Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was the Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 to her death. She was also called Good Queen Bess or the Virgin Queen or Gloriana.

Elizabeth I
The Darnley portrait, 1575
Queen of England and Ireland
Reign	17 November 1558 – 24 March 1603
Coronation	15 January 1559
Predecessors	Mary I and Philip
Successor	James I
Born	Elizabeth Tudor of Greenwich 7 September 1533 Palace of Placentia, Greenwich, England
Died	24 March 1603(1603-03-24) (aged 69) Richmond Palace, Surrey, England
Burial	Westminster Abbey
Lover	Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Issue	Robert Dudley (disputed)
House	House of Tudor
Father	Henry VIII
Mother	Anne Boleyn
Religion	Church of England
Signature

She was the daughter of King Henry VIII of England and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, and was the last of the Tudor dynasty of monarchs. When Boleyn was disgraced at court and executed, Elizabeth's life became a troubled one, including being locked up in the Tower of London, an old prison, since she was suspected of helping Queen Mary I of England's enemies.

However, Elizabeth reigned with intelligence and hard work. Her reign was distinguished with great achievements in the arts, trade, and exploration. She ably defended her country through the days of the Spanish Armada. She never married but claimed that she was married to England. She also had a few other favourites, including the Earl of Leicester. At her death in 1603, King James VI of Scotland was named her successor.

Early life

Elizabeth was born in 1533 at Greenwich, England. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII of England and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. She had an older half-sister, Mary, and, later, a younger half-brother Edward.^[1]

Princess Elizabeth around her father’s death, age 13.

Elizabeth was given a good education. She could speak and read six languages: her native English, as well as French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, and Latin.^[2]

When she was thirteen-and-a-half years old, on 28 January 1547, Henry died. Elizabeth's half-brother, Edward, became King Edward VI of England. He died age 15. Mary succeeded him in 1553, and after her death in 1558, Elizabeth became queen.^[1]

Reign

Elizabeth I in her coronation robes

Mary I had brought back the Catholic Church to England. Elizabeth returned the nation to the Church of England of her father. She, however, retain some of the Catholic traditions. She wanted her subjects to make it look like as if they were Protestant even if they were not.^[2]

The years of Elizabeth's reign had many artistic achievements. William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser and other writers created enduring drama and poetry. The composers Thomas Tallis and William Byrd worked at Elizabeth's court.^[2]

During her reign, many men sought adventure abroad. Elizabeth rented a slave ship to John Hawkins and gave him weapons and equipment to keep slave trading.^[3][4] Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Humphrey Gilbert and other "sea dogs" looted Spanish ships. They also sailed to the Americas.^[5] In 1580, Drake became the first Englishman to sail around the world.^[2] The expeditions of these men prepared England to join the Age of Discovery and international trade and to own other parts of the world. In 1600, Elizabeth herself founded a trading company, known as the East India Company, which would become an important tool of the British Empire.^[1]

Spanish Armada

Route taken by the Spanish Armada

"Armada Portrait" of Elizabeth

England and Spain had long quarrelled. Elizabeth encouraged Protestants in the Spanish-held Netherlands to rebel against Spain. She also encouraged her "sea dogs" to raid Spanish ships. In 1588, King Philip II of Spain sent an armada (a large fleet of ships) to invade England.

Elizabeth met her troops at Tilbury and told them, "I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king – and of a King of England too".^[2]

The Spanish Armada was met by England's smaller ships on 29 July 1588, which defeated the Spanish. The Armada was driven by southwest winds to the north. The English fleet harried it up the east coast of England. The Armada returned to Spain around northern Scotland and south around Ireland. Bad weather near Scotland and Ireland wrecked some of the ships. More than a third of the ships failed to return to Spain.^[5]

Noblemen

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester

Elizabeth never married, and she had no children. However, she was fond of several noblemen in her court. Prominent among them was Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. Later, she turned to Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. However, he later wanted to overthrow the government of the Queen. He was defeated and executed.^[6]

Death

Elizabeth died at Richmond Palace on 24 March 1603. The Protestant King of Scotland, James VI, became King Jmaes I of England. He was the son of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots.^[2]

Elizabeth I was the last Tudor monarch and reigned for 44 years. Her accession date was a national holiday for 200 years.^[1]