Queen Elizabeth 1

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Daughter of King Henry and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1533 at 3 o ‘clock in the afternoon at the Greenwich palace. She had her father’s nose, fair skin and her mother’s black eyes. King Henry’s marriage with Catherine was annulled, wherefore Mary, who was only seven years old, was declared illegitimate. King Henry asked Catherine and Mary to transfer their titles to their successors Queen Anne and Princess Elizabeth, but they refused to do so. Mary was treated like a servant. She was given the job of servant together with a hundred and sixty other people. She was also given the worst room to sleep, and soon, she was excluded from the succession line when King Henry heard that the new born baby was a girl; he was very disappointed because he was expecting a son. She was the most talked-of child in Europe, just in her first days of life. When royal babies were born at that time in England, there were celebrations, but Elizabeth’s royal birth celebration went far beyond of what was usual for a royal birth celebration. King Henry decided to name the new born girl Mary, just as her half-sister, but he changed his mind and named her Elizabeth. Princess Elizabeth was moved out of the palace and taken to a nursery suite at Greenwich where her half-sister served her as her maid. King Henry became really upset with Anne Boleyn because she had not been able to bear him a male child. He decided to accuse her of adultery and infidelity to have an excuse to ordain her execution. Anne was beheaded on May 19, 1536. Princess Elizabeth was barely three years old. King Henry did not disown her even though she became illegitimate because King Henry wasn’t sure if Elizabeth was his daughter because of the rumors that started after...

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...Henry’s biggest mistake, when he spent a lot of money in the French war, which consequently cause England’s poverty. Queen Elizabeth was very interested in North America and she used “Virginia” as her name, referring to the virgin queen. Because of her express protection, the Shakespearean drama was possible. On her last speech to the parliament she said “This I count the glory of my crown: that I have reigned with your lovers”. (Queen Elizabeth 1)

Queen Elizabeth 1 died on March 24, 1603 at the Richmond Palace. She was then succeeded by James 1, son of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Works Cited

Dunn, Jane. Elizabeth and Mary: cousins, rival, queens. New York: Vintage. 2003

“Elizabeth 1”. Encyclopedia Americana. 3rd Edition.

Erickson, Carolyn. The first Elizabeth. Ney York: St, Martin Griffin. 1983

Starkey, David. Elizabeth. New York: Harper Collins publishers. 2001

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