ELIZABETH I

Elizabeth I was Queen regnant of England and Queen

regnant of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes
called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, orGood Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the
fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The daughter of Henry VIII, she was
born a princess, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed two and a half
years after her birth, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Her half-
brother, Edward VI, bequeathed the crown to Lady Jane Grey, cutting his sisters
out of the succession. His will was set aside, Lady Jane Grey was executed, and
in 1558 Elizabeth succeeded the Catholic Mary I, during whose reign she had
been imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels.

Elizabeth set out to rule by good counsel,and she depended heavily on a group
of trusted advisers led by William Cecil, Baron Burghley. One of her first moves
as queen was to support the establishment of an English Protestant church, of
which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious
Settlement held firm throughout her reign and later evolved into today's Church of
England. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry, but despite several
petitions from parliament and numerous courtships, she never did. The reasons
for this outcome have been much debated. As she grew older, Elizabeth became
famous for her virginity, and a cult grew up around her which was celebrated in
the portraits, pageants, and literature of the day.

Early life:

Elizabeth was born in Greenwich Palace in the Chamber of Virgins on

Sunday 7 September 1533 between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, and
was named after both her grandmothers, Elizabeth of Yorkand Elizabeth
Howard. She was the second child of Henry VIII of England to survive infancy
born in wedlock; her mother was Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn. At birth,
Elizabeth was the heiress presumptive to the throne of England. Her older half-
sister, Mary, had lost her position as legitimate heir when Henry annulled his
marriage to Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry Anne.[7][8] King
Henry VIII had desperately wanted a legitimate son, to ensure the Tudor
succession. Anne had been crowned with St. Edward's crown, unlike any
other queen consort, while carrying Elizabeth. Historian Alice Hunt has
suggested that this was done because Anne's pregnancy was visible at the
moment of coronation and she was carrying an heir who was presumed to be
male. Elizabeth was baptised on 10 September in a ceremony held at Greenwich
Palace. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the Marquess of Exeter, the Duchess of
Norfolk and the Dowager Marchioness of Dorset stood as her four godparents.
After Elizabeth's birth, Queen Anne failed to provide a male heir. She suffered at
least two miscarriages, one in 1534 and another at the beginning of 1536. On 2
May 1536, she was arrested and imprisoned. Hastily convicted on charges of
adultery, incest and witchcraft, she was beheaded on 19 May 1536.

Elizabeth became queen at the age of 25, and upon hearing of her
accession to the throne, she is reputed to have quoted the 118th Psalm's twenty-
third line, in Latin: "A Domino factum est illud, et est mirabile in oculis notris" – "It
is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." On 20 November 1558,
Elizabeth declared her intentions to her Council and other peers who had come
to Hatfield to swear allegiance.

Marriage:

From the start of Elizabeth's reign, it was expected that she would marry
and the question arose whom. She never did, although she received many offers
for her hand; the reasons for this are not clear. Historians have speculated that
Thomas Seymour had put her off sexual relationships, or that she knew herself to
be infertile. She considered several suitors until she was about fifty. Her last
courtship was withFrançois, Duke of Anjou, 22 years her junior. While risking
possible losing of power like her sister, who played into the hands of King Phillip
II of Spain, marriage offered the chance of an heir.

Death:

The Queen's health remained fair until the autumn of 1602, when a series of
deaths among her friends plunged her into a severe depression. In February
1603, the death of Catherine Howard, Countess of Nottingham, the niece of her
cousin and close friend Catherine, Lady Knollys, came as a particular blow. In
March, Elizabeth fell sick and remained in a "settled and unremovable
melancholy". She died on 24 March 1603 at Richmond Palace, between two and
three in the morning. A few hours later, Cecil and the council set their plans in
motion and proclaimed James VI of Scotland as king of England.
Elizabeth's coffin was carried downriver at night to Whitehall, on a barge lit with
torches. At her funeral on 28 April, the coffin was taken to Westminster Abbey on
a hearse drawn by four horses hung with black velvet.