Elizabeth's Step Mothers example essay topic

Elizabeth's up bring and early years before her coronation was extremely turbulent, and the way in which she behaved in later life can sometimes be construed as vigilant, despite this however she was a very successful and powerful leader. Elizabeth was a disappointment from the moment she was born. Her father Henry V was desperately hoping for a son to be his successor. He had, previous to Elizabeth's birth, challenged the supremacy of the Pope, in order to marry Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn in the hope she would bore him a son.

Unfortunately to his regret Anne gave birth to a baby girl, Elizabeth in September 1533. Anne did inevitably give birth to a son, although to everyone's dismay he was still born. Henry was a domineering man who tended to always get what he wanted, and if his quest was to have a son then he would accomplish it. He began to plot Anne's downfall.

He accused her of four counts of adultery, including incest. She was later executed in May 1536 on the green in the Tower of London, and the only gift she was granted was to be executed with a sword rather than an axe. Elizabeth at the time was not even three years old and from that day forward she was to be raised by governesses and her step mothers. At such a young age to witness such a harsh reality must have been hard for the young Elizabeth. This is a momentous piece of evidence that could later have led Elizabeth to act with a cautious disposition when ruling the country. The fact that she clearly saw how a husband could rule and in extreme cases take the life of his wife could have given her a warped preconception of what married life could be like.

This is again shown in the fact that her father struggled to hold down one wife and evidently had 6! However despite this, she still remained completely loyal to her father and loved and respected him as any good daughter should. The execution of her mother made Elizabeth dispassionate and determined to win her father's public support and respect. Elizabeth's upbringing consisted of living in secluded country houses with her step-mothers and rarely seeing her father, only on special occasions. Due to her growing up with a disjointed family could have later led to her not wanting to have children in the fear that they would lead the lonely life she once did. Elizabeth's step-mothers were mostly Protestant and so she was raised likewise.

Occasionally her older half sister Mary would live with her, and they disliked each other immensely. Mary loathed the fact that her mother, Catherine of Aragon was no longer with her father and so blamed Elizabeth as her father had gone on to marry Elizabeth's mother. Her father later went on to marry Mary Jane Seymour who to Henrys delight gave birth to a baby boy, Edward VI. Finally Henry had his heir to the throne. Elizabeth's trustworthy and loved governess was moved to care for baby Edward and Elizabeth lost her only source of stability. Elizabeth was close with Edward as a child but they soon grew apart.

When Henry V died, the children were informed three days later. The children were said to be devastated and 'clung to each other uncontrollably'. A crucial situation where Elizabeth learnt the hard way not to get involved with relationships was her encounter with Thomas Seymour. Seymour proposed to Henrys widower at the time, Catherine Parr; however he had secretly had his eye on Elizabeth for some time. They were known to be extremely flirtatious until it had come to the point where Catherine, who was pregnant, sent Elizabeth away as she couldn't bear there engagement with one another. Catherine died shortly afterwards in childbirth and Thomas was available once more.

In January 1549 Thomas Seymour endeavoured to kidnap King Edward and marry Elizabeth, to his disappointment he failed and was tried for treason. Due to Elizabeth's involvement with Seymour she too was interrogated and Kat Stevens her closest confidant was banished to the tower. Fortunately Elizabeth survived the trial but Seymour was executed on Tower Hill. That was a turning point in Elizabeth's life as she realised that men were only interested in her patriarchal status and not for her, and from that day forward she kept her own counsel and thoughts and remained very alone. This may have been a reason why she chose not to marry in a later life.

During Mary's reign many persecuted protestants saw Elizabeth as an icon of the 'new faith', and a number of Protestant rebellions broke out in her name. Given that so many people had so much admiration for her could have been the guiding force she needed to remain a strong female leader and choose to be 'married only to her country'. Another outrage that plagued her for many years after becoming Queen was the incident over the rebellion in conjunction with Thomas Wyatt. He had claimed that she had approved of the rebellion and she most definitely had received the letter he had sent her informing her of the situation. Elizabeth denied all knowledge and Wyatt was executed. Mary was in a dilemma because as long as Elizabeth lived she would be a 'figure-head' for discontented Protestant rebels.

Due to the fact that she did not have sufficient evidence to execute her she was sent to the Tower of London on the 9th of February where she was taken by boat at night through Traitors Gate. She was held prisoner for four months. Again she had bared witness to another man who endangered her life and so after being crowned Queen she was extremely cautious of men. In her eyes men seemed to be the root of her problems; her father, her half brother, Thomas Seymour, Thomas Wyatt and in the last instance her half sister, Mary.

The fact that she had such a troubled life with her family could have dissuaded her from having a family herself. Whilst Mary was thought to be pregnant, Elizabeth was treated as less of a threat and she was released in July 1554 and held under house arrest in Hatfield House. It had become apparent that Mary's former husband Philip II had never loved Mary as he left England for Spain and never returned. It was clear that he purely saw the marriage as a way to turn England Catholic and expand his empire.

After Mary's death in November 1558, Philip had even gone as far as asking Elizabeth for her hand in marriage, however she was far too aware of his manipulative ways and went on to rule alone from 1558-1603. Elizabeth was fully aware that getting married could change the religion of the country and it is said to be another reason why she remained single throughout her time on the throne. In conclusion many events in her childhood and early years led her to be a cautious ruler, however in my opinion she was a better Queen because of it!