Elizabeth I

Introduction

Elizabeth I

Born in 1533, Elizabeth was the second daughter of a powerful king, but her future did not appear promising. Her mother was executed when Elizabeth was only two years old. Declared to be illegitimate, Elizabeth was then removed from the royal line and exiled from the court. At the age of 21, she was imprisoned in the Tower of London for treason. Yet she managed to overcome her precarious position to be crowned Queen of England. And what a queen she was! Elizabeth I helped to raise England from its backwater status in Europe to one of the greatest military powers of her time. She was so influential that her entire 45-year reign is known as the “Elizabethan Age.”

Essential Facts

1. After her mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded for treason in 1536, Elizabeth’s status became very precarious. She had two siblings before her in line for the throne. Her brother, Edward VI, died young and her sister, Mary (often referred to as Bloody Mary), died without an heir. Astonishingly, Elizabeth became queen at the age of 25.
2. Elizabeth was something of a child prodigy, particularly in languages. By the age of eleven, she was fluent in English, Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, and Welsh. She could also read Greek.
3. One of the main characteristics of Elizabeth’s reign was her unmarried status. She spent decades leading on different princes and using the possibility of marriage as a political bargaining tool. In a way, she considered herself married to her country and did everything with England foremost in her mind.
4. Another major event of Elizabeth’s reign was the execution of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary was a Catholic and had long claimed the right to the English throne. Forced to abdicate in Scotland, she was held in England under close confinement. After nearly twenty years of causing intrigue in England, Mary was finally beheaded for treason.
5. As the English nation awaited the invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Elizabeth gave them courage with a rousing speech that included these famous words: “I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England.” With some help from the weather, the faster and lighter English ships won the day.