Queen Elizabeth I Biography

From 17 November 1558 to 24 March 1603, Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) reigned as Queen of England and Ireland. Elizabeth, often known as the Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, was the last of the Tudor House's five queens. Elizabeth was Henry VIII's and his second wife, Anne Boleyn’s daughter. Anne was killed when Elizabeth was 2 years old. The marriage of Anne and Henry VIII was pronounced null and void, and Elizabeth was ruled illegitimate. Her half-brother Edward VI ruled until his death in 1553, bequeathing the crown to Lady Jane Grey and dismissing the claims of his two half-sisters, the Roman Catholic Mary and the younger Elizabeth.

The will of Edward was overturned, and Mary was crowned queen, deposing Lady Jane Grey. Elizabeth was imprisoned for over a year during Mary's reign on suspicion of aiding Protestant insurgents.

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Early Life

Elizabeth was the heir presumptive to the English crown at the time of her birth. When Henry dissolved his marriage to Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne, with the aim of siring a male heir and ensuring the Tudor succession, Mary lost her position as a legal successor. On September 10, 1533, she was christened by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the Marquess of Exeter, the Duchess of Norfolk, and the Dowager Marchioness of Dorset. Her uncle Viscount Rochford, Lord Hussey, Lord Thomas Howard, and Lord Howard of Effingham carried a canopy over the three-day-old infant for the ceremony.

Elizabeth was two years and eight months old when her mother was killed on the 19th of May 1536, four months after Catherine of Aragon died of natural causes. Elizabeth was deemed illegitimate and stripped of her right to the throne. Henry married Jane Seymour eleven days after Anne Boleyn's death, but she died soon after their son, Edward, was born in 1537. Edward was the unquestioned heir apparent to the throne from the moment he was born. At his christening, Elizabeth was put in his household and carried the chrisom or baptismal garment.

How Did Elizabeth Become the Queen?

The right to the throne of Queen Elizabeth I was not always certain. Elizabeth's father, King Henry VIII, had his marriage to Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn, annulled by Parliament, rendering Elizabeth an illegitimate child and removing her from the line of succession. Following Henry's death in 1547, Edward VI (who reigned for six years) and Mary I ("Bloody Mary"), Elizabeth's half-siblings, reigned for five years. Mary put Elizabeth under close observation, even imprisoning her in the Tower of London for a brief time, fearful that her half-sister might try to gain control.

Elizabeth avoided doing anything that Mary might have used as a reason for her execution and went on to become one of England's most renowned rulers after Mary's death in 1558.

When Elizabeth Became the Queen!

At the age of 25, Elizabeth became queen and announced her intentions to her council and other peers who had gathered in Hatfield to pledge fealty. Her acceptance of the medieval political theology of the sovereign's "two bodies": the body natural and the body politic was first recorded in this speech: 

“My lords, the law of nature causes me to grieve for my sister; the burden that has been placed upon me astounds me; but, because I am God's creature, ordained to obey His command, I will do so, desiring from the depths of my heart that I may be assisted by His grace to be the minister of His heavenly will in this office now entrusted to me. And, since I am just one body naturally regarded, albeit, by His permission a body politic to govern, I shall wish you all... to be my assistants, that I may render a good account to Almighty God with my reigning and you with your service, and leave some consolation to our posterity on earth. I want to base all of my decisions on sound guidance and counsel”. 

On the eve of the coronation ceremony, as she made her triumphant march through the city, she was hailed warmly by the inhabitants and greeted with orations and pageants, most of which had a strong Protestant flavour. The audience was "wonderfully ravished" because of Elizabeth's unreserved and polite answers. Elizabeth was crowned and anointed by Owen Oglethorpe, the Catholic bishop of Carlisle, the next day, 15 January 1559, a date picked by her astrologer John Dee. A thunderous symphony of organs, fifes, trumpets, drums, and bells was then used to display her for the people's approval.

Elizabeth as a Queen

Elizabeth I founded Protestantism in England, defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, kept peace in her once-divided kingdom, and fostered an environment conducive to the arts during her reign. Because she never married, she was called the "Virgin Queen." From 1558 till her death in 1603 Elizabeth governed for 44 years.

Elizabeth I inherited a lot of issues that her half-sister Mary had created. The kingdom was at war with France, which drained the royal finances tremendously.

After Mary attempted to return England to Roman Catholicism by whatever means necessary, there was also a lot of friction between different religious factions. After ordering the death of 300 Protestants as heretics, Mary gained the moniker, Bloody Mary. To solve these two critical concerns, Elizabeth moved quickly. She advocated for the passage of the Act of Supremacy, which re-established the Church of England, and the Act of Uniformity, which established a single prayer book, during her first session of Parliament in 1559. When it came to her country's contentious religious issue, Elizabeth chose a balanced stance. She once stated, "There is only one Jesus Christ." "The rest is a pointless squabble."

Historians disagree on the extent to which Catholics were persecuted and executed during Elizabeth's reign. Elizabeth's activities were frowned upon by the Roman Catholic Church, and Pope Pius V excommunicated her in 1570.

Elizabeth concluded England's conflict with France with the help of her chief advisor, William Cecil. For most of her rule, she was able to avoid conflict with the other powerhouse of the time, Spain.

In 1585, however, Elizabeth stepped into the battle to assist the Protestant uprising in the Netherlands against Spain.

Spain next turned its attention to England, but in 1588, the English fleet defeated the famed Spanish Armada. The weather, according to numerous sources, was a determining factor in England's triumph.

Elizabeth's reign was known as England's Golden Age or Elizabethan England, a period of peace and prosperity during which the arts flourished thanks to Elizabeth's patronage.

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Queen Elizabeth I - What Made Her Great?

1. During Elizabeth's reign, she attempted, like her father had done before her, to convert the kingdom from Catholicism to Protestantism (another type of Christianity). Fortunately, Elizabeth proved to be a more forgiving ruler than Mary, and she attempted to make England a more equitable environment for all.

2. Elizabeth was one of the brilliant, quick-witted monarchs who was renowned for her quality of persuasiveness. She almost always had her way, and she surrounded herself with carefully picked ministers who would assist her in her control. However, Elizabeth had a reputation for deferring crucial decisions until the last possible moment, much to the chagrin of her ministers!

3. Many people thought a woman wasn't suited to reign in the 16th century, but Elizabeth was eager to disprove them! She was a powerful, fearsome leader who could be as clever and cruel as any ruler who had come before her. Elizabeth, on the other hand, had a propensity for flattery and was notoriously vain, thus every image was meticulously scrutinized to ensure she looked her best!

4. Parliament sought to compel Elizabeth to marry by refusing to grant her any more money until she married in 1566. “I am already committed unto a spouse, which is the Kingdom of England,” Elizabeth refused to budge. The subject was never brought up again! 

The Queen was adamant about her reasons for not marrying. If Elizabeth had married a foreign prince to establish a relationship with another European country, it is possible that the other country would have benefited more than England and that she would have been less powerful. It's possible that her ministers and advisors would have clashed if she married an Englishman.

Despite her sentiments, she had plenty of options! Many men approached Elizabeth with proposals, but she always declined. This meant she could receive the help she needed from them while also maintaining their loyalty!

5. In British history, Elizabeth's reign is remembered as a "Golden Age." It was a period of immense exploration, with explorers like Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh discovering new areas and establishing new colonies across the world. Poetry, music, and literature thrived, and London's first theatres were built. William Shakespeare was a very popular playwright, notably with the Queen, who attended the premiere of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Elizabeth is regarded as a strong and cunning ruler who wore opulent gowns, wore glittering jewellery, had a lovely look, and posed for stunning pictures. She ruled England during a period when religious thought was split, yet she managed to keep peace and prosperity for the most part and reign over a ‘Golden Age.' She was also known for being a unique type of queen. During a period when many believed women couldn't govern as well as men, she was only the second queen in English history to reign in her own right (the first being her half-sister, Mary). Elizabeth, on the other hand, was not deterred! She was astute and devious, demonstrating that women can be just as strong as males! 

Finally, she is perhaps Henry VIII's most renowned child. Henry abandoned Elizabeth as a child and killed her mother, desperate for a male successor, and in the process, he greatly misjudged his daughter's ability to become one of the most powerful monarchs in British history.