Queen Bess

The Unvirgin Queen

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Okay, okay, before you start throwing things at your screen hear me out a minute. For centuries, there have been rumors regarding Queen Elizabeth I of England (the Virgin Queen) having illegitimate children. These rumors began as early as 1549, when Elizabeth was just a teenager, during the reign of her brother King Edward VI. The After Effects of Henry VIII's Death At some point after the death of her father, Elizabeth moved in with her step-mother, Kateryn Parr at Chelsea [More]

The Secret Lives of Elizabeth’s Ladies (Guest Post)

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Guest Post by Sarah Clement If the ladies of the Elizabethan court thought her accession would provide them with rare opportunities to involve themselves politically, they would be disappointed. Whereas, while male courtiers had traditionally found themselves at the centre of political life, it was now the ladies who controlled access to the monarch and naturally surrounded her. In theory, they could put across their opinions on the state of the realm, advise the Queen on [More]

Elizabeth’s Hand Fans

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Fans were a symbol of wealth during the Elizabethan era. In most of Queen Elizabeth I's portraits she is holding what you would call a fixed fan. A handle with a variation of feathers coming out of it. Fixed fans continued to be very popular through the end of the 16th century when folding fans came into the picture. Elizabeth was known toward the end of her life to have have used folding fans. I often find myself staring at Elizabeth's portraits...looking at the details [More]

Timeline of a Queen: Elizabeth I

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Making a timeline for Queen Elizabeth I is the most challenging of the timelines I've made thus far. Her rule so long, with a plethora of events to choose from that I hope I did her life justice by including just enough, but not everything. To obtain the dates I referenced books by David Starkey and Claire Ridgway and used multiple website as well. See Elizabeth's parent's timelines here:  Henry VIII (1491-1547)  &  Anne Boleyn 1533 September 7 - Birth [More]

Queen Elizabeth’s Marriage Prospects

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  For Queen Elizabeth to find a husband seemed critical to those in her council. On the other-hand, we here at Tudors Dynasty feel that Elizabeth came to the conclusion well before becoming queen that she would not wed - especially when she saw what it did to her sister Mary's reign. The biggest factor for Elizabeth was that she did not want a foreign ruler, nor any man to rule her kingdom over herself. She was, after-all Queen of England. In this article we [More]

Dudley’s Last Letter to Queen Elizabeth I

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Elizabeth kept the last letter Robert Dudley had written her prior to his death in her bedside treasure box -- the letter was still there when she died over a decade later. I most humbly beseech your Majesty to pardon your poor old servant to be thus bold in sending to know how my gracious lady doth, and what ease of her late pain she finds, being the chiefest thing in the world I do pray for, for her to have good health and long life. Form my own poor case, I [More]