Elizabeth I

1533-1603, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She died without heir and was succeeded by James VI/I.

Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace in London on September 7, 1533. Her childhood is often considered difficult, starting with the fact that she was considered an illegitimate child after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn. After the death of her mother on May 19, 1536, she lived with her stepmother Katherine Parr. In 1554, under the rule of her sister Mary, she was imprisoned in the Tower of London and held under arrest at Woodstock later.

On November 17, 1558, Elizabeth became Queen of England and was from then on named Elizabeth I. However, the official coronation ceremony only took place on January 15, 1559 [the coronation, however, is not necessary for someone to become King/Queen of England]. Another event in the same year was the establishment of the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity. During this process, the Queen became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. In 1570, Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Pope.

On February 8, 1587, Elizabeth had her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots executed.

A very famous battle that took place during Elizabeth’s reign was the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588, which the English navy won. The background of this battle was the Spanish Armada trying to invade England. However, it was defeated near Gravelingen and lost even more ships when going back home due to a storm in Scotland and Ireland.

Elizabeth I is also known as the Virgin Queen due to the fact that she never married nor did she have any children. Nevertheless, she had several suitors and was also said to have been in a romantic relationship with Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Queen Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603, and was buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

Sources

• Grant, Neil. Kings & Queens. An Illustrated Guide to British Monarchs. London: HarperCollins, 2004.
• Maurer, Michael. Kleine Geschichte Englands. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2007.
• Weatherly, Myra. Elizabeth I. Queen of Tudor England. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2006.