153-564: Western Europe Western Europe Western Europe Western Europe Western Europe Western Europe Western Europe East Indies Western Europe European waters Americas East Indies The Islands Voyage , also known as the Essex-Raleigh Expedition , was an ambitious, but unsuccessful naval campaign sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England , and supported by the United Provinces , against
306-631: A Catholic aristocrat exiled to Spain and secretary to King Philip II. Three letters exist today describing the interview, detailing what Arthur proclaimed to be the story of his life, from birth in the royal palace to the time of his arrival in Spain. However, this failed to convince the Spaniards: Englefield admitted to King Philip that Arthur's "claim at present amounts to nothing", but suggested that "he should not be allowed to get away, but [...] kept very secure." The King agreed, and Arthur
459-410: A body politic to govern, so shall I desire you all ... to be assistant to me, that I with my ruling and you with your service may make a good account to Almighty God and leave some comfort to our posterity on earth. I mean to direct all my actions by good advice and counsel. As her triumphal progress wound through the city on the eve of the coronation ceremony , she was welcomed wholeheartedly by
612-590: A child, Frances's eldest daughter, Jane, could. She was young, healthy, and brought up in the Protestant faith, and her other qualities were of no importance. Edward VI personally supervised the copying of his will which was finally issued as letters patent on 21 June and signed by 102 notables, among them the whole Privy Council , peers, bishops, judges, and London aldermen . Edward also announced to have his "declaration" passed in parliament in September, and
765-483: A clear conscience, Edward, guided primarily by Dudley, planned the exclusion of his older half-sister from the line of succession. The king’s intentions aligned closely with Dudley’s fears: Dudley, who had become a symbol of the hated Reformation for Mary, reasonably believed that Mary might seek to eliminate both him and his family once she came to power. Both the King and Protector Dudley knew of Mary's intense devotion to
918-513: A duke, but the king. When the Duchess of Northumberland heard of the argument, she became furious and forbade Guildford to sleep any longer with his wife. She also commanded him to leave the Tower and go home, but Jane insisted that he remain at court at her side. Princess Mary was last seen by Edward in mid-February, and both her advisors and the imperial ambassador were keeping her informed about
1071-649: A humanist education from John Aylmer , speaking Latin and Greek from an early age, also studying Hebrew with Aylmer, and Italian with Michelangelo Florio . She was particularly fond, throughout her life, of writing letters in Latin and Greek. Through the influence of her father and her tutors, she became a committed Protestant and also corresponded with the Zürich reformer Heinrich Bullinger . She preferred academic studies rather than activities such as hunting parties and allegedly regarded her strict upbringing, which
1224-600: A queen, having reigned such a time, lived and died a virgin". Later on, poets and writers took up the theme and developed an iconography that exalted Elizabeth. Public tributes to the Virgin by 1578 acted as a coded assertion of opposition to the queen's marriage negotiations with the Duke of Alençon. Ultimately, Elizabeth would insist she was married to her kingdom and subjects, under divine protection. In 1599, she spoke of "all my husbands, my good people". This claim of virginity
1377-583: A result, the Parliament of 1559 started to legislate for a church based on the Protestant settlement of Edward VI , with the monarch as its head, but with many Catholic elements, such as vestments . The House of Commons backed the proposals strongly, but the bill of supremacy met opposition in the House of Lords , particularly from the bishops. Elizabeth was fortunate that many bishoprics were vacant at
1530-458: A short-tempered, sometimes indecisive ruler, who enjoyed more than her fair share of luck. Towards the end of her reign, a series of economic and military problems weakened her popularity. Elizabeth is acknowledged as a charismatic performer ("Gloriana") and a dogged survivor ("Good Queen Bess") in an era when government was ramshackle and limited, and when monarchs in neighbouring countries faced internal problems that jeopardised their thrones. After
1683-481: A silver breastplate over a white velvet dress, she addressed them in her Speech to the Troops at Tilbury : My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourself to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but I assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people ... I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have
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#17327731741831836-417: A sort broken our commandment in a cause that so greatly touches us in honour ... And therefore our express pleasure and commandment is that, all delays and excuses laid apart, you do presently upon the duty of your allegiance obey and fulfill whatsoever the bearer hereof shall direct you to do in our name. Whereof fail you not, as you will answer the contrary at your utmost peril. Elizabeth's "commandment"
1989-459: A special commission, took place on 13 November 1553, at Guildhall in the City of London . The commission was chaired by Sir Thomas White , Lord Mayor of London , and Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk . Other members included Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby , and John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Bath . As was to be expected, all defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death. The Duke of Suffolk
2142-653: A sympathetic teacher who believed that learning should be engaging. Current knowledge of Elizabeth's schooling and precocity comes largely from Ascham's memoirs. By the time her formal education ended in 1550, Elizabeth was one of the best educated women of her generation. At the end of her life, she was believed to speak the Welsh , Cornish , Scottish , and Irish languages in addition to those mentioned above. The Venetian ambassador stated in 1603 that she "possessed [these] languages so thoroughly that each appeared to be her native tongue". Historian Mark Stoyle suggests that she
2295-476: A talented and skilful tutor, she also progressed in French and Greek. By the age of 12, she was able to translate her stepmother Catherine Parr 's religious work Prayers or Meditations from English into Italian, Latin, and French, which she presented to her father as a New Year's gift. From her teenage years and throughout her life, she translated works in Latin and Greek by numerous classical authors, including
2448-452: A thousand pieces". However, after Parr discovered the pair in an embrace, she ended this state of affairs. In May 1548, Elizabeth was sent away. Thomas Seymour nevertheless continued scheming to control the royal family and tried to have himself appointed the governor of the King's person. When Parr died after childbirth on 5 September 1548, he renewed his attentions towards Elizabeth, intent on marrying her. Her governess Kat Ashley , who
2601-548: A visit from Protestant divine, but the Queen denied her request, and instead Mary sent her chaplain, Father John Feckenham to see Jane, who was initially not pleased about this. Though she would not give in to his efforts "to save her soul", she became friends with him and allowed him to accompany her to the scaffold. The day before their executions, Lord Guildford asked Jane to have one last meeting, which she refused, explaining it "would only ... increase their misery and pain, it
2754-463: A war of recriminations between Essex and Raleigh. The Spanish fleets were led by Martín de Padilla, Alonso de Bazán , Diego Brochero and Pedro de Zubiaur . The treasure fleet was commanded by Admiral Juan Gutiérrez de Garibay . The expedition was the last major naval campaign of Elizabeth I of England . Essex 's failure to capture the silver of the Spanish treasure fleet, and his failure to occupy
2907-481: A wave of popular support. She was accompanied by her half-sister Elizabeth and a procession of over 800 nobles and gentlemen. Jane is often called the Nine-Day Queen, although if her reign is dated from the moment of Edward's death on 6 July 1553, it could be reckoned to have lasted for almost two weeks (13 days). On 19 July 1553, Jane was imprisoned in the Tower's Gentleman Gaoler's apartments, and Guildford
3060-511: A week to try to build up a larger force. He was in a dilemma over who should lead the troops. He was the most experienced general in the Kingdom, but he did not want to leave the government in the hands of his colleagues, in some of whom he had little confidence. Jane decided the issue by demanding that her father should remain with her and the Council. On the night of July 10, during dinner,
3213-480: A younger son of Edward VI's chief minister John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland . In June 1553, the dying Edward VI wrote his will, nominating Jane and her male heirs as successors to the Crown, in part because his half-sister Mary was Catholic, while Jane was a committed Protestant and would support the reformed Church of England , whose foundation Edward laid. The will removed his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, from
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#17327731741833366-537: Is guilty". Seymour was beheaded on 20 March 1549. Edward VI died on 6 July 1553, aged 15. His will ignored the Succession to the Crown Act 1543 , excluded both Mary and Elizabeth from the succession, and instead declared as his heir Lady Jane Grey, granddaughter of Henry VIII's younger sister Mary Tudor, Queen of France . Jane was proclaimed queen by the privy council , but her support quickly crumbled, and she
3519-660: The Pro Marcello of Cicero , the De consolatione philosophiae of Boethius , a treatise by Plutarch , and the Annals of Tacitus . A translation of Tacitus from Lambeth Palace Library, one of only four surviving English translations from the early modern era, was confirmed as Elizabeth's own in 2019, after a detailed analysis of the handwriting and paper was undertaken. After Grindal died in 1548, Elizabeth received her education under her brother Edward's tutor, Roger Ascham ,
3672-532: The King's Council , he proposed his daughter Jane as a bride for the Protector's eldest son, Lord Hertford . Nothing came of this, however, and Jane was not engaged until 25 May 1553, her bridegroom being Lord Guildford Dudley , a younger son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland . The Duke, Lord President of the King's Council from late 1549, was then the most powerful man in the country. On 25 May 1553,
3825-749: The Spanish ships to the northeast. The Armada straggled home to Spain in shattered remnants, after disastrous losses on the coast of Ireland (after some ships had tried to struggle back to Spain via the North Sea , and then back south past the west coast of Ireland). Unaware of the Armada's fate, English militias mustered to defend the country under the Earl of Leicester's command. Leicester invited Elizabeth to inspect her troops at Tilbury in Essex on 8 August. Wearing
3978-644: The Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire of Philip II from the House of Habsburg during the Anglo–Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Eighty Years' War . The campaign took place between June and late August 1597, and the objectives were to destroy the Spanish fleet of the Adelantado of Castile , Martín de Padilla y Manrique, Count of Santa Gadea , at the port of Ferrol , occupy and destroy
4131-680: The Spanish Netherlands . In December 1584, an alliance between Philip II and the French Catholic League at Joinville undermined the ability of Anjou's brother, Henry III of France , to counter Spanish domination of the Netherlands. It also extended Spanish influence along the channel coast of France, where the Catholic League was strong, and exposed England to invasion. The siege of Antwerp in
4284-527: The Spanish possessions in the Azores Islands , and intercept the Spanish treasure fleet coming from America as it passed through the Azores. The result of the campaign was a great failure for England . It was led by Sir Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex , as Admiral and General-in-chief, Sir Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk , as Vice-Admiral, and Sir Walter Raleigh as Rear-Admiral. The Dutch squadron
4437-470: The Tower of London . Elizabeth fervently protested her innocence. Though it is unlikely that she had plotted with the rebels, some of them were known to have approached her. Mary's closest confidant, Emperor Charles's ambassador Simon Renard , argued that her throne would never be safe while Elizabeth lived; and Lord Chancellor Stephen Gardiner , worked to have Elizabeth put on trial. Elizabeth's supporters in
4590-482: The crucifix ), and downplayed the role of sermons in defiance of a key Protestant belief. Elizabeth and her advisers perceived the threat of a Catholic crusade against heretical England. The Queen therefore sought a Protestant solution that would not offend Catholics too greatly while addressing the desires of English Protestants, but she would not tolerate the Puritans , who were pushing for far-reaching reforms. As
4743-667: The succession question became a heated issue in Parliament. Members urged the Queen to marry or nominate an heir, to prevent a civil war upon her death. She refused to do either. In April she prorogued the Parliament, which did not reconvene until she needed its support to raise taxes in 1566. Having previously promised to marry, she told an unruly House: I will never break the word of a prince spoken in public place, for my honour's sake. And therefore I say again, I will marry as soon as I can conveniently, if God take not him away with whom I mind to marry, or myself, or else some other great let [obstruction] happen. By 1570, senior figures in
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4896-474: The Babington Plot. Elizabeth's proclamation of the sentence announced that "the said Mary, pretending title to the same Crown, had compassed and imagined within the same realm diverse things tending to the hurt, death and destruction of our royal person." On 8 February 1587, Mary was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle , Northamptonshire. After the execution, Elizabeth claimed that she had not intended for
5049-628: The Catholic enemies of England, they detained her in England, where she was imprisoned for the next nineteen years. Mary was soon the focus for rebellion. In 1569 there was a major Catholic rising in the North ; the goal was to free Mary, marry her to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk , and put her on the English throne. After the rebels' defeat, over 750 of them were executed on Elizabeth's orders. In
5202-651: The Catholic faith and opponents of Northumberland, lived there. Rather, it seems the Earl of Arundel, together with William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke orchestrated a coup d'état in the Privy Council in Northumberland's absence. Arundel, one of the leaders of the Conservative faction within the Council and a staunch opponent of the reformist religious policies of both the King and Northumberland, had been imprisoned twice by Dudley for having sided with
5355-556: The Catholic faith; The Princess had half accepted some of her father's reforms, but bitterly disapproved of all those made by Edward, and the fear of both Edward and Dudley is that if she came to the throne, she would reestablish Catholicism, reversing all the reforms made. Mary regarded the Pope's cause as her own, and Mary's Catholic convictions were so strong that when Edward's parliament passed an Act of Uniformity that required all church services to be in English, she continued to have
5508-635: The Catholics to retake the port. Elizabeth's intention had been to exchange Le Havre for Calais , lost to France in January 1558. Only through the activities of her fleets did Elizabeth pursue an aggressive policy. This paid off in the war against Spain , 80% of which was fought at sea. She knighted Francis Drake after his circumnavigation of the globe from 1577 to 1580, and he won fame for his raids on Spanish ports and fleets. An element of piracy and self-enrichment drove Elizabethan seafarers, over whom
5661-573: The Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula on the north side of Tower Green. No memorial stone was erected at their grave. Jane's father, the Duke of Suffolk, was executed 11 days after Jane, on 23 February 1554. The executions did not contribute to Mary's or the government's popularity. Five months after the couple's death, John Knox , the famous Scottish reformer , wrote of them as "innocents ... such as by just laws and faithful witnesses can never be proved to have offended by themselves." Of Guildford Dudley,
5814-496: The Council. After proclaiming Mary, the Duke raised his cap and "laughed to try to hide the tears that fell down his pain-filled cheeks." Two members of the Council, the Catholics William Paget and Henry FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel , rode to Framlingham to beg Mary's pardon, on behalf of the majority of the councillors, for having signed the document removing her from the succession and placing Jane Grey on
5967-449: The Crown. Whatever the degree of his contribution, Edward was convinced that his word was law and fully endorsed disinheriting his half-sisters: "barring Mary from the succession was a cause in which the young King believed". Referred to by the court as Jane Dudley, wife of Guildford, Jane was charged with high treason , as were her husband, two of his brothers, and the former archbishop of Canterbury , Thomas Cranmer . Their trial, by
6120-410: The Duchess of Suffolk, Jane's mother, and the Duchess of Northumberland broke into tears, due to the arrival of Mary's letter, as the duchesses knew that they could be left in a vulnerable position if Mary triumphed and acceded to the throne. On 12 July, Mary and her supporters gathered an army of nearly twenty thousand at Framlingham Castle , Suffolk, Duke of Norfolk's property, to eventually confront
6273-567: The Duke of Northumberland, was accused of treason, and executed less than a month later. Jane was held prisoner in the Tower, and in November 1553 was also convicted of treason, which carried a sentence of death. Mary initially spared her life, but Jane soon became viewed as a threat to the Crown when her father, Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk , became involved with Wyatt's rebellion against Queen Mary's intention to marry Philip of Spain . Jane and her husband were executed on 12 February 1554. At
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6426-553: The English throne, but from the Ridolfi Plot of 1571 (which caused Mary's suitor, the Duke of Norfolk, to lose his head) to the Babington Plot of 1586, Elizabeth's spymaster Francis Walsingham and the royal council keenly assembled a case against her. At first, Elizabeth resisted calls for Mary's death. By late 1586, she had been persuaded to sanction Mary's trial and execution on the evidence of letters written during
6579-535: The English throne. The marriage was the first of a series of errors of judgement by Mary that handed the victory to the Scottish Protestants and to Elizabeth. Darnley quickly became unpopular and was murdered in February 1567 by conspirators almost certainly led by James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell . Shortly afterwards, on 15 May 1567, Mary married Bothwell, arousing suspicions that she had been party to
6732-458: The Government decided to continue with the sentence against Jane and her husband. The former Queen was becoming a serious threat to Mary, so the executions of Grey and Guildford Dudley were also an opportunity to remove possible inspirations for future unrest and unwelcome reminders of the past. It troubled Queen to let her cousin die, but she accepted the Privy Council's advice. Mary signed
6885-635: The Horse and chamberlain , Adrian Stokes . She died in 1559. In 1836, American poet Lydia Sigourney published a poem, "Lady Jane Grey", in her volume Zinzendorff and Other Poems . In 1911, the British historian Albert Pollard called Jane "the traitor-heroine of the Reformation". During the Marian persecutions and its aftermath, Jane became viewed as a Protestant martyr, featuring prominently in
7038-607: The Plantagenets, the descendants of his aunt Margaret (the Scottish Stewarts) and his own older half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth, Edward was forced to choose from the descendants of his aunt Mary, Widow Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk. There were no male descendants in this branch of the Tudors, and the oldest woman of childbearing age was Mary's thirty-five-year-old daughter Frances Grey. If Frances could not bear
7191-519: The Portuguese Azores Islands ( Iberian Union ), contributed to his decline in the queen's favour. Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last monarch of the House of Tudor . Elizabeth was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn . When Elizabeth
7344-587: The Queen had little control. After the occupation and loss of Le Havre in 1562–1563, Elizabeth avoided military expeditions on the continent until 1585, when she sent an English army to aid the Protestant Dutch rebels against Philip II. This followed the deaths in 1584 of the Queen's allies William the Silent , Prince of Orange, and the Duke of Anjou, and the surrender of a series of Dutch towns to Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma , Philip's governor of
7497-467: The Queen pleases" ( burning was the traditional English punishment for treason committed by women). The imperial ambassador reported to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , that her life was to be spared. Jane submitted a letter of explanation to the Queen, "asking forgiveness ... for the sin she was accused of, informing her majesty about the truth of events." In this account, she spoke of herself as "a wife who loves her husband". In December, Jane
7650-570: The Royal navy. Given the circumstances and the fact that the Council had changed sides, the Duke felt that launching a final attack against Mary meant fighting a hopeless campaign. The army proceeded from Cambridge to Bury St Edmunds and retreated again to Cambridge. Stranded in Cambridge, Northumberland surrendered and proclaimed Mary in the Marketplace, as he had been ordered in a letter from
7803-655: The Spanish fleet of war ships intended for the Enterprise of England , as Philip II had decided to take the war to England. On 12 July 1588, the Spanish Armada, a great fleet of ships, set sail for the channel, planning to ferry a Spanish invasion force under the Duke of Parma to the coast of southeast England from the Netherlands. The armada was defeated by a combination of miscalculation, misfortune, and an attack of English fire ships off Gravelines at midnight on 28–29 July (7–8 August New Style), which dispersed
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#17327731741837956-483: The autumn of 1559, several foreign suitors were vying for Elizabeth's hand; their impatient envoys engaged in ever more scandalous talk and reported that a marriage with her favourite was not welcome in England: "There is not a man who does not cry out on him and her with indignation ... she will marry none but the favoured Robert." Amy Dudley died in September 1560, from a fall from a flight of stairs and, despite
8109-550: The axeman answered, "No, madam." She then blindfolded herself. Jane then failed to find the block with her hands, and cried, "What shall I do? Where is it?" Probably Sir Thomas Brydges , the Deputy Lieutenant of the Tower, helped her find her way. With her head on the block, Jane spoke the last words of Jesus as recounted in the Gospel of Luke : "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!" Jane and Guildford are buried in
8262-400: The basis for Raphael Holinshed 's depiction, Jane gave a speech upon ascending the scaffold: Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, against the Queen's highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and
8415-690: The belief that the revolt had been successful, Pope Pius V issued a bull in 1570, titled Regnans in Excelsis , which declared "Elizabeth, the pretended Queen of England and the servant of crime" to be excommunicated and a heretic , releasing all her subjects from any allegiance to her. Catholics who obeyed her orders were threatened with excommunication . The papal bull provoked legislative initiatives against Catholics by Parliament, which were, however, mitigated by Elizabeth's intervention. In 1581, to convert English subjects to Catholicism with "the intent" to withdraw them from their allegiance to Elizabeth
8568-505: The cause, "what chance of variance soever might grow amongst you in my absence". After marching to East Anglia, the Northumberland army spent a week practically without action, until on 20 July, the Duke learned that the previous day the Council had declared for Mary. Supported by the gentry and nobility of East Anglia and the Thames Valley , Mary's support grew daily and, through luck, came into possession of powerful artillery from
8721-530: The cause, Leicester's own shortcomings as a political and military leader, and the faction-ridden and chaotic situation of Dutch politics led to the failure of the campaign. Leicester finally resigned his command in December 1587. Meanwhile, Francis Drake had undertaken a major voyage against Spanish ports and ships in the Caribbean in 1585 and 1586. In 1587 he made a successful raid on Cádiz , destroying
8874-522: The centre of [Elizabeth's] emotional life", as historian Susan Doran has described the situation. He died shortly after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. After Elizabeth's own death, a note from him was found among her most personal belongings, marked "his last letter" in her handwriting. Marriage negotiations constituted a key element in Elizabeth's foreign policy. She turned down
9027-410: The chronicler Grafton wrote ten years later: "even those that never before the time of his execution saw him, did with lamentable tears bewail his death." With only her two surviving teenage daughters and her husband executed for treason, Jane's mother, the Duchess of Suffolk faced ruin. As a wife, she had no possessions in her own right. All of her husband's possessions were forfeited by the Crown as
9180-487: The citizens and greeted by orations and pageants, most with a strong Protestant flavour. Elizabeth's open and gracious responses endeared her to the spectators, who were "wonderfully ravished". The following day, 15 January 1559, a date chosen by her astrologer John Dee , Elizabeth was crowned and anointed by Owen Oglethorpe , the Catholic bishop of Carlisle , in Westminster Abbey . She was then presented for
9333-635: The claim of Lady Jane Grey to the throne and proclaim Mary as Queen of England. That same day, a few hours before Queen Mary's proclamation in London, the baptism of one of the Gentlemen Pensioners ' children took place. Jane had agreed to be the godmother and wished the child's name to be Guildford. The Bishop of Winchester, Stephen Gardiner , who had been imprisoned in the Tower for five years, took great offence at this fact as he heard of it. Mary rode triumphantly into London on 3 August, on
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#17327731741839486-463: The claims of his two half-sisters, the Catholic Mary and the younger Elizabeth, in spite of statutes to the contrary. Edward's will was set aside within weeks of his death and Mary became queen, deposing and executing Jane. During Mary's reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels. Upon her half-sister's death in 1558, Elizabeth succeeded to
9639-467: The coroner's inquest finding of accident, many people suspected her husband of having arranged her death so that he could marry the Queen. Elizabeth seriously considered marrying Dudley for some time. However, William Cecil , Nicholas Throckmorton , and some conservative peers made their disapproval unmistakably clear. There were even rumours that the nobility would rise if the marriage took place. Among other marriage candidates being considered for
9792-486: The councillors moved out of the Tower before switching their allegiance. Becoming aware of his colleagues' change of mind, Jane's father abandoned his command of the fortress and proclaimed Mary I on nearby Tower Hill . The historical consensus assumes that this was in recognition of overwhelming support of the population for Mary. However, there is no clear evidence for that outside Norfolk and Suffolk, where Northumberland had put down Kett's Rebellion , and many adherents to
9945-534: The couple were married at Durham House in a triple wedding, in which Jane's sister Katherine was matched with the heir of the Earl of Pembroke , Lord Herbert , and another Katherine , Lord Guildford's sister, with Henry Hastings , the Earl of Huntingdon 's heir. Henry VIII had three children: Mary , who was raised Roman Catholic, and Elizabeth and Edward , the latter from the King's third marriage to Jane Seymour (who died in 1537 after complications arising from
10098-545: The enemy". He enraged Elizabeth by accepting the post of Governor-General from the Dutch States General . Elizabeth saw this as a Dutch ploy to force her to accept sovereignty over the Netherlands, which so far she had always declined. She wrote to Leicester: We could never have imagined (had we not seen it fall out in experience) that a man raised up by ourself and extraordinarily favoured by us, above any other subject of this land, would have in so contemptible
10251-478: The face of you, good Christian people, this day. While admitting to action considered unlawful, she declared that "I do wash my hands thereof in innocence". Jane then recited Psalm 51 ( Have mercy upon me, O God ) in English, and handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maid. The executioner asked her for forgiveness, which she granted him, pleading: "I pray you dispatch me quickly." Referring to her head, she asked, "Will you take it off before I lay me down?", and
10404-442: The fact that she was noted as being in her seventeenth year at the time of her execution. Frances was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII 's younger sister, Mary . Jane had two younger sisters: Lady Katherine and Lady Mary . Through their mother, the three sisters were great-granddaughters of Henry VII ; great-nieces of Henry VIII; and first cousins once removed of the future Edward VI , Mary I and Elizabeth I . Jane received
10557-424: The final stages of Mary's apparent pregnancy . If Mary and her child died, Elizabeth would become queen, but if Mary gave birth to a healthy child, Elizabeth's chances of becoming queen would recede sharply. When it became clear that Mary was not pregnant, no one believed any longer that she could have a child. Elizabeth's succession seemed assured. King Philip, who ascended the Spanish throne in 1556, acknowledged
10710-547: The focus of plots against her predecessor. Elizabeth's unmarried status inspired a cult of virginity related to that of the Virgin Mary . In poetry and portraiture, she was depicted as a virgin, a goddess, or both, not as a normal woman. At first, only Elizabeth made a virtue of her ostensible virginity: in 1559, she told the Commons, "And, in the end, this shall be for me sufficient, that a marble stone shall declare that
10863-407: The forces led by Dudley. On 14 July Northumberland was obliged to relinquish control of a nervous Council in London to pursue Mary into East Anglia. That same day, Northumberland, accompanied by his sons John, Earl of Warwick , the Duke's heir apparent, and Lord Ambrose , left London and headed to Cambridge with 1,500 troops and some artillery , having reminded his colleagues of the gravity of
11016-455: The government privately accepted that Elizabeth would never marry or name a successor. William Cecil was already seeking solutions to the succession problem. For her failure to marry, Elizabeth was often accused of irresponsibility. Her silence, however, strengthened her own political security: she knew that if she named an heir, her throne would be vulnerable to a coup; she remembered the way that "a second person, as I have been" had been used as
11169-412: The government, including William Paget, 1st Baron Paget , convinced Mary to spare her sister in the absence of hard evidence against her. Instead, on 22 May, Elizabeth was moved from the Tower to Woodstock Palace , where she was to spend almost a year under house arrest in the charge of Henry Bedingfeld . Crowds cheered her all along the way. On 17 April 1555, Elizabeth was recalled to court to attend
11322-496: The hand of Philip, her half-sister's widower, early in 1559 but for several years entertained the proposal of King Eric XIV of Sweden . Earlier in Elizabeth's life, a Danish match for her had been discussed; Henry VIII had proposed one with the Danish prince Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp , in 1545, and Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, suggested a marriage with Prince Frederick (later Frederick II) several years later, but
11475-447: The hands of King Philip II of Spain, marriage offered the chance of an heir. However, the choice of a husband might also provoke political instability or even insurrection. In the spring of 1559, it became evident that Elizabeth was in love with her childhood friend Robert Dudley . It was said that his wife Amy was suffering from a "malady in one of her breasts" and that the Queen would like to marry Robert if his wife should die. By
11628-438: The heart and stomach of a king, and of a King of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any Prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm. Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/7 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage and as the " Nine Days' Queen ", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 to 19 July 1553. Jane
11781-594: The inception of the "devise" and the insistence on its implementation to the king's initiative. Diarmaid MacCulloch has made out Edward's "teenage dreams of founding an evangelical realm of Christ", while David Starkey has stated that "Edward had a couple of co-operators, but the driving will was his". Among other members of the Privy Chamber, Northumberland's intimate Sir John Gates has been suspected of suggesting to Edward to change his devise so that Lady Jane Grey herself—not just any sons of hers—could inherit
11934-680: The line of succession on account of their illegitimacy, subverting their lawful claims under the Third Succession Act . Through Northumberland, Edward's letters patent in favour of Jane were signed by the entire privy council, bishops, and other notables. After Edward's death, Jane was proclaimed queen on 10 July 1553, and awaited coronation in the Tower of London . Support for Mary grew rapidly and most of Jane's supporters abandoned her. The Privy Council of England suddenly changed sides, and proclaimed Mary as queen on 19 July 1553, deposing Jane. Her primary supporter, her father-in-law,
12087-461: The monarch as the supreme governor or risk disqualification from office; the heresy laws were repealed, to avoid a repeat of the persecution of dissenters by Mary. At the same time, a new Act of Uniformity was passed, which made attendance at church and the use of the 1559 Book of Common Prayer (an adapted version of the 1552 prayer book ) compulsory, though the penalties for recusancy , or failure to attend and conform, were not extreme. From
12240-472: The monarch that he could not disinherit just one of his two older half-sisters: he would also have to disinherit Elizabeth, although she, like her half-brother, was also a Protestant. Instigated by Northumberland, Edward decided to disinherit both Mary and Elizabeth, thus contravening the Succession Act of 1544, and appointed Jane Grey as his heir. The essence of Edward's will was to give priority to
12393-473: The morning", and escape. However, it was too late, as that same morning Arundel arrived to once again arrest the Duke, his sons, and his entourage. The prisoners returned riding side by side through London to the Tower on 25 July, the guards having difficulties protecting them against the hostile populace. A pamphlet appearing shortly after Northumberland's arrest illustrated the general hatred of him: "the great devil Dudley ruleth, Duke I should have said". He
12546-623: The murder of her husband. Elizabeth confronted Mary about the marriage, writing to her: How could a worse choice be made for your honour than in such haste to marry such a subject, who besides other and notorious lacks, public fame has charged with the murder of your late husband, besides the touching of yourself also in some part, though we trust in that behalf falsely. These events led rapidly to Mary's defeat and imprisonment in Lochleven Castle . The Scottish lords forced her to abdicate in favour of her one-year-old son, James VI . James
12699-440: The necessary writs were prepared. The King died on 6 July 1553, but his death was not announced until four days later. On July 9, Jane was informed that she was now Queen. She was initially reluctant to accept the crown, although she later relented after pressure from an assembly of nobles, including her parents and her parents in-laws, while Guildford chimed in with a lovelier approach, with "prayers and caresses". On July 10 she
12852-693: The negotiations had abated in 1551. In the years around 1559, a Dano-English Protestant alliance was considered, and to counter Sweden's proposal, King Frederick II proposed to Elizabeth in late 1559. For several years, she seriously negotiated to marry Philip's cousin Charles II, Archduke of Austria . By 1569, relations with the Habsburgs had deteriorated. Elizabeth considered marriage to two French Valois princes in turn, first Henry, Duke of Anjou , and then from 1572 to 1581 his brother Francis, Duke of Anjou , formerly Duke of Alençon. This last proposal
13005-589: The new political reality and cultivated his sister-in-law. She was a better ally than the chief alternative, Mary, Queen of Scots , who had grown up in France and was betrothed to Francis, Dauphin of France . When his wife fell ill in 1558, Philip sent the Count of Feria to consult with Elizabeth. This interview was conducted at Hatfield House , where she had returned to live in October 1555. By October 1558, Elizabeth
13158-473: The order on 19 January. Bishop and Lord Chancellor Gardiner pressed for the young couple's execution in a court sermon, and the Imperial ambassador Simon Renard was happy to report that "Jane of Suffolk and her husband are to lose their heads." Their execution was initially scheduled for 9 February 1554, but was postponed for three days to give Jane the opportunity to convert to Catholicism. Jane asked for
13311-436: The people's acceptance, amidst a deafening noise of organs, fifes, trumpets, drums, and bells. Although Elizabeth was welcomed as queen in England, the country was still in a state of anxiety over the perceived Catholic threat at home and overseas, as well as the choice of whom she would marry. Elizabeth's personal religious convictions have been much debated by scholars. She was a Protestant, but kept Catholic symbols (such as
13464-471: The pregnancy and birth of Edward), who were raised as Protestant. After his divorce from Catherine of Aragon in 1533 and the execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536, Henry rewrote the Act of Succession twice, declaring his eldest daughters Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate. Although Jane Seymour managed to briefly reconcile Henry with his daughters, the monarch's formal reconciliation with them would only come in 1543, at
13617-427: The previous Protector, Somerset; but it is not clear why Pembroke participated in the coup, especially since his son and heir Henry had married Jane's sister, Katherine , the same day as Jane and Guildford Dudley's wedding. Once the coup was consummated, the rest of the councillors, including those who were still loyal to Jane, accepted it. On 19 July, the Council met at Baynard's Castle , Pembroke's property, to end
13770-435: The queen, Robert Dudley continued to be regarded as a possible candidate for nearly another decade. Elizabeth was extremely jealous of his affections, even when she no longer meant to marry him herself. She raised Dudley to the peerage as Earl of Leicester in 1564. In 1578, he finally married Lettice Knollys , to whom the queen reacted with repeated scenes of displeasure and lifelong hatred. Still, Dudley always "remained at
13923-424: The reins of power, the country had an established Protestant church and was run by a council of Protestant nobles supported by Elizabeth. Mary refused to ratify the treaty. In 1563, Elizabeth proposed her own suitor, Robert Dudley, as a husband for Mary, without asking either of the two people concerned. Both proved unenthusiastic, and in 1565, Mary married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley , who carried his own claim to
14076-477: The rest of her life. Thomas Seymour engaged in romps and horseplay with the 14-year-old Elizabeth, including entering her bedroom in his nightgown, tickling her, and slapping her on the buttocks. Elizabeth rose early and surrounded herself with maids to avoid his unwelcome morning visits. Parr, rather than confront her husband over his inappropriate activities, joined in. Twice she accompanied him in tickling Elizabeth, and once held her while he cut her black gown "into
14229-414: The royal succession. Eleven days after Anne Boleyn's execution, Henry married Jane Seymour . Queen Jane died the next year shortly after the birth of their son, Edward , who was the undisputed heir apparent to the throne. Elizabeth was placed in her half-brother's household and carried the chrisom , or baptismal cloth, at his christening. Elizabeth's first governess , Margaret Bryan , wrote that she
14382-451: The same day as Jane's proclamation in London. Jane's proclamation in London was greeted by the public with murmurs of discontent. The council replied to Mary's letter that Jane was queen by Edward's authority and that Mary, by contrast, was illegitimate and supported only by "a few lewd, base people". Dudley interpreted the letter as a threat, although at that time he had not prepared for resolute action on Mary's part since he needed at least
14535-421: The short, disastrous reigns of her half-siblings, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped to forge a sense of national identity. Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace on 7 September 1533 and was named after her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Lady Elizabeth Howard . She was the second child of Henry VIII of England born in wedlock to survive infancy. Her mother
14688-568: The signed execution warrant to be dispatched, and blamed her secretary, William Davison , for implementing it without her knowledge. The sincerity of Elizabeth's remorse and whether or not she wanted to delay the warrant have been called into question both by her contemporaries and later historians. Elizabeth's foreign policy was largely defensive. The exception was the English occupation of Le Havre from October 1562 to June 1563, which ended in failure when Elizabeth's Huguenot allies joined with
14841-399: The son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and an active Catholic. Discontent spread rapidly through the country, and many looked to Elizabeth as a focus for their opposition to Mary's religious policies. In January and February 1554, Wyatt's rebellion broke out; it was soon suppressed. Elizabeth was brought to court and interrogated regarding her role, and on 18 March, she was imprisoned in
14994-509: The sovereign's "two bodies": the body natural and the body politic : My lords, the law of nature moves me to sorrow for my sister; the burden that is fallen upon me makes me amazed, and yet, considering I am God's creature, ordained to obey His appointment, I will thereto yield, desiring from the bottom of my heart that I may have assistance of His grace to be the minister of His heavenly will in this office now committed to me. And as I am but one body naturally considered, though by His permission
15147-553: The start did not really back this course of action. Her strategy, to support the Dutch on the surface with an English army, while beginning secret peace talks with Spain within days of Leicester's arrival in Holland, had necessarily to be at odds with Leicester's, who had set up a protectorate and was expected by the Dutch to fight an active campaign. Elizabeth, on the other hand, wanted him "to avoid at all costs any decisive action with
15300-512: The start of Elizabeth's reign it was expected that she would marry, and the question arose to whom. Although she received many offers, she never married and remained childless; the reasons for this are not clear. Historians have speculated that Thomas Seymour had put her off sexual relationships. She considered several suitors until she was about 50 years old. Her last courtship was with Francis, Duke of Anjou , 22 years her junior. While risking possible loss of power like her sister, who played into
15453-543: The state of her brother's health. At the end of June, Mary was invited to visit her dying brother, however her advisors warned her that it was a plan devised by Northumberland to capture her and thus facilitate Jane's accession to the throne. Therefore, a few days before Edward's death, the Princess left Hunsdon House , near London, and sped to her extensive estates around Kenninghall in Norfolk , where she could count on
15606-560: The succession, and also bypassed the claims of the descendants of his elder sister, Margaret , who had married into the Scottish royal house and nobility. In February 1553 Edward VI fell ill (many historians believe it was tuberculosis ). Although he briefly recovered, in May he suffered a relapse again, and by early June his health had seriously deteriorated to the point that royal doctors informed Regent Dudley and other noblemen close to
15759-547: The summer of 1585 by the Duke of Parma necessitated some reaction on the part of the English and the Dutch. The outcome was the Treaty of Nonsuch of August 1585, in which Elizabeth promised military support to the Dutch. The treaty marked the beginning of the Anglo-Spanish War , which lasted until the Treaty of London in 1604. The expedition was led by Elizabeth's former suitor, the Earl of Leicester. Elizabeth from
15912-731: The support of her tenants . Northumberland sent part of the Royal Navy to the Norfolk coasts to prevent their escape or the arrival of reinforcements from the Continent. To claim her right to the throne, Mary began assembling her supporters in East Anglia . Northumberland soon realised that he had made a grave mistake in failing to capture and neutralise the Princess before she fled to her estates in Norfolk. Although many of those who rallied to Mary were Catholics hoping to reestablish
16065-539: The throne and set out to rule by good counsel. She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers led by William Cecil , whom she created Baron Burghley . One of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the supreme governor . This era, later named the Elizabethan Religious Settlement , would evolve into the Church of England . It
16218-562: The throne to the unborn sons of Lady Frances Brandon, followed by the unborn sons of her daughter Jane Grey. The choice of the descendants of Henry VII's youngest daughter was easy: Edward had no choice. He could not follow Salic law because of the paucity of men in the Tudor line: the only such man, the Scotsman Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley , barely 6 or 7 years old and son of the King's first cousin, Lady Margaret Douglas ,
16371-454: The throne. A large group of townsmen and university scholars surrounded King's College to arrest the Duke, who was with his sons, lodged on the premises. In contrast to his father and his brother, Warwick resisted arrest. A letter from the Council arrived that everyman could go his way, so the Duke asked to be set free, "and so continued they all night [at liberty]". At dawn on 21 July, the Duke and his sons "was booted ready to have ridden in
16524-468: The throne. Mary was considered by many to be the heir to the English crown, being the granddaughter of Henry VIII's elder sister, Margaret . Mary boasted being "the nearest kinswoman she hath". Elizabeth was persuaded to send a force into Scotland to aid the Protestant rebels, and though the campaign was inept, the resulting Treaty of Edinburgh of July 1560 removed the French threat in the north. When Mary returned from France to Scotland in 1561 to take up
16677-520: The time of her execution, Jane was either 16 or 17 years old. Lady Jane Grey was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk , and his wife, Frances Brandon . The traditional view is that she was born at Bradgate Park in Leicestershire in October 1537, while more recent research indicates that she was born somewhat earlier, possibly in London, sometime before May 1537 or between May 1536 and February 1537. This would coincide with
16830-492: The time she was still viewed with some suspicion by the Queen, and employed the Duchess's two surviving daughters as maids of honour. In 1555 there was talk of a possible marriage between Frances and her relative Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon , but Courtenay was reluctant, and soon went into exile to the Republic of Venice , where he subsequently died. Frances, to avoid having problems with Mary again, married her Master of
16983-586: The time, including the Archbishopric of Canterbury . This enabled supporters amongst peers to outvote the bishops and conservative peers. Nevertheless, Elizabeth was forced to accept the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England rather than the more contentious title of Supreme Head , which many thought unacceptable for a woman to bear. The new Act of Supremacy became law on 8 May 1559. All public officials were forced to swear an oath of loyalty to
17136-629: The traditional Latin mass celebrated in her private chapel. When Edward and his advisors pressured Mary to conform to the Law of Uniformity, the Princess went so far as to appeal her situation to her first cousin, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V , the most powerful monarch in Catholic Europe, who threatened to intervene militarily in England if the Government continued to interfere with Mary's religion. Edward's advisors warned
17289-419: The traditional faith and defeat Protestantism, among her supporters there were also Protestants who were dissatisfied with the governance of both Edward and Dudley, and many for whom the Princess's legitimate claim to the throne overrode religious considerations. On 9 July, from Kenninghall, she sent a letter saying that she was now Queen and demanded the obedience of the Council. The letter arrived on 10 July,
17442-634: The urging of his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr . The princesses were reinstated in the line of succession in the Final Act of 1544, although they were still regarded as illegitimate. Furthermore, this Act authorised Henry VIII to alter the succession by his will. Henry's will reinforced the succession of his three children, and then declared that, should none of them leave descendants, the throne would pass to heirs of his younger sister, Mary, which included Jane. For reasons still unknown, Henry excluded his niece and Jane's mother, Lady Frances Brandon from
17595-582: The world to come joy everlasting. Your humble son to his death, G. Dudley Mary initially decided to spare the lives of Jane and her husband, assuming that they had been mere pawns in the midst of a much larger political plan designed and orchestrated by Northumberland, and the Duke was executed on 22 August 1553, a month after Mary's accession to the throne. However, the Wyatt's Rebellion in January 1554 against Queen Mary's marriage plans with Philip of Spain ultimately sealed Jane's fate. The Queen's marriage plan
17748-430: The world; or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs and other ways (which I will not name for the honour I bear them) ... that I think myself in hell. Around February 1547, Jane was sent to live in the household of Edward VI's uncle, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley , who soon married Henry VIII's widow, Katherine Parr . After moving there, Jane
17901-587: The young monarch that he had only a few weeks to live. At the time, Edward's heir presumptive was his Catholic half-sister, Mary. Edward, in a draft will ("My devise for the Succession") composed earlier in 1553, had first restricted the succession to (non-existent) male descendants of Jane's mother and her daughters, before he named his Protestant cousin "Lady Jane and her heirs male" as his successors, probably in June 1553. Aware of his impending death and still with
18054-407: Was video et taceo ("I see and keep silent"). In religion, she was relatively tolerant and avoided systematic persecution. After the pope declared her illegitimate in 1570, which in theory released English Catholics from allegiance to her, several conspiracies threatened her life, all of which were defeated with the help of her ministers' secret service, run by Sir Francis Walsingham . Elizabeth
18207-527: Was Sir John Gates , Northumberland's friend and intimate, and one of the instigators of the plan for Edward VI to modify his will to facilitate Jane's succession. The day before their executions, Northumberland and Gates were escorted to the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula , in the Tower grounds, where they both attended a Catholic Mass , took the communion and returned to that faith, abjuring Protestantism. Northumberland's religious retraction outraged Jane, who
18360-495: Was "as toward a child and as gentle of conditions as ever I knew any in my life". Catherine Champernowne , better known by her later, married name of Catherine "Kat" Ashley, was appointed as Elizabeth's governess in 1537, and she remained Elizabeth's friend until her death in 1565. Champernowne taught Elizabeth four languages: French, Dutch , Italian, and Spanish. By the time William Grindal became her tutor in 1544, Elizabeth could write English, Latin , and Italian. Under Grindal,
18513-401: Was Catholic and therefore unacceptable to the monarch. The Plantagenet men were also unacceptable: Edward Courtenay descendant of Catherine of York , great-aunt of Edward VI, not only was he Catholic, but he had also spent many years imprisoned in the Tower . Reginald Pole and his relatives were also Catholics and political emigrants. Having excluded from consideration the descendants of
18666-601: Was Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn . At birth, Elizabeth was the heir presumptive to the English throne. Her elder half-sister Mary had lost her position as a legitimate heir when Henry annulled his marriage to Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon , to marry Anne, with the intent to sire a male heir and ensure the Tudor succession. She was baptised on 10 September 1533, and her godparents were Thomas Cranmer , Archbishop of Canterbury ; Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter ; Elizabeth Stafford, Duchess of Norfolk ; and Margaret Wotton, Dowager Marchioness of Dorset . A canopy
18819-426: Was a fervent Protestant. In September, the first Parliament of Mary's reign revoked the provisions of Edward's will that favoured Jane Grey's succession, declaring Mary her brother's rightful heir, and denounced and revoked Jane's proclamation as a usurper. For centuries, the attempt to alter the succession was mostly seen as a one-man plot by Northumberland. Since the 1970s, however, many historians have attributed
18972-664: Was able to receive educational opportunities available in court circles. Jane lived with the couple at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire as an attendant to Katherine, until Katherine died in childbirth in September 1548. About eleven years old at the time, Jane was chief mourner at Katherine's funeral. After Thomas Seymour's arrest for treason, Jane returned to Bradgate and continued her studies. Lady Jane acted as chief mourner at Katherine Parr 's funeral; Thomas Seymour showed continued interest to keep her in his household, and she returned there for about two months before he
19125-553: Was allowed to walk freely in the Queen's Garden. Lord Robert and Lord Guildford had to be content with taking the air on the leads of the Bell Tower. Jane and Guildford may have had some contact with each other, and at some point Guildford wrote a message to his father-in-law in Jane's prayer book: Your loving and obedient son wishes unto your grace long life in this world with as much joy and comfort as ever I wish to myself, and in
19278-405: Was already making plans for her government. Mary recognised Elizabeth as her heir on 6 November 1558, and Elizabeth became queen when Mary died on 17 November. Elizabeth became queen at the age of 25, and declared her intentions to her council and other peers who had come to Hatfield to swear allegiance. The speech contains the first record of her adoption of the medieval political theology of
19431-486: Was also accused of high treason and sentenced to death, but thanks to his wife's close friendship with Mary, he was temporarily saved from being executed, although he remained under house arrest. Jane's guilt, of having treacherously assumed the title and the power of the monarch, was evidenced by a number of documents she had signed as "Jane the Quene [sic]". Her sentence was to "be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as
19584-499: Was arrested at the end of 1548. Seymour's brother, the Lord Protector , Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset , felt threatened by Thomas' popularity with the young King Edward. Among other things, Thomas Seymour was charged with proposing Jane as a bride for the king. In the course of Thomas Seymour's following attainder and execution, Jane's father was lucky to stay largely out of trouble. After his fourth interrogation by
19737-478: Was better to put it off ... as they would meet shortly elsewhere, and live bound by indissoluble ties." Around ten o'clock in the morning of 12 February, Guildford was led towards Tower Hill, where "many ... gentlemen" waited to shake hands with him. Guildford made a short speech to the assembled crowd, as was customary. "Having no ghostly father with him", he knelt, prayed, and asked the people to pray for him, "holding up his eyes and hands to God many times". He
19890-430: Was carried at the ceremony over the infant by her uncle George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford ; John Hussey, Baron Hussey of Sleaford ; Lord Thomas Howard ; and William Howard, Baron Howard of Effingham . Elizabeth was two years and eight months old when her mother was beheaded on 19 May 1536, four months after Catherine of Aragon's death from natural causes. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and deprived of her place in
20043-468: Was cautious in foreign affairs, manoeuvring between the major powers of France and Spain . She half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands , France, and Ireland. By the mid-1580s, England could no longer avoid war with Spain . As she grew older, Elizabeth became celebrated for her virginity . A cult of personality grew around her which
20196-493: Was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, and literature of the day. Elizabeth's reign became known as the Elizabethan era . The period is famous for the flourishing of English drama , led by playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe , the prowess of English maritime adventurers, such as Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh , and for the defeat of the Spanish Armada . Some historians depict Elizabeth as
20349-550: Was commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Duivenvoorde . Other notable participants were Sir Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton (who commanded the galleon Garland ), the Baron Jacob Astley of Reading , Sir Edward Michelborne aboard the Moon , Sir Robert Mansell , Roger Manners 5th Earl of Rutland, and the English poet John Donne . The Anglo-Dutch fleet returned to England with great losses and
20502-616: Was customary in the case of noblemen convicted of treason. She managed to plead with the queen to show mercy, which meant at least she and her daughters had the chance of rehabilitation. Mary forgave Frances; apparently the Queen did not want to send her first cousin, goddaughter and childhood playmate to the scaffold. The queen's forgiveness meant some of Suffolk's property would remain with his family, or at least could be granted back at some later time. Frances maintained good relations with Mary, who allowed her to reside in Richmond, although at
20655-471: Was deposed after nine days. On 3 August 1553, Mary rode triumphantly into London, with Elizabeth at her side. The show of solidarity between the sisters did not last long. Mary, a devout Catholic , was determined to crush the Protestant faith in which Elizabeth had been educated, and she ordered that everyone attend Catholic Mass; Elizabeth had to outwardly conform. Mary's initial popularity ebbed away in 1554 when she announced plans to marry Philip of Spain ,
20808-410: Was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir; however, despite numerous courtships, she never did. Because of this she is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". She was eventually succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, James VI of Scotland , the son of Mary, Queen of Scots . In government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and siblings had been. One of her mottoes
20961-655: Was fond of Seymour, sought to convince Elizabeth to take him as her husband. She tried to convince Elizabeth to write to Seymour and "comfort him in his sorrow", but Elizabeth claimed that Thomas was not so saddened by her stepmother's death as to need comfort. In January 1549, Seymour was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower on suspicion of conspiring to depose his brother Somerset as Protector, marry Lady Jane Grey to King Edward VI, and take Elizabeth as his own wife. Elizabeth, living at Hatfield House , would admit nothing. Her stubbornness exasperated her interrogator, Robert Tyrwhitt , who reported, "I do see it in her face that she
21114-464: Was greeted with widespread opposition, not just among the populace but also among Members of Parliament and some of the privy councillors, and the Rebellion, which was joined by the Duke of Suffolk and Guildford's brothers, Robert and Henry Dudley, resulted from this dislike. It was not the intention of the conspirators to bring Jane to the throne again. Nevertheless, at the height of the crisis,
21267-435: Was imprisoned in the Bell Tower. There he was soon joined by his brother, Robert . His remaining brothers were imprisoned in other towers, as was Northumberland, who was for the moment the only prominent person to go to the scaffold . Despite the Duchess of Northumberland's desperate pleas to the Queen not to execute him, nothing changed the final sentence and Dudley was beheaded on 22 August 1553. Also executed that same day
21420-424: Was killed with one stroke of the axe, after which his body was conveyed on a cart to the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula for burial. Watching the scene from her window, Jane exclaimed: "Oh, Guildford, Guildford!" She was then taken out to Tower Green , inside the Tower, to be beheaded. According to the account of her execution given in the anonymous Chronicle of Queen Jane and of Two Years of Queen Mary , which formed
21573-468: Was made a treasonable offence, carrying the death penalty. From the 1570s missionary priests from continental seminaries went to England secretly in the cause of the "reconversion of England". Some were executed for treasonable conduct, engendering a cult of martyrdom . Regnans in Excelsis gave English Catholics a strong incentive to look to Mary as the legitimate sovereign of England. Mary may not have been told of every Catholic plot to put her on
21726-431: Was mysteriously bedridden with an illness that caused her body to swell. In 1587, a young man calling himself Arthur Dudley was arrested on the coast of Spain under suspicion of being a spy. The man claimed to be the illegitimate son of Elizabeth and Robert Dudley, with his age being consistent with birth during the 1561 illness. He was taken to Madrid for investigation, where he was examined by Francis Englefield ,
21879-468: Was never heard from again. Modern scholarship dismisses the story's basic premise as "impossible", and asserts that Elizabeth's life was so closely observed by contemporaries that she could not have hidden a pregnancy. Elizabeth's first policy toward Scotland was to oppose the French presence there. She feared that the French planned to invade England and put her Catholic cousin Mary, Queen of Scots , on
22032-497: Was not universally accepted. Catholics accused Elizabeth of engaging in "filthy lust" that symbolically defiled the nation along with her body. Henry IV of France said that one of the great questions of Europe was "whether Queen Elizabeth was a maid or no". A central issue, when it comes to the question of Elizabeth's virginity, was whether the Queen ever consummated her love affair with Robert Dudley. In 1559, she had Dudley's bedchambers moved next to her own apartments. In 1561, she
22185-444: Was now commonly thought to have poisoned King Edward while Mary "would have been as glad of her brother's life, as the ragged bear is glad of his death". Dumbfounded by the turn of events, the French ambassador Antoine de Noailles wrote: "I have witnessed the most sudden change believable in men, and I believe that God alone worked it." The Council switched their allegiance and proclaimed Mary queen in London, on 19 July. A majority of
22338-609: Was officially proclaimed Queen of England, France and Ireland and that same day, she and her husband Guildford made their ceremonial entry into the Tower of London, where English monarchs customarily resided from the time of accession until coronation. After the young couple's arrival at the Tower, Guildford began demanding to be made King Consort. Jane had a long discussion about this with Guildford, who "assented that if he were to be made king, he would be so by me, by Act of Parliament ". However, Jane would agree only to make him Duke of Clarence ; Guildford replied that he did not want to be
22491-608: Was probably taught Cornish by William Killigrew , Groom of the Privy Chamber and later Chamberlain of the Exchequer . Henry VIII died in 1547 and Elizabeth's half-brother, Edward VI, became king at the age of nine. Catherine Parr, Henry's widow, soon married Thomas Seymour, Baron Seymour of Sudeley , Edward VI's uncle and the brother of Lord Protector Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset . The couple took Elizabeth into their household at Chelsea . There Elizabeth experienced an emotional crisis that some historians believe affected her for
22644-400: Was taken to Stirling Castle to be raised as a Protestant. Mary escaped in 1568 but after a defeat at Langside sailed to England, where she had once been assured of support from Elizabeth. Elizabeth's first instinct was to restore her fellow monarch, but she and her council instead chose to play safe. Rather than risk returning Mary to Scotland with an English army or sending her to France and
22797-546: Was that her emissary read out her letters of disapproval publicly before the Dutch Council of State, Leicester having to stand nearby. This public humiliation of her "Lieutenant-General" combined with her continued talks for a separate peace with Spain irreversibly undermined Leicester's standing among the Dutch. The military campaign was severely hampered by Elizabeth's repeated refusals to send promised funds for her starving soldiers. Her unwillingness to commit herself to
22950-410: Was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII , through his youngest daughter Mary , and a grand-niece of Henry VIII , and cousin to Edward VI , Mary I and Elizabeth I . Under the will of Henry VIII , Jane was in line to the throne after her cousins. She had a humanist education and a reputation as one of the most learned young women of her day. In May 1553, she was married to Lord Guildford Dudley ,
23103-509: Was tied to a planned alliance against Spanish control of the Southern Netherlands . Elizabeth seems to have taken the courtship seriously for a time, wearing a frog-shaped earring that Francis had sent her. In 1563, Elizabeth told an imperial envoy: "If I follow the inclination of my nature, it is this: beggar-woman and single, far rather than queen and married". Later in the year, following Elizabeth's illness with smallpox ,
23256-409: Was two years old, her parents' marriage was annulled, her mother was executed, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate . Henry restored her to the line of succession when she was 10, via the Third Succession Act 1543 . After Henry's death in 1547, Elizabeth's younger half-brother Edward VI ruled until his own death in 1553, bequeathing the crown to a Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey , and ignoring
23409-420: Was typical of the time, as harsh. To the visiting scholar Roger Ascham , who found her reading Plato , she is said to have complained: For when I am in the presence either of father or mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, I must do it as it were in such weight, measure and number, even so perfectly as God made
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