by Eve Redstone

Created on: February 24, 2008

Elizabeth I of England was the last of the Tudor monarchs, but along with her father Henry VIII probably the best remembered.

Elizabeth was the child of Henry and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. She was born on 7 September 1533. Her parents had been secretly married since January, but the marriage was only recognized by the new Archbishop of Canterbury in May, and she was named Queen in June. So great was the expectation of a son that the court proclamations had already been written before the birth naming the child a son. These still exist with the name of the child hastily scribbled out and replaced with Elizabeth's.

Elizabeth did become the immediate heir presumptive however, her older sister Mary having been effectively made illegitimate by the terms of Henry's divorce from Katherine of Aragorn.

Anne Boleyn became pregnant at least twice more, miscarrying every time; the most well known miscarriage being a son on the day of Katherine of Aragorn's funeral. By the time Elizabeth was three her mother was dead, executed for adultery (treason) on what many have seen as trumped up charges. Henry immediately married Jane Seymour, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate.

Jane provided Henry with his long awaited heir and the young Elizabeth was moved into his household. Elizabeth was provided with a good education and one of her early governesses, Catherine Champernowne (later Kat Ashley), remained her friend, confidante and adviser for life. Elizabeth was an able student and was able to write in Latin, English and Italian by the time she was eleven. She added French and Greek to her languages, and by 1550 when her formal education ended was probably the best educated woman of her generation.

This shows that she was likely a very intelligent woman, with a thirst for knowledge. Her position at this time in the royal household was as a useful political tool in a possibly advantageous marriage. She was disinherited and there was no reason to believe at this time that she would ever inherit the throne. The more usual lessons for a woman in her position at the time would have been dancing, deportment and music.

Upon Henry's death in 1547, when she was 13, Elizabeth went to live with Henry's last wife Catherine Parr. Catherine had married her first love, whom she had given up for Henry, Sir Thomas Seymour. He was Edward VI uncle, and brother to the lord protector Edward Seymour.

There is speculation that at this point Thomas Seymour found the young Elizabeth very attractive both

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