I am Elizabeth
Elizabeth's Coronation Procession
Edward VI & Mary I - my brother and sister
1547 - 1558
During the reign of my brother, Edward VI, from 1547 until 1553, I enjoyed many privileges since we shared a commitment to the Reformed Religion of my father. In looking back, Edward was more strongly Protestant than I, quickly showing "that he had the makings of a religious fanatic, and became as fervent a Protestant as [our] sister Mary was a Roman Catholic" (Weir, Children, 16).
As children we were close because we were only four years apart. I dearly recall a letter he sent me within the year before his accession; he wrote "Change of place did not vex me so much, dearest sister, as your going from me. Now there can be nothing pleasanter than a letter from you" (Weir, Children, 17). I returned his warm regard and when he passed in 1553, I sincerely mourned him, though it did bring me closer to the throne.
In the early days of Edward's reign, I lived with my step-mother, Katherine Parr, and her new husband, Thomas Seymour, Lord Admiral. Of this time, I will say nothing now, save that I was not guilty of the scandal laid at my door and I remained virgin.
As children we were close because we were only four years apart. I dearly recall a letter he sent me within the year before his accession; he wrote "Change of place did not vex me so much, dearest sister, as your going from me. Now there can be nothing pleasanter than a letter from you" (Weir, Children, 17). I returned his warm regard and when he passed in 1553, I sincerely mourned him, though it did bring me closer to the throne.
In the early days of Edward's reign, I lived with my step-mother, Katherine Parr, and her new husband, Thomas Seymour, Lord Admiral. Of this time, I will say nothing now, save that I was not guilty of the scandal laid at my door and I remained virgin.
© 2011 Karen S. Palmer
Template design by Andreas Viklund
Template design by Andreas Viklund
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Edward VI
Mary I
My position during the reign of my sister was entirely different to that during the reign of my brother. Mary I was a staunch Roman Catholic determined to bring Papistry back to England. She demanded outward and inward conformity. It was not enough to attend mass as she demanded; if she determined that you weren't truly Catholic, it mattered not that you conformed to the letter of the law.
Upon Mary's accession, suspicion fell onto me, as a possible accomplice during the time when Lady Jane Grey was placed on the throne; I remember that I was very ill with watery humors. Despite my desperate illness, Mary insisted that I be brought to London from Ashridge; I did not want to go as I knew the danger that awaited me there. Indeed, the danger came to pass and I was sent to that doleful place, the Tower, and examined by Mary's gentlemen as to my complicity in the uprising against the Queen. I was treated well, but the terror of the place never left me whilst I dwelt there. I heard the Earl of Sussex comment, "Let us take heed, my lords, that we go not beyond our commission, for she was the King our master's daughter as well as the Queen's sister. Let us use such dealing that we may answer it thereafter, if it shall so happen; for just dealing is always answerable" (Weir, Children, 258). Even through my terror, I held that thought close; I was not the only one thinking of my ascension to the throne. My three month confinement was not overly harsh, but my health, both physical and mental, suffered greatly. From the Tower, I was moved to Woodstock, where I would spend more than a year, during which time the Queen made her biggest mistake by marrying the foreigner, Philip II, King of Spain. It was during my confinement at Woodstock that I left a poem, exclaiming my innocence and the injustice of my confinement while the guilty are free, and my prayers, which were granted.
Upon Mary's accession, suspicion fell onto me, as a possible accomplice during the time when Lady Jane Grey was placed on the throne; I remember that I was very ill with watery humors. Despite my desperate illness, Mary insisted that I be brought to London from Ashridge; I did not want to go as I knew the danger that awaited me there. Indeed, the danger came to pass and I was sent to that doleful place, the Tower, and examined by Mary's gentlemen as to my complicity in the uprising against the Queen. I was treated well, but the terror of the place never left me whilst I dwelt there. I heard the Earl of Sussex comment, "Let us take heed, my lords, that we go not beyond our commission, for she was the King our master's daughter as well as the Queen's sister. Let us use such dealing that we may answer it thereafter, if it shall so happen; for just dealing is always answerable" (Weir, Children, 258). Even through my terror, I held that thought close; I was not the only one thinking of my ascension to the throne. My three month confinement was not overly harsh, but my health, both physical and mental, suffered greatly. From the Tower, I was moved to Woodstock, where I would spend more than a year, during which time the Queen made her biggest mistake by marrying the foreigner, Philip II, King of Spain. It was during my confinement at Woodstock that I left a poem, exclaiming my innocence and the injustice of my confinement while the guilty are free, and my prayers, which were granted.
With Mary queen, I continued under surveillance and took great care that no charge could be proved. In the husband of my Queen, King Philip II of Spain, I surprisingly had a champion. Though despised by my people as being a foreigner using the riches available to him by his marriage to continue his wars on the Continent, he was powerful and Mary heeded him. He wanted me to live and some say "there had even been rumors, current in Mary's lifetime, that he meant to marry" (Weir, Life, 24) me.
After my imprisonment, I lived quietly in the country, most frequently at Hatfield Palace, one of my favourite homes.
It was here, on 17 November 1558, that I received the news that my sister, the Queen, was dead and that I was the Queen. "The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen!"
After my imprisonment, I lived quietly in the country, most frequently at Hatfield Palace, one of my favourite homes.
It was here, on 17 November 1558, that I received the news that my sister, the Queen, was dead and that I was the Queen. "The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen!"
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