Queen Elizabeth I is one of the most famous queens in all of history, but how much do
you actually know about her?
Here are 10 things you didn't know about Elizabeth I!!
10.
She wasn’t supposed to be Queen Elizabeth's father was the infamous King Henry
VIII.
For those who don't know, King Henry VIII had many wives and mistresses, which led to
a bit of confusion as to who was going to be on the throne when his time came.
However, by the time of his death, he had finally gotten a son in the form of Edward,
who despite only being 10-years-old at the time, became the King.
He would soon die of a fever, which would have left the role of Queen to his first daughter
Mary, daughter of Henry’s first wife Katherine of Aragon...BUT he had left his cousin Lady
Jane Grey as his successor.
Catholic Mary didn't respond well to this, and deposed Lady Jane to take the throne herself.
But, this didn't last long either, for she died of Influenza five years after taking
the throne.
Protestants in England hated her and because she didn't have any heirs, nor did she name
a successor, Elizabeth would finally become the ruler of England, Wales, and Ireland.
It should be noted though that before her rising to the throne, Elizabeth wasn't in
the best of places.
Supporters of then Queen Mary thought that Elizabeth and her supporters was part of an
uprising against Mary called "Wyatt's Rebellion".
When it was put down, Elizabeth was tried and convicted of being a conspirator.
So first she was a political prisoner of her half-sister and almost sentenced to death,
before taking the throne.
9.
She praised her mother in secret Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry’s second
wife, Anne Boleyn.
But before becoming the kings wife she had become his mistress and the people of England
were not excited about their relationship.
Because the king was married to Katherine at the time before he shunned her off to a
nunnery, they labeled her the "Great Wh**e" because of her time with King Henry VIII.
Upon becoming queen, many noted that Elizabeth didn't talk much about her mother who had
been beheaded.
Instead, she would only talk about and praise her father.
This led many to believe that she was only proud of her father, and ashamed of who her
mother was.
Instead, she was actually rather clever.
She understood that the common people didn't love her mother because of her affair with
her father.
So Elizabeth knew if she openly praised her, it would open her up to criticism.
So instead, she would praise her quietly, and showed affection for her memory and her
family.
For example, when posing for a portrait, before she became queen, she wore a pendant that
was worn famously by her mother.
Then, when she became queen, she honored her mothers' family by promoting them to various
positions within the court.
Finally, she had a pendant around her neck that she wore with a picture of her mother.
8.
She had her faults Queen Elizabeth is praised as one of the greatest
queens of England, Wales, and Ireland that history has ever seen.
She reigned for 44 years, demonstrating not only that she lived for a long time, but also
that means that she wasn’t overthrown or deposed (she died in her bed after falling
ill).
She was extremely powerful and unlike her father and her half-siblings, she was a considered
a very just ruler throughout her life.
She was fair-minded, and wanted to keep the country safe and pure, like her famous virginal
status.
For example, she didn't like religious persecution, and wanted to end the religious civil war
that had seemed to have taken over England during the time of her father, and later Mary.
She was wise in military and foreign affairs, and she never wanted war, but when she openly
engaged in it, she won.
All that being said, she wasn't a perfect queen.
For while she did well to surround herself with people who would help her and guide her...she
often made decisions at the very last minute which wasn’t great for planning and many
considered it a sign of weakness.
While she was quick to silence detractors or show up people who questioned her ability...she
was a bit vain.
She loved flattery to a fault, and when a portrait was made of her, she would examine
it with a fine-toothed comb to make sure it didn't show anything "wrong" with her.
Members of her court, and many foreigners knew that she loved flattery.
You know how it goes, flattery will get you everywhere!!
7.
She was a virgin for a reason In the ancient days of kings and queens, monarchs
had to marry to secure the bloodline and ensure a true rite of succession (which was almost
always a problem back then).
But with Queen Elizabeth I, things changed.
Whether tempered by the acts of her father, or just not wanting to give up power to a
man, she never married, nor did she ever have a child.
Over time she was called "The Virgin Queen", which signified her pure status and love for
her country.
In fact, there were cults that formed because of her "virgin status", and praised and revered
Elizabeth on a holy level.
But what was the true reason for her never getting married or having children?
There's a lot of speculation, and there were many suitors who tried to seduce her.
A single queen is very attractive.
One of the biggest reasons that is documented is her love for England.
Parliament tried to make her marry, and she bluntly replied:
“I am already bound unto a husband which is the Kingdom of England.”
Another big reason for her never marrying was the political side of things.
Elizabeth believed that if she married another monarch from another kingdom or country, it
might negatively affect England, which she wouldn't have.
There have been many other theories as to why she remained pure, including an odd theory
that she was actually...a man.
And a marriage would obviously complicate that!!
6.
The Last Tudor The one truly major downside to her not having
children or a husband was that Queen Elizabeth I was well and truly the last of her house:
The Tudors.
This house began with King Henry The VII in 1485, and when Queen Elizabeth died in 1603,
her entire family line ended.
At the very least, one could say that Elizabeth ended the family line on a positive note with
her popular and successful reign.
5.
Queen Elizabeth loved sugar...a lot It may seem odd in the world we live in now,
but back in the olden days, things like sugar was a commodity that could only be afforded
by the rich.
Such as the Queen of England.
And in fact, Queen Elizabeth was a bit notorious in certain circles for her sweet tooth.
It wasn't as simple as just loving sweets and sugar, she would literally put sugar on
just about everything that she ate or drank.
She would put sugar in her salads, in her wine, and she even brushed her teeth with
honey!
Which as many dentists would note is pretty scary!!
Her love of sweets would backfire in a big way, as her teeth would eventually rot out,
and then either fall out or have to be pulled.
With all of her missing teeth, she would do her best to maintain her image by stuffing
cloths in her mouth to make it appear more full.
Also, her breath was apparently very rank.
4.
Multilingual One of the reasons that Queen Elizabeth I
was such a great leader was because she understood how to deal with other countries, whether
they be allies, foes, or something in between.
Her Royal Court and advisors were also instrumental during these occasions, however, Elizabeth
was never afraid to deal with things herself.
To that end, she learned many languages so that she could communicate with other dignitaries
from other countries herself.
By the end of her reign, she knew how to speak Italian, French, Latin, Greek, Spanish, Flemish,
Welsh and Cornish.
Back then, they were all tools in her belt and she wouldn’t have to depend on an intermediary.
Also it was a great way to connect with people.
In fact, it was said that she not only knew them, she could speak them as if they were
her native language since birth.
3.
She cared about the poor Elizabeth was praised among both the higher
class and lower class citizens for her reign.
She was tough at times, but also fair, and she definitely knew when her country was struggling
with one thing or another.
For example, she knew that the lower class people were suffering, and so to help ease
their pain, she would help them by giving them food.
And not scraps from her table mind you, but food that they could live off of.
This might sound like something that a ruler is supposed to do anyway, but back then it
was very out of the ordinary.
In fact, Elizabeth was so driven, that she eventually created legislation that would
go into effect in 1601, two years before her death, called the "Elizabethan Poor Law",
which was basically a poverty relief program.
While Elizabeth did indeed rule on high, she was not going to abandon the people that she
pledged to serve.
2.
It took her hours to get ready Queen Elizabeth loved her appearance, as shown
by how she dressed, and how she made sure she looked good in portraits.
But when it came to her simply getting ready in the morning or ready for bed, it took a
very long time.
Back then, a queen had certain ceremonies and such that had to be performed before she
could go out in public.
By the end of her reign, she was so obsessed with her appearance that it would take hours
for her ladies in waiting to get her ready.
From putting on certain wigs to hide her grey hair, to putting on many layers of makeup
to try and give her a "youthful" appearance.
One problem though, was that many of the pastes and powders that made up her makeup were actually
toxic and damaged her skin, and she refused to use other materials because she truly believed
that they worked.
Who is going to tell her otherwise??
And this speaks nothing of her clothes, which were legendary in their number.
She had so many outfits that it could have likely fit a large town.
And they were all made with layers and layers of the most expensive materials.
Just her gloves apparently numbered around 2,000 pairs.
1.
She died of sadness In Elizabeth’s time, medicine could only
do so much and people died of all kinds of thing.
And of course kings and queens were no different.
For Elizabeth, it is said that her death was a more an emotional one, for in the course
of a few years, she lost many different friends, family members, and advisors of whom she had
a very close connection to.
In 1602, it was noted that after several friends died, Elizabeth went into a severe depression,
one that left her in a bad state.
After losing another friend in 1603, Catherine Carey, Countess of Nottingham, she fell very
sick with influenza.
But it wasn't just physically sick, her sadness and depression took over, and she would sit
on a cushion for hours on end without moving a muscle, and all attempts to rally her failed.
And at times, she wouldn't even sleep, despite advisors urging her too.
In the end, she died in the wee hours of the morning on March 24th, 1603.
Thanks for watching!
I hope you learned something new about Elizabeth I!
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