Queen Elizabeth I

“The Virgin Queen of England”
Queen Elizabeth I was a brave and noble Queen of England, who endured wars and hardships better than some British Kings. She grew up with a constantly changing and quarreling family filled with violence, scandal and death and still managed to be both intelligent and competent. She was able to unite a torn and divided country and simultaneously fight off other nations over religious beliefs. She kept a level head through risky relationships and bad parings and did get pressured into marriage. And lastly she was able to command an army and a naval fleet with such bravery and skill that she garnered the approval of her country and defeated the largest seafaring superpower in the whole world.

Queen Elizabeth I was born under King Henry VII and his second wife Ann Boleyn, 7 September, 1533 during England’s golden age and lived a healthy 69 years before becoming the last monarch of the Tudor Dynasty. Upon her birth, she was given the title of a princess, becoming first in line for the throne after her half-sister Mary was declared illegitimate as a result of Henry nulling his first marriage. Elizabeth later also became illegitimate at the age of 2 after the execution of her mother Ann under the orders of King Henry on May 19, 1536 (“Elizabeth I Timeline”). Elizabeth was born at Greenwich in London, but later fled to Hertfordshire after coming under suspicion as a Protestant sympathizer until her sister’s death, when she returned to London to be crowned as Queen and begin the Elizabethan Era (“Tudors-Queen Elizabeth I”). The Elizabethan Era was England’s Renaissance period in which, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, England “expressed itself in music and literature, in architecture, and in adventurous seafaring” (“England”). The great poet and playwright William Shakespeare created some of the most inspirational and famous literary works of all time during this era as well, bringing to the surface the true beauty of the English language with works such as Hamlet. Elizabeth’s Queenship may have been easy sailing, but her childhood was filled with misfortune and quarrel.

Elizabeth’s first twenty-one years of life were turbulent and somewhat bloody, filled with a dysfunctional and unstable family along with an intense religious and sibling rivalry. At the age of three, Catherine Champernowne was appointed as Elizabeth’s governess; Elizabeth proved to be an exceptional linguist able to fluently speak French, Flemish, Italian, Spanish, and Greek. A decade later, Elizabeth’s father dies and her 9 year-old half-brother Edward takes the throne with his uncle Edward Seymour as Lord Protector, and Elizabeth is taken in by Catherine Parr, who was briefly Henry’s widow before marrying Thomas Seymour. Just one year later Elizabeth is banished from the Seymour family after Parr finds her husband and step-daughter in an scandalous and vastly inappropriate position, of which the exact nature of said position is unknown. Catherine dies in childbirth the same year, and Thomas is beheaded on March 20, 1549 for accusations of trying to take Elizabeth as his wife and overthrow his brother as Lord Protector. Edward dies at the young age of 15, and Lady Jane Grey is favored for the throne in Edward’s will, even though his father Thomas reinstated Mary and Elizabeth as heirs. It becomes a non-issue however, as Lady Jane is deposed in just nine days; Mary takes the crown with her sister Elizabeth at her side. Catholic-raised Mary then imprisons her Protestant sister inside the Tower of London for supposedly participating in religious rebellions. Elizabeth would not be kept inside the tower long before she is released and coronated (“Queen Elizabeth I Timeline”).

Queen Elizabeth I’s early reign following her release from the Tower of London was occupied almost entirely by Christianity, from Catholic-Protestant dispute to re-establishing the English Church. Queen Elizabeth was declared Queen of England on November 17, 1558 after her half-sisters death, and was crowned January of the following year, and recognizes the fact that “...a monarch rules by popular consent and works closely with parliament and trusted advisers.”(“Queen Elizabeth I Timeline”). Queen Elizabeth is quick to repeal her sisters changes, first restoring Protestantism as the official religion of her kingdom by passing the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity and appointing herself as the Head of the Church of England (“Tudors-Queen Elizabeth I”). Queen Elizabeth was religiously tolerant, incorporating many Catholic elements into the Church of England and the Revised Prayer Book of Elizabeth I, although perhaps only to prevent a Catholic revolt against her (“Queen Elizabeth I Timeline”). Mary Queen of Scots in Paris, one of Elizabeth’s cousins, proclaims that she is the rightful queen of England, Scotland, and France upon her husband being appointed Kind of France, who dies a year later (“Tudors-Queen Elizabeth I”). Mary then returns to Scotland, garnering the support of Catholics as the rightful Queen of England; Elizabeth supports Scottish Protestant rebels as to prevent a full-on Catholic uprising. Mary flees and is taken prisoner in England for nineteen years before being beheaded on her plots to take Elizabeth’s life (“Queen Elizabeth I Timeline”) Queen Elizabeth was not only bombarded with conflict, but with marriage prospects.

Elizabeth worked concisely and closely with her council on her marriage prospects, using them as political ties and alliances similarly to the biblical King Solomon, who married hundreds of wives as signs of friendship with other nations. Elizabeth was closely linked with a handful of men, whom for many it was rumored that they and the queen were lovers; among them are: Thomas Seymour, Robert Dudley, Robert Devereux, Philip II of Spain (who would later bash heads with England in the sea battle at Tilbury), Prince Eric of Sweden, and Charles II, Archduke of Austria. Elizabeth’s council also suggested many suitors to ensure an heir to the Tudor throne along with political ties and stability, those candidates are as follows: The Duke of Saxony, Adolphus, Duke of Holstein, Henry FitzAlan, Sir William Pickering, Francis Duke of Alencon, Charles Earl of Angouleme, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, James Hamilton Earl of Arran, Prince Fredrick of Denmark, Don Carlos son of Philip II of Spain, King Charles IX of France, Henri de Valois Duke of Anjou, Francois de Valois Duke of Alencon, Lord Darnley, and lastly, Emanuel Philibert Duke of Savoy (“Elizabeth I’s Suitors”). Though marriage was largely expected and perhaps even required for Queen Elizabeth, she never names a successor nor took a husband. Instead, the Queen “speaks of being married to her kingdom and subjects” and is dubbed the “Virgin Queen” by her subjects (“Queen Elizabeth I Timeline”). Elizabeth took pride in her independence and played the role of King of England herself, and is famously quoted in her speech at Tilbury as saying “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a King of England too” (“Tudors-Queen Elizabeth I”). Perhaps it was this strength and independence that brought England through their biggest threat in the Elizabethan Era.

The excommunication of the Virgin Queen and the execution of Mary provoked deepened the rift between European Protestants and Catholics, wars and revolts were appearing all over the continent, and the largest, most powerful country in Europe decided it was time to put it to rest once and for all by sending out their prized naval fleet out against the Britons. The country was Spain, who’s divinely guided “Fortunate Armada” was sent to invade Britain and re-establish Catholic rule following an attack by Sir Francis Drake who sacked the city of Cadiz and the execution of his wife Mary. The Armada Consisted of 132 ships marked with crusading emblems, 180 priests and monks, 8,766 sailors, 21,556 soldiers, 2,088 convict rowers and a total of 2684 guns. Esteemed commander Marquis de Santa Cruz was to lead the Armada across the English Channel to invade the English mainland, but died during the final touches to the fleet leaving King Phillip scrambling to find a commander of greater or equal social status; he chose Alonzo Perez de Guzman, Duke of Medina Sidonia, who possessed great status but no military or sailing experience. The core of the Armada was made up of converted merchant ships with higher fores and aft castles and a larger collection of guns that carried the entire Spanish army along with their baggage and artillery. The fleet was made up of slow and “...bulky floating castles designed for boarding and hand-to-hand combat” unfit for the rough, Atlantic waters, only managing an average of two-and-a-half knots with favorable winds (“The Spanish Armada”). Phillips orders were to rendezvous at Margate Point with ships from Dunkirk carrying soldiers from Parma to begin the inland invasion of England. Little did the Spanish fleet know that they were about to be greeted by the Britons and their fleet (“The Spanish Armada”).

The Britons turned out to be God’s favorite rather than the Spaniards, as is seen in the humiliating defeats and losses suffered on every encounter with the British Fleet. The Spanish Armada’s entrance into the Channel was first reported to Sir Francis Drake, who was then occupied with a game of bowls, on Plymouth Ho; after finishing said game beacon fires were lit across the kingdom to warn of the oncoming threat, and Howard and Drake set off with their faster and more nimble vessels to take down the Armada with long range Artillery. On the night of 28th July 1588 eight fireships were launched against the Armada when they were anchored, trying to use smaller vessels to beach said fireships proved unsuccessful, so the fleet was forced to cut their main anchors and scatter, a decision that would later on prove to be devastating. With dawn came a fierce battle referred to as the Battle of Gravelines in which two Spanish ships were sunk and the rest damaged, sustaining heavy casualties. Even though the “tactical results of the fighting were not decisive the Armada was strategically defeated. It was no longer feasible... to mount a military invasion of England.” (“The Spanish Armada”). It was at this point the Armada decided to return home to Spain, but were not able to go the conventional way due to noncooperative winds and the position of Howard’s fleet at the mouth of the Channel. They instead had to sail north, around the tip of Scotland and down the coast of Ireland in damaged ships through nonhospital waters and horrendous Atlantic storms. It is then that Queen Elizabeth would have her finest hour, at the battle of Tilbury (“The Spanish Armada”).

Once the beacons where lit, the whole country knew what was upon them, Queen Elizabeth mounted a white horse and rode to Tilbury to deliver the finest speech she would ever give. Queen Elizabeth had the mindset of the sailors she dispatched to fight, if England was going down, she was going down with it rather than cower in a palace surrounded by guards. The Queens bravery and confidence in her people was rewarded, the Spanish were unable to compete with the English’s modernized tactics and homefield advantage, many Spaniards never returned home from the excursion. It may be owed to the inspiring speech Queen Elizabeth gave there on the shores of Tilbury, cementing England as an up-to-snuff sea power and establishing her reputation as England's bravest queen. The most famous excerpt from her speech is as follows: “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too!” (Heather). The Queen would go on to outlive most of her loved ones and dearest companions, and establishing a second reign. On March 24 1603 Queen Elizabeth passed away, after suffering from a small bout of depression. (“Queen Elizabeth I Timeline”).

The sweet Virgin Queen, the brave Queen Elizabeth I, perhaps England’s greatest queen to date, was able to perform her duties better than most Kings would ever be able to despite every obstacle that was thrown at her. Despite a unstable and power-hungry family she grew up ind and fair. With uprisings and plots on her life and impending religious wars she was able to pull an entire kingdom together. She kept her emotions out of her duties and used her independence to prove herself, despite all the suitors lined up for her. And lastly, she rallied the nation together to defeat one of the biggest threats to Britain of all time, and without their victory over the Spanish Armada the world would have taken an entirely different course.
Bibliography

Heather, Sharnette. “The Spanish Armada.” Elizabethi. N.p. N.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013

“Tudors- Queen Elizabeth I.” British Royal Family History. British Royal Family History, N.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

“Elizabeth I’s Suitors.” The REAL TRUTH about Queen Elizabeth I. N.p. N.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

“The Spanish Armada.” British Battles. N.p. N.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

“England.” Britannica Student Encyclopedia. 2013. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.

“Queen Elizabeth I Timeline.” SoftSchools.com. N.p. N.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.