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Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace and was the only surviving heir to King Henry VIII and Queen Anne.
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Anne Boleyn was unable to provide a male heir for King Henry VIII, and after several other charges including witchcraft and incest, Anne was beheaded. Elizabeth was only two years old. This may have played an important role in her later life as Elizabeth never married, refusing proposals from the French and Spanish amongst others.
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After the death of her mother, her father married several women. There was one, Catherine Parr, who took a keen interest in Elizabeth and ensured her a excellent education at Hatfield House, where Elizabeth lived.
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Henry VIII"s son Edward VI took the throne at the age of nine and lived until he was fifteen after succumbing to a sickness with lung disease. Although his time was cut short, it was crucial because he was the first monarch to be raised as a Protestant King. There was no issue from King Edward VI.
(https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-VI) -
When Mary first took the throne, she tried religious duality in her kingdom. However, her convictions got the best of her and Mary's reign was one of terror and bloodshed, much like that of her grandparents, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile who ruled during the Spanish Inquisition. Perhaps this is what Mary learned religious intolerance and repression from.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Spanish-Inquisition -
Henry VIII was unable to provide a legitimate, living male heir besides Edward. The crown was passed to his eldest daughter, Mary, who was a devout Catholic like her mother Catherine of Aragon. Her religion would shape the way she ruled England and eventually what would gain the love of the kingdom for her half-sister, Elizabeth.
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England went to war with France following a raid on Scarborough by Thomas Stafford, an Englishman exiled in France. The King of France, however, denied initiating the raid. Philip invaded France and took hold of St. Quentin and the surrounding area, but France took back Calais, thus ending the war and any English holdings in France.
http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/aboutFelipeII.htm -
Queen Mary eventually became known as "Bloody Mary" for her attempts to return England back to Catholicism within as little as four days after her coronation. Her attempts to redact her brother's laws concerning religion were met with opposition. For about three years she tortured her kingdom by trying to force Catholicism back on the people after her father had already broken free from the Catholic Church.
(https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-I) -
As Mary didn't produce any heirs, Elizabeth was next in line to the throne; She was 25 when she became the queen of England.
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Queen Mary's marriage to Prince Phillip of Spain produced no heirs. Shortly before her death, Mary named Elizabeth as her successor.
http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/marytudor.html -
Unlike her sister, Mary, Elizabeth was a known Protestant and pushed for peace within her kingdom. She re-established the Church of England through the Act of Supremacy during the first session of Parliament. In addition, she passed the Act of Uniformity which created a common prayer book.
(https://www.biography.com/people/queen-elizabeth-i-9286133) -
Elizabeth provided for such a prosperous community in the arts that plays, music, beautiful gems and fabrics all flourished during her reign.
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Explorer Humphrey Gilbert discovered England's first colony in the New World: Newfoundland.
https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/exploration-and-trade-in-elizabethan-england -
Another colony, Roanoke, was settled by Sir Walter Raleigh. Although this was an unsuccessful attempt, it prompted later colonies such as Virginia, which was settled in 1607 but named in honor of the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth.
https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/exploration-and-trade-in-elizabethan-england -
King Philip, after the death of his wife Mary, proposed to Elizabeth in hopes of keeping England under the grasp of the Holy Roman Empire. She denied him and tensions between Spain and England continue for about 30 years. The first intention of the Armada was to secure the English throne for Mary, Queen of Scots but she was executed by Elizabeth. Philip attacked England anyway with over 100 ships, but the English won. Elizabethans gave thanks to a Protestant God for the victory.
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Queen Elizabeth died with no heir marking the end of the House of Tudor.
