Queen Elizabeth I

1. Brief Biography

The first Queen Elizabeth, whose name has become a synonym for the era which she dominated (1558-1603), was born in 1533 to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Called "Gloriana" by Edmund Spenser in "The Faerie Queene", Elizabeth's deft political skills and strong personal character were directly responsible for putting England (at the time of her accession in 1558 a weak, divided backwater far outside the mainstream of European power and cultural development) on the road to becoming a true world economic and political power and restoring the country's lost sense of national pride. Although she entertained many marriage proposals and flirted incessantly (her closest brush with marriage came with Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester), she never married nor had children.

The reign of Queen Elizabeth I is often referred to as The Golden Age of English history. Elizabeth was an immensely popular Queen, and her popularity has waned little with the passing of four hundred years. She is still one of the best loved monarchs, and one of the most admired rulers of all time. She became a legend in her own lifetime, famed for her remarkable abilities and achievements. Yet, about Elizabeth the woman, we know very little. She is an enigma, and was an enigma to her own people.

2. Elizabeth I Profile

FULL NAME: Elizabeth Tudor

BORN: Greenwich Palace - Sunday (around 3pm) 7 September 1533

PARENTS: Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn (Executed 19 May 1536)

BECAME QUEEN Thursday, 17 November 1558, aged 25

CROWNED: Westminster Abbey - Sunday, 15 January 1559

HEIGHT: Estimated between 5ft 3in - 5ft 5in

EYES: Brown

HAIR: A curly golden red.

NATIONALITY: English

RELIGION: Protestant

MARITAL STATUS: Never married or had children

DIED: Richmond Palace on Lady Day, Thursday, 24 March 1603, aged 69

REIGNED: 44 years, 4 months

BURIED: Westminster Abbey, London

REMEMBERED AS: The Virgin Queen, Good Queen Bess, Gloriana

3. Early Years

Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. She was born on 7 September 1533 at Greenwich Palace. Her birth was possibly the greatest disappointment of her father's life. He had wanted a son and heir to succeed him as he already had a daughter, Mary, by his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. He had not divorced Katherine, and changed the religion of the country in the process, to have only another daughter. Elizabeth's early life was consequently troubled. Her mother failed to provide the King with a son and was executed on false charges of incest and adultery on 19 May 1536. Anne's marriage to the King was declared null and void, and Elizabeth, like her half-sister, Mary, was declared illegitimate and deprived of her place in the line of succession.

3.1 Birth of a Princess

“Fortune sometimes both conquer kings

rules and reigns on earth and earthly things"

Elizabeth I

Although there was no law in Tudor England preventing the accession of a woman to the throne as there was in France, the rule of a woman was considered undesirable. It was believed by many, including King Henry VIII, that a woman could not rule very well. Henry was thus desperate to father a son to succeed him, but while he had many children with Catherine of Aragon, only one survived infancy: a daughter, Princess Mary. Although there was no law in Tudor England preventing the accession of a woman to the throne as there was in France, the rule of a woman was considered undesirable. It was believed by many, including King Henry VIII, that a woman could not rule very well. Henry was thus desperate to father a son to succeed him, but while he had many children with Catherine of Aragon, only one survived infancy: a daughter, Princess Mary. Although there was no law in Tudor England preventing the accession of a woman to the throne as there was in France, the rule of a woman was considered undesirable. It was believed by many, including King Henry VIII, that a woman could not rule very well. Henry was thus desperate to father a son to succeed him, but while he had many children with Catherine of Aragon, only one survived infancy: a daughter, Princess Mary.

1. http://www.elizabethi.org/

2. Morgan, Kenneth – “The Oxford Illustrated History Of Britain”

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England

4. http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/eliza.htm