elizabeth’s character

• Deeply conservative society- women restricted and associated with home and childbearing

• Elizabeth actively straddled both feminine and masculine characteristics ‘body of a week feeble woman, heart and stomach of a king’

• Elizabeth declared illegitimate- 1543 Henry allowed her to return

• Learned Greek, Latin, french and Italian and in politics. Protestant

• Riding, archery, dancing and needle work

• ‘Masculine power for hard work’

• After Edward VI’s death 1553, Mary I took throne- suspicious of Elizabeth

  • Sent her to Tower of London for treason

  • Different religions- Mary devout catholic

  • Mary killed 300 Protestants during reign

• Confident and charismatic ‘having her way as absolutely her father had’

• Support from everyday people and parliament

• Patronage- grated lands and jobs to encourage support

• Learned resilience while imprisoned

• ‘The virgin queen’ married to country rather than man

Elizabeth I navigated a deeply conservative society that restricted women to domestic roles, yet she embodied both feminine and masculine traits; she was described as having the 'body of a weak feeble woman, heart and stomach of a king.' Declared illegitimate in 1543, she was later allowed by Henry VIII to return to court. Elizabeth was well-educated in languages and politics and developed skills in riding, archery, and needlework. Following Edward VI’s death, her half-sister Mary I, a devout Catholic, took the throne and imprisoned Elizabeth in the Tower of London for treason after killing 300 Protestants. Elizabeth, confident and charismatic, gained support from the people and Parliament through patronage, granting lands and jobs. She learned resilience through her imprisonment, earning the title 'The Virgin Queen', married to her country instead of a man.