Queen Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603)

Synopsis
 Born on September 7, 1533 in Greenwich England.
 Claimed the throne at the age of 25 and held it for 44 years, keeping it in the
ascendant through wars, and political and religious turmoil.
 She died in 1603.
Early Life
 The daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.
 She and her half-sister were reinstated as potential heirs, as their father seeking
for a male heir until their half-brother Edward was born in 1537.
 She was raised like any other royal child: received tutoring, excelled at languages
and music.
 After her father’s death in 1547, she was under the care of her stepmother
Catherine Parr which hired tutors in her behalf.
 Seymour, the new husband of Parr, was executed for conspiring to wed Elizabeth
in a bid to gain power.
 Elizabeth once again found herself embroiled in political intrigue after Edward’s
death in 1553. Also her half-sister Mary and their cousin, Jane Grey were in the
line for the crown too.
 Grey was appointed as Edward’s successor that is why she was on the line for the crown
too.

 Mary gained the support of the English people and unseated Grey after 9 days
on the throne.
 Thomas Wyatt organized a rebellion against Mary in 1554 with hopes of making
Protestant-raised Elizabeth queen. But his plot was uncovered, and Elizabeth was
quickly imprisoned by Mary. Elizabeth disputed any involvement but Mary was
not wholly convinced.
 Wyatt rebelled Mary because of undoing her father’s break from the Pope.

 While she was soon released, Elizabeth’s life was in her sister’s hands. Wyatt was
executed, but he maintained that Elizabeth was not with the rebellion.
 Elizabeth was returned to Hartfield and continued her studies.

War and Peace

 In 1558, Elizabeth took the reins of her country after the death of her sister and
inherited a number of problems stirred up by Mary.
 The country was at war with France, which drain on the royal coffers.
 There was also great tension between different religious factions after Mary
worked to restore England to Roman Catholicism. And earned the title Bloody
Mary for executing 300 Protestants as heretics. Elizabeth acted swiftly to address
these two issues.
 Elizabeth took approach to religious conflict in her country. “There is one Jesus
Christ,” she once said. “The rest is a dispute over trifles.”
  The Roman Catholic Church took a dim view of her actions, and in 1570, Pope
Pius V excommunicated her.

 With the assistance of her key advisor, William Cecil, Elizabeth ended the war
with France.
 Defeated the infamous Spanish Armada in 1588.

Elizabeth and the Arts and Literature

 She loved music and can play the lute. She also enjoyed dancing and watching
plays.
 The arts flourished during Elizabeth’s time with the creation of works by such
great as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. The poet Edmund
Spenser based his character Gloriana in The Faerie Queen on Elizabeth, and she
was sometimes referred to by this name.
 Artists also honored Elizabeth by painting her portrait. She loved beautiful
clothing and jewelry. With her makeup, Elizabeth cultivated a dramatically pale
look.

Last Years
 Elizabeth’s power is fading but still showed devotion to her people.
 She gave one her most famous speeches in 1601 to the Parliament. During what
referred to as her “Golden Speech,” a self-reflective Elizabeth seemed to look
back on her long reign.
“Of myself I must say this, I was never any greedy, scraping grasper, nor a strait, fast-
holding prince, nor yet a wester. My heart was never set on worldly goods but for my
subjects’ good.”

 Queen Elizabeth drew her final breath on March 24, 1603, at Richmond Palace in
Surrey.

:’-(