Queen Elizabeth I, of England, 1533-1603
He then married Anne Boleyn, who gave birth to Elizabeth. Anne was a good mother, who gave a lot of attention to the caring of her daughter–much to Henry's chagrin; he became jealous and sent Elizabeth to a distant royal manor with a governess in charge.
In June, 1536, Henry's former wife, Catherine, died. Henry celebrated, taking three-year-old Elizabeth in a triumphal parade. On this same day Anne gave birth to a son who died. No matter. Henry was already besotted with Jane Seymour. Not surprisingly, it took only four months from that time for Anne to be determined as disloyal and convicted of high treason. Henry had the marriage annulled and Elizabeth's royal titles stripped away. Of course Elizabeth also had to be banished from Court.
When Elizabeth was not quite three, her mother was executed. Immediately after the execution, Henry rode to Jane Seymour and they became officially betrothed. The marriage took place only a few days later.
Elizabeth's "new" abode was an old manor, in which only four rooms were inhabited. She was required to "dine and sup at the board of estate," which her governess said was unsuitable food for a child her age. Her wardrobe was worn and meager, and too small. The governess pled with Henry to let her buy new clothing and to be allowed to keep Elizabeth from the board. She was granted both wishes–this time. In the future she was sometimes allowed to buy new clothing, but as often not.
Even though her royal titles had been stripped from her, the governess gave her court training and a foundation for her future education.
When Elizabeth was four, her half-brother, Edward, was born and Elizabeth was called for her second appearance at court since her banishment. She was to bear the baptismal robe, while the Queen's brother bore her. Her enjoyment of the event was typical of a four-year-old–she nodded off, waking when it was over and walking to the court hand in hand with her half-sister, Mary.
Nine days later Jane Seymour died. Elizabeth was moved to a different home, and Edward joined her. Finally Edward began to notice Elizabeth. He was impressed with her intelligence, her precociousness, her winsome and willful ways, her charming manner and winning personality. He especially noticed her devotion to Edward.
When Elizabeth was six her education began. The foundation of this education was the study of Latin–both written and spoken. A minute amount of science was in the curriculum. Soon French and Italian were added to the field of study. Math was not considered a necessity, but beautiful handwriting was stressed. Of course she also was taught needlework and embroidery.
When Edward was old enough, he joined Elizabeth in their schoolroom.
Seven-year-old Elizabeth became fond of her newest stepmother, Ann, daughter of the Duke of Cleves. The marriage was satisfactory to neither party, and it was soon annulled, but Anne asked for and received permission to have further contact with Elizabeth.
Never one to go long without a wife, Henry secretly married Catherine Howard, a cousin of Anne Boleyn. Catherine also was fond of Elizabeth and favored her. Elizabeth liked Catherine, too, but she preferred Anne of Cleaves and begged permission to be with her.
In 1542, nineteen months after the marriage, Catherine was accused of disloyalty (read that "adultery") and was executed. A year later, when Elizabeth was ten, Henry married Catharine Parr. Catharine wanted Henry's three children to be present at the wedding and to stay around her, so Elizabeth was permitted to again be in Court. Her apartment at Whitehall was next to the royal chambers so she saw her father more regularly, and had her own attendants.
Her education continued and Greek and Spanish were added to her list of studies. Her religious instruction, always present, was stepped up a bit during this time.
Catharine tried to influence Henry to restore his daughter's "proper rank in the Court, and recognition in the order of succession to the crown." But somehow eleven-year-old Elizabeth managed to thwart that. No one knows what she did ( the most common thought is that she may have asked something about her mother), but Edward became incensed, banished her from his sight and forbade her to write to him. So Elizabeth wrote to Catharine, who continued her lobbying and eventually had some degree of success. Perhaps because Henry was becoming ill.
In December, 1546, the joint household of Elizabeth and Edward was dissolved and their close relationship relegated to letter writing.
The following year Henry died and ten-year-old Edward became King. But Henry had appointed a council of 16 men to rule until Edward was old enough to rule himself. One of the first things the Council did was commit Elizabeth to the care of the Queen Dowager, Catherine Parr. Elizabeth continued her studies, but had living conditions more suiting a princess. There were more times of games and amusements, but she was seldom allowed to see Edward.
Catharine soon married the Lord High Admiral, who was brother of the Protector, Somerset. The marriage was calculated by the Admiral to suit his own political machinations. Mary and Elizabeth were so angry that Catharine married so soon after Henry's death, that Mary wanted Elizabeth to leave Catharine's house and live with her. Elizabeth seemed to have more insight into the situation and wrote to Mary that the two were not in a position to do such a thing without making their own lot worse.
After a short time, the Admiral began going to Elizabeth's room early in the mornings. He insisted it was innocent, but Catharine, among others, soon became concerned about the appearance and propriety, as well as the possible indelicacies that this situation made. Catharine also noticed that Elizabeth began to blush at every mention of the Admiral's name. So in May, 1548, she was sent to live in another manor, although Catharine continued to be her friend.
But in August of that year, Catharine had a baby and died a week later. The Admiral was not the grieving widower. Ever trying to improve his own political possibilities, he tried to decide if it was more to his advantage to marry Jane Grey or Elizabeth. He got Elizabeth's cofferer to ask Elizabeth if she would marry the Admiral if the Council gave consent. Elizabeth had earlier told someone else that she didn't think the Council would give such permission, so she tactfully replied, "When that comes to pass, I will do as God shall put on my mind."
In addition to trying to determine his next bride, the Admiral began plotting to overthrow the government, and in January, 1549 he was arrested and sent to the Tower. Thirty-three charges were made against him, but only one seemed to concern the Council: his intrigue to marry Elizabeth.
Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth also became a prisoner of the State, and the Council commissioned Sir Robert Tyree to get any evidence he could against the Admiral from Elizabeth. Elizabeth's closest friends were removed, spies filled her household, and she was endlessly questioned daily. Although Elizabeth cried at first on hearing of the Admiral's imprisonment, she quickly realized her own jeopardy and answered the questions guardedly, not committing herself in anything.
After three weeks of this, the Council realized they would get nothing from her, and proceeded against the Admiral on other evidence. They reprimanded Elizabeth and replaced her beloved governess with another. Elizabeth wept through the night, lowered all the next day, and then wrote the Protector. She remonstrated on the removal of her governess and on the false rumors circulating regarding her and the Admiral. She insisted the Council must put a stop to those tales (she knew where they were coming from). She argued that she was the daughter of Henry VII, a member of the royal family perhaps "destined by Heaven to be Queen of England," so she must keep the love and respect of her subjects. She argued that a statement mst be issued correcting the reports.
The request was granted and a proclamation was issued, but her governess was not returned.
After all this stress, Elizabeth became very ill and her education was discontinued for a year. During this year the Protector, Somerset, was accused of abusing his authority and forced to resign. This opened the door for another schemer to begin planning his own political intrigues. Elizabeth waited through the death of her beloved Edward, the week-long reign of Jane Grey, the five-year-rule of her half-sister who became known as "Bloody Mary," until she became Queen herself when she was twenty-five.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Belloc, Hilaire, "Elizabeth: Creature of Circumstance," 1942.
King, Darian, "Elizabeth, The Tudor Princess," 1940. (Written for children and young people, this is an easy reading, but extremely informative book.)
Linington, Elizabeth, "Forging An Empire: Queen Elizabeth I," 1961.
Ridley, Jasper, "Elizabeth I: The Shrewdness of Virtue," 1987.
Stanley, Diane and Vennema, Peter, "Good Queen Bess, The Story of Elizabeth I of England." 1990. (Written for children, but an excellent summary of Elizabeth's life.)
Thomas, Jane Resh, "Behind the Mask, The Life of Queen Elizabeth I," 1998.
WEB SITES
If you go to the first two sites listed, you won't need to hunt further for general information about Queen Elizabeth I>
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/eliza.h... Elizabeth I (1533-1603) (5 stars) Excellent site which includes a short, but informative, biography; copies of poems, speeches, letters, and more that Elizabeth wrote; links to five articles and one student essay about the Queen; a fascinating collection of portraits of her; a wonderful list of links for more information and images; and an extensive bibliography.
http://www.elizabethi.org/ The Life and Times of Elizabeth I (5 stars) An outstanding site that includes a superb biography, bibliographies–including novels, and links to a wide array of essays and articles about Elizabeth.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/eliza... Modern History Sourcebook: Queen Elizabeth I of England (b. 1533, r. 1558-1603) Selected Writing and Speeches (3.5 stars) Although not biographical, this site gives a number of Elizabeth's writings and speeches.
http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/libr... Elizabeth I, Queen of England (2.5 stars) A short biography with some other links. Not needed if you go to the site first mentioned in this list.
http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/re... Queen Elizabeth I, 1559-1601 (1 star) An extremely brief biography.
Links Updated 14 Sept 2001
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