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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Elizabeth I, Did not marry for her subjects or for selfish reasons?


Question: Do you believe that Elizabeth I did not get married or have an heir soley for her county, as she states she was married to England or was it done for selfish reasons? 
MY ANSWER:

Naturally, as most of you know, I admire and cherish Elizabeth I. She, is after all, one of the reasons why I love the Tudor era. 
The answer to the question is two sided {at least in my opinion}:
The first side, she did not marry or have an heir for her Country. 

She thought it was safe, unlike her Privy Council, for her realm if she not marry. Her true love, Robert Dudley, she did not marry because he was not of royal blood and her Privy Council would have objected to the marriage. In my opinion, if she was a commoner - she would have married him. Besides, Robert Dudley, she took a liking to the Duke of Anjou but did not marry because most of England did not want her to marry a Frenchman. It's possible, she used this as an excuse not to marry but it's been proven from historians that she was very fond of the Duke of Anjou. So, one side, Elizabeth did this for her subjects.  After all, she was married to England. 
End of story - not so much.
The second side, she did not marry because of her past; not selfish reasons but for mental/psychological reasons.  Elizabeth was seriously mistreated by Thomas Seymour in her mid teens. She knew what happened to her Mother. Anne Boleyn's cousin, Catherine Howard was beheaded and Catherine Parr died right after childbirth. Elizabeth saw all this happen. In addition, Elizabeth saw the marriage between her half sister, Mary & Philip; for Mary it was true love and for Philip it was for political gain. The marriage with Philip in the end could have hurt Mary's reign.

Throughout Elizabeth's whole life, she saw marriage and heirs as  a threat. Therefore, she did what was best for her realm, not marry and not have an heir. 
In the end, it worked - when her reign ended, England was one of the most powerful nations and she has been called one of the greatest Queens to ever rule. 
One of my favorite Elizabeth Quotes: "The hardest thing to govern is the heart".

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