Queen Elizabeth I

Introduction

Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 - 24 March 1603) was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty (Montrose, pp 341). The daughter of Henry VIII, she was born a princess, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed two and a half years after her birth, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Her half-brother, Edward VI, bequeathed the crown to Lady Jane Grey, cutting his half-sisters out of the succession. His will was set aside, Lady Jane Grey was executed, and in 1558 Elizabeth succeeded the Catholic Mary I, during whose reign she had been imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels (Woolf, pp 167-91).

Elizabeth set out to rule by good counsel, and she depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers led by William Cecil, Baron Burghley (Doran, Susan & Thomas, pp 280). One of her first moves as queen was the establishing of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement later evolved into today's Church of England. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir so as to continue the Tudor line. She never did, however, despite numerous courtships. As she grew older, Elizabeth became famous for her virginity, and a cult grew up around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, and literature of the day (Montrose, pp 341).

Discussion

When Elizabeth was born, she was named after her grandmother Elizabeth of York. Henry was disappointed to have another daughter, as he had already had one by his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. Henry had changed the religion of the country in order to re-marry, and that risk seemed now seemed wasteful. Elizabeth's mother failed to provide a son for the King, and was executed on trumped-up charges of adultery and incest in 1536; Elizabeth and her half sister were declared illegitimate and deprived of their rights to the throne (Collinson, pp 469-91).

After the death of her mother, Henry married Jane Seymour, who gave birth to the future Edward VI. While still a young girl Elizabeth was placed in his household. She became one of the most learned women of England, and was particularly noted for her ability to speak and read a number of languages. In 1547 Henry VIII died and his son Edward became king. For a time Elizabeth lived with Edward's uncle, Thomas Seymour, brother of Edward Seymour the Lord Protector. But Thomas's wife Catherine discovered Thomas embracing Elizabeth, who then had to leave their house. When Catherine died in 1548, Thomas Seymour resumed making advances to Elizabeth, and it seemed as if he might be planning to marry her, which would give him a claim to the throne. Thomas was suspected of plotting to overturn the government and was executed for treason. During the investigation of this, Elizabeth kept silent, but her ...