sought to secure a male heir of his own so that his own lineage would succeed him and so would probably have proceeded with the divorce from Catherine.

As for Edward VI, it was not a simple matter for him to alter the legitimate line of succession and certainly not without an Act of Parliament to endorse it. The Lady Jane Grey fiasco quickly bore this out. Interestingly if Edmund had survived and produced heirs of his own he or they would have succeeded the childless Elizabeth I and the Tudor line would have continued. No need for Stuarts.

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Im wondering what would have happened if Edmund Tudor the third and youngest son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York would have survived.

Would Henry VIII have divorced Katherine of Aragon if his younger brother had lived and had one or more sons? Even if Henry VIII would still have ended up with 6 wives im sure Edward VI would have left the throne to his uncle or male cousin over his half-sisters or any female in the family.