Queen Elizabeth I :: England Queen Elizabeth First Essays Papers

magnate Elizabeth I Elizabeth I was born on September 7, 1533 at Greenwich Palace near London. Herfather was Englands King enthalpy VIII her mother was the kings second wife,Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth had an older half-sister, Mary, who was the daughter of thekings first wife, Catherine of Aragon. King Henry had moved heaven and earth to marry Anne Boleyn. He had partedfrom the Catholic church, established the Church of England, and annulled histwenty-four year brotherhood to Queen Catherine - partly because he loved Anne, andpartly because he wanted the male heir Catherine could not give him. Henry andAnne were convinced that their first child would be a boy. The new queen even hada document drawn up forrader of time that announced the birth of a prince. When theprince turned out to be a princess, her parents were dismayed. Over the next few years Anne had three miscarriages, and Henry - who had breakdisenchanted with her even before Elizabeths birth - decided to be rid of her. In15 36 he had Anne arrested on false charges of adultery. The Archbishop ofCanterbury bowed to the kings will by declaring that Henrys marriage to Annehad never been valid. Like her half-sister Mary, two-year-old Elizabeth was nowconsidered illegitimate. Anne was executed, and two weeks later the king marriedJane Seymour. In 1537 Queen Jane died after giving birth to a son, Edward. Elizabeth and Maryparticipated in his christening ceremony. As Edward grew older, he and Elizabethbecame close although they lived in separate households, they wrote to each otheroften. When Elizabeth was four, Katherine Champernowne became her governess. Thewell-educated Champernowne - known as Kat Ashley after her marriage in 1545 -began teaching Elizabeth astronomy, geography, history, math, French, Flemish,Italian, Spanish, and other subjects. Elizabeth was an excellent student. Her tutorRoger Ascham later wrote, She talks French and Italian as well as she doesEnglish. When she writes Greek and Latin, not hing is more splendid than herhandwriting. In 1540 Elizabeths father married Anne of Cleves. Repelled by what he perceived ashis brides ugliness, Henry quickly had the marriage annulled and instead marriedAnne Boleyns first cousin Katherine Howard. Katherine was actually young - aboutfifteen - and something of a featherbrain, but she was kind to Elizabeth, who wassurely appalled when, in a repetition of the past, the queen was arrested andcharged with adultery. This time the charges were true. Queen Katherine wasbeheaded in 1542, when Elizabeth was seven years old.