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 Born  7 Sep 1533   Born At  Greenwich Palace
 Died  24 Mar 1603   Buried At  Westminster Abbey
 Royal House  Tudor
 
lizabeth was the only child of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace on the 7th of September 1533. Henry had wanted the child to be a boy to become heir to the English throne but was disappointed that Anne had given birth to a girl. The festivities planned to celebrate the birth were cancelled. Elizabeth had an elder half-sister called Mary who was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife. Mary had been declared illegitimate when the marriage between Henry and Catherine was annulled. There was a question of whether Elizabeth was illegitimate because of the timing of her birth and the marriage of Henry and Anne at the end of January, but also because the marriage between Henry and Catherine of Aragon had not been annulled until May. Elizabeth was less than 3 years old when Anne, her mother, was executed after being found guilty of treason and adultery.

Childhood

Even before her mother's death Elizabeth had been brought up separately from the Royal household. She was nursed at Hatfield Palace (now part of Hatfield House) just to the north of London by Lady Margaret Bryan. After her mother's death Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and lost her title of Princess, becoming simple Lady Elizabeth. The money granted to her for her household expenses was reduced. When Lady Margaret moved to take care of Henry's son Edward at the end of 1537 Elizabeth was given a new governess, Catherine Ashley, who Elizabeth called Kat. Elizabeth was very well educated, learning many languages including Latin, French, Italian and Greek. She was taught music and excelled at it like her father.

As a family againIn 1537 Jane Seymour gave birth to a son. Although the birth was difficult and the complications led to Jane's death, Edward her son survived. The king now had a male heir to inherit the English throne. After the death of Jane Henry married Anne of Cleves and then Catherine Howard. These two marriages failed and Henry's final marriage in 1543 was to Catherine Parr, his sixth wife. Catherine understood what Henry's children meant to him and so she brought them all to court to live together.

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Preceded by
Mary (I, Queen of England 1553-1558, Bloody Mary)
Succeeded by

Family Tree Details
Father:  HENRY (VIII, King of England 1509-1547) (b.1491 - d.1547)
Mother:  Boleyn, Anne ( - d.1536)
Elizabeth (I, Queen of England 1558-1603) (b.1533 - d.1603)
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Mini Timeline (Ages are approximate)

Early Modern Period (1500-1800) - Under Construction
1533  Sep 7  Birth of Elizabeth to Anne Boleyn
   Anne gave birth to Elizabeth a healthy girl at Greenwich Palace. Henry had hoped they would have a boy to ensure the continuation of the Tudor line. 
  Dec  Princess Elizabeth moved to Hatfield
   Princess Elizabeth was moved from Greenwich, London to Hatfield were she was looked in the household of Lady Bryan. 1 
1534  Jan  Mary moved to Hatfield Age: 1
   By the order of Henry VIII Mary's title of Princess had been removed and she was taken to Hatfield to be a servant in the household of Princess Elizabeth, her younger step-sister. Mary was around eighteen years old at this time. Mary was not happy with this arrangement and could not accept that Elizabeth had a better claim to the English throne than she did.1 
1536  Jul  Elizabeth declare illegitimate Age: 3
   Parliament declared that Elizabeth, like her elder step-sister Mary, was illegitimate. This allowed the next son of Henry VIII to be born to become the heir to the English throne.1 
1543    Succession to the Crown Act Age: 10
   An act passed by Parliament specifiying the order of succession to the English throne after the death of Henry VIII. Although Edward was the youngest the order would be Edward, Mary and the Elizabeth. 1 
1553  Aug 3  Mary arrives in London Age: 20
   Mary Tudor arrived at London to a huge welcome. Entering through Aldgate she was met by Elizabeth, Anne of Cleves and many others. Mary quickly ordered the release of her supporters that had been locked up at the Tower of London. The Duke of Northumberland and his supporters were placed in the Tower to await trial and execution. 
  Sep 8  Elizabeth attends mass
   Mary and Elizabeth disagreed strongly over religion. Elizabeth refused to attend any Catholic ceremony including the one that Mary had arranged after the death of Edward. Eventually Elizabeth agreed to attend a mass but when the day came she pretended to be ill and only took part under protest.2 
  Dec  Elizabeth returns leaves court
   Issues over religion and succession to the throne became too much for Elizabeth and she requested that she could leave court and return to Hertfordshire and to Hatfield (or Ashridge). Mary granted her request against the advice of her ministers who suspected Elizabeth was preparing to remove Mary from the throne. 
1554    Rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyatt Age: 21
   Several groups around the country were unhappy with the proposal of marriage between Mary and Philip of Spain. In Wales a group was led by Sir James Croft. In Devon another group was led by Sir Peter Carew. The Duke of Suffolk was in Leicestershire, but it was only Sir Thomas Wyatt from Kent who managed to get a force together.3 
  Jan 26  Elizabeth summonsed to court
   Queen Mary sent a letter to Elizabeth asking her to come to London. This was, Mary said, for her own protection because to the rebels threatening to prevent the marriage of Mary to Philip of Spain. Mary could have been unsure of Elizabeth's involvement in the plots against her and it was best to keep Elizabeth close where she could be watched.3 
  Feb 7  Wyatt arrested
   Sir Thomas Wyatt and this followers reached London but he was to learn that the other groups of rebels around the country had been defeated and their leaders arrested. The entrance into London was blocked by the Londoners whose support for Mary was higher than the rebels. After a short fight the rebels were defeated leaving many dead and Wyatt was captured. on 11th of April 1554. Elizabeth was also held in the Tower for a while as it was suspected she was involved in the plots because she would have benefited if they had succeeded.3 
  Apr 11  Wyatt executed
   Sir Thomas Wyatt was executed at Tower Hill for leading the rebellion against Queen Mary. Wyatt denied that Elizabeth had been involved in any part of rebellion.3 
1558  Nov  Elizabeth at London Age: 25
   Elizabeth entered London towards the end of November. She made her way through the crowds of loyal Londoners to the Tower where she stayed for a few days. 
1559    Marriage proposal Age: 26
   King Gustav, the ruler of Sweden, proposed the marriage between Elizabeth and his son, Prince Eric. A proposal was sent but was refused. Gustav was undeterred by the refusal and sent his younger son, John, to see to if he could persuade the Queen otherwise.2 
  Jan 14  Coronation pageants
   The tradition of holding pageants on the eve of the coronation was followed and Elizabeth viewed them all as she made her way from the Tower to Westminster. They were of a political nature showing the problems of the past and hopes for the future. 
  Jan 15  Coronation of Elizabeth
   The coronation of Elizabeth I took place at Westminster Abbey. She was crowned by Bishop Oglethorpe of Carlisle as the other more senior bishops refused to crown her due to their reluctance to accept the new Protestant religion. 
1560    Dudley accused of murder Age: 27
   Robert Dudley's wife, Amy, was found dead at home with a broken neck at the bottom of some stairs. Robert Dudley was accused of her murder because it was thought he planned to marry Queen Elizabeth. Dudley was banished from Court while an inquiry was conducted, but he was found innocent. Although Dudley returned to Court rumours still spread about his involvement in the death.4 
1561  Spring  Bad weather defeats Eric Age: 28
   Eric left Sweden bound for England with a fleet of ships and gifts and a further proposal of marriage but bad weather ended his plans and he returned to Sweden.2 
1562  Sep  Treaty of Richmond Age: 29
   This treaty was signed in secret by Queen Elizabeth and Louis Bourbon prince of Condé, the leader of the Huguenots. The Huguenots were French Protestants or French Calvanists. In return for Elizabeth's military assistance in France the prince promised the return of Calais to the English.4 
  Oct  Elizabeth ill with smallpox
   Elizabeth came down with smallpox and was seriously ill. Her council feared that she would die and were concerned about who would succeed her. Lady Catherine Grey, who had been mentioned in Henry VIII's will, was a strong candidate to become Queen of England if Elizabeth died. The Earl of Huntingdon (?) was also considered. The problem was avoided as Elizabeth recovered several days later.2 
  Winter  Le Havre occupied by the English
   As part of the secret treaty of Richmond, an English garrison was allowed to station itself at Le Havre and would swap the town for Calais once Calais was recaptured. The garrison of around 3,000 men was lead by the Earl of Warwick.4 
1563  Summer  Le Havre abandoned Age: 30
   The Huguenots abandoned their treaty with Elizabeth and abandoned the English garrison at Le Harve. An outbreak of the plague struck the garrison leaving many dead or dying. Although reinforcements were sent the Earl of Warwick had little choice but to leave the town and return to England.4 
1583  Nov  Throckmorton Plot Age: 50
   Francis Throckmorton was found guilty of carrying messages with details of an assassination attempt to murder Queen Elizabeth, an invasion by Spain and the freeing of Mary Stuart from captivity. Along with the Earl of Northumberland, Throckmorton was put in the Tower of London before being executed for treason. Before his death, Throckmorton revealed that Queen Mary knew about the plot.4 
1584  Jun  Bond of Association Age: 51
   In response to the assassination threat to Queen Elizabeth an agreement signed by her supporters was devised. Those who signed agreed to prevent those who plotted against the Queen to succeed to the throne if the assassination was successful. They also agreed to prosecute anyone who would benefit whether they were involved in the assassination or not. The third agreement promised to case down and kill those who carried out the assassination attempt. This move was hoped to make supporters of Mary Stuart directly or indirectly taking part in any more plots against the Queen.4 
  Nov  Bond amended by the Queen
   Queen Elizabeth amended the terms of the Bond of Association as Parliament tried to make the statute law. The Queen had the statute amended because she was unhappy about the clause that would have resulted in people being punished for the actions of others. 4 
1585  Jan  Parry Plot Age: 52
   A plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth was uncovered. The person accused and found guilty was Dr. Parry, a supporter of Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scots. It was found that he had been assisted by Thomas Morgan, Mary Stuart's assistant who was looking after her affairs in Paris. Parry was executed for treason but no other action was taken.4 
1601  Feb 25  Essex executed Age: 68
   Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, having been found guilty of treason for his part in the revolt was executed as a traitor.4 
1603  Mar 24  Death of Queen Elizabeth I Age: 70
   Elizabeth's health was failing and before her death she reportedly named James of Scotland as her successor.  
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Selection of references used:

1. Neville Williams, Elizabeth I, Queen of England
2. Susan Doran, Queen Elizabeth I, 0-7123-4802-6
3. John Grey, Tudor England, 0-19-285213-2
4. J.B.Black, The Reign of Elizabeth 1558-1603

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