Queen Elizabeth the I: the Virgin Queen

Early Life:

Examples:

Interests/ Education

- Fluent in five languages
- Studied history and philosophy
- Loved riding and shooting with a crossbow

Family Members and Relationships

- Father was Henry VIII

- Mother was Anne Boleyn and was executed by Henry VIII when Elizabeth was three

- Had an elder half-sister; Mary. She was the catholic daughter of Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Argon

- Had a younger half-brother; Edward. He was the protestant son of Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour

Order of Succession

After Henry VIII’s death the order of succession was to be, Edward, his son, then Mary, his oldest daughter and finally Elizabeth

Problems faced early on

- Father was distant, and saw little of Elizabeth after her mother’s execution

- Mary was in power when Edward died

- She dismantled the Protestant state and wanted Elizabeth to convert to Catholicism
- Mary wanted to marry a Catholic foreigner and Elizabeth became the Protestant’s rallying point

Elizabeth as Queen:

Examples:

Challenges she faced (Darkest Hour)

- Thomas Wyatt led a rebellion; sent Elizabeth a letter, warning her of the plot.
- She replied with no firm commitment, but this was enough for her to be suspected of treason

- She was sent to the tower, pending further investigation; her darkest hour

- Wyatt was offered a pardon, to implicate Elizabeth but instead he exonerated her

Responsibilities/Rules

- Had a new council within 48 hours of her accession

- The country was in religious turmoil

- 300 protestant leaders had been burned at the stake, during Mary’s reign
- Country was divided, most were Catholic

Important Advisors/Mission

- Lord William Cecil, her advisor, was a protestant. He was the one man with the license to contradict her, the partnership lasted 40 years

-  Her mission was to cement her father’s legacy and make England a Protestant nation

Solutions

- Act of uniformity; Protestants were given the book of Common Prayer written in English

- Kept catholic traditions of ceremony

- Declared herself the Supreme Head of the Church

Love Life/Symbols

- In the portrait, her hand hovers very close to the Sword of Justice, with and ermin near her

- Ermin had the reputation of purity, this symbolized Elizabeth’s chastity

- Elizabeth had a physical abnormality that made her unable to have sexual intercourse or conceive a child

- Fell in love with her childhood companion, Robert Dudley

- Elizabeth had sworn to Dudley that she wouldn’t marry anyone

- Then fell for the Duke of Anjou, a Catholic foreigner, but sent him back home