SPOTLIGHTS: QUEEN ELIZABETH I

•Elizabeth I was born in Greenwich Palace, near London, on September 7, 1533. Before Elizabeth was born, her father, King Henry VIII was married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, but only had one child, a daughter, named Mary. Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, had a daughter, named Elizabeth. Disappointed with having another daughter and not a son, Henry VIII ordered Anne Boleyn to be beheaded on the charge of adultery. Henry VIII was then free to marry another woman, his third wife, Jane Seymour and had a son, who was named Edward.

•Elizabeth had excellent tutors as a child and was well versed in French, Italian, English, Greek and Latin. When Elizabeth was 14, in 1547, King Henry VIII died and Elizabeth’s half-brother, Edward became King Edward VI. Then in 1553, when Edward VI died at the age of 16, Elizabeth’s half-sister Mary, became Queen. Mary was Catholic. Mary, known as “Bloody Mary,” persecuted the Protestants with the help of King Philip II of Spain, her husband. In 1554, following the “Wyatt’s Rebellion” (a Protestant uprising), Mary had Elizabeth imprisoned in the Tower of London, although Elizabeth had no link to the rebellion

•After Mary died in 1558, Elizabeth was next in line to become Queen of England. The people loved her and Elizabeth was crowned Queen Elizabeth I in 1559 at the age of 25. Mary had already plunged England into a costly war with France and the country’s treasury was empty. England hoped Elizabeth would bring back peace and prosperity and stop the persecution of the Protestants. Queen Elizabeth I was an extremely intelligent and a powerful diplomat.

•Queen Elizabeth I Accomplishments:
-Ended the war with France and was a diplomatic genius in handling European countries.
-Destroyed the “Spanish Armada” when the Spaniards came to attack England.
-Encouraged English literature and world exploration.
-Sponsored the establishment of a colony in the New World and Sir Francis Drake’s voyage around the world.

•Queen Elizabeth I died on March 24, 1603 at the age of 69.
The popular queen, who against the odds of being a female, made England into a prosperous world power, was buried in England’s famous Westminster Abbey.