Queen Elizabeth Essay

Submitted By miatodd6797
Words: 1116
Pages: 5

Sunday September 7th 1533 at 3 o’clock a Princess was born. The birth of Princess Elizabeth wasn’t at all like a fairytale; Henry VIII Had previously been married to Catherine of Aragon when he met Anne Boleyn, Frustrated that Catherine could not conceive a boy heir he had his marriage to Catherine annulled. Anne and Henry both wished that Elizabeth was a boy, astrologers and doctors had predicted her to be a boy so you could assume the disappointment they were faced with to find that their child was of the wrong gender. Elizabeth’s father Henry spent his life searching for two main things: to find a wife and have a happy marriage and to have a son. He was married six times. Because of her father’s lifestyle Elizabeth had become used to seeing people walk in and out of her life. Elizabeth’s mother was executed when she was only two years old. When Elizabeth’s mother Anne Boleyn gave birth to a stillborn child that proved to be the last straw for Henry he then had Anne executed, accusing her of adultery, treason, and incest she was beheaded. Elizabeth’s life was a whirlwind of events as a child it was easy to become used to being treated like royalty so to go from being at the top to being stripped of a title and then having your father behead your mother it couldn’t have been easy to have that always on your mind, But even though her teenage years weren’t as tragic as her childhood they weren’t a walk in the park either. “Teenage Scandal of Princess Elizabeth” headlined most papers. Elizabeth had moved in with her stepmother Catherine Parr and Thomas Seymour. Rumors had surfaced that Thomas was having affairs with Elizabeth touching her and being a little too affectionate. Catherine and the maids would occasionally find Elizabeth and Thomas alone in the garden or even in her room. One day Catherine had found Thomas embracing Elizabeth alone in her room, and that had been the last strike. Catherine sent Elizabeth away. Rumors had just been kept simply as rumors until the death of Catherine sparked up investigations. Many wondered if Thomas had wanted to marry Elizabeth to overthrow his own brother’s title. Because of all the suspicion Thomas was beheaded. Elizabeth was a very smart women she never let anything from her earlier years affect her much. When she had become the Queen, Elizabeth had many offers in marriage at least over seven throughout her reign as Queen. She always found ways to get out of having to marry her suitors. Robert Dudley is the one man many thought Queen Elizabeth actually really considered settling down with. Robert and the Queen had been childhood friends and the only thing many thought proved to be in the way of their relationship was the fact that he was married However, in 1560 Amy Dudley, Robert Dudley’s wife died from a fall down a flight of stairs. Many had suspicions that Robert had pushed her down the stairs in order to be rid of her and finally be able to marry the Queen. Of course this was strictly just suspicion and was never really able to be proved, which is why Robert could never be penalized for such an act. Elizabeth knew that by having a husband she risked the chance of creating political issues or creating enemies, she knew that by not marrying she could possibly lose power just like her sister Mary did but that did not affect Queen Elizabeth. Some thought that Queen Elizabeth wouldn’t marry because she had no desire to be touched by any man after her experiences with Thomas Seymour. Some thought because of him she could never love a man like she should and because of this she was given the nickname “The virgin Queen”. Queen Elizabeth was able to accomplish more as a queen without having the subject of marriage and childbirth standing in the way. Queen Elizabeth was already accomplishing a lot by being titled the “Queen” nobody thought she could be the queen after she was stripped of the title when her mother was executed. Queen Elizabeth was able to overcome a risky scandal when