Facts about Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I of England Biography Summary: Queen Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603) was famous for being the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.

She had not an easy life. She would lose her mother most brutally at the hands of her father, all for the chance to have a male heir. Nothing, or no one, was going to stand in his way and they didn’t.

His first wife he divorced and his second, Elizabeth’s mother, he had executed and on top of that he made his daughters illegitimate. So by the time she finally ascended the throne at twenty two years of age, she had had a lot to contend with. Unable to find a suitable husband to help share her burden, she shouldered her responsibilities by herself and it was generally considered a successful reign.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact Sheet: Who was Queen Elizabeth 1? The following short biography and fact sheet provides interesting facts about the life, times and history of Queen Elizabeth I.

Queen Victoria Fact File Biography: Lifespan: 1533 - 1603 *** Full Name: Queen Elizabeth I *** Nickname: The Virgin Queen, Gloriana and Good Queen Bess *** Occupation: Queen of England and Ireland *** Date of Birth: Queen Elizabeth I was born on September 7th 1533 *** Place of Birth: Queen Elizabeth I was born at Greenwich Palace, Greenwich, England *** Family background: Her father was King Henry VIII and her mother was Anne Boleyn, her grandmothers were Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard *** Early life and childhood: She grew up with a succession of governesses including Margaret Bryant, Blanche Herbert and Kat Ashley. She had an older sister Mary and a younger brother Edward. Elizabeth and her sister would be proclaimed illegitimate to suit their father’s wishes but would eventually be reinstated as heirs to the throne. *** Education: Queen Elizabeth I had quite a number of tutors as she grew up, learning languages such as French, Flemish, Italian and Spanish. She would also learn Latin and Greek. She would prove to be an avid learner and would become one of the most highly educated females of her time. By the time her education was complete in 1550 she would become one of the most well educated women of her time ***

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 1: Queen Elizabeth I was born on September 7th 1533 and during the 16th century period in history when Portugal and Spain were exploring the oceans of the world and colonizing new lands.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 2: At the tender age of two years and eight months her mother Anne would be executed.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 3: As a result of the Third Succession Act Mary and Elizabeth would both be eligible to inherit the throne.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 4: At Mary’s death Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen on November 17th, 1558 at the age of twenty five.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 5: She never found the right man to marry and never had children. She was also known as Good Queen Bess and The Virgin Queen.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 6: For many years she wished to marry Robert Dudley but there was huge disapproval from the conservative peers and she remained unmarried and without issue.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 7: One of the first big tasks Queen Elizabeth set about tackling was the church settlement.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 8: Although she was a protestant she kept catholic symbolism. Making sure to keep both faiths in harmony she settled on the Protestant settlement of Edward VI which made the monarch its head but had priestly vestments as the catholic element.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 9: Elizabeth faced some tough decisions in her early reign. The first being of her marriage. Not opposed to the constitution, her biggest problem was finding some suitable who would not expect to be ruler over her and her kingdom. This would prove to be far more difficult than she had anticipated, particularly in a time when women were seen as being far less superior to their male counterparts.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 10: Two of her earlier choices were King Eric XIV of Sweden and the Archduke Charles of Austria but nothing would come of suitors.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 11: Often brought up in Parliament they admonished Her Majesty to either marry or name a successor to prevent a Civil War once she died. She would do neither knowing full well that as soon as she nominated an heir her position would become very precarious indeed. Her life was already constantly under threat.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 12: Eventually by 1599 Elizabeth I would consider herself married to her kingdom and those of her subjects.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 13: Another of the major burdens she bore was that of Mary, Queen of Scots. Many considered her to be an heir to the English crown as the two women were related as cousins on Elizabeth’s paternal side.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 14: Between the Ridolfi Plot and the Babington Plot, Sir Francis Walsingham, the Queen’s Spymaster gathered much evidence to hold against Mary and forced Elizabeth to recognize her a threat to her throne and to have her imprisoned and tried for treason for which she would be found guilty.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 15: Although Elizabeth signed Mary’s Death Warrant, she had not given express permission for it to be carried out. That fell to Walsingham, unbeknownst to the Queen who had specifically instructed Davidson, her secretary, not to have the warrant executed. Mary was executed, by beheading, on February 8th 1587.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 16: The Spanish were planning an invasion on British soil by picking up troops under the Duke of Parma from the Netherlands and transporting them to the English coast.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 17: Her Majesty, never one to shy away from her duty, presented herself to her troops at Tilbury. She proceeded to make a speech “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 women, but I have 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 date to invade the borders of my realm.”

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 18: As it turned out, with a combination of poor weather conditions, successful tactics and swiftness the Armada was defeated.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 19: Queen Elizabeth suffered a healthy constitution for most of her life until the autumn of 1602, when a number of her close friends died and she became quite melancholy.

Queen Elizabeth I of England Fact 20: In March the following year she became sick and didn’t rally, she died in the early hours of the morning on March the 24th, 1603 at Richmond Palace. Her body was transported by barge to Whitehall and she was interred at Westminster Abbey on April the 28th next to her sister Mary.

Influence and Legacy: She would reign for 44 years as Queen over England and Ireland. Her reign would see prosperity dubbed the “Golden Age”. She ruled with an iron hand and could hold her own against any man.