Queen Elizabeth 1st

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Young Bess

Elizabeth's life was troubled from the moment she was born. Henry VIII had  married his second wife, Anne Boleyn, hoping that she would give him the strong and healthy son that Catherine of Aragon never did. But, on September 7, 1533  Elizabeth was born  instead. Henry got so furious that he ordered Anne Boleyn's execution in 1536. Elizabeth was only 3 years old.


Elizabeth was sent away from Court. Henry remarried (Jane Seymour) and had a son, Edward (future Edward VI).Jane died shortly after Edward was born. Henry married his sixth wife, Katherine Parr. She brought up Elizabeth and her half-sister Mary after the death of Henry.



 Young Edward, the heir to the throne was a weak child and had tuberculosis. As he was expected to die young, the battle for the throne started...It became a dangerous time for Elizabeth. 

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Fille rejeté d'un père remarié 8 fois, Elizabeth grandit avec sa demie-soeur Marie et son demi-frère Edouard, héritier de la couronne. Les intrigues et manigances de sa famille autour de la possible succession d'Edouard la mirent en danger.

 



 The Dangerous Years



 During the reign of her young brother Edward VI, Thomas Seymour asked for Elizabeth's hand in marriage, which she refused. After this incident, Thomas and Elizabeth were suspected of plotting against the king. Elizabeth was questioned, but was never charged. Seymour tried to kidnap the boy king and was arrested and executed . 

When the young king died, an usurper tried to access the throne, but Mary (Elizabeth's oldest sister) was crowned. She married the Catholic Prince Philip of Spain and imprisoned her Protestant sister in the Tower of London. 

Elizabeth stayed in jail until Mary got pregnant: then, Elizabeth was no longer the only heir to the throne. But Mary was 40 years old and died giving birth. Elizabeth finally became Queen of England in 1558.


Ce n'est qu'à la mort de sa soeur, après avoir été enfermée à la Tour de Londres par cette dernière et son mari catholique, qu'Elizabeth  devint reine d'Angleterre.

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 Queen At Last

 



 When Elizabeth took the throne,  she never married. Some people think that, because of  the way her father treated his wives, Elizabeth was disgusted by the idea of marriage. More romantic people think it was because she couldn't marry the man that she really loved, Robert Dudley.  Or perhaps it was a combination of both. 

 

Elizabeth ne s'est jamais mariée.

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Gloriana

The later years of Elizabeth's reign are sometimes referred to as a Golden Age. During this time, England and Elizabeth faced several important crisis. First,  Mary Queen of Scots claimed the throne of England. When Mary escaped from Scotland in the 1560s, she was arrested in England. Elizabeth knew her cousin Mary was a threat and refused to protect her.  Because of a plot she ordered her execution in 1587.

A la fin de son règne, menacée par sa cousin Mary, reine d'Ecosse, Elizabeth ordonna l'exécution de cette dernière.

 Also, there was a great military threat a few years later, when the Armada from Spain sailed toward England .

La flotte espagnole menaça l'Angleterre.

This was also about  the time when  Robert Dudley died. Elizabeth kept the last letter he sent her .

Robert Dudley décéda.

Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603 and was succeeded by James I (James VI of Scotland), the son of Mary, Queen of Scots.

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