Elizabeth I Childhood Maturity to Scrutiny!
Born a princess and born to lead. Her parents were Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
At the age of four, her brother was born, the future Edward VI.
Her life would be monumental. Yet, her beginnings were traumatic. She would suffer
deprivation and adult obsession. We now look at the early years of Elizabeth Tudor
If Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn had been around through their daughter's life,
it's pretty easy to say they would have been very impressed as to how their
Elizabeth turned out. Unfortunately, that would of course never happen.
Elizabeth was the second child of Henry's and his second wife Anne. At birth,
Elizabeth was classed as heir presumptive due to her half sister Mary, being
tagged as illegitimate from Henry's first outing into the world of marriage to
Catherine of Aragon. Henry as we know had one main aim in life: to bring a boy
into the world to ensure the Tudor succession. Elizabeth was baptised on
September the 10th 1533 by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. In 1536, Elizabeth would
lose her mother, who was beheaded. This was just four months after the death of
Catherine of Aragon. Almost immediately Elizabeth found herself in the same
state as her half sister, one of illegitimacy. King Henry found a new love in
Jane Seymour, and they went on to have a baby boy, the future Edward VI.
It was now time to turn her attention to education. Elizabeth's first governess was
Margaret Bryan, and in 1537, Katherine KAT Ashley took over the reins. She in
fact remain friends with Elizabeth up until she died in 1565.
Elizabeth was a clever girl she learnt languages and by the age of 12, she could successfully
translate her stepmother Catherine Parr's religious meditations from English
into Italian, Latin and French. Most of this work was carried out under her much
admired tutor of the times, William Grindal. For most of her life, she continued
to translate words by some of the leading classical authors.
In 1548, Grindal died, and Elizabeth continued to be educated, this time under the tutorship of
Roger Ascham. He was a man who believed teaching should fun and engaging,
a trait not generally associated with the day. Ascham kept records of
Elizabeth's life at school, which is why we know so much today about her time.
By the end of her education, it has been said Elizabeth was one of the best-educated
ladies of her generation. The Venetian Ambassador once said of her that she
possessed the art of language so clearly, it was as though she was talking in a
native tongue. That's a bit like getting a gold star in your English book today.
When Elizabeth's father Henry passed away in 1547, it would be her half brother
Edward, now nine years old, who would take the throne of England. Catherine
Parr, Henry's final wife moved in different circles, and became infatuated with
Thomas Seymour. However, it said there was always something between them even
when Henry was alive. Catherine married Thomas Seymour, the first Baron Seymour
of Sudeley; his brother was Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. They were
were both uncle's to the new King Edward.
Catherine and Thomas took Elizabeth into their care they lived in Chelsea. At this point, Elizabeth suffered one
event that troubled her for the rest of her life. Thomas not content with his
new wife would engage himself in unsavoury play. What started out as "playful
romps" would soon turn into something more! It's been stated that he would enter her
bedroom wearing only his nightgown, tickling and slapping her backside.
Elizabeth would have been horrified at this attention as any young lady would.
It came to the point where Elizabeth would have her ladies surrounding her room
early in the morning to stop the threat of any more of these inappropriate activities.
Yet it wasn't just Thomas who did the deed. His wife also played
along. She accompanied Thomas on two occasions. Once where Catherine held down
Elizabeth Thomas ripped her dress off. This is harrowing by today's standards
never mind the 16th century! But this frigtening saga would soon end abrubtly
when Catherine caught Thomas and Elizabeth in an embrace. Whether she became
jealous or quite possibly feared for Elizabeth, this would be the end of the
matter. In May 1548, Elizabeth was sent away.
Although you'd think Elizabeth was now safe and away from the hands of Seymour, it wouldn't be so easy.
Thomas continued to scheme to gain access to the princess. Catherine Parr had died after
giving birth on September 5 1548. It was now that Thomas thoughts turned
once again to Elizabeth, but this time with the intention of marrying her. Elizabeth's
Elizabeth's friend Kat Ashley urged Elizabeth to take up the offer. Ashley thought Thomas
was a good guy and would be a great catch. She asked Elizabeth to write to him
and give him some comfort after the passing of his wife; it would also allow
them to become more acquainted.
But Elizabeth refused. The life of Thomas was as up and down as any rollercoaster
could be. By January 1549, he was arrested and taken to the Tower of
London. The charge was of trying to depose his brother, Somerset, as protector
and by attempting to marry Lady Jane Grey, to King Edward VI, and to top
that off, take Elizabeth as his own wife. Elizabeth was clever she was not about
to be pulled into a conspiracy with Seymour. At this time, Elizabeth was living
at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire. Sir Robert Tyrwhitt was the man sent to
discover more and question her at length. But Elizabeth stuck to her story and gave nothing away.
Tyrwhitt reported back, saying "I do see it in her face that she is guilty"
As for Thomas Seymour, his treasonable behaviour brought only one outcome,
he was beheaded on March 20 1549. Edward VI had passed away on July 6 1553,
at the tender age of just 15. But controversy rose after the reading
of his Will. He had excluded both Mary and Elizabeth from the succession
unbelievably declared that Lady Jane Grey should take the throne. So Jane was
proclaimed Queen by the Privy Council, but support for her realm soon
disappeared, and after only 9 days, she was removed. On August 3 1553,
Mary rode into London with Elizabeth at her side. A new era was about to
begin. This would be the age of Bloody Mary.
The sisters, although together now in harmony would not last long. Religion would be the primary cause for their split.
Mary was a devout catholic, unlike Elizabeth, who had been educated into
the Protestant lifestyle, but upon orders from Mary insisted everyone must
now take part in mass, and this included Elizabeth, who went along with the command.
At first, Mary was seen as the saviour of the Catholic church in England.
Still, the resulting relationship with Philip of Spain would slowly decay that
initial love. Philip was also an active catholic. By now the public
persona of Mary slipped further due to the persecution of protestants.
Now was a time of discontent around the country. Many people looked to Elizabeth to
bring some stability to the situation and attempt to alleviate themselves of
Mary's quite outlandish religious policies. But this now a conflict within
the House of Tudor, something that had never been seen before.
In 1554 a rebellion broke out; Wyatt was the main conspirator behind the plan. However,
this was soon stopped in its tracks. Elizabeth, who was now considered an enemy
by Mary was brought to court and interrogated regarding her role in the
rebellion. On March the 18th, she was imprisoned at the Tower of London. It had
been suggested Elizabeth would not have taken part in any such undertaking,
although it was reported that some of the individuals involved spoke with her.
Elizabeth's calmness and ability to identify the accusations, held
her in good stead. She knew exactly how this was panning out, and if she held
her nerve, things would still return to some sort of normality. There was now a
It was now a real test of character for both sisters. Mary's closest friend at court Simon
Renard, Charles V's ambassador, stated that Mary's reign would never be
safe while Elizabeth lived. Even Stephen Gardiner, the chancellor at the time,
worked tirelessly to get Elizabeth placed on trial. But Elizabeth had friends to
one was Lord Paget, who spoke with Mary and eventually convinced her that
there was no hard evidence to implicate Elizabeth in anything untoward.
On May 22, Elizabeth was finally released from the Tower and moved to Woodstock.
She would spend a year under house arrest.
April 17 1555, another massive turning point was now taking shape. Elizabeth was recalled to court It was said
that Mary was apparently pregnant, but then if she gave birth and then died,
Elizabeth would become queen. However, if Mary did give birth to a healthy
child, it would be unlikely that Elizabeth would ever become Queen herself. It
It was now that whispers broke out that Mary was not pregnant, to the point
that no one even thought she was capable of having children, it wasn't something
they would say out loud. This was great news for Elizabeth for now,
her succession was almost assured.
In the background was Philip; he had now ascended to the throne in Spain in 1556.
He acted quickly to bring onboard Elizabeth, who he trusted more than the
alternative Mary, Queen of Scots. But it's suggested there was more to this!
Philip had a crush on Elizabeth and quite possibly thought about marrying her
if anything happened to his wife Mary. When his wife and Queen of England Mary
fell ill in 1558. Philip sent an envoy, the Count of Feria, to discuss
and consult Elizabeth on the matter. The talks were held at Hatfield House,
a place she had returned to in 1555. In October 1558, Elizabeth was now making plans
to succeed her sister. Her government was being put together, and things were about
to change. Mary now recognised Elizabeth as heir to the throne. on November 17 1558,
Mary died; it was the end of dark days for some, as now, Elizabeth
would become Queen of England. The last of the Tudor monarchs was about to start
her reign. She would go on to become a legend in her own lifetime.