And now, the last of the Tudor monarchs... arguably one of the most famous English Monarchs of all time... and certainly one of the most beloved.... I give you Elizabeth I.
Was she the beloved virginal queen of lore? The angelic symbol of Avalon? The destroyer of the Spaniards? Or was she a ruthless tyrant, like her father and siblings? The truth is, she's a complicated lady to study. So let's get on to it!
GOOD QUEEN BESS!
- Was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.
- Was raised Protestant by her father.
- Was rendered motherless at 2 1/2 years old, when her father had her mother executed on rather flimsy charges.
- Was close to her various governesses, spending more time with them than her father or siblings. Mary was much older than her, and Edward was a boy, so his education was very different. Elizabeth was the quiet middle child, who spent most of her time with books, not people.
- Was fascinated with the languages of Britain. She spoke English, Welsh, Cornish, Scottish, and Irish, in addition to French, Spanish, Latin, Italian, and Flemish.
- As she grew into a teen, she seemed uninterested in court and politics. Mary and Edward were far more involved, and Elizabeth seems to have been happy to be ignored. (Which is not very surprising, considering her father.)
-When her father died, Elizabeth was very close to her stepmother, Catherine Parr. She moved in with Catherine to help take care of her.
- Now 14, Elizabeth was known as friendly and cute. This led to a very big problem. Catherine remarried Thomas Seymour, brother of Edward Seymour, head of Edward VI's council and protector of the King. Thomas was in love with Catherine, but his actions towards the 14 year old Elizabeth were wholly inappropriate. He frequently entered her bedchamber at night, tickled her, spanked her bottom, and was otherwise a bit "Too touchy feely." He was nearly 40. At first, Catherine thought it was all fun and games, even joining in to tickle and tease Elizabeth. However, when she caught Lord Seymour and Elizabeth in the throes of a steamy embrace, she rightly freaked out. Elizabeth was sent away, and Catherine's marriage was never truly the same. Elizabeth seems to have been fairly innocent in all this, but the event traumatized her, some say for the rest of her life.
- A few years later, Catherine Parr died in childbirth. Thomas tried to arrange marriage with Elizabeth. This was to be his downfall, and was nearly Elizabeth's. It was clear that they were in love, but the common attitude was that Thomas was a predator here, and so the rest of Parliament blocked it. Thomas was arrested and charged for a variety of crimes, including plotting to seduce the princess. He was summarily executed. This probably broke Elizabeth's heart, but she stubbornly refused to show any emotion one way or the other. If she had professed her love for Thomas, it is very likely that she would have lost her head as well.
- When Edward died and Mary took over, Elizabeth was now in real peril. She knew her middle aged sister was bitter and hateful. The people knew that Elizabeth was young, single, and most of all, PROTESTANT. No matter which way you cut it, Elizabeth was a threat to Mary, even if she didn't intend to be. To make matters worse, Mary immediately had to deal with Wyatt's rebellion, a plot to put Elizabeth on the throne.
- Even though Elizabeth had (intelligently) supported Mary, even telling people to remain or return to the Catholic faith, Mary had her sister drug into courts, where Elizabeth was put in the position of fighting for her life. Mary's supporters argued that Mary would never be safe as long as Elizabeth lived. Elizabeth's supporters begged for mercy, as all evidence brought forward against Elizabeth was hearsay at best. After an achingly long deliberation, Mary decided to imprison Elizabeth at her home in Woodstock, but let her live. It is said that crowds cheered and danced when Elizabeth passed by into her exile. This did nothing to improve Elizabeth's standing with her brutal sister.
- A year later, Elizabeth was moved to the court, to attend to her "pregnant" sister's needs. When it became clear that Mary was not to have a child, Elizabeth was all but assured to take over. Elizabeth, crafty as her father ever had been, began to curry favor with powerful Protestants to limit the authority and power of the Catholic councilors. Elizabeth became the darling of the court, and as her sister slipped into madness, Elizabeth quietly made allies. She knew which way the wind was blowing.
- At the age of 25, Elizabeth was crowned queen Elizabeth I when Mary died in 1558. The king of Spain, her former brother in law, attempted to marry Elizabeth. The queen was having NONE of that. Philip was rebuffed, and was not too please about that at all. His political marriage to Mary had been a disaster, and now he was left looking the fool.
- At her coronation, Elizabeth stated that there were TWO bodies that ruled as queen... the body physical (herself) and the body political (a government she shared with parliament and her advisers.) This was a sharp contrast to her sister, brother, and father, who had been quite tyrannical.
- Elizabeth remained quixotic when it came to her religion. Although she was undoubtedly Protestant, she still had an affection for Catholic trappings such as the rosary and religious imagery. Many historians believe this was deliberate, (as so much of her life was,) to keep people on both sides closer to her.
- She finally ended the roiling religious debate by passing laws that cemented her as the head of the Anglican church, while also allowing Catholic trappings such as vestments and imagery to be allowed. This mollified the Protestants and the Catholics. However, the hard core reformers were displeased. They wanted there to be nothing but "Pure" Protestantism from the top down. They were known as the "Puritans." (Don't forget them.)
- All heresy laws were removed, so that the punishment for refusing to follow Elizabeth as "Supreme Governor of the Church of England" would not be death. This pleased all except the religious extremists.
- She was pursued by dozens of suitors over the years. It is not clear why she refused them all. This is also hotly debated. Some say that her sexual abuse in early years put her off sex entirely. Some say she was a lesbian (or secretly a hermaphrodite,) others say she was infertile or suffered from dyspareunia. Still others point out that due to her extremely tenuous position as a female ruler, she did not want to "dilute" her authority by marrying a man who would then be king. Finally, some point out how very unpopular Mary's marriage had been, and perhaps Elizabeth I had no intention of going down that road. We'll probably never know the whole truth... but she never married, thus earning the nickname "The Virgin Queen." (whether or not she was actually a virgin will probably ALSO never be known.)
- This does not mean she never loved a man. She was well known to be smitten with Robert Dudley, an old friend and companion. However, far more important people were vying for her hand, and when Elizabeth brought up the subject to Parliament, her relationship with Dudley was universally panned. Elizabeth ruffled feathers when she elevated Robert up to the Earl of Leicester. This all became very very dangerous for both of them, and eventually they called off the relationship. She would carry a torch for him the rest of her life, but they would never be in close company again.
- As she grew older, Elizabeth thrived on the image of herself as the virginal queen, saying she was "Only ever married to the realm and her people." This made her wildly popular, and, much to many men's chagrin, it became fashionable for young good looking ladies to take an oath of chastity everlasting, to be like their queen.
- Ran into a crisis when France began to support Scotland against England (again.) Some people believed that Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth's first cousin once removed, was the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland AND England. (Her grandmother was Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII's sister.)
- However, Mary Queen of Scots was embroiled in her own scandal. Her rather dull witted husband had figured out that Mary was cheating on him, and had quickly exploded when a bomb went off in their garden. Mary announced she would marry her lover, and of course, this made both of them look as guilty as sin.
- Elizabeth wrote to her cousin, warning her not to marry her lover, but Mary was stubborn and married him anyway. The Scottish people would have none of it, and overthrew her. Little James, her 1 year old son, was crowned James VI of Scotland. Mary was imprisoned, but escaped. She fled to England and asked Elizabeth to help her. Elizabeth shrewdly refused, not wanting to risk war with Scotland. Elizabeth detained Mary for the next 19 years.
- A Catholic rebellion in 1570 was unsuccessful. However, Pope Pius V, thinking it had succeeded, declared that Elizabeth was a pretender to the throne, and that all English subjects who followed her would be excommunicated. Elizabeth had to act decisively, since now anyone wishing to restart the rebellion merely had to become catholic and claim allegiance to the Papal authority. Elizabeth made CONVERTING to Catholicism punishable by death, (not being Catholic.) Any who suggested conversions were put to death. This was effective, but also made martyrs out of the several missionaries the Pope sent to "Retake" England.
- However, it was too late to stop another rebellion, in which many Catholics tried to free Mary Queen of Scots and put her on the throne. Though Mary was probably innocent, it was clear that as long as she lived, the Catholics would see her as their figurehead. Elizabeth was forced to make the terrible decision to behead Mary. This was made even harder because this was one female monarch killing another. (Female monarchs were rare as hen's teeth, mind you.) Later, she would sign the execution orders under duress, her hands shaking. She would later publicly lament the circumstances which forced her hand. Whether or not this was sincere is still debatable.
- Was reluctantly pulled into a war between Spain and the Netherlands. She assigned her old lover, Robert Dudley, to command the expedition to send aid. However, the expedition was a disaster. Dudley was a woefully stupid commander, the Dutch politics were chaotic, and everything was disorganized. Elizabeth herself wrote a VERY stern letter of disapproval. This forever soured the relationship between Elizabeth and Robert, as well as infuriated the Dutch. Elizabeth withdrew her support, but not in time to avoid war with the Spanish.
- Elizabeth had long been allowing English privateers such as Francis Drake to plunder and pillage Spanish trade routes. Philip II, the former husband to Mary I and King of England, decided to bring the war to England's doorstep. He created the Spanish Armada, the largest fleet ever assembled, and planned to invade England and take it for Spain. This attack was a spectacular failure, due mainly to weather, tactics, and fast thinking on the part of Elizabeth and the sailors and privateers under her command. Spain was humiliated, and their power would never recover. Elizabeth had become a hero... the underdog who had stood up against a man and his mighty navy. She was now beloved by nearly every Protestant in Europe, most of all her own people.
- However, her foray into France to support Protestants there was a disaster. It was clear that her military commanders were no longer under her control once they were abroad, where old prejudices against a "woman" reared their ugly heads.
- Now in open revolt, Ireland attempted to break free of England's influence. Devoutly Catholic, the Irish hated Elizabeth and her policies. She hated them right back. Elizabeth unleashed a reign of terror on the Irish the like of which had not been seen since Roman times. Tens of thousands were killed or starved to death.
She would not see it in her own lifetime, but Ireland would eventually be put down once again.
- Had good relations with Ivan the Terrible of Russia, but politely rebuffed his marriage proposal and request for asylum when things started looking bad for him. However, his simple minded son Feodor "The Bell Ringer" despised the English ambassador's "unreligious" pomp and arrogance, and relations fell apart.
- As she became elderly, the situation in England was becoming untenable. The Catholics, the Irish, the Spanish, and the Pope were all exerting pressure on England, draining its coffers and attempting to destroy England's naval power in the New World. Elizabeth responded by imposing harsher restrictions on Catholics, endorsing sanctions and even espionage against them. Paranoia was running deep in England, and it was only getting worse by the year.
- Was a patron of the arts in her later years, famously patronizing William Shakespeare to write "historical" plays about the Wars of the Roses and the Tudor family. These plays, of course, were pure propaganda pieces, and continue to be to this day. Richard III's image was never totally repaired.
- Set forth to standardize the English language to improve trade. Swift's rules of the English language was drafted up in this time, and the "Queen's English" became the standard for all regions of Britain to learn. It still is. (this is where most of our ridiculous "rules" and contradictions in grammar come from.)
- Even with the propaganda of Shakespeare, the espionage, and the "Virgin Queen" persona... Elizabeth's popularity severely decreased in her later years. Her health also deteriorated, and she was seen in public less and less.
- In order to keep merchants happy, she allowed monopolies to dominate trade... this led to constant price fixing and open resentment towards the merchant barons of the time. Of course, the queen wound up with most of the blame.
- As her health began to fail, the elderly Elizabeth turned to James the VI of Scotland, now 33 years old, to name as heir. Apologizing profusely for executing his mum, Elizabeth started up a pleasant correspondence with James. Upon her death, James VI of Scotland would also become James I of England. This would settle the question of the succession, as well as unite Scotland and England without war. James accepted.
- 3 years later, most of Elizabeth's best friends died. Elizabeth slipped into a deep depression, which affected her health. Not long after, she passed away quietly in her sleep.
The Tudor line was extinct... the Stuarts of Scotland now controlled England. James VI (and I) took the throne without much fuss.
Was she the beloved virginal queen of lore? The angelic symbol of Avalon? The destroyer of the Spaniards? Or was she a ruthless tyrant, like her father and siblings? The truth is, she's a complicated lady to study. So let's get on to it!
GOOD QUEEN BESS!
- Was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.
- Was raised Protestant by her father.
- Was rendered motherless at 2 1/2 years old, when her father had her mother executed on rather flimsy charges.
- Was close to her various governesses, spending more time with them than her father or siblings. Mary was much older than her, and Edward was a boy, so his education was very different. Elizabeth was the quiet middle child, who spent most of her time with books, not people.
- Was fascinated with the languages of Britain. She spoke English, Welsh, Cornish, Scottish, and Irish, in addition to French, Spanish, Latin, Italian, and Flemish.
- As she grew into a teen, she seemed uninterested in court and politics. Mary and Edward were far more involved, and Elizabeth seems to have been happy to be ignored. (Which is not very surprising, considering her father.)
-When her father died, Elizabeth was very close to her stepmother, Catherine Parr. She moved in with Catherine to help take care of her.
- Now 14, Elizabeth was known as friendly and cute. This led to a very big problem. Catherine remarried Thomas Seymour, brother of Edward Seymour, head of Edward VI's council and protector of the King. Thomas was in love with Catherine, but his actions towards the 14 year old Elizabeth were wholly inappropriate. He frequently entered her bedchamber at night, tickled her, spanked her bottom, and was otherwise a bit "Too touchy feely." He was nearly 40. At first, Catherine thought it was all fun and games, even joining in to tickle and tease Elizabeth. However, when she caught Lord Seymour and Elizabeth in the throes of a steamy embrace, she rightly freaked out. Elizabeth was sent away, and Catherine's marriage was never truly the same. Elizabeth seems to have been fairly innocent in all this, but the event traumatized her, some say for the rest of her life.
- A few years later, Catherine Parr died in childbirth. Thomas tried to arrange marriage with Elizabeth. This was to be his downfall, and was nearly Elizabeth's. It was clear that they were in love, but the common attitude was that Thomas was a predator here, and so the rest of Parliament blocked it. Thomas was arrested and charged for a variety of crimes, including plotting to seduce the princess. He was summarily executed. This probably broke Elizabeth's heart, but she stubbornly refused to show any emotion one way or the other. If she had professed her love for Thomas, it is very likely that she would have lost her head as well.
- When Edward died and Mary took over, Elizabeth was now in real peril. She knew her middle aged sister was bitter and hateful. The people knew that Elizabeth was young, single, and most of all, PROTESTANT. No matter which way you cut it, Elizabeth was a threat to Mary, even if she didn't intend to be. To make matters worse, Mary immediately had to deal with Wyatt's rebellion, a plot to put Elizabeth on the throne.
- Even though Elizabeth had (intelligently) supported Mary, even telling people to remain or return to the Catholic faith, Mary had her sister drug into courts, where Elizabeth was put in the position of fighting for her life. Mary's supporters argued that Mary would never be safe as long as Elizabeth lived. Elizabeth's supporters begged for mercy, as all evidence brought forward against Elizabeth was hearsay at best. After an achingly long deliberation, Mary decided to imprison Elizabeth at her home in Woodstock, but let her live. It is said that crowds cheered and danced when Elizabeth passed by into her exile. This did nothing to improve Elizabeth's standing with her brutal sister.
- A year later, Elizabeth was moved to the court, to attend to her "pregnant" sister's needs. When it became clear that Mary was not to have a child, Elizabeth was all but assured to take over. Elizabeth, crafty as her father ever had been, began to curry favor with powerful Protestants to limit the authority and power of the Catholic councilors. Elizabeth became the darling of the court, and as her sister slipped into madness, Elizabeth quietly made allies. She knew which way the wind was blowing.
- At the age of 25, Elizabeth was crowned queen Elizabeth I when Mary died in 1558. The king of Spain, her former brother in law, attempted to marry Elizabeth. The queen was having NONE of that. Philip was rebuffed, and was not too please about that at all. His political marriage to Mary had been a disaster, and now he was left looking the fool.
- At her coronation, Elizabeth stated that there were TWO bodies that ruled as queen... the body physical (herself) and the body political (a government she shared with parliament and her advisers.) This was a sharp contrast to her sister, brother, and father, who had been quite tyrannical.
- Elizabeth remained quixotic when it came to her religion. Although she was undoubtedly Protestant, she still had an affection for Catholic trappings such as the rosary and religious imagery. Many historians believe this was deliberate, (as so much of her life was,) to keep people on both sides closer to her.
- She finally ended the roiling religious debate by passing laws that cemented her as the head of the Anglican church, while also allowing Catholic trappings such as vestments and imagery to be allowed. This mollified the Protestants and the Catholics. However, the hard core reformers were displeased. They wanted there to be nothing but "Pure" Protestantism from the top down. They were known as the "Puritans." (Don't forget them.)
- All heresy laws were removed, so that the punishment for refusing to follow Elizabeth as "Supreme Governor of the Church of England" would not be death. This pleased all except the religious extremists.
- She was pursued by dozens of suitors over the years. It is not clear why she refused them all. This is also hotly debated. Some say that her sexual abuse in early years put her off sex entirely. Some say she was a lesbian (or secretly a hermaphrodite,) others say she was infertile or suffered from dyspareunia. Still others point out that due to her extremely tenuous position as a female ruler, she did not want to "dilute" her authority by marrying a man who would then be king. Finally, some point out how very unpopular Mary's marriage had been, and perhaps Elizabeth I had no intention of going down that road. We'll probably never know the whole truth... but she never married, thus earning the nickname "The Virgin Queen." (whether or not she was actually a virgin will probably ALSO never be known.)
- This does not mean she never loved a man. She was well known to be smitten with Robert Dudley, an old friend and companion. However, far more important people were vying for her hand, and when Elizabeth brought up the subject to Parliament, her relationship with Dudley was universally panned. Elizabeth ruffled feathers when she elevated Robert up to the Earl of Leicester. This all became very very dangerous for both of them, and eventually they called off the relationship. She would carry a torch for him the rest of her life, but they would never be in close company again.
- As she grew older, Elizabeth thrived on the image of herself as the virginal queen, saying she was "Only ever married to the realm and her people." This made her wildly popular, and, much to many men's chagrin, it became fashionable for young good looking ladies to take an oath of chastity everlasting, to be like their queen.
- Ran into a crisis when France began to support Scotland against England (again.) Some people believed that Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth's first cousin once removed, was the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland AND England. (Her grandmother was Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII's sister.)
- However, Mary Queen of Scots was embroiled in her own scandal. Her rather dull witted husband had figured out that Mary was cheating on him, and had quickly exploded when a bomb went off in their garden. Mary announced she would marry her lover, and of course, this made both of them look as guilty as sin.
- Elizabeth wrote to her cousin, warning her not to marry her lover, but Mary was stubborn and married him anyway. The Scottish people would have none of it, and overthrew her. Little James, her 1 year old son, was crowned James VI of Scotland. Mary was imprisoned, but escaped. She fled to England and asked Elizabeth to help her. Elizabeth shrewdly refused, not wanting to risk war with Scotland. Elizabeth detained Mary for the next 19 years.
- A Catholic rebellion in 1570 was unsuccessful. However, Pope Pius V, thinking it had succeeded, declared that Elizabeth was a pretender to the throne, and that all English subjects who followed her would be excommunicated. Elizabeth had to act decisively, since now anyone wishing to restart the rebellion merely had to become catholic and claim allegiance to the Papal authority. Elizabeth made CONVERTING to Catholicism punishable by death, (not being Catholic.) Any who suggested conversions were put to death. This was effective, but also made martyrs out of the several missionaries the Pope sent to "Retake" England.
- However, it was too late to stop another rebellion, in which many Catholics tried to free Mary Queen of Scots and put her on the throne. Though Mary was probably innocent, it was clear that as long as she lived, the Catholics would see her as their figurehead. Elizabeth was forced to make the terrible decision to behead Mary. This was made even harder because this was one female monarch killing another. (Female monarchs were rare as hen's teeth, mind you.) Later, she would sign the execution orders under duress, her hands shaking. She would later publicly lament the circumstances which forced her hand. Whether or not this was sincere is still debatable.
- Was reluctantly pulled into a war between Spain and the Netherlands. She assigned her old lover, Robert Dudley, to command the expedition to send aid. However, the expedition was a disaster. Dudley was a woefully stupid commander, the Dutch politics were chaotic, and everything was disorganized. Elizabeth herself wrote a VERY stern letter of disapproval. This forever soured the relationship between Elizabeth and Robert, as well as infuriated the Dutch. Elizabeth withdrew her support, but not in time to avoid war with the Spanish.
- Elizabeth had long been allowing English privateers such as Francis Drake to plunder and pillage Spanish trade routes. Philip II, the former husband to Mary I and King of England, decided to bring the war to England's doorstep. He created the Spanish Armada, the largest fleet ever assembled, and planned to invade England and take it for Spain. This attack was a spectacular failure, due mainly to weather, tactics, and fast thinking on the part of Elizabeth and the sailors and privateers under her command. Spain was humiliated, and their power would never recover. Elizabeth had become a hero... the underdog who had stood up against a man and his mighty navy. She was now beloved by nearly every Protestant in Europe, most of all her own people.
- However, her foray into France to support Protestants there was a disaster. It was clear that her military commanders were no longer under her control once they were abroad, where old prejudices against a "woman" reared their ugly heads.
- Now in open revolt, Ireland attempted to break free of England's influence. Devoutly Catholic, the Irish hated Elizabeth and her policies. She hated them right back. Elizabeth unleashed a reign of terror on the Irish the like of which had not been seen since Roman times. Tens of thousands were killed or starved to death.
She would not see it in her own lifetime, but Ireland would eventually be put down once again.
- Had good relations with Ivan the Terrible of Russia, but politely rebuffed his marriage proposal and request for asylum when things started looking bad for him. However, his simple minded son Feodor "The Bell Ringer" despised the English ambassador's "unreligious" pomp and arrogance, and relations fell apart.
- As she became elderly, the situation in England was becoming untenable. The Catholics, the Irish, the Spanish, and the Pope were all exerting pressure on England, draining its coffers and attempting to destroy England's naval power in the New World. Elizabeth responded by imposing harsher restrictions on Catholics, endorsing sanctions and even espionage against them. Paranoia was running deep in England, and it was only getting worse by the year.
- Was a patron of the arts in her later years, famously patronizing William Shakespeare to write "historical" plays about the Wars of the Roses and the Tudor family. These plays, of course, were pure propaganda pieces, and continue to be to this day. Richard III's image was never totally repaired.
- Set forth to standardize the English language to improve trade. Swift's rules of the English language was drafted up in this time, and the "Queen's English" became the standard for all regions of Britain to learn. It still is. (this is where most of our ridiculous "rules" and contradictions in grammar come from.)
- Even with the propaganda of Shakespeare, the espionage, and the "Virgin Queen" persona... Elizabeth's popularity severely decreased in her later years. Her health also deteriorated, and she was seen in public less and less.
- In order to keep merchants happy, she allowed monopolies to dominate trade... this led to constant price fixing and open resentment towards the merchant barons of the time. Of course, the queen wound up with most of the blame.
- As her health began to fail, the elderly Elizabeth turned to James the VI of Scotland, now 33 years old, to name as heir. Apologizing profusely for executing his mum, Elizabeth started up a pleasant correspondence with James. Upon her death, James VI of Scotland would also become James I of England. This would settle the question of the succession, as well as unite Scotland and England without war. James accepted.
- 3 years later, most of Elizabeth's best friends died. Elizabeth slipped into a deep depression, which affected her health. Not long after, she passed away quietly in her sleep.
The Tudor line was extinct... the Stuarts of Scotland now controlled England. James VI (and I) took the throne without much fuss.