POD
What will happen if Edward, Prince of Wales died in 1540, followed shortly after by his devastated father? With Henry VIII dead in 1541, Catherine Howard would be the Dowager Queen, a young and rich widow free to remarry, while Mary Tudor will follow his father as Queen. In OTL Mary, after becoming Queen, wanted marry her cousin Charles V, not his son, the future Philip II of Spain, who was 11 years younger than her. In OTL Charles was against remarrying and also feel to old and proposed his already widowed son with advantageous condition for England and gave the Kingdom of Naples to his son for guaranteeing him the status requested by Mary. Here Philip is a 14 years old boy, engaged to Maria Manuela of Portugal, while Charles had lost his beloved Isabella two years earlier and while unwilling to remarry is still capable to generate children (in OTL his youngest illegitimate son don Juan will be born only in 1547). England is a too great prize for losing it or gifting to someone else (and the only other member of the family with the right age and status aka his brother is still married) and Mary is a 25 years old Queen, very conscious of her status and rank who want marry someone who is already a King in his own right.
