Her brief, catastrophic reign ended after just five years. Reigned: queen of England and Ireland for 44 years, from 17 November until her death in She was the last monarch of the Tudor period. Cause of death: Hotly debated — possible causes include blood poisoning; pneumonia; streptococcus infected tonsils ; or cancer. There is a common misconception that Elizabeth thought little of her ill-fated mother, Anne Boleyn.
The fact that she hardly spoke of her and saved all of her praise for her adored father, Henry VIII, has often led to the conclusion that Elizabeth was ashamed of Anne. On the contrary: all this proved was what a great pragmatist Elizabeth was. Instead, Elizabeth chose more subtle ways to demonstrate her affection. Elizabeth was as famous a flirt as her mother, Anne Boleyn.
She loved to surround herself with the most handsome men at court, and also entertained various foreign princes all hoping for her hand in marriage. Elizabeth used her femininity to bring a male-dominated court to its knees, and gave playful nicknames to her favourites. Or was she? Elizabeth exalted in being the queen bee at court.
But although for the early part of her reign she was the most desirable bride in Europe, as her physical charms began to fade she employed dirty tactics to make sure that she kept all of the male attention to herself. Thus, while Elizabeth appeared at court bedecked in lavish gowns of rich materials and vivid colours, her ladies were obliged to wear only black or white. No matter how attractive they might be in their own right, the plain uniformity of their dress would draw all eyes to the star of the show.
To test the effect that this created, the queen once asked a visiting French nobleman what he thought of her ladies.
This was exactly the response Elizabeth required. They were also banned from observing Mass. Earlier depictions of Elizabeth suggest that her red hair was natural; her ultra-white face was created through lead-based make-up that may have led to health issues in her later life.
Elizabeth came under suspicion when the wife of her favourite, Robert Dudley, died under mysterious circumstances. This story has become a favourite for writers of mysteries and thrillers to explore in their novels. Many misogynists and conspiracy theorists have argued that, due to her extraordinary leadership qualities, noted academic brilliance, and financial acumen, Elizabeth must have been a man.
An overwhelming amount of evidence declares this notion to be false and discriminatory. Philip apparently had less compunction about creating a parallel situation with Elizabeth. Elizabeth turned Philip down and eventually fought a war against him, the Spanish Armada.
Find out more about the Spanish Armada. This argument often has classist origins — many scholars have been reluctant to ascribe some of the greatest works of literature of all time to the son of a glover from Stratford — and is almost certainly false.
Queen Elizabeth survived smallpox as a young woman, though none of the portraits of her show the scars she probably had from the disease. Understand the context, creation and significance of the Armada Portrait in our concise guide. Indulge in gifts inspired by its Elizabethan symbolism. Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England in her coronation robes.
He altered the layout of his castle, building luxurious new apartments for the Queen and her huge entourage. The entertainment lasted several days with fine banquets, jousting and spectacular firework displays. He had shown the Queen how much he adored her and, just as he had hoped, eclipsed everyone else. It was Leicester's finest hour.
No matter that the entertainment at Kenilworth practically bankrupted him. That was par for the course. Ministers longed for the glory and prestige a visit from the Queen would bestow on them, and would decorate new residences in her honour. Houses were even converted into the shape of an 'E' to flatter her. But years of work and expense often ended in disappointment when she failed to visit. Elizabeth was clever to encourage this degree of devotion. She was well aware that plots were being hatched against her and that she needed the undivided loyalty of those around her as protection.
In one such problem presented itself to Elizabeth in the shape of Mary Queen of Scots. She became Queen of Scotland aged only six days following the death of her father, and spent her early childhood with her mother in Scotland.
In the French King, Henry II, proposed that the young Mary would be an ideal wife for his son, Francis, the marriage forming a perfect alliance between the two countries at a time when England was attempting to exert control over Scotland. Mary went to live at the French court and at the age of fifteen married Francis, heir to the French throne.
Francis II reigned for only a few months with Mary as his Queen and, when he died in , Mary was left without a role. She decided to return as Queen to Scotland, agreeing to recognise the Protestant Church as long as she could privately worship as a Catholic.
The Scots regarded this with some suspicion and John Knox stirred up anti-Catholic feeling against her. It was not, however, until she married Lord Darnley in July that things took a turn for the worse. As time passed it became clear to Mary that her husband was, in fact, an arrogant bully with a drinking problem.
Now pregnant with Darnley's child she turned for support to her secretary, David Riccio. From this point on, events spiralled out of control. In March Darnley and his accomplices burst in on Mary at Holyroodhouse and stabbed Riccio to death. A year later Darnley himself was murdered, his residence in Edinburgh blown apart by an explosion. Mary had grown close to the ruthless Earl of Bothwell and rumour soon spread that Bothwell and Mary had been responsible for the murder, particularly following their hasty marriage a few weeks later.
But by now the Scots had had enough of Mary and, imprisoned at Lochleven Castle, she was forced to abdicate the Scottish throne. Her young son was crowned James VI on 29 July But Mary was not giving up without a fight. Having already shown herself to be a poor judge of character, Mary now made the huge mistake of misjudging Elizabeth.
If only she could meet her, she thought, Elizabeth would rally to her cause. Ignoring the pleas of her advisors Mary managed to escape from Lochleven and, disguised as a man, fled the country. She landed on English soil ready to meet her fellow Queen. But Elizabeth had other ideas. She had married Darnley whose lineage could be traced back to Henry VII, creating an even stronger claim.
Worse still, Elizabeth had herself been declared illegitimate in a statute which had never been formally repealed, and knew that many Catholics considered Mary to be the rightful Queen of England. Her presence in England could spark a Catholic uprising. Mary was immediately taken to stay at Carlisle Castle by one of Elizabeth's ministers but as days turned into weeks, she became suspicious.
Eventually, sent to stay in the unwelcoming Tutbury Castle, the truth dawned on her. She was a prisoner. Elizabeth, meanwhile, was paralysed by indecision.
She did not wish to meet the woman she considered her rival, but knew that if she released Mary her own life would be in danger. Elizabeth remained, however, fascinated by the Scottish Queen. Mary was said to be a great beauty who exerted a strange power over men and, whenever any minister returned from a visit to the now belligerent Mary, he was quizzed by the Queen on her looks, her clothes, her attractiveness compared to herself.
Similarly Mary would ask after Elizabeth. But the two Queens never met. As predicted, Mary quickly became the focus of plots to overthrow Elizabeth and return England to the Catholic faith.
In the Northern Uprising failed when the Catholic Earls, marching southwards, discovered that Mary had quickly been moved from Tutbury to Coventry and their plans to rescue her were thwarted. The Ridolfi Plot of went further by enlisting Spanish support to depose Elizabeth and place Mary on the throne. It was clear that, as long as Mary Queen of Scots was alive, Elizabeth's life would be in danger.
Francis Walsingham, one of Elizabeth's most loyal ministers, was acutely aware of this. He set out to nail Mary and, in , his moment came. Walsingham's spies discovered that she was secretly corresponding with a group of Catholic plotters and, having intercepted her letters, they forged a postscript in her hand asking for the identities of those involved.
The names and details were duly supplied by the plotters. At last Walsingham had proof of her guilt. But she was not allowed a lawyer and, attempting to defend herself, was not even permitted to consult her own papers.
Found guilty of treason, Mary was sentenced to death. Problem solved. But Walsingham had reckoned without the Queen's reluctance to sign the execution warrant.
To Elizabeth, Mary was a fellow Queen. To execute any Queen was a precedent she did not wish to set, for her own sake. She also feared that Mary's relations in Europe would take revenge on England. As the weeks passed, Elizabeth procrastinated. For someone who disliked making decisions, this was torture.
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