A Royal Dysfunctional Family

Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth 1533 - 1603

Meet her daddy:

Born in 1491, the son of King Henry VII Becomes the King in 1509 As a young man he is described as having a face so beautiful it would become a pretty woman.

Infamous for having many wives

British rhyme about Henry

Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived (Tells the fate of his six wives)

Wife #1 - Catherine of Aragon

» » » » » » Daughter of King Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain Arrives in London at the age of 16 to marry Prince Arthur, Henry’s older brother An arranged marriage to seal an alliance between Spain & England

• Six months after their marriage, Arthur dies. • Henry was in love with Catherine, but he was only 11.

• By law, he had to wait until he was 14 to marry her, plus get permission from the Pope because she was his brother’s widow.

• At this time, Henry ‘s father didn’t need an alliance with Spain and would not let Henry marry Catherine when he became 14.

• Four years later, the King dies, and Henry becomes King.

• He immediately marries Catherine, and they were madly in love with each other.

• Catherine was intelligent and had served as Spain’s ambassador to England for four years.

• Catherine knew that her role as Queen required her to produce a male heir for Henry.

• In 1511, Prince Henry was born, but he died a few weeks later.

• Catherine had five more pregnancies, but only one child survived--Princess Mary, born in 1516.

• Two years later, Henry’s affections began to wander, and he acquired a mistress, Elizabeth Blount.

• Elizabeth Blount gave birth to a son, Henry Fitzroy, and Henry acknowledged him and made him a Duke.

• When Catherine grew too old to have more children, Henry began to think that God was punishing him for marrying his brother’s widow.

• Henry urged Catherine to annul their marriage and enter a convent. She refused.

• Henry asked the Pope for permission to divorce Catherine, but he refused.

A Huge Historical Event Occurs!

• Henry gets angry at the Pope in Rome and divorces Catherine. • This causes a split from the Catholic Church, which had been the official state religion in England. • Henry begins his own church -- the Anglican church.

» » » » » » Catherine and her supporters always considered her the rightful Queen.

Henry forced her into isolation and took her daughter, Mary, away from her.

Wife #2 - Anne Boleyn

» » » » » » » » » Neither pretty nor beautiful, but had a vivacious personality.

A flirt, she began serving in the royal court in 1522.

Henry noticed her in 1526, and he fell in love with her.

Clever enough to “date” Henry for six years before beginning a sexual relationship.

• In 1532, at the age of thirty-one, Anne became pregnant with Henry’s child.

• She married Henry as soon as he divorced Catherine. • In September 1533, Princess Elizabeth was born.

The People of England Celebrate Elizabeth’s Birth!

• Elizabeth was the very first royal child in the history of Great Britain, born to two English parents. • Before this, one of the parents was not a native-born British person.

» » » » » » » » » » » » » Henry is furious because Anne did not produce a son.

Also, Princess Mary is 16 & causing havoc in the royal house hold.

• In 1536 Anne miscarried a baby boy.

• Again, Henry thought God was punishing him.

• He became a brutal tyrant.

Famous people murdered by Henry:

• Sir Thomas Moore and Bishop John Fisher, two highly respected Catholics • People began to suspect that Anne was influencing Henry and making him wicked. (Perhaps she was a witch??)

– – Most people remained loyal to Catherine of Aragon.

– – – In 1536 a plot was hatched by Anne’s enemies to get rid of her.

– – – – Henry, by this time, had crossed the line of sanity and believed everything that Anne’s enemies said about her.

The Plan to Get Rid of Anne:

• Anne’s enemies told Henry that the Queen had committed adultery.

• Adultery was considered an act of treason against the King. Treason was punishable by death.

• To make things even worse, they further accused Anne of incest with her own brother.

Plan B

• If they couldn’t prove that Anne was guilty of adultery, their back-up plan was to accuse her of being a witch.

• Anne had an extra pinky on one hand and a large mole on her neck - “proof” that she was a witch.

• Witches were guilty of heresy, a crime against the Church and punishable by death.

Death of the Innocents

• Mark Smeaton, the court musician, had composed a song to honor Anne. He was accused of having an affair with Anne.

• Under torture, Smeaton “confessed” to his crime and was executed.

• Anne’s brother was also executed.

Anne’s Execution

– – Anne is found guilty of treason and sentenced to death by beheading.

» In May 1536, she is beheaded in the Tower of London. She hired her own executioner, a French swordsman.

» Elizabeth and Mary were forced to witness Anne’s death.

–

Wife #3 - Jane Seymour

» » » Henry and his new wife, Jane

• Jane was a lady-in-waiting to both Catherine and Anne.

• She was 27 years old and the exact opposite personality of Anne. Jane was sweet, modest, virtuous, and docile.

• Henry tried to court her in 1536 while he was still married to Anne, but Jane rejected his advances.

• The day after Anne’s execution, Henry became engaged to Jane. They married ten days later.

• Jane brought peace and harmony to the royal household. Henry had thrown Elizabeth out of the court and her nurse had to beg him to provide clothing for her. It was Jane who convinced Henry to bring Elizabeth back into the royal family, and she cared for Mary and Elizabeth as her own children.

• On October 12, 1537, Jane gave birth to Prince Edward, and Henry wept for joy and had 2,000 guns fired from the Tower of London.

The Hand of Fate

• Six days after giving birth, Jane dies of complications of childbirth.

• Henry falls into a depression that lasts for several months.

• He became increasingly tyrannical and thought he was always right and blamed others when things went wrong.

• He also gained weight, went bald, and his eyes inspired fear rather than respect.

Henry VIII in His Later Years

Wife #4 - Anne of Cleves

» » » » » » » » » » » Her marriage was arranged with Henry for political reasons.

Because Henry had broken ties with the Catholic Church and made England a Protestant country, she was isolated from France and Spain (long time enemies). If France & Spain were to unite against England, England would be in danger. An alliance with Germany, a Protestant country, was a good political move.

Henry ‘s Shortest Marriage

• Thomas Cromwell, Henry’s chief minister, wanted Henry to marry one of the German Duke of Cleves’ sisters.

• Henry wanted to know what they looked like, so a portrait artist, Holbein, went to Germany and painted portraits of them.

• Upon viewing the portraits, Henry chose Anne, and a marriage contract was drawn-up.

• New Years Day, 1540, Henry is waiting at the docks for Anne’s ship to arrive. • At first sight, Henry thought she looked like a Flanders mare! She only spoke German, could not play a musical instrument, sing, nor read. Her only talent was sewing!

• Because he had to honor his marriage contract, Henry married Anne on January 6, but never consummated the marriage.

• He divorced Anne six months later, and Anne did not protest.

• Anne was given palaces and remained in the social life of the Royal Court. People began to think of her as the King’s sister.

• Henry had Thomas Cromwell executed on July 28, 1540.

Wife #5 - Kathryn Howard

» » » » » » » High spirited and sexually precocious Only 19 when she came to serve in the Royal Court to serve Anne of Cleves.

Henry soon became interested in her.

Nineteen days after divorcing Anne of Cleves, Henry married Kathryn. She was 19 and he was 51.

Scandal in the Palace

• Henry was old and obese.

• Before long, Kathryn began having numerous affairs.

• Henry had been told about her loose ways before marrying her, but did not listen. When he realized that she was having affairs right under his nose, he was furious!

» » » » » Kathryn’s lovers were immediately executed.

In February 1542, Kathryn was imprisoned in the Tower of London prison.

» » She did not fully understand the serious ness of her actions.

» She was beheaded on February 13, » » 1452. Before she died she called out in a loud voice that any one of her lovers was » better than Henry.

» It is said that her ghost haunts Hampton Court.

Wife #6 - Katherine Parr

» » » » » » » » » » By 1543 Henry was seeking a wife to provide him companion ship in his old age.

Katherine was twice widowed, 31 years old, and in love with Thomas Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour (Wife #3).

Henry actively wooed Katherine, and she married him out of duty to her country.

• Katherine was a good mother to Elizabeth (age 10) and Edward (age 6).

• She saw that Elizabeth received the same education as Edward, and she learned Latin, Greek, French, and Italian, as well as mathematics.

• She also took care of Henry and was able to calm his rages.

Henry VIII Dies on January 28, 1547

• Katherine married Thomas Seymour in June 1547.

• Their marriage was illegal because since Katherine was the King’s widow, Parliament needed to approve the marriage.

• Katherine died in childbirth in 1548, and Thomas Seymour was executed for treason.

Prince Edward Is the New King of England

• He is nine years old.

• He dies in 1553 at the age of sixteen of tuberculosis.

• A few weeks before his death he appoints Lady Jane Grey, a member of his court, to be his successor. He was tricked into doing this by Lord Dudley who planned to rule the throne through Jane, his son’s wife. They didn’t want Mary to become Queen because she would make Catholicism the state religion again, and there were many Protestants in England.

Mary Tudor, the Rightful Heir aka “Bloody Mary”

» » » » » » » » » In 1553 Mary became the Queen of England, having overthrown Lady Jane Grey who ruled only nine days.

Mary had her executed.

People had been plotting to make Elizabeth the Queen ever since Edward’s reign. Since Henry had divorced Mary’s mother, many people considered her illegitimate.

• When Mary arrived in London, Elizabeth greeted and congratulated her.

• Anne of Cleves and Elizabeth rode through the city behind Mary and on to Westminster Abbey where she was officially crowned Queen of England.

• One of her first acts as Queen was to negate the divorce of her mother, Catherine of Aragon, and Henry.

• She also repealed all of the religious laws passed under Edward’s rule, showing favoritism to Protestants.

• A marriage was arranged between Mary and Prince Phillip of Spain for political reasons.

• Four plots were hatched to put Elizabeth on the throne, because if Mary married a Spaniard, England would again have Catholicism as the state religion. All of the plots were unsuccessful and Mary had a hundred revolutionaries hanged. • Elizabeth was put into prison also, even though she had nothing to do with the plots; first in the Tower of London, and then in Woodstock.

• Mary married Phillip, and they seemed to like each other although there was a language barrier. It is assumed that they conversed in Latin.

• Mary began returning land that had been seized from Catholic religious groups, and restoring the heresy laws making it a capital crime to be a Protestant.

• Mary was intent on making Elizabeth a Catholic, but Elizabeth resisted.

• It soon appeared that Mary was pregnant, and her husband made plans for her successor in the event that she died in childbirth.

• If they excluded Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots would assume the throne. However, Mary Queen of Scots was married to a Frenchman, and Spain and France weren’t getting along.

• Phillip decided to arrange a marriage between Elizabeth and a Spanish noble to ensure an alliance between Spain and England.

• Because Elizabeth could be a pawn in Phillip’s attempt to ensure a long British Spanish alliance, Mary welcomed her back to Court.

• Mary never gave birth to the child she was supposedly pregnant with, and it is assumed that it was a “false pregnancy.” No one mentioned this in the Queen’s presence.

• Mary began having Protestants killed with a vengeance.

• France and England went to war with each other, and Phillip led the British troops.

• At the age of 42, Mary thought that she was again pregnant. She wrote her will ensuring that her child would become the monarch. • Once again, no child was born, but Mary was critically ill. Before she died she named her half-sister, Elizabeth, as her successor.

• Phillip’s father and aunt both died at this time, and he returned to Spain for their funerals. He was not able to return to England for his wife’s funeral. Mary is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Elizabeth Becomes the Queen

• On November 17, 1558, Elizabeth is crowned the Queen.

• She wanted to be the people’s Queen and was happy to talk to any of her subjects.

• She was a very popular monarch with all levels of society.

Romantic Mystery!

• The Queen appointed Robert Dudley, an old childhood friend, as Master of Horse (in charge of the royal stables).

• It can’t be proven that they were lovers, but they spent a great deal of time together, and he took liberties with her that no one else could.

• He also was allowed into the Queen’s chambers when she was dressing, and she often caressed his face and hands in public.

• Dudley’s wife is found dead one day at the bottom of a staircase! No one was home at the time so neither murder nor suicide could be proved.

• Everyone expected Elizabeth to marry Dudley. However, she announced that she would never marry, but would remain a virgin and be married to her country.

• Elizabeth had many problems to contend with as the ruler of England. Her country was in debt and suffering from inflation.

The Queen’s Plan to Fix the Economy

• To cut Court expenses, Elizabeth began staying at the homes of the nobles. She brought all of the members of Court with her, often causing them to go bankrupt!

• She also encouraged her subjects to give her gifts of gems, jewelry, cloth, dresses, shoes, furniture, food, or anything.

• She also encouraged her ships to raid the Spanish shipping lanes and capture galleons coming from the Americas.

• She would bully, scream, rant, cry, and threaten her government counselors to agree with her.

• She skillfully used her availability to marry foreign royalty to prevent wars. This led to England’s first era of peace in years.

Elizabethan View of Women

• The duty of every monarch was to provide heirs for the throne.

• Unless you were a nun, women were expected to marry.

• Women could not govern themselves let alone a country!

• Elizabeth used all of these beliefs to her advantage.

• Elizabeth was the centre of the Court. Everyone in Court awoke when the Queen did,as well as ate, slept, and conducted business when she did. • She expected total devotion from her courtiers. No marriage could take place with a member of the Court unless Elizabeth approved it. • This made the Court members more dependent on the Queen and less likely to rebel.

• Elizabeth refused to make religion an issue so there was peace within the country as well as peace with foreign countries.

• The last fifteen years of her life were lonely ones, since the Queen had no children, and no family. She died in 1603 and James I became the King.

• Elizabeth was such an outstanding monarch, that historians named an era after her. • Under her reign, England experienced a renaissance of culture, science, and exploration which still influences us today.

– The End!