Guest Author - Nicola Jane Soen

The most famous of all the Tudor children was Elizabeth I. Born in 1533 on the 7th of September; she was the daughter of the infamous Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth fell from favour when her mother lost her head on the 19th May 1536; for not bearing living sons.

Legally going from legitimate to illegitimate at Henrys whim (and wife!); after going from a royal Princess and being treated that way; to being a pauper and a illegitimate, hidden and embarrassing nuisance, as far as her father was concerned. At times she had not only no importance or rank but no money even for clothes.

Elizabeth was an intelligent and precocious child. During her favoured days she was waited on by her sister Mary Tudor (who would grow up to be the infamous Bloody Mary). Mary was a Princess and heir to the throne long before her sister was born, but once Henry divorced her Mother Katherine of Aragon, he declared Mary a bastard and took away her title of Princess by force, giving it to the newly born Elizabeth and styling poor Mary ‘The Lady Mary’.

Not only that, Mary was forced, partially by the spite and maliciousness of Anne Boleyn, to be a Lady-in-Waiting to a child who’s mother had once been one herself to the divorced rightful Queen, Katherine of Aragon! Not only did Mary lose her title and right to the throne, she lost her religion and was a forced maid to the new heir. Mary herself actually believed her sister a whore’s daughter and was threatened with violence should she not comply to obedience.

However Mary grew to love Elizabeth. This firstly enforced bond of servitude; which actually led to Mary really loving her sister; probably saved Elizabeth’s life later; when Mary became queen later on.

Elizabeth had very few real friends, especially then. Out of favour, she only had her Governess Lady Margret Bryan and later, and better known, Catherine Ashley, better known as Kat, with whom she loved and shared many secrets. She also was closed later to her astrologer Dr. Dee, who she consulted on whether she would actually become Monarch, a charge, which if proved, would have meant death for them both. She was educated by extremely competent scholars firstly William Grindal and later by Roger Asham.

Upon the Death of Henry VIII on the 28th of January 1547, his son Edward VI came to the throne. Edward was a sickly and over pious young man who cut Elizabeth and Mary out of ever inheriting the throne. He agreed with Protestantism and was really only a puppet, used by the greatest men of his age for their own ambition. John Dudley who became the Duke of Northumberland and one of the Seymour brothers, Edward, Lord Protector and the Duke of Somerset. The Seymour brothers Thomas and Edward were his uncles, brothers to his mother Jane. However when he died in 1553 his will and choice for the throne was washed away by the tirade of support for Mary Tudor and she became Mary I. Elizabeth was to use the very best of her skills and intelligence to just survive, but survive she did and remarkably well.