[techwife]

Hi everyone. In Global Studies, my daughter had to do a three-page essay on anything in history that does not pertain to the US. So, she chose Queen Elizabeth I. I thought, since you're all British, you'd like to read her essay. If not, than skip it, but I'd like to hear from people that actually live in England what you think of her essay:

Queen Elizabeth I
In the Beginning of the house of Tudor, Henry VIII married his first Queen, Catherine of Aragon. Henry desperately wanted a son to be heir to continue the house of Tudor. Henry and Catherine had a son named Arthur, but he died soon after birth. After a couple pregnancies that ended in still births, Catherine gave birth to Mary, future queen of England. By the time Catherine reached an age when she could not have any more children, Henry was becoming frustrated by her inability to produce a male heir. He was also being tempted by a very ambitious courtier named Anne Boleyn. Henry divorced Catherine and married Anne, putting a new queen on the throne. Ironically Anne could not produce a male heir for the throne for Henry either. But she did give birth to Elizabeth, another future queen of England. Anne Boleyn was unfaithful to Henry, tried for treason and beheaded when Elizabeth was just a little girl. Henry’s next wife was Jane Seymour. Finally Henry VIII had his male heir, Prince Edward VI. Unfortunately, Jane fell ill and died. Henry VIII went on to marry three more women. Anne of Cleves whom he divorced; Catherine Howard, a pretty young girl who was unfaithful, tried for treason and beheaded; and Catherine Parr, who was Henry VIII’s wife until he died, leaving her a widow.
Elizabeth’s path to the throne starts here. After the death of Henry VIII, Edward became king at ten years old. Edward was never a healthy child and died at age fifteen. Elizabeth loved her brother, but during his five-year rein, life for Elizabeth became very dangerous. Many people wanted to take down the house of Tudor and claim the throne. With a sick young king on the throne people started plotting ways to either marry Elizabeth or set her up for treason to remove her as an obstacle on their own path to the throne. Elizabeth could trust no one. After Edwards’s death, Mary became Queen of England. This reign was also dangerous for Elizabeth. Mary loved her little sister, but Mary, like her mother, was a very strict catholic. Elizabeth, like her mother, was a protestant. Mary married Philip of Spain, also catholic, during the Spanish Inquisition. During Mary’s reign, non-Catholics were called heretics and burned alive for their religious beliefs. During this time Elizabeth tried very hard to follow the Catholic religion, but secretly took partook in Protestant practices, such as studying sciences like astronomy. Elizabeth could still trust no one. Many people tried to expose Elizabeth as a heretic, but in the end, Mary, despite their differences, could not have Elizabeth killed. When Mary died, Elizabeth became Queen of England.
Queen Elizabeth I reined for forty-five years from 1558-1603. Unmarried, young and beautiful, Elizabeth became the most sought after bachelorette in all of England. Advisor after advisor tried making alliances with England and other countries. Elizabeth was uninterested in a man taking over the throne and directing her life and country. Lord Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was the closest person to Elizabeth, considered her best friend, and the closest thing Elizabeth had to a husband or true love. Elizabeth’s advisors would not allow her to marry Robert because all of his wealth and power came from his relationship with her. It was important to her advisors that her marriage create an alliance that would benefit England and create heirs to further the House of Tudor and the throne.
The Queen became angry at her councilors that spent all their time deciding who she should marry instead of helping her rule the country. She felt discouraged by the men set before her as suitors, at first considering them for marriage, then realizing, each for different reasons, that each man was not a match for her. Additionally, the Queen found out that Sir Robert Dudley had secretly been married leaving the Queen feeling foolish, betrayed and broken-hearted. In an attempt to put to rest the constant pursuit of her councilors trying to marry her off, put her past behind her and establish herself in the world as a queen with no king, Queen Elizabeth decided to recreate herself, naming herself the Virgin Queen. During her reign, Elizabeth started the Church of England, which is still a practiced religion today.
During Elizabeth’s reign, many people refused to acknowledge her as a legitimate heir to the throne, citing that her father’s divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon was not recognized in the Catholic Church. Therefore, his marriage to Anne Boleyn was not recognized, making Elizabeth an illegitimate child of Henry VIII. One of her strongest opponents to the throne was her cousin, Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots. Henry VIII had a sister, Margaret, in Scotland. Mary Stewart was her daughter, and it was her nephew, James I of Scotland, that Mary thought should be the heir to the throne. Mary became very aggressive in her nephew’s cause, threatening Elizabeth’s life and threatening peace in England. She was beheaded with Elizabeth signing her death warrant. In the end, after Elizabeth’s death, the crown and throne of England was handed to her successor and opponent to the crown, James I of Scotland.
Elizabeth’s reign was dubbed “The Golden Years” because she led her country with fairness, prosperity, and maintained peace, even fighting in battles, defending England on the battleground. It is ironic that one of the world’s greatest chauvinists, Henry VIII, in his pursuit to bear a son for England, bore one of England’s greatest, most independent daughters, Queen Elizabeth I.

[RoyalAthena]

I'm not British BUT your daughter did an excellent job on that paper. Kudos to her!