Queen Elizabeth I
Written and researched by Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewska

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Queen Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603)/Elizabeth Tudor (1533-1603) was born on September 7, 1533 at Greenwich Palace, London, England. Her mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded for adultery when Elizabeth was three. Elizabeth was brought up at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, England. She was well-educated and an intellect. Elizabeth escaped the congenital syphilis passed on by Henry VIII to his other children, and Elizabeth was a strong and healthy child. She knew Latin and French and was taught Italian by Castiglione. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate when Henry VIII married Jane Seymour. However, she came to the throne in 1558 after the short reigns and deaths of Edward VI (age 16), Lady Jane Grey (age 17), and Mary I (aged 43). Mary, her half sister by Catharine of Aragon, had Elizabeth locked up in the Tower of London, because Mary was a Catholic and Elizabeth was Anglican.

In 1586, Elizabeth survived the Babington Plot to assassinate her and put Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne. Mary was the daughter of James V of Scotland and Catholic. Elizabeth responded by repressing Catholicism and executed Mary.

During Elizabeth's reign the Spanish Armada was defeated (in 1588).

Even though she was never married, Elizabeth had a few men who wanted her hand and attentions. Sir Thomas Seymour, brother to Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, tried to interest her when she was a teenager. She denied his advances. Henry of Navarre once kissed her on the lips in front of witnesses. Phillip II of Spain also fancied himself as a possible groom.

Her court favorites included:

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester ("Sweet Robin"), who was her first love. However, his wife died of suspicious causes, Guilford Dudley, husband of Lady Jane Grey was brother to Robert Dudley. After Robert's wife Amy Robsart's death in 1560, Elizabeth could not trust him and their liaison ended, even though he pursued her for 20 years. Dudley died in 1588.

Another favorite was Francis Duc de'Alecon ("Petite Grenouille"). He was not a handsome man, but had smallpox scars, a double nose, and had "dwarfish" features.

Robert Devereux, 2nd Duke of Essex defeated the Spanish at Cadiz, and Elizabeth gave him a ring to be used as a ticket out of trouble if he ever ran afoul of her. In 1601, Elizabeth signed his death warrant for "insurrection." Robert sent the ring, but an enemy stopped its delivery and he was executed. Elizabeth was said to have wept for days, and afterwards at the mere mention of his name. Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex was the last person to be beheaded in the Tower of London. Robert was the rival of Sir Walter Ralegh. Devereax was a hero after he laid seige to Cadiz in 1596. He was a very popular figure in Elizabeth's court.

Elizabeth had a near-death experience when she contracted smallpox in October 1562. After this she had scars which she tried to cover up with white lead make-up. This most likely shorted her life and caused her hair to fall out. Her beauty ruined, Elizabeth never thought of marriage or men much again.

Elizabeth also favored Sir Christopher Hatton, the captain of her bodyguards, for she owed her life to him and he was a loyal protector.

Elizabeth had no legitimate issue but was rumored to be the mother of Arthur Dudley, Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester's son. However, how she would have hid the pregnancy was a mystery. And why would she give up her own son? Thus without proof it was but a rumor. Another royal suitor was Henri. duke of Anjou, however she avoided him on religious grounds and most likely because he was a bisexual and a transvestite. Henri's younger brother, Francois, duke of Alencon stepped up to take his place. Elizabeth nicknamed him "frog," because of his youth and in 1581 she announced that she would marry him. He died in 1584. Rumor was that she picked him as husband-to-be because she needed to throw off her advisors who wished her to wed. Picking a sickly young man who was yet of age, made it possible to satisfy their prompting without having to carry out the act, thus silencing them for a time. Elizabeth might have been a true virgin, and she many times stated that her own virginity was her strength.

Elizabeth had reddish-gold hair, hazel eyes, and a slightly hooked nose. Her looks were marred by her black teeth (from eating too much sugar). She spent lots of money on her clothes and passed a law forbidding commoners from wearing her now famous ruffs.

Elizabeth I died at Richmond Palace on March 24, 1603 (at age 69). She had no will, but made it clear that she wished to have her cousin, James VI, as her successor. Elizabeth was a popular ruler and the "Elizabethan Age" was the golden age of England. Rumor has it that her last days were rememberances of Robert Dudley, and many thought perhaps they would reunite in heaven, providing Robert made it there (he was suspicioned to have killed his wife).

Facts About Elizabeth I

• Queen Elizabeth traveled with more than three hundred carts to carry her luggage. Her entourage traveled ten to twelve miles a day.

• Sweet marjoram was the major ingredient in Queen Elizabeth I's favorite scent.

• Sir Francis Drake presented Elizabeth I with a fan with red and white feathers with a gold handle inlaid with a half-moon of mother-of-pearl and diamonds.

• For breakfast, Elizabeth I often had bread,ale, beer or wine and a good pottage made of mutton or beef.

• Towards the end of her life, Queen Elizabeth I refused to have a mirror in any of her rooms.

• Elizabeth's nickname for Sir Walter Raleigh was "Water."

• Queen Elizabeth I ruled for 44 years, 4 months (from 1558-1603).

• Encouraged by Cornelius Lannoy (a Dutchman), that said he could make metal into gold, Elizabeth set him up with a laboratory. When Lannoy could not honor his claims, he was charged with deceiving his queen and was sent to the Tower of London.

• Elizabeth died of infected tonsils at age 69.

• Elizabeth whitened her skin, as was the vogue in her time, with a mixture of egg, powdered eggshells, poppy seeds, white lead (a lethal ingredient), borax, and alum (Power, 16). The white lead ate into her skin,s o she had to apply more and more layers (Power, 22).When her hair began to thin (most likely from this poisonous mixture), she wore a huge spangled red wig.

  See Bibliography regarding Elizabeth I and white lead under Strange History.

• In 1587, the queen wept when she hear that Mary, Queen of Scots, had been executed, before an audience at Fotheringay. Elizabeth had reluctantly signed Mary's death warrant, as persuaded by her advisors.

• Her Coronation ring was one of her most prized possessions. She never removed it, in all the 45 years of her reign. In 1603, the ring had grown into her flesh. Her doctors insisted it had to be removed, and within a week she died. Elizabeth had a feeling about that ring which was why she kept it on all those years.

• There were 2,000 dresses in her wardrobe.

• In 1572, at Warwick Castle, fireworks resulted in a nearby house being burnt to the ground. The owners of this house were given 25 pounds after the Courtiers took a collection of their "pocket money."

• Both Elizabeth and her mother, Anne Boleyn are said to still "haunt" Windsor Castle.

• Her last words were: "All my possessions for one moment of time."

• Elizabeth hated the smell of leather.

• When her rotten teeth were to be pulled, the Bishop of London had one of his extracted to show her how easy it was. It is said that her teeth were bad, because of her love of sweets.

• After her teeth were removed, Elizabeth never appeared in public without pading out her mouth, with wads of cotton.

• While spending the night at Sir Thomas Gresham's new house at Osterley in Middlesex, England, she happened to say that she thought his courtyard was too large. Her idea that it should have a dividing wall, was carried out during her sleep, and when she awoke it was as she had described.

• Both Elizabeth I and Mary I are buried in Westminster Abbey, London, England. Their Epitaph: Consorts both in Throne and Grave, here we rest two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in hope of our resurrection."

MORE ON ELIZABETH I:

Elizabeth I This page has a wealth of information.

[Edward VI|Mary I|Lady Jane Grey|Henry VIII]

See my Bibliography

BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

[Henry VIII|Mary I|Edward VI|Elizabeth I|Lady Jane Grey|Catherine of Aragon]

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