Elizabeth Tudor

Elizabeth I was Queen Regnant of England and Ireland.She was the last member of

Tudor Dynasty.Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII of England by his second wife,Anne Boleyn Marquess of Pembrock.Henry had previously divorced his first wife Katharine of Aragon in order to marry Elizabeth's mother and as a result he broke with the Catholic Church of Rome and the Pope himself who did not want to grant him a divorce.Her mother was lately executed on charges of adultery and treason.Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and only came to her father's affections again when he was married to his last wife,the sympathetic Catherine Parr who loved Elizabeth as her own child.After the death of her father she stayed at the house of Catherine Parr who after a while remmaried to the brother of King Henry VIII's third wife,Thomas Seymour .It was believed that Thomas Seymour was in love with Elizabeth and tried to pursuade her to a sexual intercourse.He was later arrested for treason and executed.After the death of her half brother King Edward VI ,she was briefly put ashide off the English throne by her cousin Lady Jane Grey ,who was also executed as a treator.Under the reign of her half sister Mary,Elizabeth lived in jeopardy and constant danger for her life under the suspicion of treason.Queen Mary was dead within 5 years of reign and Elizabeth succeded her as Elizabeth I of England in 1558.

The Tudors Season 2
In the second season of the Showtime miniseries TheTudors,Elizabeth is played by Kate Duggan.Elizabeth is born in the 3rd Episode of the season,the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn.Henry is extremely dissapointed by the baby's gender but comforts his wife saying that they are both young and God will give them a boy later.The infant girl is baptised in Episode 4 by Archibishop Thomas Cranmer ,a protestant priest of her mother's.Henry does not attend the christening but passes a new bill in the Parliament which states that only the children of his marriage to Anne would succeed him in the throne after his death,excluding thus his eldest daughter Mary from the line of succession and illegitimising her.Elizabeth is entitled as Princess of England and heiress presumptive and is given  her own estate at Hatfield House by Henry with the Baroness Lady Margaret Bryan as her governess.Henry also demands that his eldest daughter Mary should settle there too and serve her infant half sister as lady in waiting.Mary however is deeply hurt and refuses to acknowledge Elizabeth as a valid Princess over herself or Anne Boleyn as valid Queen over her mother,Katharine of Aragon.Despite all this tention in the family,in Episode 6,we see a softer side of Mary as she tends to the baby Elizabeth who cries and takes care of her.Meanwhile,Elizabeth's mother Anne,is worried for her position and pursuades Henry to engage Elizabeth with the noble son of Francis I.But Francis I refuses such a proposal since no christian king of Europe has accepted Anne as Henry's valid wife or Elizabeth as his legitimate daughter.Anne's own fall is imminent and she is accused of treason and adultery.In Episode 9,with Elizabeth in her arms,beggs Henry for forgiveness.Despite all her efforts,Anne is put to death by decapitation in Episode 10 and Elizabeth is declared illegitimate and is removed out of the King's sight who believes her to be the offspring of one of Anne's lovers.Before Anne's death Archibishop Thomas Cranmer promises her that he will always protect Elizabeth.

The Tudors Season 3
In the third season of the Tudors,Elizabeth is played by Claire Mccauley.Elizabeth is now stripped form her title of Princess and is known as the Lady Elizabeth.Her household is in confusion and turmoil and Elizabeth herself has outgrown her clothes.In Episode 1,her governess Lady Bryan asks King Henry for money in order to buy her new clothes but the King neglects her.His new wife Queen Jane Seymour shows some sympathy and sends money and clothes to the Lady Elizabeth.In the 3rd Episode,Jane also arranges for both Henry's daughters to come to court for the Cristmas Celebrations and reconciles Elizabeth with her father.The new queen soon becomes pregnant and in Episode 4 delivers a healthy baby boy making Henry the most happy.Both Mary and Elizabeth participate in their half brother's christening and Elizabeth carries the baptismal cloth.12 days later Queen Jane dies of puerperal sepsis and in Episode 7 Henry marries the protestant German Duchess Anne of Cleves.Elizabeth and Mary welcome their new stepmother who seems to be very affectionate and sweet towards them.Henry soon gets bored of his new wife and becomes enamoured with a cousin of  Anne Boleyn's and aunt to Lady Elizabeth,Kathryn Howard.

 The Tudors Season 4 In the final season of the Tudors,the teenager Elizabeth is played by Laoise Murray.In Episode 1, King Henry presents Elizabeth to his new wife and Queen, Kathryn Howard who is also her aunt.The 17 years old Queen is sweet and tender towards her niece and gifts her with a beautiful necklace.In Episode 3 Henry visits his ex wife Anne of Cleves at her estates and thanks her for her amicable behaviour towards their divorce.There he finds Elizabeth who still keeps in touch with her ex stepmother and is being taught how to dance.Henry gifts Elizabeth with a Latin book and is proud of hearing her pray for his health.Meanwhile Anne of Cleves congratulates Henry for Elizabeth's manners and studiousness.In Episode 4,we see a tender moment between Elizabeth and her young brother Edward.A talented student,Elizabeth, teaches her brother Latin and advices him to be a fair and mercifull King in the future,while at the same time seems very upset for his illness.In Episode 6,Elizabeth is devastated by Kathryn Howard's execution for treason and adultery and states to her sister Mary that she will never marry.Mary from the other hand announces her that their father included them eventually in the line of succession after their brother and his heirs,something that reassures the two sisters of their father's love towards them.In Episode 7 Henry marries for the last time Catherine Parr,a reformer who takes a great likeness to Elizabeth and interferres so that Elizabeth would stay permanently at court with her father and siblings.Queen Catherine also brings Elizabeth to the study of the Protestant religion,since her mother Anne Boleyn was a Protestant,too.In the final Episode 10,Henry bits farewell to his daughters and beggs Elizabeth to take care of her young brother,while he also envisions her with her mother Anne Boleyn who urges him to be proud of her.

Elizabeth The Virgin Queen
In the movie Elizabeth(1998),we see an adult Lady Elizabeth who is played by Kate Blanchet and who is under the reign of her violent half sister Mary I.Queen Mary brings back the Catholic faith that both her father and brother had previously demolished and puts hundread of Protestant people to death.Meanwhile,she is now married with her cousin Charles V's son,Prince Philip of Spain and is believed to be pregnant.Under the pressure of her supporters,Queen Mary is forced to imprison the Lady Elizabeth on suspicion of treason and conspiracy with the leaders of the Wyatt Rebelion.Elizabeth is released later and is put under house arrest.In 1558,it is discovered that the Queen was not pregnant at all but suffered from a cancerous tumor in her uterus.Mary dies and leaves the throne to Elizabeth,despite the urgings of her catholic advisors and especially Thomas Howard,the Duke of Norfolk. Elizabeth is crowned in a magnificent protestant ceremony.William Cecil,1st Baron Burghley ,urges the new Queen to marry soon in order to secure her throne.The Queen herself has many suitors like Henri Duc D'Anjou, whom she rejects because of his intimate behaviour, and even the widower of her sister,King Philip of Spain.Instead,Elizabeth has a secret affair with her childhood sweetheart,the already married Robert Dudley,Earl of Leicester .Elizabeth deals with various threats in her reign including the Catholic Duke of Norfolk who had always wanted to replace her with her catholic cousin Mary Stuart,Queen of the Scotts ,the Queen of the Scots herself who conspires to have her murdered and the Queen's own mother,Marie de Guise ,who sents french troops in Scotland to attack Elizabeth.Elizabeth puts her cousin Mary under house arrest but is unwilling to kill her.When it is dicovered that Mary plots to marry the Duke of Norfolk and murder her,she is forced to sign both their executions.Under the advice of her right hand man Sir Francis Walshingham ,she also gets rid of Mary's mother Marie de Guise,by poisoning her.The murder of the last legitimate Catholic in the line of succession,gives Philip of Spain the excuse he nedded to invade England.The Spanish ships and army outnumbered the English ones but the last moment a major storm blows the Spanish Armada that becomes a sitting duck for English fire ships.Elizabeth eventually banishes Robert Dudley from her private presence after she discovers that he's already married.The film ends with Elizabeth having her hair cut by Kat and assuming the vanilla-faced and gowned persona of the 'Virgin Queen', and initiating England's Golden Age.

Photos from Elizabeth 1998
