The proposal

 As we’re talking about the engagement between Henry and Kate, I think many people would agree that their marriage is not for love but for political reason. One simple evidence is that, if Henry really falls in love with Kate, he would ask her to toil with the “Kate part” of the baby rather than the “French part”. Their marriage would definitely make his reign in France more stable. In fact, he seems to be really in a rush to win Kate’s heart. He is always the one who does all the speech and refutes every doubtful statement from Kate. In fact, from the previous plot, I can sense the underlying danger. Before the expedition starts, Henry and the Dukes have talked about the threat from Ireland, although they have decided not to worry that much. But it’s reasonable to assume that if Henry lost the war in France, he would probably lost England as well because of the Irish. Also, Dauphin’s arrogance can’t come out of nowhere. When the French retreating, Flullen has mentioned that the French army failed because of disorder. So my interpretation of this part is that French actually have an army surpassing English at least in amount. However, because of the lack of preparation, they are defeated by the relatively weaker opponent. In this way, French can still be a threat for him if he can’t take full control of the sovereign. Therefore, the engagement with Kate is really an urgency for him. (I didn’t do any research for this but judge from the text.)

 For me, I think Kate should be confused and even a little bit nervous rather than feeling relaxed and making fun of Henry. The proposal takes place all of a sudden for her, which can be even a great shock. Also, her English is not good enough to understand everything Henry has spoken. As a non-native speaker, I do know how does it feel to be left in a situation when I can’t understand what people are talking about but still have to deal with it. Her reaction seems to be like this, getting rather confused but still having to deal with the unfamiliar man who used to be the enemy of French. If she really understands what is going on in her country, she will probably understand that the marriage is inevitable for her in order to restore peace. So it is up to her father’s will in the end, because she really has no idea of what to do with this unexpected but compulsory proposal.