26th of June 1534 - Palace of Whitehall

"Apples again, Sweetheart?" Henry enquired watching Anne as she selected another apple, a knowing gleam forming in his eyes recalling the other times that his dear wife seemed to have developed a special fondness for the fruit. 

A smile formed on his face and he sat back in his seat to admire her, the fact that she had fallen pregnant again after losing a child back in January; it pleased him greatly that she had gotten pregnant again so quickly. 

"Yes, my love," Anne replied simply, a large smile on her face and she would not deny that she was with child again; she had wished for nothing more in the past few weeks. 

After losing her last child, Anne was determined not to lose her next one; she never wished to feel like she had when she had laid in bed after losing her child again. 

Getting up from his seat, Henry could not hide his pleasure at the news that Anne was with child; they had two healthy children already and despite the fact that she had lost their last child, he had no doubts she would be more careful this time. 

Pressing a kiss to Anne's lips, Henry could not believe how blessed their marriage was and he knew that should Anne do her duty to him and England then he would reward her for it. 

A little Duke of York would be very welcome and Henry would be most pleased. The weakness that had held the English succession since his father had passed and the death of his little Prince Hal would come to an end. 

Alexander was a fine boy and he was so very bright, he would make a fine King when he was older as long as Henry secured it for him; he would do as his father and grandfather before him had done and erase anyone that could cause an issue. 

Mary would be long gone from England, ruling over Florence with her husband and children while no one would back his bastard son by Bessie Blount for the throne. 

The Duke of Richmond was no more a threat than he had been when he had been born, he may share slight favour from his royal father but it was no more than what was now shown to the Duchess of Hertford. 

"My Queen," Henry praised her, no one could deny that their marriage was not blessed by God; that they had lost but one child since their marriage compared to the countless that he had lost with Katherine.

It pleased him greatly, Alexander and Elizabeth were both healthy children and he had no doubts that they would be the prizes of Christendom when it came to finding them marriages; no one would deny such fine children. 

"The French Ambassador comes with news of an alliance between us and King Francis against the Emperor," Henry stated moving to sit down, it was an alliance that enticed him more so now, with Francis speaking of them as Kin that needed to unite against the Spanish Dogs that bayed at their doors. 

Should France fall to the Emperor then there was little to stop Charles from turning his attentions to England, he would send a fleet in hopes of taking the isle. 

Francis had been more than honest about his intentions to ally with Scotland, though Margaret had informed her brother of such things; peace between the Scots and the English had always been shaky at best. 

However, whispers of the Emperor's rage at such embarrassment could not be ignored; his mother, aunt and now sister were whispered to be mad and Eleanor of Austria had been locked up with Joanna of Castile upon her return to Spain. 

Both the Kingdoms of Scotland and England were united in their desire not to loose their thrones and secret talks where in place for an alliance between them against invaders. 

"Now that he is divorced from his Habsburg wife, he asks that we join together to fight and take Italy for our own," Henry explained leaning back in his seat, pleasure at knowing that his plans to install his daughter and son-in-law back in Florence would be aided by the French. 

There was much to discuss between them and Henry would happily seed Milan to the French in exchange for Florence that was the home of the Medici. 

Lucrezia de' Medici was proving most helpful in such matters and was even speaking with the French King to remind him of their own kinship.

The Medici seemed to be the key in securing the French alliance while allowing Henry to speak with his sister about a Scottish alliance; one that would benefit both countries in the long run and would been that neither could side with an invading force. 

"And you shall install Mary as the Duchess of Florence?" Anne asked knowing that such plans would not have been forgotten, it had been long since talked about especially with their alliance with the Medici. 

She had found herself rather in awe of Lucrezia de' Medici, the woman had a brilliant mind and could command the attention of any man that was in her presence. 

Something that was not quite expected of the woman at the English court, though she seemed not to care for the men who looked rather offended at having to deal with her as the head of the Medici House instead of any man from said house. 

"Of course. Ma'am de' Medici has spoken highly of the Palazzo Medici where Mary shall rule alongside her husband," Henry agreed, those plans had not changed and he was rather pleased with the progress that was being made on that front. 

An alliance with the French would allow them to invade Italy, a war which would benefit England greatly especially with the loss of their lands in France over the years. 

"Should our plans come to fruition then I shall be required to lead the army, I have made arrangements that should this happen that you shall be Queen Regent and run the country while I am away at war," Henry informed Anne, he had every intention of ensuring that no one would doubt his Queen while he was away. 

It would be with the mother of his children that power would stay and he had no doubts that people would seek to claim power in his name while he was away fighting. 

Silence filled the chamber and Anne did not know how to respond to such news, never had she considered for a moment that such a thing might happen. 

If something were to happen to Henry then Anne was aware that the need would arise for a Regent, one that would rule until her son was of age to rule England himself; she would fight to ensure it was her as only she would rule in his best interest. 

"You shall start accompanying me to my privy council meetings, so that you may learn how I run my country," Henry announced, he needed her to be prepared as unlike with Katherine this was not something that would have been taught to Anne. 

Her father was a diplomat and Henry needed to be sure that he was leaving England in capable hands, hands that knew just what they were doing and not to allow others to steal their power.

"Then I shall do my best to be the Queen that England needs," Anne stated knowing that her uncle and father would expect such power to be given to them, they would try to rule through her or even in her stead. 

That could not be allowed, she was an anointed Queen and the mother of the future King of England; she would rule in her husband's stead until he returned home to her and God willing all would be well. 

If Henry had already decided that he was going to leave her running the country then she would do whatever it took to prove that he was making the right decision and not place someone else in her place. 

Katherine had been the daughter of two monarchs, born to a militant Queen and had led the English army against the Scottish when they had tried to invade while Henry had been fighting in France. 

There would be people that would attempt to compare the two women and the fact that Katherine remained in the country despite being locked away in a nunnery. 

She had plotted against the throne twice now and Anne was sure that Katherine would use Henry being out of the country to her advantage; she would protect England from anyone that threatened her and that included Katherine. 

The succession of her children had been secured and Anne knew that people had turned against her predecessor for her actions; they would not rally to the former Queen's side against the true Queen of England and her heirs. 

Katherine would spend the rest of her life locked away, she would be forgotten and not even her own daughter would visit her now; Mary was eager to leave England and the shame her mother had brought her behind. 

Anne was fond of the relationship that she shared with her husband's daughter, when once she had thought that Mary would hate her for what was happening now they were at least on civil terms and exchanged letters while Mary resided in her country home with little Lucrezia.