Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I was the second daughter of Henry VIII. Her mother was Anne Boleyn. She was third in line to the throne and only became Queen after both her half brother Edward and her elder half sister Mary died.

When Henry VIII died his son Edward (who he had with Jane Seymour) succeeded him, but he was only 9 years old! He wasn’t a very well child and was only King for 6 years before he died.

Mary I, Henry VIII’s first daughter (who he had with Catherine of Aragon) then became Queen. She was the country’s first ever Queen! She didn’t reign for very long either though, dying 5 years later. Her nickname was Bloody Mary as she wasn’t a particularly nice Queen and had many people killed. She even had Elizabeth locked up in the Tower of London!

Elizabeth then became Queen on the 17th November 1558. She was coronated on the 15th January 1559 at Westminster Abbey in London. In the end she was Henry VIII’s most successful heir.

Henry VIII

Anne Boleyn

Edward VI

Mary I

Did you know...

Elizabeth was Queen for 44 years, which is a long time. The time in which she was Queen was called the Elizabethan Era.

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Not only for the time period of Elizabeth’s reign called the Elizabethan Era, it was also called the Golden Age.

The British Empire grew during her reign and people were exploring new, undiscovered lands and trading with different countries. Also during her time as Queen Shakespeare was writing his plays and performing them in theatres.

Her reign was mainly peaceful, she didn’t want to fight wars. Elizabeth did however need to protect herself as lots of people didn’t think she deserved to be Queen and plotted against her. During her reign though she did fight a battle against the Spanish called the Spanish Armada. It was a battle fought at sea against Spain who wanted to conquer England. Queen Elizabeth I and the Royal Navy won that war.

Elizabeth I had a lot of money. She spent a lot on fine clothes and jewellery and people at the time tried to copy her clothing and it changed fashion quite a lot.

Elizabeth lived a very nice life in beautiful palaces. Elizabeth also travelled around the country a lot, visiting many people and enjoying the feasts and entertainment they put on for her.

Elizabeth enjoyed having her portrait painted (they didn’t have cameras in those days to take photographs) and there are lots of these paintings still around today so we know a lot about what she looked like.

Elizabeth as a princess

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Portrait dated 1575

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Portrait dated 1599

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Elizabeth never got married and never had any children. It is thought she believed marrying someone and them therefore being King alongside her would give them too much power or take some of hers away!

Elizabeth I died aged 69 on the 24th March 1603 and left no heirs to the throne. She was the last of the Tudor Kings and Queens.

So what would happen next? The King of Scotland was called James VI and he was related to Elizabeth. He was asked to become King of England and he became James I of England. James I was the King that Guy Fawkes and the other plotters wanted to kill just 2 years later!

England and Scotland were still separate countries but they had become a united kingdom through sharing the same King. The two countries were now known as Great Britain.