Queen Elizabeth I will be forever known as one of the greatest monarchs in English history

Queen Elizabeth I will be forever known as one of the greatest monarchs in English history. With the arrival of her brother, it was thought she would never sit upon the throne, but the troubled child would grow up to become a formidable sovereign whose reign outshone that of the father, who had hoped she would be born a boy.

At just over two and a half years old, the young Elizabeth Tudor’s life changed dramatically. Cared for by others and sent away from Anne at the age of just 3 months, there is no way to know how the death of her mother affected her. But when she was stripped of her title of Princess, as her sister had previously been, it is reported that she exclaimed, “How haps it, governor, yesterday my Lady Princess, today but my Lady Elizabeth?”

That is an indication that she knew that things around her were changing and she was aware of her position within the change. Elizabeth lived away from court with her own household, but her governess, Lady Bryan, felt she was being neglected and wrote to the King often, urging him to provide the Lady Elizabeth with new clothes as she had outgrown her current ones.

Elizabeth might have felt a kinship with her younger half-brother Edward; they were both motherless from a young age, and while she got along well with her older half-sister Mary, they were never very close. Mary was a lot older than Elizabeth, was Catholic, and might have harboured some feelings of resentment towards the daughter of the woman who had displaced her mother. Edward was closer to Elizabeth in age, and they both shared a passion for learning and a desire to carry on with the Reformation of their shared religion. From an early age, Elizabeth was taught Latin, Greek, Spanish, and French, as well as all the other requirements of a classical humanist education at the time: history, philosophy, and mathematics.

When Elizabeth was four, Lady Bryan was replaced by a young woman called Katherine Champernowne. Katherine was kind, caring, motherly, and well-educated. She came to form a very close bond with and love for her charge. Kat, as she became known, was Elizabeth’s only mother figure. Kat later married Elizabeth’s cousin, John Ashley (or Asteley), which tied her even closer to the young royal.

Blanche Parry was another close friend and confidant who taught Elizabeth some of her native Welsh language. Roger Asham a well-known scholar of the day who tutored talented students, regarded Elizabeth as one of his brightest star pupils.

Elizabeth’s love of music began when she was a child, and she learned to play many instruments, becoming quite proficient. Another of her talents was needlework.

Her father’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was a cousin of Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn, and took an interest in her new stepdaughter. During the new queen’s first public dinner, she gave Elizabeth the place of honour opposite her at the table. For the young Elizabeth overlooked and made to feel insignificant for so long, this must have been a wonderful thing.

How Elizabeth felt about the downfall of her new stepmother and kinswoman is unsure, but her childhood friend and favourite, Robert Dudley, would later claim that when she was only eight years old, Elizabeth declared to him she would never marry.

The turbulent life of her father must have had a huge impact on the young Elizabeth. In a short time, she had lost her mother, been declared illegitimate, had her title removed, and watched her father go through three wives. It would be her father’s final wife who would bring some stability to the young Lady Elizabeth’s life for a while. Katherine Parr showed great interest in her stepchildren, even interceding on Elizabeth’s behalf when she angered her father so much that he banished her from court. The nature of the offence is not known for sure, but with Katherine’s gentle persuasion, Elizabeth was allowed back to court.

Elizabeth was with her brother, Edward, when they were told of their father’s death. It is said that they cried bitterly, holding each other close. Both were now orphans. Elizabeth was thirteen years of age, and Edward was King of England at the age of only nine.