It’s about time we looked at a person, and who better to represent ‘events that shaped Britain’ than Good Queen Bess?
What You’ll Hear
- 0:56: How she honoured her mother, Anne Boleyn
- 1:34: Elizabeth I was better educated than you may realise
- 2:12: Was Elizabeth really a man?
- 3:10: The two Marys Elizabeth had to beat
- 4:34: The lethal Elizabethan beauty fads
Listen to the Episode
Elizabeth I has been the subject of many books, both fact and fiction, and the main character in at least one Hollywood film in the last couple of years. She had very famous parents and was the first queen of England. I don’t think I could do her justice in five minutes or so, but I’ll give you some fascinating facts – I hope!
Elizabeth and Anne
Elizabeth was only two years old when her father, Henry VIII had her mother (his second wife, Anne Boleyn) beheaded in 1535. She was raised by her stepmother, Catherine Parr, after Henry died in 1547, when she was in her early teens. Parr was Henry’s sixth wife – he went through four quite quickly after Boleyn’s death!
Although Anne Boleyn was unpopular, Elizabeth honoured her mother in subtle ways, such as wearing her necklace in a portrait, where she looks a lot like the late queen. Elizabeth made sure that her maternal relatives were given good jobs at her court, too, but she was careful not to say anything positive about her mother in public.
She was an Accomplished Queen
As was common with royals at the time, Elizabeth was an accomplished musician, and she was also multilingual. She spoke Latin, French and Italian fluently, which was no doubt useful for negotiating with foreign diplomats.
She also learned calligraphy and public speaking, which was particularly impressive as it was never intended that Elizabeth rule as monarch. Her older half-sister Mary was ahead of her in the line of succession, and her half-brother Edward took the throne after their father’s death.
As we know, though, he was sickly and died aged 15. After some wrangling, Mary occupied the throne from 1553 until her own death in 1558.
Rumours About Elizabeth
Stories about Elizabeth were swirling around not long after she took the throne. One astonishing theory as to why she didn’t marry or have children is that she was actually a man, a replacement slotted into the royal household after Elizabeth died as a child.
The story goes that at the age of 10, she was sent to Bisley in Gloucester to avoid the bubonic plague. Unfortunately, the princess died there, and her guardian, Sir Thomas Parry, and governess, Lady Kat Ashley, decided to cover up her tragic death.
Unable to find a girl with red hair, the duo found a slender boy called Neville, plonked a wig on his head and popped him into a dress, and sent him back to court. Incredibly, Henry VIII failed to notice this, and the deception continued throughout Neville’s life, with ‘the queen’ having only Lady Ashley to attend her in her chamber, and forbidding an autopsy after her death. Wild!
Strong Tudor Women
The Tudor period was dominated by strong women, of which Elizabeth was just one. Her older half-sister, Mary, was the daughter of Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and had watched her mother suffer for years when the king decided to move on. Catherine’s strong faith and refusal to agree to a divorce also angered the king, which caused the bitter and bloody turmoil between Catholics and Protestants.
After the sudden death of Edward, both sisters felt they had a claim to the throne, and loyal supporters who agreed with them. Mary took power, which led to frequent Protestant rebellion. Mary intended to marry the Catholic Philip of Spain, which was not a universally popular decision.
A rebellion to prevent this in 1554 was led by Thomas Wyatt, a supporter of Elizabeth. Although overthrowing the queen was not a stated part of the plot, but would have happened anyway. Mary accused Elizabeth of being involved in the plan, and was prepared to have her executed.
As we know, Elizabeth survived to tangle with another Mary – her cousin and Queen of Scots. Despite what the recent film would have us believe, the two women never met, and Elizabeth had her cousin Mary executed for treason (trying to seize the throne) in 1587.
However, it has been suggested that the English queen wasn’t entirely comfortable with this, and that the Scottish queen had also been pushed into rebelling.
Extreme Grooming
In later years, Queen Elizabeth was notable for her startling look, but she wasn’t the only one going to extremes. Women were supposed to look pale and interesting, and would pluck not only their eyebrows, but their hairlines too.
Imperfections could be concealed with a concoction of flour and a natural bleach called lye. Elizabeth nearly died from smallpox, and she was embarrassed by the scars it left behind.
The white lead she applied to her face was supposed to hide them. The wig was in place from her early 20s, believed to conceal hair loss following an illness.
It wasn’t just queens or vain women who were using extreme beauty measures – Shakespearean actors were also caking themselves in ceruse, as it was known. Those who didn’t die from lead poisoning caused irreparable damage to their faces.
This episode was inspired by a blog about powder puffs, which mentions Elizabeth.
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