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4<meta name="author" content="Marilee Mongello">
5<meta name="content" content="Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana">
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11<title>Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</title>
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15
16<body link="#0000FF" vlink="#0000FF" alink="#0000FF">
17
18<table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
19 <tr>
20 <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
21 <td valign="top" width="50%" height="29"><p align="center">&nbsp;</td>
22 <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
23 </tr>
24 <tr>
25 <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
26 <td width="50%" height="3">
27 <p align="center">
28 <IMG height=98 alt="Queen Elizabeth I"
29 src="eliz1-queenuse.gif" width=422></td>
30 <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
31 </tr>
32 <tr>
33 <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
34 <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
35 <p align="center">
36 <IMG height=444
37 alt="'The Rainbow Portrait' of Elizabeth I, c1600"
38 src="eliz1-rainbow.jpg" width=350 align=center border=2><blockquote>
39 <p align="left">
40 &nbsp;</blockquote>
41 <DIV align=left>Visit
42 <a href="http://www.marileecody.com/eliz1-images.html">Elizabethan
43 Images</a> to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with
44 commentary.<BR>Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at <A
45 href="../primary.html">Primary
46 Sources</A>.<BR>&nbsp;</DIV>
47 <DIV align=left>Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen
48 Elizabeth I at <a href="../secondary.html">
49 Secondary Sources</a>.<BR>&nbsp;</DIV>
50 <DIV align=left>Visit <A
51 href="boleyn.html">the Anne
52 Boleyn website</A> to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.<BR>Visit <A
53 href="../relative/maryqos.html">the Mary,
54 queen of Scots website</A> to learn more about Elizabeth's
55 cousin.<BR><BR>Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at <A
56 href="../tudor1.html">Tudor
57 Quizzes</A>.</DIV>
58 <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
59 <DIV align=left>Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
60 <a href="http://www.alassea.net/fl/elizabeth/">The Virgin Queen
61 fanlisting</a>.</DIV>
62 <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
63 </td>
64 <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
65 </tr>
66</table>
67
68<blockquote>
69 <blockquote>
70 <blockquote>
71 <p>&nbsp;</p>
72 <p><B>Elizabeth Tudor is considered by many to be the greatest monarch in
73 English history.&nbsp; When she became queen in 1558, she was twenty-five
74 years old, a survivor of scandal and danger, and considered illegitimate
75 by most Europeans.&nbsp; She inherited a bankrupt nation, torn by
76 religious discord, a weakened pawn between the great powers of France and
77 Spain.&nbsp; She was only the third queen to rule England in her own
78 right; the other two examples, her cousin Lady Jane Grey and half-sister
79 Mary I, were disastrous.&nbsp; Even her supporters believed her position
80 dangerous and uncertain.&nbsp; Her only hope, they counseled, was to marry
81 quickly and lean upon her husband for support.&nbsp; But Elizabeth had
82 other ideas.&nbsp;</B> <BR><B>She ruled alone for nearly half a century,
83 lending her name to a glorious epoch in world history.&nbsp; She dazzled
84 even her greatest enemies.&nbsp; Her sense of duty was admirable, though
85 it came at great personal cost.&nbsp; She was committed above all else to
86 preserving English peace and stability; her genuine love for her subjects
87 was legendary.&nbsp; Only a few years after her death in 1603, they
88 lamented her passing.&nbsp; In her greatest speech to Parliament, she told
89 them, 'I count the glory of my crown that I have reigned with your
90 love.'&nbsp; And five centuries later, the worldwide love affair with
91 Elizabeth Tudor continues.</B></p>
92 <hr>
93 </blockquote>
94 </blockquote>
95 <p><font size="4">'Proud
96 and haughty, as although she knows she was born of such a mother, she
97 nevertheless does not consider herself of inferior degree to the Queen,
98 whom she equals in self-esteem; nor does she believe herself less
99 legitimate than her Majesty, alleging in her own favour that her mother
100 would never cohabit with the King unless by way of marriage, with the
101 authority of the Church....&nbsp; <BR>She prides herself on her father and
102 glories in him; everybody saying that she also resembles him more than the
103 Queen does and he therefore always liked her and had her brought up in the
104 same way as the Queen.' </font><FONT size=-1>&nbsp; <I>the Venetian
105 ambassador Giovanni Michiel describes Elizabeth; spring 1557</I></FONT></p>
106 <blockquote>
107 <blockquote>
108 <hr>
109 <p>Elizabeth Tudor was born on 7 September 1533 at Greenwich
110 Palace.&nbsp; She was the daughter of <A
111 href="henry8.html">King Henry
112 VIII</A> and his second wife, <A
113 href="boleyn.html">Anne
114 Boleyn</A>.&nbsp; Henry had <A
115 href="../faq.html#Eleven-b">defied the
116 papacy</A> and the Holy Roman Emperor to marry Anne, spurred on by love
117 and the need for a legitimate male heir.&nbsp; And so Elizabeth's birth
118 was one of the most exciting political events in 16th century European
119 history; rarely had so much turmoil occurred on behalf of a mere
120 infant.&nbsp; But the confident predictions of astrologers and physicians
121 were wrong and the longed-for prince turned out to be a princess.&nbsp;
122 </p>
123 <P>Eustace Chapuys, the Imperial ambassador and enemy of Anne Boleyn,
124 described the birth to his master as 'a
125 <IMG height=324 alt="portrait of Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn"
126 src="elizmom.jpg" width=250 border=2 align="left">great disappointment and sorrow to
127 the King, the Lady herself and to others of her party.'&nbsp; But for the
128 next two years, Henry VIII was willing to hope for a son to join this
129 healthy daughter.&nbsp; Immediately after Elizabeth's birth, he wrote to
130 his 17 year old daughter, <A
131 href="mary1.html">Princess
132 Mary</A>, and demanded she relinquish her title Princess of Wales and
133 acknowledge both the annulment of his marriage to her mother, <A
134 href="aragon.html">Katharine of
135 Aragon</A>, and the validity of his new marriage.&nbsp; Mary refused; she
136 already blamed Anne Boleyn (and, by extension, Elizabeth) for the sad
137 alteration of her own fortunes.&nbsp; In December, she was moved into her
138 infant half-sister's household.&nbsp; When told to pay her respects to the
139 baby Princess, she replied that she knew of no Princess of England but
140 herself, and burst into tears.&nbsp; </P>
141 <P>Henry already ignored Mary and Katharine's constant pleas to meet; now
142 he began a more aggressive campaign to secure Anne and Elizabeth's
143 position.&nbsp; For one mother and daughter to be secure, the other pair
144 must necessarily suffer.&nbsp; Most Europeans, and indeed Englishmen,
145 still believed Katharine to be the king's valid wife.&nbsp; Now old and
146 sickly, imprisoned in one moldy castle after another, she remained a very
147 popular figure.&nbsp; Anne Boleyn was dismissed in polite circles as the
148 king's 'concubine' and their marriage was recognized only by those of the new
149 Protestant faith.&nbsp; Henry attempted to legislate popular acceptance of
150 his new queen and heiress.&nbsp; But the various acts and oaths only cost
151 the lives of several prominent Catholics, among them <A
152 href="../citizens/more.html">Sir Thomas
153 More</A> and Bishop John Fisher.&nbsp; The English people never accepted
154 'Nan Bullen' as their queen.&nbsp; </P>
155 <P>But while she had the king's personal favor, Elizabeth's mother was
156 secure.&nbsp; And she held that favor far longer than any had
157 expected.&nbsp; It was only after she miscarried twice that Henry began to
158 consider this second marriage as cursed as the first.&nbsp; The last
159 miscarriage occurred in January 1536; Katharine died that same
160 month.&nbsp; With her death, the king's Catholic critics considered him a
161 widower, free to marry again.&nbsp; And this next marriage would not be
162 tainted by the specter of bigamy.&nbsp; It was only necessary to get rid
163 of Anne, and find a new wife - one who could hopefully deliver a
164 son.&nbsp; The king already had a candidate in mind; her name was <A
165 href="seymour.html">Jane
166 Seymour</A>, a lady-in-waiting to both Katharine and Anne.&nbsp; </P>
167 <P>In the end, Henry VIII was not merely content to annul his marriage to
168 Anne.&nbsp; She was arrested, charged with a variety of crimes which even
169 her enemies discounted, and executed on 19 May 1536.&nbsp; Her little
170 daughter was now in the same position as her half-sister, Princess
171 Mary.&nbsp; However, all of Europe and most Englishmen considered Mary to
172 be Henry's legitimate heir, despite legislation to the contrary.&nbsp; No
173 one believed Elizabeth to be more than the illegitimate daughter of the
174 king.&nbsp; Also, there were already disparaging rumors of her mother's
175 infidelities; perhaps the solemn, red-headed child was not the king's
176 after all?&nbsp; It was to Henry's (small) credit that he always
177 acknowledged Elizabeth as his own, and took pride in her intellectual
178 accomplishments.&nbsp; As she grew older, even Catholic courtiers noted
179 Elizabeth resembled her father more than Mary did.&nbsp; </P>
180 <P>Henry married Jane just twelve days after Anne's execution and his
181 long-awaited son, <A
182 href="edward6.html">Prince
183 Edward</A>, was born in October 1537.&nbsp; Elizabeth participated in the
184 christening, carried by Thomas Seymour, the handsome young brother of the
185 queen.&nbsp; Jane died shortly after the birth of childbed fever.&nbsp;
186 Henry VIII married <A
187 href="cleves.html">Anne of
188 Cleves</A> on Twelfth Night (6 January) 1541.&nbsp; The marriage was a disaster,
189 and Henry quickly divorced Anne and married <A
190 href="howard.html">Catherine
191 Howard</A>.&nbsp; Catherine was a cousin of Anne Boleyn; they were both
192 related to Thomas Howard, 3rd duke of Norfolk and perhaps Henry's most
193 nervous peer.&nbsp; The king enjoyed a brief few months of happiness with
194 his fifth wife.&nbsp; But Catherine was thirty years younger than Henry
195 and soon enough resumed an affair with a former lover.&nbsp; She was
196 executed in February 1543 and buried beside Anne Boleyn in the Tower of
197 London.&nbsp; </P>
198 <P>For Elizabeth, these changes in her father's marital fortunes did not
199 pass unnoticed.&nbsp; She was part of her half-brother Edward's household;
200 her days were spent mostly at lessons, with the occasional visit from her
201 father.&nbsp; As a child, no one expected her to comment upon her
202 various stepmothers.&nbsp; It was only when she reached adulthood and
203 became queen that its psychological effects were revealed.&nbsp; Elizabeth
204 had a dim view of romantic love and, given her father's example, who can
205 blame her?&nbsp; </P>
206 <P>It was Henry's sixth and final wife, <A
207 href="parr.html">Katharine
208 Parr</A>, who had the greatest impact upon Elizabeth's life.&nbsp; A kind
209 woman who believed passionately in<img border="2" src="eliz1-scrots.jpg" align="right" alt="Princess Elizabeth, c1546, attributed to William Scrots" width="370" height="495"> education and religious reform,
210 Katharine was a devoted stepmother.&nbsp; Understandably, she had far more
211 of an impact with the young Edward and Elizabeth than with Mary, who was
212 just four years her junior.&nbsp; Katharine arranged for 10 year old
213 Elizabeth to have the most distinguished tutors in England, foremost among
214 them Roger Ascham.&nbsp; As a result, Elizabeth was educated as well as
215 any legitimate prince, and she displayed a genuine love and aptitude for
216 her studies.&nbsp; 'Her mind has no womanly weakness,' Ascham would write
217 approvingly, 'her perseverance is equal to that of a man.'&nbsp; And
218 later, 'She readeth more Greek every day, than some Prebendaries of this
219 Church do in a whole week.'&nbsp; And so she did; Elizabeth's love of
220 scholarship never faltered and, in an age when women were considered
221 inferior to men, she was a glorious exception.&nbsp; </P>
222 <P>
223 Along with
224 such classical subjects as rhetoric, languages, philosophy, and history,
225 Elizabeth also studied theology.&nbsp; Ascham and her other tutors were
226 famous Cambridge humanists who supported the Protestant cause.&nbsp;
227 Likewise, Katharine Parr was devoted to the reformed faith.&nbsp; Unlike
228 their half-sister Mary, both Edward and Elizabeth were raised Protestant
229 during its most formative years.&nbsp; Yet while Edward was known for his
230 piety and didacticism, Elizabeth already displayed the pragmatic character
231 which would make her reign successful.&nbsp; She studied theology and
232 supported the Protestant cause; she had been raised to do so and knew
233 only Protestants recognized her parents' marriage.&nbsp; But she was never
234 openly passionate about religion, recognizing its divisive role in English
235 politics.&nbsp; </P>
236 <P>&nbsp;Most people viewed the adolescent Elizabeth as a serious young
237 woman who always carried a book with her, preternaturally composed.&nbsp;
238 She encouraged this perception, which was as accurate as any, by dressing
239 with a degree of severity virtually absent at the Tudor royal court.&nbsp;
240 But she was not so serious that she avoided all the material trappings of
241 her position.&nbsp; Her household accounts, which came under the
242 management of William Cecil (who later became her secretary of state),
243 show evidence of a cultivated and lively mind, as well as a love of
244 entertainment:&nbsp; fees for musicians, musical instruments, and a
245 variety of books.&nbsp; As she grew older and her position more prominent,
246 her household also expanded.&nbsp; During her brother Edward's reign, she
247 lived the life of a wealthy and privileged lady - and apparently enjoyed
248 it immensely.&nbsp; </P>
249 <P>Elizabeth was thirteen years old when her father died.&nbsp; They
250 were never particularly close though he treated her with affection on her
251 few visits to his court.&nbsp; He even occasionally discussed the
252 possibility of her marriage for, in the 16th century, royal bastards were
253 common and often used to great advantage in diplomacy.&nbsp; Under the
254 1536 'Second Act of Succession', which declared both her and the 19 year
255 old Mary illegitimate, Parliament gave Henry the ability to determine his
256 children's status, as well as the actual succession.&nbsp; Typically for
257 Henry, he simply let both his daughters live as princesses and gave them
258 precedence over everyone at court except his current wife.&nbsp; But they
259 had no real claim to the title of 'princess' and were known as 'the lady
260 Elizabeth' and 'the lady Mary'.&nbsp; This was often followed by the
261 explanatory 'the king's daughter.'&nbsp; It was an awkward situation which
262 the king saw no reason to resolve.&nbsp; His will did recognize his
263 daughters' crucial place in the succession.&nbsp; If Edward died without
264 heirs, Mary would inherit the throne; if Mary died without heirs,
265 Elizabeth would become queen.&nbsp; He also left them the substantial
266 income of 3000 pds a year, the same amount for each daughter.&nbsp; </P>
267 <P>Did Elizabeth mourn her father?&nbsp; Undoubtedly so, for at least
268 under Henry VIII she was three steps from the throne and protected by his
269 rough paternal affection.&nbsp; After his death, she had good cause to
270 wish him alive again.&nbsp; Ten year old Edward was king in name
271 only.&nbsp; The rule of England was actually in the hands of his uncle,
272 the Lord Protector Edward Seymour, soon titled duke of Somerset.&nbsp;
273 Elizabeth was now separated from her brother's household, moving to
274 Katharine Parr's home in Chelsea.&nbsp; This was perhaps the happiest time
275 of her adolescence.&nbsp; </P>
276 <P>But Katharine married again quickly, to the man she had loved before
277 Henry VIII had claimed her.&nbsp; Her new husband was Thomas Seymour, the
278 younger brother of Lord Protector Somerset and uncle to the new King
279 Edward.&nbsp; He was handsome, charming, and very ambitious.&nbsp; He also
280 had terrible political instincts.&nbsp; Seymour was not content to be
281 husband of the Dowager Queen of England.&nbsp; He was jealous of his
282 brother's position and desperate to upstage him.&nbsp; And so he
283 inadvertently played into the hands of the equally ambitious John Dudley,
284 earl of Warwick.&nbsp; Dudley wished to destroy the Seymour protectorship
285 and seize power for himself.&nbsp; He allowed the feuding brothers to
286 destroy each other.&nbsp; </P>
287 <P>For Elizabeth, the main problem with Seymour was his inappropriate and
288 very flirtatious behavior.&nbsp; As a teenaged girl with little experience
289 of men, she was flattered by his attention and also a bit
290 frightened.&nbsp; Certainly it placed great strain on Katharine Parr, who
291 had become pregnant soon after her marriage.&nbsp; The queen originally
292 participated in Seymour's early morning raids into Elizabeth's room, where
293 he would tickle and wrestle with the girl in her nightdress.&nbsp; But
294 while Katharine considered this simple fun, her husband was more
295 serious.&nbsp; He soon had keys made for every room in their house and
296 started visiting Elizabeth while she was still asleep and he was clad in
297 just his nightshirt.&nbsp; She soon developed the habit of rising early;
298 when he appeared, her nose was safely in a book. Edward's council heard
299 rumors of these romps and investigated.&nbsp; Elizabeth proved herself
300 circumspect and clever; she managed to admit nothing which would
301 offend&nbsp; </P>
302 <P>She left the Seymour home for Hatfield House in May 1548, ostensibly
303 because the queen was 'undoubtful of health'.&nbsp; Elizabeth and
304 Katharine exchanged affectionate letters, but they would not meet
305 again.&nbsp; The queen died on 4 September 1548 of childbed fever.&nbsp;
306 </P>
307 <P>After her death, Seymour's position became more dangerous.&nbsp; It was
308 rumored that he wished to marry Elizabeth and thus secure the throne of
309 England in case Edward died young.&nbsp; He had already bought the
310 wardship of <A
311 href="../relative/janegrey.html">Lady Jane
312 Grey</A>, a Tudor cousin and heir in Henry VIII's will.&nbsp; He planned
313 to marry Jane and Edward, thus securing primary influence with his
314 nephew.&nbsp; Eventually, his grandiose plans unraveled and he was
315 arrested.&nbsp; Perhaps the most damning charge was his planned marriage
316 to Elizabeth.&nbsp; Immediately, the council sent Sir Robert Tyrwhit to
317 Hatfield with the mission to take control of Elizabeth's household and
318 gain her confession.&nbsp; He immediately arrested Elizabeth's beloved
319 governess Kat Ashley and her cofferer, Thomas Parry; they were sent to the
320 Tower.&nbsp; Now, Tyrwhit told the princess, confess all; he wanted
321 confirmation of the charge that Seymour and Elizabeth planned to
322 wed.&nbsp; If she confessed, Tyrwhit said, she would be forgiven for she
323 was young and foolish - her servants should have protected her.&nbsp; </P>
324 <P>
325 <IMG height=122 alt="Elizabeth's signature as Princess of England"
326 src="elizsig-sm.jpg" width=200 align=left border=2>Elizabeth did not hesitate to demonstrate her own wit and
327 learning.&nbsp; Indeed, she drove Tyrwhit to exasperation; 'in no way will
328 she confess any practice by Mistress Ashley or the cofferer concerning my
329 lord Admiral; and yet I do see it in her face that she is guilty and do
330 perceive as yet she will abide more storms ere she accuse Mistress
331 Ashley,' he wrote to Somerset, 'I do assure your Grace she hath a very
332 good wit and nothing is gotten of her but by great policy.'&nbsp;
333 Elizabeth refused to scapegoat her loyal servants and defiantly asserted
334 her complete innocence.&nbsp; She told Tyrwhit she cared nothing for the
335 Admiral and when he had mentioned some vague possibility of marriage, she
336 had referred him to the council.&nbsp; She also secured permission to
337 write to Somerset and, upon doing so, demanded a public apology be made
338 regarding her innocence.&nbsp; She also demanded the return of her loyal
339 servants for if they did not return, she said, her guilt would be
340 assumed.&nbsp; She read Ashley and Parry's 'confessions' in which they
341 described Seymour's romps with her at Katharine Parr's home.&nbsp; The
342 details were undoubtedly embarrassing but she recognized their
343 harmlessness.&nbsp; In short, she demonstrated every aspect of her
344 formidable intelligence and determination.&nbsp; Poor Tyrwhit left for
345 London with no damaging confession.&nbsp; </P>
346 <P>But the council didn't need Elizabeth's confession to execute
347 Seymour.&nbsp; He was charged with thirty-three other crimes, and he
348 answered only three of the charges.&nbsp; He was not given a trial; a
349 messy execution was always best passed by a Bill of Attainder.&nbsp; He
350 was executed on 20 March 1549, dying 'very dangerously, irksomely,
351 horribly... a wicked man and the realm is well rid of him.'&nbsp; Contrary
352 to some biographies, Elizabeth did not say, 'This day died a man with much
353 wit, and very little judgment.'&nbsp; The 17th century Italian novelist
354 Leti invented this, as well as several forged letters long supposed to be
355 hers.&nbsp; </P>
356 <P>Soon enough, Seymour's brother followed him to the scaffold.&nbsp;
357 Somerset was a kind man in private life and genuinely dedicated to
358 economic and religious reform in England but, as a politician, he failed
359 miserably.&nbsp; He lacked charisma and confidence; he preferred to bully
360 and bluster his way through council meetings.&nbsp; He simply did not
361 understand how to manage the divisive personalities of Edward VI's privy
362 council.&nbsp; Meanwhile, John Dudley had been quietly manipulating other
363 councilors and the young king to gain ascendancy.&nbsp; Upon Somerset's
364 execution, Dudley became Lord Protector; he was also titled duke of
365 Northumberland.&nbsp; He was the first non-royal Englishman given that
366 title.&nbsp; </P>
367 <P>For Elizabeth, these events were merely background noise at
368 first.&nbsp; Dudley took pains to cultivate a friendship with her, which
369 she wisely avoided.&nbsp; He sent her and Mary amiable letters.&nbsp;
370 Since Mary was a Catholic, and Dudley a Protestant who had benefited
371 materially from the Reformation, he was necessarily more friendly to
372 Elizabeth.&nbsp; For example, Edward VI had given Dudley Hatfield House,
373 which was currently Elizabeth's residence.&nbsp; Dudley graciously
374 returned it to her in exchange for lesser lands in her possession.&nbsp;
375 He also passed the patents to her lands, which allowed her more
376 income.&nbsp; This, of course, should have been done at Henry VIII's
377 death.&nbsp; So Elizabeth at first benefited from Dudley's rise to
378 power.&nbsp; She was now a well-respected and popular princess, a landed
379 lady in her own right with a large income and keen mind.&nbsp; She was
380 also an heir to the English throne, though still officially recognized as
381 a bastard.&nbsp; But she was shown every respect, and a degree of
382 affection from Edward VI completely lacking in his relations with their
383 sister Mary.&nbsp; </P>
384 <P>Their mutual faith was an important connection with the increasingly
385 devout Edward.&nbsp; Elizabeth visited Court occasionally, corresponded
386 with her brother, and continued her studies mainly at Hatfield.&nbsp; She
387 had always been excessively cautious and very intelligent, qualities she
388 displayed to great effect during the Seymour crisis.&nbsp; The only time
389 in her life when she demonstrated any recklessness had been during the
390 Seymour debacle; she had learned its lesson well.&nbsp; </P>
391 <P>She also cultivated the image of a sober Protestant young lady.&nbsp;
392 When queen, she became known for her love of beautiful gowns and
393 jewels.&nbsp; But before 1558, she took care to dress soberly, the image
394 of chastity and modesty.&nbsp; This was perhaps a conscious attempt to
395 distance herself from Mary, a typical Catholic princess who dressed in all
396 the glittering and garish finery she could afford.&nbsp; It is an ironic
397 note on Mary's character that she has become known as a dour, plain woman;
398 she was as fond of clothes and jewelry as her sister would become.&nbsp;
399 It was Elizabeth who dressed plainly, most often in severely cut black or
400 white gowns.&nbsp; She wore each color to great effect.&nbsp; She had
401 matured into a tall, slender and striking girl, with a fair, unblemished
402 complexion and the famous Tudor red hair.&nbsp; She wore her hair loose
403 and did not use cosmetics.&nbsp; When she traveled about the countryside,
404 crowds gathered to see her, a Protestant princess renowned for her virtue
405 and learning, her appearance modest and pleasing.&nbsp; In this respect,
406 she was emulated by her cousin Jane Grey.&nbsp; When Jane was invited to a
407 reception for Mary of Guise, the regent of Scotland, Mary Tudor sent her
408 'some goodly apparel of tinsel cloth of gold and velvet laid on with
409 parchment lace of gold.'&nbsp; Jane, a devout Protestant, was offended;
410 such apparel reflected the material trappings of Catholicism.&nbsp; When
411 her parents insisted she wear it, Jane replied, 'Nay, that were a shame to
412 follow my Lady Mary against God's word, and leave my Lady Elizabeth, which
413 followeth God's word.'&nbsp; </P>
414 <P>Elizabeth was honorably and extravagantly received at her brother's
415 court.&nbsp; For example, on 17 March 1552, she arrived at St James's
416 Palace with 'a great company of lords, knights and gentlemen' along with
417 over 200 ladies and a company of yeomen.&nbsp; Two days later she left St
418 James for Whitehall Palace, her procession accompanied by a grand
419 collection of nobles.&nbsp; The visit was a marked success for Edward was
420 open in his affection.&nbsp; She was his 'sweet sister Temperance,' unlike
421 Mary who continued to defy his religious policy.&nbsp; The Primary Sources
422 section of this site contains an excerpt from Edward VI's journal in which
423 he records a religious argument with Mary.&nbsp; In that matter, Elizabeth
424 remained distant, preferring to let her siblings argue without her.&nbsp;
425 </P>
426 <P>Edward's ministers, especially after the Seymour affair, were careful
427 with her.&nbsp; Dudley recognized Elizabeth's formidable
428 intelligence.&nbsp; When Edward VI became ill in 1553 and it was clear he
429 would not survive, Dudley had a desperate plan to save himself from Mary
430 I's Catholic rule - place Henry VIII's niece, Lady Jane Grey on the
431 throne.&nbsp; (This is discussed in great length at the <A
432 href="../relative/janegrey.html">Lady Jane
433 Grey</A> site.)&nbsp; Simply put, Dudley believed he would be supported
434 because Jane was Protestant and the English would not want the Catholic
435 Mary on the throne.&nbsp; Of course, the question arises - Elizabeth was
436 Protestant, so why not put her on the throne instead of Jane?&nbsp; The
437 main reason is that Dudley was well aware that Elizabeth Tudor would not
438 be his puppet, unlike Jane Grey whom he had married to his son
439 Guildford.&nbsp; As for Edward VI, he went along with the plan because of
440 two main reasons: Elizabeth was illegitimate so there might be resistance
441 to her rule and, as a princess, she might be persuaded to marry a foreign
442 prince and England would fall under foreign control.&nbsp; Jane was
443 already safely wed to an Englishman.&nbsp; </P>
444 <P>
445 <IMG height=228
446 alt="a profile portrait of Elizabeth's half-brother, King Edward VI"
447 src="edward4-cr.jpg" width=150 border=2 align="left">Edward VI's decision should not indicate any great dislike of
448 Elizabeth.&nbsp; He was primarily determined to preserve the Protestant
449 regime in England.&nbsp; He believed this was necessary for his personal
450 and political salvation.&nbsp; He was also practical.&nbsp; He
451 disinherited Mary because of her Catholicism; however, it was officially
452 sanctioned because of her illegitimacy.&nbsp; Like Elizabeth, Mary had her
453 illegitimacy established by an act of Parliament during Henry VIII's
454 reign.&nbsp; Since he had ostensibly disinherited Mary because of this
455 act, he couldn't let Elizabeth inherit - it simply wasn't logical.&nbsp;
456 So the throne would pass to the legitimate - and Protestant - Lady Jane
457 Grey.&nbsp; As most know, she ruled for just nine days before Mary became
458 queen of England.&nbsp; It should be noted that Edward originally told
459 Dudley that, though he didn't want Mary to succeed him, he saw no logical
460 reason for Elizabeth to be disowned.&nbsp; It was Dudley who pointed out
461 the logical inconsistency - that Mary 'could not be put by unless the Lady
462 Elizabeth were put by also.'&nbsp; </P>
463 <P>Dudley attempted to place Mary and Elizabeth in his power while Edward
464 was dying.&nbsp; He knew that if he imprisoned the two princesses, they
465 would be unable to rouse popular support against his plan.&nbsp; But if
466 that failed, he was determined to prevent them from seeing Edward,
467 especially Elizabeth.&nbsp; Dudley feared that Edward's affection for his
468 sister, and Elizabeth's cleverness, might persuade Edward to rewrite his
469 will in her favor.&nbsp; Like her sister, Elizabeth would undoubtedly
470 destroy Dudley, making him the scapegoat for Edward's ineffectual
471 regime.&nbsp; In fact, Elizabeth had suspected her brother was ill and set
472 out from Hatfield to visit him just a few weeks before Edward died, but
473 Dudley's men intercepted her and sent her home.&nbsp; She then wrote her
474 brother a number of letters, inquiring about his health and asking
475 permission to come to Court.&nbsp; These were intercepted as well.&nbsp;
476 </P>
477 <P>But as Edward's health continued to deteriorate and death was imminent,
478 Dudley sent a message to Hatfield, ordering Elizabeth to Greenwich
479 Palace.&nbsp; She may have been warned of his intentions - more likely she
480 guessed them.&nbsp; She refused the summons, taking to her bed with a
481 sudden illness.&nbsp; As a further precaution, her doctor sent a letter to
482 the council certifying she was too ill for travel.&nbsp; As for Mary,
483 Dudley had told her that Edward desired her presence; it would be a
484 comfort to him during his illness.&nbsp; She was torn - though Dudley hid
485 the true extent of the king's illness, the Imperial ambassador had kept
486 Mary informed.&nbsp; He was the agent of her cousin, the Holy Roman
487 Emperor Charles V; Mary's mother had been his aunt.&nbsp; Conscious of her
488 sisterly duty, Mary set out for Greenwich from Hunsdon the day before
489 Edward died.&nbsp; </P>
490 <P>Dudley was enraged by Elizabeth's refusal but he could do
491 nothing.&nbsp; Soon enough, events moved too quickly for the princess to
492 be his primary concern.&nbsp; It was being whispered that Dudley had
493 poisoned the king to place his daughter-in-law on the throne.&nbsp; Of
494 course, this was untrue since Dudley needed Edward to live as long as
495 possible for his plan to work.&nbsp; To this end, he had engaged a female
496 'witch' to help prolong the king's life.&nbsp; She concocted a mix of
497 arsenic and other drugs; they worked, at least for Dudley's purpose.&nbsp;
498 The young king lived for a few more weeks though he suffered
499 terribly.&nbsp; Finally, on 6 July 1553, Edward VI died.&nbsp;
500 Immediately, Dudley had Jane Grey proclaimed queen, an honor she had not
501 sought and did not want.&nbsp; It was only Dudley's appeal to her
502 religious convictions which convinced her to accept the throne.&nbsp; </P>
503 <P>Meanwhile, Jane's cousin, Mary Tudor, was still on her way to Greenwich
504 to see her brother, until a sympathizer (sent by Nicholas Throckmorton or
505 William Cecil) rode out to meet her; the summons was a trap, he told her,
506 and Dudley intended to imprison her.&nbsp; Mary rode to East Anglia, the
507 conservative section of England where her support would be
508 strongest.&nbsp; Eventually she would realize the true extent of her
509 support.&nbsp; Protestants and Catholics alike rallied to her cause since
510 she was Henry VIII's daughter and the true heir under his will.&nbsp; As
511 she left for East Anglia, she didn't know her brother was already dead but
512 she sent a note to the Imperial ambassador Simon Renard; once she knew of
513 Edward's death, she said, she would declare herself queen.&nbsp; She sent
514 another note to Dudley, telling him she was too ill to travel.&nbsp; </P>
515 <P>The failure of Dudley's ambitions is discussed at the <A
516 href="../relative/janegrey.html">Lady Jane
517 Grey</A> site.&nbsp; Suffice to say, he was overthrown and executed and
518 Mary Tudor, at the age of thirty-seven, was declared queen of England in
519 her own right.&nbsp; During the nine days of Jane's reign, Elizabeth had
520 continued her pretense of illness.&nbsp; It was rumored that Dudley had
521 sent councilors to her, offering a large bribe if she would just renounce
522 her claim to the throne.&nbsp; Elizabeth refused, remarking, 'You must
523 first make this agreement with my elder sister, during whose lifetime I
524 have no claim or title to resign.'&nbsp; So she remained at her beloved
525 Hatfield, deliberately avoiding a commitment one way or another.&nbsp;
526 When word reached her that Mary was finally queen, she sent a letter of
527 congratulation to her sister and set off for London.&nbsp; On 29 July, she
528 entered the capital with 2000 mounted men wearing the green and white
529 Tudor colors.&nbsp; There she awaited Mary's official arrival into the
530 city.&nbsp; On 31 July, Elizabeth rode with her attendant nobles along the
531 Strand and through the City to Colchester, the same path her sister would
532 take.&nbsp; It was here she would receive her sister as queen.&nbsp; They
533 had not seen each other for about five years.&nbsp; </P>
534 <P>Mary had always disliked her half-sister for many reasons, not least
535 because she sensed an innate shiftiness in Elizabeth's character.&nbsp;
536 Elizabeth, Mary believed, was never to be trusted.&nbsp; Originally, this
537 dislike was because of Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn.&nbsp; Mary had
538 long blamed Anne for her own mother's tragic end as well as the alienation
539 of her father's affections.&nbsp; After Anne died and Elizabeth, too, was
540 declared illegitimate, Mary found other reasons to hate Elizabeth, chief
541 among them religion.&nbsp; Like her mother, Mary was a devout Catholic;
542 she recognized Elizabeth's lack of religious zeal.&nbsp;<img border="2" src="elizsister.jpg" align="right" alt="portrait of Elizabeth's half-sister, Queen Mary I; she ruled England from 1553 to 1558" width="350" height="522"> But at her
543 accession, the moment of her great triumph, she was prepared to be
544 conciliatory.&nbsp; </P>
545 <P>Mary ordered that Elizabeth share her triumphal march through
546 London.&nbsp; Their processions met at Wanstead on 2 August.&nbsp; There,
547 Elizabeth dismounted and knelt in the road before her sister.&nbsp; Mary
548 dismounted and raised her sister, embracing and kissing her with
549 affection.&nbsp; She even held her hand as they spoke.&nbsp; Their two
550 parties entered London together, the sisters riding side by side.&nbsp;
551 The contrast between their physical appearances could not have been more
552 striking.&nbsp; Mary, at thirty-seven, was old beyond her years.&nbsp; An
553 adulthood passed in anxiety and tribulation had marred her health and
554 appearance.&nbsp; She was small like her mother and thin, with Katharine's
555 deep, almost gruff voice.&nbsp; Elizabeth was nineteen years old, taller
556 than her sister and slender.&nbsp; While Mary was richly attired in
557 velvets covered in jewels and gold, Elizabeth was dressed in her usual
558 strikingly severe style.&nbsp; Neither sister was conventionally beautiful
559 but onlookers commented upon Mary's open compassion and kindness and
560 Elizabeth's innate majesty.&nbsp; And since Mary was thirty-seven, quite
561 old to have a child, Elizabeth was viewed as her probable heir.&nbsp; As
562 such, she was cheered as much as the new queen.&nbsp; </P>
563 <P>On 1 October, Elizabeth rode to Mary's coronation with Henry VIII's
564 discarded fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.&nbsp; She was once again accorded a
565 place of honor amongst the English ladies, though not the highest position
566 as was her due.&nbsp; The Imperial ambassador Renard reported that she
567 spoke often with the French ambassador de Noailles.&nbsp; For his part, de
568 Noailles reported that Elizabeth complained her coronet was too heavy and
569 made her head ache.&nbsp; He replied to her that, God willing, she would
570 soon wear a heavier crown.&nbsp; </P>
571 <P>This was dangerous talk, as Elizabeth soon discovered.&nbsp; Mary's
572 mood was fickle regarding her clever half-sister.&nbsp; For every kind
573 word or gesture, there were public statements dismissing Henry VIII as
574 Elizabeth's father, or allowing distant cousins precedent at court.&nbsp;
575 It was simply impossible for Mary to forget the past, etched so acutely
576 upon her spirit.&nbsp; She could not like Elizabeth, nor trust her.&nbsp;
577 Elizabeth responded to this emotional hostility by retreating to
578 Hatfield.&nbsp; There she continued her studies and attempted to remain
579 safe in the morass of English politics.&nbsp; </P>
580 <P>But however much she might wish for peace, she was not to have
581 it.&nbsp; She was destined to be the focal point for all discontent over
582 Mary's reign.&nbsp; And there was soon much reason for discontent.&nbsp;
583 Edward VI's council had left the economy in shambles; currency was debased
584 and near worthless.&nbsp; There was a series of bad harvests.&nbsp; Prices
585 rose and discontent spread.&nbsp; And worst of all, Mary soon decided to
586 marry King Philip II of Spain, son and heir of Charles V.&nbsp; This was
587 yet another example of her inability to forget the past.&nbsp; Philip
588 represented the homeland of her beloved mother, and a chance to bring all
589 the weight of the Holy Roman Empire to bear upon the heretics of
590 England.&nbsp; Mary was determined to turn back the clock on twenty years
591 of religious reform and make England a Catholic nation again.&nbsp; </P>
592 <P>Understandably, her subjects were less than thrilled.&nbsp; Even
593 English Catholics did not want their country to become a powerless
594 appendage of the Hapsburg empire.&nbsp; Certainly a queen had to marry,
595 but not the emperor's son!&nbsp; In this climate of rebellion and
596 repression, Elizabeth's life was in great danger.&nbsp; It could not be
597 otherwise; she was the only alternative to Mary's rule.&nbsp; </P>
598 <P>Elizabeth conformed outwardly to the Catholic faith.&nbsp; But she
599 could not distance herself too much from her Protestant supporters.&nbsp;
600 When Sir Thomas Wyatt, the son of her mother's great poetic admirer, led a
601 rebellion in January 1554, matters came to an unpleasant impasse.&nbsp;
602 Wyatt had written to Elizabeth that he intended to overthrow Mary but his
603 letter was intercepted, as was a letter from de Noailles to the king of
604 France.&nbsp; His letter implied that Elizabeth knew of the revolt in
605 advance, and repeated rumors that she was off gathering armed
606 supporters.&nbsp; The government was able to suppress the rebellion before
607 it spread very far and Wyatt was arrested.&nbsp; Mary's council could find
608 no real proof that de Noailles's suppositions were true but they decided
609 to summon Elizabeth back to London for questioning.&nbsp; She was
610 understandably frightened and ill; she sent word that she could not
611 travel.&nbsp; Two of Mary's personal physicians were sent to evaluate her
612 condition.&nbsp; They diagnosed 'watery humors' and perhaps an
613 inflammation of the kidneys.&nbsp; She was ill, they reported, but not too
614 ill to travel the 30 miles to London in the queen's own litter.&nbsp;
615 Three of the queen's councilors - Howard, Hastings, and Cornwallis, all of
616 whom were friendly with Elizabeth - escorted her back to London.&nbsp;
617 They traveled quite slowly, covering just six miles a day.&nbsp; </P>
618 <P>Elizabeth kept the curtains of the litter pulled back as she entered
619 the city, and the citizens were able to see her pale, frightened
620 face.&nbsp; She had good cause for her fear; the heads and corpses of
621 Wyatt and his supporters were thrust upon spikes and gibbets throughout
622 the city.&nbsp; The queen waited for her at Whitehall but they did not
623 meet immediately.&nbsp; First, Elizabeth's household was dismissed and she
624 was told that she must undergo close interrogation about her
625 activities.&nbsp; She was questioned by the unfriendly bishop of
626 Winchester, Stephen Gardiner, but she was not intimidated.&nbsp; She
627 denied any involvement in the rebellion and repeatedly asked to see the
628 queen.&nbsp; But she was told that Mary was leaving for Oxford where she
629 would hold a Parliament.&nbsp; Elizabeth would be leaving Whitehall as
630 well, though at first the council could not decide where to send
631 her.&nbsp; No councilor wanted the responsibility of keeping her in close
632 confinement at their homes; it was too unpleasant and potentially
633 dangerous.&nbsp; And so Gardiner and Renard had their way and she went to
634 the Tower of London.&nbsp; The earl of Sussex and the marquess of
635 Winchester were sent to escort her from Whitehall.&nbsp; </P>
636 <P>Elizabeth was terrified.&nbsp; The mere mention of the Tower was enough
637 to shatter her already fragile nerves.&nbsp; She begged to be allowed to
638 write to her sister, and the men agreed.&nbsp; The letter was long,
639 rambling, and repetitious - proof of her fear and trepidation:&nbsp; </P>
640 <BLOCKQUOTE>
641 <p>I have heard in my time of many cast away for want of coming
642 to the presence of their Prince....&nbsp; Therefore once again kneeling
643 with humbleness of my heart, because I am not suffered to bow the knees
644 of my body, I humbly crave to speak with your Highness, which I would
645 not be so bold to desire if I knew not myself most clear as I know
646 myself most true.&nbsp; And as for the traitor Wyatt, he might
647 peradventure write me a letter but on my faith I never received any from
648 him; and as for the copy of my letter sent to the French king, I pray
649 God confound me eternally if ever I sent him word, message, token or
650 letter by any means, and to this truth I will stand it to my
651 death.&nbsp; <BR>....Let conscience move your Highness to take some
652 better way with me than to make me be condemned in all men's sight afore
653 my desert know.</p>
654 </BLOCKQUOTE>
655 <p>After finishing, she carefully drew lines
656 throughout the rest of the blank sheet so no forgeries could be added, and
657 she signed it 'I humbly crave but one word of answer from yourself.&nbsp;
658 Your Highness's most faithful subject that hath been from the beginning
659 and will be to my end, Elizabeth'.&nbsp; </p>
660 <P>The letter had taken too long to write; they had missed the tide.&nbsp;
661 They could wait a few hours and take her to the Tower in the darkest part
662 of night, but the council disagreed.&nbsp; There could be an attempt to
663 rescue her under cover of darkness.&nbsp; They decided to wait until the
664 next morning, Palm Sunday, when the streets would be nearly deserted since
665 everyone would be in church.&nbsp; Meanwhile, her letter was sent to Mary
666 who received it angrily and refused to read it through.&nbsp; She had not
667 given permission for it to be written or sent, and she rebuked her
668 councilors fiercely.&nbsp; </P>
669 <P>The next morning, 17 March 1554, arrived cold and grey; there was a
670 steady rain.&nbsp; At 9 o'clock in the morning, Elizabeth was taken from
671 her rooms and through the garden to where the barge waited.&nbsp; She was
672 accompanied by six of her ladies and two gentleman-attendants.&nbsp; She
673 waited under a canopy until the barge began to slow; she then saw that
674 they would enter beneath Traitor's Gate, beneath St Thomas's Tower.&nbsp;
675 This was the traditional entrance for prisoners returned to their cells
676 after trial at Westminster.&nbsp; The sight terrified her and she begged
677 to be allowed entry by any other gate.&nbsp; Her request was
678 refused.&nbsp; She was offered a cloak to protect her from the rain but
679 she pushed it aside angrily.&nbsp; Upon stepping onto the landing, she
680 declared, 'Here landeth as true a subject, being prisoner, as ever landed
681 at these stairs.&nbsp; Before Thee, O God, do I speak it, having no other
682 friend but Thee alone.'&nbsp; She then noticed the yeoman warders gathered
683 to receive her beyond the gate.&nbsp; 'Oh Lord,' she said loudly, 'I never
684 thought to have come in here as a prisoner, and I pray you all bear me
685 witness that I come in as no traitor but as true a woman to the Queen's
686 Majesty as any as is now living.'&nbsp; Several of the warders stepped
687 forward and bowed before her, and one called out, 'God preserve your
688 Grace.'&nbsp; </P>
689 <P>She still refused to enter the Tower.&nbsp; After the warder's
690 declaration, she sat upon a stone and would not move.&nbsp; The Lieutenant
691 of the Tower, Sir John Brydges, said to her, 'You had best come in,
692 Madame, for here you sit unwholesomely.'&nbsp; Elizabeth replied with
693 feeling, 'Better sit here, than in a worse place, for God knoweth where
694 you will bring me.'&nbsp; And so she sat until one of her attendants burst
695 into tears.&nbsp; She was taken to the Bell Tower, a small corner tower
696 beside Brydges's own lodgings.&nbsp; Her room was on the first floor, and
697 had a large fireplace with three small windows.&nbsp; Down the passageway
698 from the door were three latrines which hung over the moat.&nbsp; It was
699 not as destitute or uncomfortable as she had feared, but it was still the
700 Tower of London and she was a prisoner.&nbsp; </P>
701 <P>This was the beginning of one of the most trying times of her
702 life.&nbsp; </P>
703 <P>Elizabeth spent just two months in the Tower of London, but she had no
704 idea that her stay would be so brief - and it did not feel particularly
705 brief.&nbsp; She truly believed some harm would come to her and she dwelt
706 most upon the possibility of poison.&nbsp; She knew Mary hated her and
707 that many of her councilors constantly spoke ill of her, encouraging
708 either her imprisonment or execution.&nbsp; </P>
709 <P>However, Elizabeth had enough popular support that she would not face
710 death at her sister's orders.&nbsp; But Lady Jane Grey, the unfortunate
711 Nine Days' Queen, and her husband were neither so popular or lucky.&nbsp;
712 They, too, had lived in the Tower under threat of execution; both had been
713 convicted of treason.&nbsp; But Mary had always been fond of Jane and was
714 close friends with her mother Frances; she allowed her cousin to live very
715 comfortably in the Tower while her fate remained undecided.&nbsp; Mary
716 probably intended to release Jane as soon as the country settled under her
717 own rule.&nbsp; But Renard wanted both Jane and her husband
718 executed.&nbsp; He warned Mary that the emperor would not allow Philip to
719 enter England as long as Jane lived.&nbsp; She was a traitor, and it was
720 only a matter of time before the Protestants tried to place either Jane or
721 Elizabeth upon the throne.&nbsp; Mary was not persuaded by Renard's
722 arguments, but his threat carried greater force - she wanted to marry
723 Philip and he would not come to England until it was safe.&nbsp; The small
724 rebellion led by Jane's father clearly did not help matters.&nbsp; And so
725 Jane and the equally unfortunate Guildford Dudley were executed.&nbsp;
726 Elizabeth herself arrived at the Tower just six weeks later, and her
727 cousin's fate must have weighed heavily on her mind.&nbsp; After all, she
728 and Jane had lived and studied together briefly under Katharine Parr's
729 tutelage, and Jane's admiration of Elizabeth had been open and
730 obvious.&nbsp; </P>
731 <P>It was abundantly clear to Elizabeth that her position was precarious
732 and dangerous.&nbsp; During the first weeks of her imprisonment, she was
733 allowed to take exercise along the Tower walls but when a small child
734 began to give her flowers and other gifts, Brydges was told to keep her
735 indoors.&nbsp; Elizabeth had always been active, both physically and
736 mentally.&nbsp; She chafed at her confinement and its boring
737 routine.&nbsp; She was occasionally interrogated by members of Mary's
738 council, but she held firm to her innocence.&nbsp; She had faced such
739 interrogations during Thomas Seymour's fall from grace, and could not be
740 easily intimidated.&nbsp; Still, the stress - which she handled with
741 outward aplomb - took its toll on her physical health.&nbsp; She lost
742 weight, and became prone to headaches and stomach problems.&nbsp; </P>
743 <P>Ironically enough, it was the impending arrival of Philip of Spain
744 which led to her freedom.&nbsp; Renard had urged Mary to execute Jane and
745 imprison Elizabeth so that Philip would be safe in England.&nbsp; Philip,
746 however, was far more sensitive to the political implications of such an
747 act.&nbsp; He knew the English were acutely sensitive to any shift in
748 Mary's policies simply because she had chosen to marry a foreigner.&nbsp;
749 If she made an unpopular decision, it would be blamed upon his
750 influence.&nbsp; He knew, too, that the Protestant faith was still popular
751 in the country, and that Elizabeth embodied its greatest hope.&nbsp; If
752 she were harmed in any way, his arrival in England would be even more
753 unpopular and dangerous.&nbsp; And the Wyatt rebellion had merely
754 reinforced Philip's natural inclination to tread lightly.&nbsp; His
755 intention was to wed Mary, be crowned king of England, and find a suitable
756 husband for Elizabeth, preferably one of his Hapsburg relations.&nbsp;
757 Then, if Mary died without bearing a child, England would remain within
758 the Hapsburg sphere of influence, a willing and useful adjunct of the
759 empire.&nbsp; </P>
760 <P>Accordingly, Philip wrote to Mary and advised that Elizabeth be set at
761 liberty.&nbsp; This conciliatory gesture was not appreciated by Mary,
762 always inclined to believe the worst in her half-sister, but - once again
763 - her eagerness for Philip's arrival made her desperate to please
764 him.&nbsp; She dispensed with Renard's advice and on Saturday 19 May at
765 one o'clock in the afternoon, Elizabeth was finally released from the
766 Tower; incidentally, her mother had been executed on the same day eighteen
767 years earlier.&nbsp; She spent one night at Richmond Palace, but it was
768 clear that her release had not lifted Elizabeth's spirits.&nbsp; That
769 night she summoned her few servants and asked them to pray for her, 'For
770 this night,' Elizabeth said, 'I think to die.'&nbsp; </P>
771 <P>She did not die, of course, but she was still frightened and
772 lonely.&nbsp; She had been released into the care of Sir Henry
773 Bedingfield, a Catholic supporter of Queen Mary whose father had guarded
774 Katharine of Aragon during her last years at Kimbolton Castle.&nbsp; He
775 had come to the Tower on 5 May as the new Constable, replacing Sir John
776 Gage, and his arrival had caused Elizabeth no end of terror.&nbsp; She
777 believed he was sent to secretly murder her for, not long before, a
778 credible rumor had reached her; it was said that the Catholic elements of
779 Mary's council had sent a warrant for her execution to the Tower but that
780 Sir John Brydges, the strict but honest Lieutenant, had not acted upon it
781 because it lacked the queen's signature.&nbsp; With Bedingfield's arrival,
782 Elizabeth lost her almost preternatural self-control and she asked her
783 guards 'whether the Lady Jane's scaffold was taken away or no?'&nbsp; When
784 told it was gone, she asked about Bedingfield, and if 'her murdering were
785 secretly committed to his charge, he would see the execution
786 thereof?'&nbsp; </P>
787 <P>From Richmond, Bedingfield took his cowed charge to Woodstock, a
788 hunting-lodge miles from London and once favored by her Plantagenet
789 grandfather, Edward IV.&nbsp; She was neither officially under arrest nor
790 free, a nebulous position which confused nearly everyone.&nbsp; She could
791 not be received at court, but she could not be set at liberty in the
792 countryside.&nbsp; And so Bedingfield was essentially her jailer, but not
793 referred to as such; and Woodstock was her prison, but also not called
794 such.&nbsp; The journey to Woodstock certainly raised her spirit.&nbsp;
795 She was greeted by throngs of people shouting 'God save your grace!' and
796 other messages of support.&nbsp; Flowers, sweets, cakes and other small
797 gifts were given to her.&nbsp; At times, the reception was so enthusiastic
798 that Elizabeth was openly overwhelmed.&nbsp; It was now clear to her that
799 the English people loved her, perhaps as much as they did Queen
800 Mary.&nbsp; </P>
801 <P>But the love of the people was small comfort when faced with the
802 dilapidation of Woodstock.&nbsp; The main house was in such disrepair that
803 Elizabeth was lodged in the gatehouse.&nbsp; The queen had ordered that
804 her sister be treated honorably and given limited freedom; Elizabeth was
805 allowed to walk in the orchard and gardens.&nbsp; She also requested
806 numerous books.&nbsp; After a few weeks, her initial fear of Bedingfield
807 had settled into a bemused appraisal of her jailer.&nbsp; She now
808 recognized him for what he was - a conscientious, unimaginative civil
809 servant with a difficult assignment.&nbsp; They got on tolerably well, and
810 Bedingfield even forwarded her numerous letters to the Council and the
811 queen.&nbsp; Elizabeth was concerned that her imprisonment in the
812 countryside would remove her too much from the public eye and her
813 ceaseless letter-writing was an attempt to reassert her position as
814 princess of England.&nbsp; Mary did not read the letters and angrily order
815 Bedingfield to stop sending them along.&nbsp; </P>
816 <P>At the end of June, Elizabeth fell ill and asked that the queen's
817 physician Dr Owen be sent to her.&nbsp; But Dr Owen was busy tending to
818 Queen Mary and told Bedingfield that his charge must be patient.&nbsp; He
819 recommended the services of Drs Barnes and Walbeck.&nbsp; Elizabeth
820 refused to allow their examination; she preferred to commit her body to
821 God rather than to the eyes of strangers, she told Bedingfield.&nbsp;
822 Finally, on 7 July, Mary finally sent permission to Woodstock for
823 Elizabeth to write to her and the Council about her various
824 concerns.&nbsp; Elizabeth was petulant and took her time with the
825 composition of this most important letter.&nbsp; When it was finally sent,
826 written in Bedingfield's hand from her dictation, it was a typically
827 shrewd and pointed document.&nbsp; Elizabeth wanted the Council to
828 consider 'her long imprisonment and restraint of liberty, either to charge
829 her with special matter to be answered unto and tried, or to grant her
830 liberty to come unto her highness's presence, which she sayeth she would
831 not desire were it not that she knoweth herself to be clear even before
832 God, for her allegiance.'&nbsp; Elizabeth specifically requested that the
833 members of the queen's council who were executors of 'the Will of the
834 King's majesty her father' read the letter and be allowed to visit with
835 her.&nbsp; It was a pointed reminder that despite her deprived
836 circumstances, she was still next in line to the English throne.&nbsp; The
837 Council heard the document uneasily.&nbsp; </P>
838 <P>Mary, however, had other matters on her mind.&nbsp; Finally, on 20
839 July, even as Elizabeth mulled over her letter, Philip II of Spain finally
840 landed at Southampton.&nbsp; The handsome, fair-haired 27 year old King
841 was already a widow with a male heir; his first wife Maria of Portugal had
842 died in childbirth in 1545 after two years of<IMG height=480
843 alt="another portrait of Elizabeth's half-sister, Queen Mary I"
844 src="mary1-eworth.jpg" width=332 border=2 align="right"> marriage.&nbsp; He was a
845 conscientious and pious man who impressed all who met him with his
846 discipline and work ethic.&nbsp; But he also had a tendency toward
847 religious asceticism which worsened as he grew older.&nbsp; As a child, he
848 had accompanied his father to the inquisition in Spain, watching
849 impassively as heretics were burned alive.&nbsp; But his marriage to Mary
850 was one of political necessity and Philip had no intention of threatening
851 its success with unpopular religious policies.&nbsp; He was willing to
852 move England slowly back into the Catholic fold; faced with Mary's
853 impatience, it was Philip who advised moderation.&nbsp; He wed his cousin
854 at Winchester Cathedral on 25 July in a splendid ceremony.&nbsp; On 18
855 August they finally entered London in triumph, its citizens plied with
856 enough free drinks and entertainment to greet Philip
857 enthusiastically.&nbsp; But there were already signs of trouble; the
858 anonymous pamphlets condemning foreigners and the queen's marriage
859 circulated, and Philip's Spanish entourage were unhappy over a number of
860 petty slights and insults from their English hosts.&nbsp; </P>
861 <P>Elizabeth had hoped the marriage would result in some change in her
862 circumstances.&nbsp; But she was sadly mistaken.&nbsp; Instead she passed
863 the months needling Bedingfield for more books, scribbling more letters,
864 and listening to the occasional rumor from her servants.&nbsp; The rumors
865 were hardly comforting.&nbsp; The queen was reportedly pregnant and she
866 and Philip would open Parliament together on 12 November.&nbsp; From then
867 on, the reunion between England and the papacy could begin in force.&nbsp;
868 Mary was the happiest she had been since childhood, but the problem of
869 Elizabeth remained.&nbsp; Gardiner wanted her executed; he argued that
870 Protestantism could not be completely eradicated until its great hope,
871 Elizabeth herself, was gone.&nbsp; But Philip and most other councilors
872 were more pragmatic.&nbsp; Parliament had already agreed that if Mary died
873 in childbirth, Philip would be regent of England during their child's
874 minority.&nbsp; However, if both mother and child died, then Elizabeth
875 once again assumed prominence.&nbsp; Philip, always prudent, preferred to
876 know his sister-in-law before making an enemy of her.&nbsp; With his
877 encouragement, and flush with happiness at her marriage and pregnancy,
878 Mary finally invited Elizabeth to court.&nbsp; </P>
879 <P>In the third week of April 1555, almost a year since she was sent to
880 Woodstock, Elizabeth was brought to Hampton Court Palace.&nbsp; Mary had
881 gone there to prepare for her lying-in.&nbsp; They did not meet
882 immediately.&nbsp; Elizabeth was brought into the palace through a side
883 entrance, still closely guarded.&nbsp; According to the French ambassador,
884 Philip visited her three days later but Mary never came.&nbsp; Two weeks
885 later, the most powerful members of the council appeared to chide her for
886 not submitting to the queen's authority; she was told to admit her past
887 wrongdoing and seek the queen's forgiveness.&nbsp; Elizabeth replied that
888 she had done nothing wrong in the past and wanted no mercy from her sister
889 'but rather desired the law'.&nbsp; She told Gardiner she would rather
890 remain in prison forever than admit to crimes she had never
891 committed.&nbsp; He went off immediately to tell Mary of her sister's
892 continued stubbornness.&nbsp; The queen was not pleased.&nbsp; The next
893 day, Gardiner told Elizabeth that the queen marveled that 'she would so
894 stoutly use herself, not confessing that she had offended'.&nbsp; Did
895 Elizabeth really believe she was wrongfully imprisoned? Gardiner asked.&nbsp;
896 Elizabeth refused the bait.&nbsp; She did not criticize her sister
897 explicitly, telling him only that the queen must do with her as her
898 conscience dictated.&nbsp; Gardiner replied that if she wanted her liberty
899 and former position, she must tell a different story; only by admitting
900 her past faults, confessing all sins, could she hope for
901 forgiveness.&nbsp; It was a stalemate.&nbsp; Elizabeth again told him she
902 would rather be unjustly imprisoned than gain freedom with lies.&nbsp;
903</P>
904 <P>The next week passed with no word from anyone.&nbsp; And then, around
905 10 o'clock one evening, a message arrived that the queen would see
906 her.&nbsp; Elizabeth had begged for an interview for more than a year but
907 now that the moment had at last arrived, she was understandably
908 nervous.&nbsp; She was accompanied into Mary's apartments by one of her
909 own ladies-in-waiting and Mary's close friend and Mistress of the Robes
910 Susan Clarencieux.&nbsp; The queen's bedroom was lit with flickering
911 candlelight; the queen herself was half-hidden in shadow.&nbsp; Without
912 asking permission, Elizabeth immediately prostrated herself and declared
913 her innocence.&nbsp; And though she and Mary sparred for a short while,
914 the queen was willing to be generous at her own moment of triumph.&nbsp;
915 It was rumored that Philip watched the sisters from behind a curtain;
916 whether or not he was there, Mary was content to make peace of
917 sorts.&nbsp; She sent Elizabeth away amicably enough and a week later poor
918 Bedingfield was relieved of his duties.&nbsp; Elizabeth would remain at
919 Hampton Court, still under light guard but with her own household and
920 permission to receive certain guests.&nbsp; It was the end of over a year
921 of tiresome captivity and she was delighted.&nbsp; </P>
922 <P>While she enjoyed her newfound liberty, the burning of Protestant
923 heretics began in earnest.&nbsp; These killings have earned Mary the
924 nickname 'Bloody Mary' and blighted her reputation.&nbsp; In truth, the
925 roughly 300 people killed (about 60 women) was not considered excessive by
926 Mary's European contemporaries; and in the government's mind,
927 Protestantism had become dangerously linked with treason, sedition, and
928 other secular crimes.&nbsp; For Mary, who was perhaps the most personally
929 kind and gentle of the Tudor rulers, the killings were necessary to save
930 the heretics' souls as well.&nbsp; It is a telling feature of her
931 character that she could often forgive treason against herself, but would
932 not countenance treason against God.&nbsp; </P>
933 <P>The burnings, coupled with the Spanish marriage, caused enough
934 resentment; but, unfortunately for Mary, famine and poverty added to her
935 list of woes.&nbsp; But the greatest tragedy of all for the queen was the
936 humiliating and heartbreaking realization that her pregnancy was not
937 real.&nbsp; Mary had truly believed she was pregnant; her stomach had
938 become swollen and she had felt the child quicken.&nbsp; But she had
939 always suffered from digestive and menstrual troubles.&nbsp; It is
940 probable that she developed a tumor in her stomach which, combined with
941 the lack of a cycle and her own fervent prayers, made her believe she was
942 pregnant.&nbsp; All of April was spent in a state of readiness.&nbsp;
943 Dozens of nurses and midwives crowded into Hampton Court, joined by a
944 throng of noble ladies who would assist in the delivery.&nbsp; On 30 April
945 a rumor reached London that a male child had been born and celebrations
946 ensued.&nbsp; But it was a false alarm; the next three months were spent
947 in a state of suspended disbelief.&nbsp; Finally, on 3 August, the queen's
948 household departed to Oatlands and the pregnancy was not mentioned
949 again.&nbsp; </P>
950 <P>Mary's heartache was soon worsened by the impending departure of
951 Philip.&nbsp; He had spent over a year in a country he disliked, married
952 to a woman he pitied but did not love.&nbsp; He used the excuse of
953 pressing business in the Low Countries to leave England.&nbsp; Mary
954 protested passionately, begging him to stay; it was clear to everyone that
955 she truly loved her husband.&nbsp; But Philip was equally determined to
956 go.&nbsp; It was perhaps clear to him that Mary was seriously ill and
957 would never have children.&nbsp; If that was the case, he had no reason to
958 remain in England.&nbsp; He left explicit instructions that she treat her
959 sister well.&nbsp; </P>
960 <P>Elizabeth was sent to a small manor house a few miles from Oatlands
961 where she played another waiting game, only this time with some measure of
962 freedom and hope.&nbsp; But it was to be another three years before she
963 would become queen of England.</P>
964 <P>&nbsp;</P>
965 <CENTER>
966 <P><B><A
967 href="eliz2.html">CONTINUE
968 READING</A></B> <BR>&nbsp; </P>
969 <P><FONT size=-1><A
970 href="../monarchs.html">to Tudor
971 Monarchs</A></FONT></P>
972 </blockquote>
973 </blockquote>
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