Named after the Elizabethan era and one of England’s most recognized queens in history, Queen Elizabeth I.
Starting from the prime of her life, Queen Elizabeth I was born on September 7th, 1533 in Greenwich, England. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn but due to accusations of adultery and incest, her mother Anne was executed on May 19th in 1536 when Elizabeth was two years old. Elizabeth had siblings such as her half-sister Mary Tudor, daughter of Catherine of Aragon who was nicknamed Bloody Mary and later died in November of 1558.
Elizabeth also had a half-brother named Edward, son of Jane Seymour who was crowned king at the age of nine and later died in July of 1553.
After the death of Edward, he appointed Lady Jane Grey to be his successor afterward due to the fear of Mary trying to restore Catholicism and undoing the Church of England. But due to the citizens’ disagreement, Mary Tudor gained the spot on the throne after nine days. Elizabeth supported Mary and her decisions but Elizabeth also went along with the Church of England. Mary later died and her reign ended with Elizabeth next in line to be crowned.
When Mary’s reign ended, Elizabeth was left with a lot of the problems that Mary left behind, such as the war with France and conflict between religions that roam England. However, she quickly ended the war and resolved the religious tension and conflict in her country. England was finally at peace and had the chance to regrow. Elizabeth worked in the court and enjoyed playing the lute and watching plays perform on her behalf. Elizabeth also loved jewelry and embellished gowns made with gold and silver to compliment her pale look.
Just as everything was in peace, income the rivalry between Mary, Queen of Scots with her beloved cousin Elizabeth. Many believed that Mary was the true successor to the throne of Henry the VIII’s elder sister’s granddaughter. The rivalry began when Mary came to claim her place on the English throne during Elizabeth’s reign since Mary was catholic many Catholics of England encouraged her place on the throne. Mary united Franc and Scotland by her marriage with the future king, Francis II. But due to his death in 1561, she later returned to Scotland. Elizabeth imprisoned her beloved cousin for multiple assassination attempts and twenty years later executed Mary in 1587.
England started to go down in a downfall later in Elizabeth’s reign due to unemployment, dying crops, and riots. And had to face many challenges of being on England’s throne. Later in Elizabeth’s final years despite her powering fading, Elizabeth still cared dearly about her people and made one of her most famous speeches named “Golden Speech” made on November 30th of 1601 at the Whitehall Palace of a delegation of 140 members, and Elizabeth alleged the neglected issues and won over the members.
Elizabeth never wanted to marry any man or have children, she had no interest in sharing power or ruling with anyone, because of that reason she was named “The Virgin Queen”. Succession was another problem for Elizabeth since she’s seen all the troubles that come from royal marriages. She’s had a good number of matches but none of them suited to her standards or liking’s.
Once the time came, Elizabeth I died on March 24th of 1603, there are suspicions that the makeup she’s been using to create a pale porcelain look named “Spirits of Saturn” caused health issues that led up to her death. Elizabeth had no spouse or children to inherit the English throne nor successors, so instead of the son of her beloved cousins and rival Mary of Scots, James I took the place on the English throne. Elizabeth’s coffin was carried on April 28th down Whitehall and was buried in Henry IIV’s Chapel.
And that’s how the Elizabethan Era came to be.
