MARGARET'S CORRESPONDENCE
After a reign of twenty-three years Henry VII. died at Richmond on the 21st of April 1509, and the whole aspect of affairs was suddenly changed. He, like his rival Ferdinand, had been avaricious from deliberate policy; and his avarice was largely instrumental in founding England's coming greatness, for the accumulated riches he left to his son lent force to the new position assumed by England as the balancing power, courted by both the great Continental rivals. The new king, Henry VIII., was a very different man from his father. From the time when he ascended the throne, at the age of eighteen, he adopted an opposite policy.
Ambitious and incautious, and immeasurably vain, he courted rather than evaded diplomatic complications. The death of Henry VII. had indeed cleared away many obstacles; Ferdinand had profoundly mistrusted him, but with the younger Henry as king affairs stood differently. Even before his father's death Ferdinand had taken pains to assure him of his love, and had treated him as a sovereign over the old king's head.
The news of Henry VII.'s death was longer in reaching Spain than might have been expected. First a courier arrived from Flanders, who had met another Spanish courier in France, who came from England, and informed him that King Henry was dead. Thus King Ferdinand remained for some time in uncertainty whether his adversary was dead or alive. He did not wait for the arrival of positive news, but at once ratified the treaty of marriage between Prince Charles and the Princess Mary. King Ferdinand may have preferred a Portuguese alliance for his grandson, or a marriage with the Princess of Bohemia; but the chief advantage was that no immediate danger was attached to the English marriage. As Prince Charles was only nine years old, King Ferdinand could trust to time, and felt tolerably sure to find more than one pretext for breaking off the engagement before the betrothal could become an indissoluble union.
On the 3rd of June 1509 Henry VIII. married Princess Katharine of Aragon, his brother Arthur's widow, and on the 24th of the same month their coronation took place at Westminster.
On the 17th of July the new king wrote to his father-in-law, King Ferdinand, to inform him that he and Queen Katharine had been solemnly crowned on the day of St. John the Baptist. He mentions that his father died a good Catholic, after having received the holy Sacrament; and that his burial had been magnificent.
Henry adds that 'he diverts himself with jousts, birding, hunting, and other innocent and honest pastimes, also in visiting different parts of his kingdom; but does not on that account neglect affairs of state.'
In the meanwhile Maximilian had gone to Trent, and from there had written to thank Louis XII. for having helped him to recover his former territories. As a proof of his eternal gratitude he mentions that he has burnt his 'red book,' which was kept at Spire, in which he entered all his grievances against France. As a sign of friendship Louis sent the Cardinal of Amboise to meet Maximilian at Trent with promises to provide him with four thousand men. The emperor in return conferred upon Louis a new investiture of the duchy of Milan, including the newly won towns and territories.
A day was fixed for a meeting between the emperor and the French king near the border town of Garde. Louis kept the rendezvous, but Maximilian did not go farther than Riva di Trento; after staying there for two hours, he abruptly returned to Trent and sent word to Louis that he had been recalled on matters of urgent business, but begged for another interview at Cremona, which he promised faithfully to attend. The indecision shown by Maximilian in this instance has been attributed to suspicions he entertained as to his old enemy's good faith. But Louis was naturally annoyed at these marks of distrust, and being anxious to recross the Alps, he returned to Milan without waiting any longer for his ally.
It was fortunate for King Ferdinand that Henry VII. had been excluded from the League of Cambray, as it left his son (Henry VIII.) free to act as he thought convenient. The Spanish king resolved to make use of his son-in-law's liberty, and wrote a letter to his daughter Katharine on the 13th of September in which he spoke in general terms of the affairs of Venice, and referred her to an accompanying letter in cipher, in which his views on the subject were fully detailed. In replying on the 1st of November, King Henry thanked his father-in-law for having communicated to him his views on Venetian affairs, praised his wisdom and moderation in rejecting his confederates' iniquitous proposal to entirely destroy Venice, and enlarged on the necessity of preserving the republic, which formed a wall against the Turks. Before the month was out Henry was a zealous advocate of the Venetian republic, and interfered in its behalf in Rome, in France, and with the emperor, furnishing King Ferdinand at the same time with an excellent pretext for advising his allies to reconsider the question whether Venice should be destroyed or not. The voice of England was, after a long interruption, heard once more in the councils of Europe on a measure of general policy. The King of France seems to have regarded the unexpected audacity of his young neighbour with a feeling of surprise mingled with contempt. King Louis' answer was very uncivil, and Frenchmen boasted openly that they would soon make war upon England in order to punish her for her arrogance. As for these threats King Ferdinand truly observed that France was not in a position to attack England.