Queen Elizabeth I Essay -- essays research papers fc

Elizabeth I King Henry VIII wanted a son. He had been married for seventeen long years and had only been given a daughter named Mary. Someday one of his children would rule England and it was supposed to be a boy. Henry decided he wanted a younger wife who could bear many children, so he formed his own church and re-married Anne Boleyn. This began the life of Elizabeth. Elizabeth was born on Sunday, September 7th 1533 at three o’ clock in the afternoon. To the King, Anne seemed unable to have any more children. She became pregnant three more times after Elizabeth, only to lose the baby. When Elizabeth was three years old her mother was beheaded for treason and adultery. Henry had his marriage to Anne declared invalid, making Elizabeth illegitimate. His new wife, Jane Seymour finally gave him a son. His name was Edward. Jane died after childbirth and Henry married three more times and had no other children. Now that England had a Prince Elizabeth wasn’t so important. She didn’t live with her father at court, but instead she grew up at the palace of Hatfield, where she had her own governess, servants, and teachers. Elizabeth’s teachers were great university scholars. One of her teachers said that her mind had no womanly weakness and that her perseverance and memory were equal to that of a man. When Elizabeth was thirte en, Henry died and her nine year old brother, Edward became King. Edward who had never been strong or healthy died six years after becoming King. The throne was left to Elizabeth’s half sister, Princess Mary. Mary was married to Prince Philip of Spain. Mary was determined to restore Catholicism to England even if it took violence. Many of the Protestants wanted to get rid of Mary and have Elizabeth take over the throne. Mary found out about this and had Elizabeth locked up in the very tower her mother had been in before she was killed. Elizabeth waited in fear for two months. She was finally released because Mary could find no evidence against her. Elizabeth was sent to a far away palace, with only four decent rooms, where she was kept under house arrest. When some of Mary’s subjects stayed faithful to their Protestant faith she burned almost three hundred of them for heresy. This is where she got the nickname "Bloody Mary." On November 17, 1558, after ruling for five sh... ...er let it happen. She was strong. Elizabeth lived to a greater age than any English ruler before her. When Elizabeth was seventy, her health faded. She named Mary’s son James VI of Scotland as her successor. On March 24, 1603, after 45 years of reigning, Elizabeth died peacefully in her sleep. And the age she lived in was called the Elizabethan age. Elizabeth contributed so much to the people of her time and even to the people of today. Without Elizabeth we would have never been able to enjoy the work of William Shakespeare. She showed everyone that a woman could do "a man’s job." Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Speech: "Though you have had - and may have - many mightier and wiser princes sitting in this seat, yet you never had - nor shall have - any that will love you better." BIBLIOGRAPHY Stanley, Diane and Vennema, Peter, Good Queen Bess NY: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1990 Starkey, David, Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2000 Thomas, Jane Resh, Behind the Mask: The Life of Queen Elizabeth I NY: Clarion Books, 1998 Weir, Allison, The Life of Elizabeth I NY: Ballantine Books, 1998