AboutMark Smith Expertise I will attempt to answer questions on the Kings and Queens of England and Scotland from 927 AD. I also have some knowledge of European Monarchies.
Experience No professional experience, but a lifelong interest in the subject.
Expert: Mark Smith Date: 4/23/2008 Subject: Queen Elizabeth I
Question I have some questions about Queen Elizabeth I:
These are our questions:
What were some of the major events that influenced Queen Elizabeth I’s life?
What role did Queen Mary play in Queen Elizabeth’s life? What were some
problems she faced as a protestant Christian?
Jarie
Answer Hello Jarie.
The events of her early years that influenced her life were mostly to do with her parents and religion. She was deeply affected by the fate of her mother, Anne Boleyn and her father's turbulent married life. It has been suggested that she associated marriage and close personal relationships with death, which is why she never married. These feelings were reinforced at the age of 14/15 when, after King Henry's death, she was living with her stepmother Katherine Parr who had married Lord Seymour. Seymour began to pester her and it was even thought that he had seduced her. But after he was accused of treason and executed the young Elizabeth was again faced with the death of someone close and possibly again thoughts of love and sex equalling death.
Elizabeth also saw the severe problems created by extremism, by both Catholics and Protestants, in religion and strove as Queen to steer a middle path in religious matters.
The relationship betwen Elizabeth and her elder half-sister Mary was never close. Mary even had Elizabeth imprisoned in the Tower for a few months after she was suspected of involvement in the Wyatt Plot of 1554. After her release Elizabeth largely stayed away from Court and out of trouble.
As a Protestant Queen her main problems were from Catholics urged on to rebellion by the Pope and the threat from Spain. In 1570 Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Pope, this absolved Catholics from any allegiance to her. Therefore it amounted to a green light for rebellion and several assassination plots were hatched by disaffected Catholics. She was forced to respond with harsh measures against Catholics who refused to recognize her as Queen or who refused to worship under the Protestant faith. The King of Spain made a number of attempts to attack England, most famously in 1588, and at the end of her reign Spanish troops landed in Ireland to stir up rebellion there. Elizabeth also got involved in the Dutch Wars of Independence against the Spanish.
