King Henry VIII to Katherine Elizabeth Tudor

My dear daughter Katherine,

I am writing to you today as I wanted to say that I am very pleased to hear of your recent title of Grand Duchess in France. You must be very honoured to receive such a title from King Francis. If there is time Katherine I would also like for us to meet as I think you are of the age now and deserve to know who your mother is even if we did not get along to well.

I eagerly await your reply.

Your Father,

King Henry

Dear Father,

I hope that I may call you this because I do not wish to offend you by being to formal. Yes I was very surprised that King Francis gave me this honor. I was equally surprised that he asked if I would attend King Gustav and Queen Mary's coronation in his stead. My time there was grand and most importantly meeting you and my aunts. I never imagined that I would meet you all. I would love to see you again so that we can get better acquainted if it is your wish. As you may know while I was there I met a woman named Abigail Smith. Who I later found out that she is my mother via a letter from her. She did not give any specifics as to why she wanted me to stay in France but I am happy that I did . King Francis is a dear friend and was kind to me. He was very respectful and never once crossed the line between our friendship. Right now I am with the King and Queen along with King Gustav's sister, Princess Rebecca. They invited me to come along with them as they visit Romania to meet King Marius. I will write to you when we return if you like.

Your daughter,

Katherine Elizabeth Tudor

Dear Katherine,

It is perfectly alright for you to call me father for I am after all your father even if I am not a very good one to you. You must have won the heart of King Francis, for he rarely bestows such titles on people.

It appears that you have already been acquainted with your mother Abigail, yes she is your mother. We should get more acquainted I agree. First enjoy your visit to Romania for I am told that it is a very beautiful country.

King Henry

Dear Father,

Thank you for writing to me. King Francis is a kind man and he has been a good friend. He has always been very respectful to me and of our friendship. I was completely surprised when he granted this honor to me. I hope that this does not bother you. This appointment. He told me that Grand Duchess is the highest rank given to a woman, other than Queen.
I was amazed that when King Francis asked me to go to Sweden in his stead. Then I have the chance to meet you and Queen Mary.

I also met Abigail Smith who I found out via a letter that she is my mother. Many surprises on visit my visit to Sweden. I am going to Romania along with King and Queen of Sweden, King Gustav's sister, Princess Rebecca. Everything is happening quickly but I am happy for it. I will be able to get to know more about Queen Mary and King Gustav as family. I still can not believe it. Thank you for allowing me to get to know you better.

Katherine

Dear Katherine,

King Francis and I, we have had our differences in the past but I am very pleased to hear that he treats you very well. The title of Grand Duchess, is indeed just below that of a Queen and I am guessing that great wealth and an estate of your own have now become available too?

I am pleased that you are travelling and that you have met your aunt Mary, I am not sure if you know that she does happen to be my favourite sister. It is nice that Abigail has contacted you Katherine, you deserve to get to know her better. I myself was pleased to see you in Sweden. Have safe travels and make sure to write to me soon.

Henry

Dear Father.

It is a very strange for me to call you Father.  Strange but wonderful.  I am anxious to know more about you.  I believe that Queen Mary did mention that to me.  She has been a very generous lady.  Sharing her knowledge with me.  I think that I would like to hear more about your relationship with each other.  I have found some news from France.  King Francis had written to me.  He informed me that he  has an estate in France ready for me along with servants.  I will be a wealthy woman Father,  I am surprised by this.  The Queen has also given me her blessings towards the estate.  My official title will be Grand Duchess of Lyon.  Please forgive me for going on about this.  I thank you for your understanding.  Just meeting all of you has made me feel accepted when I did not know anything about my family .  You have welcomed me into your lives and that means the world to me.  I will write to you when I leave Romania.

Katherine Elizabeth

Dear Katherine,

I am pleased to call you my daughter and I do hope that you are able to meet with your mother too. Mary and I, we both have a strong relationship and know this, I would do anything for her as I love her more than any other sister. I will have to talk to you more about it when you return from Romania.

Grand Duchess of Lyon, that is a fine title and an estate with servants too, it is clear that King Francis adores you as much as I. Remember to be cautious in Romania too. I have heard some strange rumours come from there.

Henry

Dear Father,

Queen Mary has told me that the two of you are very close. I am struggling with whether I can aunt Mary or Queen. I do not know the rules but she told me that I may call her aunt. It is beautiful here and I am being cautious.
So far the King's sister, Princess Christine is kind and gracious we will see King Marius in a moment. But there is a woman by the name of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Hampton. There is something wrong about her. I can sense her I'll will. She forgets her station with the way she spoke to Princess Christine. She does not know that Queen Mary is my aunt but I am going to keep my eyes on her. I do not trust her. Abigail Smith has sent me a message that a woman from Romania who knows this Elizabeth Hampton. I hope to find out something soon. I thank you for the emerald necklace you sent me while I was in Sweden. It is truly beautiful. Emeralds are special thank you again for the gift. Hopefully I can write to you again.

Katherine

Dear Katherine,

Mary and I we have always been close, she is my most treasured sister and always will be. I cannot imagine ever losing her or if any harm were to come to her I could not forgive myself. Mary, I am sure would be happy for you to call her aunt in private, however remember when at Court and in the presence of others, you should always address her as Queen or Your Majesty.
I am glad that you are in touch with Abigail and to here that she has someone from Romania, I am sure she knows what she is doing. That emerald necklace that I sent you, it was originally destined as a gift for your eigtheenth birthday from your mother and I but I believed that now the time was write for you to have it.
It is wise to be cautious around those that we do not know Katherine and you must keep me informed with how things develop. How is my dear sister? Treasure the necklace Katherine for it may be very useful to you as well.

Henry

Dear Father

I thank you for the necklace. It is very beautiful and to me it is very precious to me and I will wear it everyday. Aunt Mary is wonderful and King Gustav is very admirable. I can see why she loves him. The way they look at each other is like they not only look at one another they really "see" each other. A very deep kind of love. One day I hope to find someone who looks at me the way he looks at her .
I promise to keep you abreast of the visit. I will write to you all about this Elizabeth Hampton and how she fits in with everything. I hope all is well with you and I will write as soon as possible.

Katherine Elizabeth

Dear Katherine,

I am pleased to hear that you like the necklace and that you will treasure it always. I myself am doing very well thank you. Things in England are going very well and Queen Anne is with child, so I shall pray for a son. Why not stay longer and get to know your aunt more.

Henry

Dear Father,

I am having a nice time getting to know Aunt Mary.  King Gustav and his sisters are lovely people.  I hope that when I return from Romania I can come to England to see you again.  Perhaps we can get to learn more about you.  I am glad to hear that Queen Anne is expecting.  I hope that she will have a healthy baby boy.  Aunt Mary is well and I will tell her that you asked about her.  I will keep you abreast of all that is happening here.  

Katherine

Dear Katherine,

I am pleased to hear that you are enjoying your time there with Mary. She is such a wonderful sister too. I am hopeful that soon I will have my son and heir that I desire and need too. It will be nice to see you again soon Katherine.

Henry

Dear Father,

Yes I am having a great time with everyone.  I wanted to congratulate you for you are to be an uncle.  Aunt Mary is with child .  She and King Gustav is very pleased to hear this grand news.  At first we thought that she was just ill from the travel here but then the physician to the King came to examine her.  He announced the news.  She said that you will be happy to hear about this.  I will keep you abreast of how she is feeling.  I will let her know that I had written to you telling you the news.  I hope that I can come to England for a little while to get to know you better until then give Queen Anne my best.  

Katherine

Dear Katherine,

This is wonderful news that Mary and Gustav have had their child. Is it a boy or a girl that they have been blessed with? I would very much like to see you again soon.

King Henry

Dear Father

Aunt Mary has not had the baby as yet.  She is with child.  She is pregnant.   She looks so beautiful.  Gustav is very happy with the news. Agnetha has written to her mother about the news as well.  Told her that I had written a letter to you and that you are very happy and proud of her.  We are all happy for her and Gustav.   We will keep watch over her.  So do not worry about her.  Again Queen Anne my best wishes and I hope to hear that you and she will have good news of your own.

Katherine

Dear Katherine,

I thank you for this news that you give me. I am sorry if I thought that Mary had already had the baby. I am sure that her other children that she had with Charles Brandon will be happy to learn of this pregnancy too. I am pleased that things are going well. Anne is in good health too and hopefully soon a treasured child will arrive.

King Henry

Dear Father,

I understand that perhaps I did not express the news correctly.  I informed her that you are happy to hear about the news.  I meet the Lord Charles Brandon when I at the celebration. I was told that they are good friends and at one point she cared for him.  Now she is with a man who is good match for her.  At the celebration in Sweden Charles Brandon announced that he and his wife would soon to be parents.  Did Lady Katherine give birth?  I hope that she will have a healthy and strong baby.  Well everything is going well here  Rebecca and King Marius are getting along well.  I hope that you are well.

Katherine

Dear Katherine,

I am pleased to hear that Mary and her husband are doing well. She deserve good happiness after what happened to her last time. Charles Brandon, wrote to me this morning and inform me that Katherine has given birth to a healthy son. I myself am well.[/color]