Elizabeth I

Lore & Background

Elizabeth was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. When Elizabeth was two years old, her parents' marriage was annulled, her mother was executed, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Henry restored her to the line of succession when she was 10. After Henry's death in 1547, Elizabeth's younger half-brother Edward VI ruled until his own death in 1553, bequeathing the crown to a Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, and ignoring the claims of his two half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, despite statutes to the contrary. Edward's will was quickly set aside and the Catholic Mary became queen, deposing Jane. During Mary's reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels. Upon Mary's death in 1558, Elizabeth succeeded to the throne and set out to rule by good counsel. She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers led by William Cecil, whom she created Baron Burghley. One of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English church, of which she became the supreme governor. This arrangement, later named the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, would evolve into the Church of England. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir; however, despite numerous courtships, she never did. Because of this she is sometimes referred to as the 'Virgin Queen'. She was succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, James VI of Scotland. In government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and siblings had been. One of her mottoes was video et taceo ('I see and keep silent'). In religion, she was relatively tolerant and avoided systematic persecution. After the pope declared her illegitimate in 1570, which in theory released English Catholics from allegiance to her, several conspiracies threatened her life, all of which were defeated with the help of her ministers' secret service, run by Francis Walsingham. Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs, manoeuvring between the major powers of France and Spain. She half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands, France, and Ireland. By the mid-1580s, England could no longer avoid war with Spain. As she grew older, Elizabeth became celebrated for her virginity. A cult of personality grew around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, and literature of

Reader's Guide

Elizabeth I was born on 7 September 1533 at Greenwich Palace. She was the second child of Henry VIII born in wedlock to survive infancy. Her mother was Anne Boleyn. At birth, Elizabeth was the heir presumptive. She was baptised on 10 September. Her godparents were Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter; Elizabeth Stafford, Duchess of Norfolk; and Margaret Wotton, Dowager Marchioness of Dorset. A canopy was carried at the ceremony over the infant by her uncle George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford; John Hussey, Baron Hussey of Sleaford; Lord Thomas Howard; and William Howard, Baron Howard of Effingham. Elizabeth was two years and eight months old when her mother was beheaded on 19 May 1536. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and deprived of her place in the royal succession. Eleven days after Anne Boleyn's execution, Henry married Jane Seymour. Queen Jane died the next year after the birth of their son, Edward. Elizabeth was placed in her half-brother's household and carried the chrisom at his christening. Elizabeth's first governess, Margaret Bryan, wrote that she was 'as toward a child and as gentle of conditions as ever I knew any in my life'. Catherine Champernowne, later known as Kat Ashley, was appointed as Elizabeth's governess in 1537 and remained her friend until her death in 1565. Champernowne taught Elizabeth four languages: French, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish. By the time William Grindal became her tutor in 1544, Elizabeth could write English, Latin, and Italian. Under Grindal, she also progressed in French and Greek. By age 12, she translated her stepmother Catherine Parr's religious work Prayers or Meditations from English into Italian, Latin, and French, which she presented to her father as a New Year's gift. From her teenage years and throughout her life, she translated works in Latin and Greek by numerous classical authors, including the Pro Marcello of Cicero, the De consolatione philosophiae of Boethius, a treatise by Plutarch, and the Annals of Tacitus. A translation of Tacitus from Lambeth Palace Library was confirmed as Elizabeth's own in 2019. After Grindal died in 1548, Elizabeth received her education under her brother Edward's tutor, Roger Ascham. By the time her formal education ended in 1550, Elizabeth was one of the best educated women of her generation. At the end of her life, she was believed to

Did You Know?

• Elizabeth I was the last monarch of the House of Tudor.
• She was imprisoned for nearly a year under her half-sister Mary I on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels.
• Elizabeth never married, leading to her being called the 'Virgin Queen'.
• One of her mottoes was 'video et taceo' ('I see and keep silent').
• She was succeeded by James VI of Scotland, her first cousin twice removed.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"'Twas God the Word that spake it,He took the Bread and brake it:And what that Word did make it,That I believe and take it." — Elizabeth I "Much suspected by me,Nothing proved can be, Quoth Elizabeth prisoner." — Elizabeth I "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." — Elizabeth I "I am already bound unto an husband, which is the kingdom of England... for every one of you, and as many as are English, are my children and kinsfolks." — Elizabeth I