This week's Claire Chats video talk has been inspired by an "on this day in Tudor history" event from this week and some comments and questions I received about it - the proxy wedding of Princess Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, and King Louis XII. I thought I'd explain what proxy weddings were/are, why they were needed, and share some examples of historical proxy weddings.
Here's a painting of the proxy wedding of Maria de' Medici and Henry IV of France by Peter Paul Rubens:
Notes and Sources
- No bride, no groom, I do: Montana’s proxy weddings on film - https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/24/no-bride-no-groom-i-do-montanas-proxy-weddings-on-film
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_marriage
- "The Wedding Night: A Popular History" by Jane Merrill and Chris Filstrup
King Louis had a male proxy standing in for Mary so wasn’t that a bit odd, especially for the proxy consummation lol😂😂? Longuiville was the Duc taken at the famous skirmish at the Battle of the Spurs and I believe he had something to do with the negotiations between Henry Viii and King Louis xii for the hand of Princess Mary his sister. I would have thought the proxy would be the opposite sex, that is male for male, female for female, not a male for a female. It just jumped out as very unusual.
You can get married over the phone or radio as well apparently as did happen during various conflicts. I remember the cosmonaut wedding. It sounds like a good idea if there is some urgency or you are delayed by something. It also sounds better than just having a contract because they were often broken, especially by Henry Viii who married his daughter to everyone in Europe at some time or another by contract. It’s actually amazing he went all the way with this marriage of his sister to Louis, especially as she was also betrothed to King Charles, who was Charles of Castile at the time. Henry wasn’t exactly the most reliable ally.
I have done it again, put ally instead of allie. Silly me.