Was Queen Elizabeth 1 Justified

Elizabeth was born in 1533 to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, this was a disappointment to Henry since he had wanted a son to succeed him. Boleyn, who was Henry’s second wife, was executed only two and a half years later on false charges of incest and adultery which caused Elizabeth and her half-sister, Mary, to be declared as illegitimate. This took away their places in the line of succession and it was Elizabeth’s half-brother, Edward VI, who took control until 1553 when he passed away. Despite being declared of illegitimacy, Mary became queen after Henry VIII reinstated his daughters into the line of succession. During this time, Elizabeth was arrested as Mary suspected that she was supporting Protestant rebels. Even though Elizabeth denied these allegations, she was taken prisoner and sent to the Tower of London for two months before being moved to the Woodstock Manor …show more content…
The queen never wed and she became famous for her virginity. She used this to her benefit as she was able to draw in her enemies with the bait of marriage by suggesting that she had the potential to marry one of their adversaries. Elizabeth had only come close to marriage on two occasions, the most serious of which being Robert Dudley. They had been imprisoned in the Tower of London at the same time and thus known each other for years. However, their marriage would not have worked out due to the political clashes it would have caused. Dudley was not favored as he was the son of the traitor of Northumberland and his previous wife had been found dead under mysterious circumstances. It was thought that he had murdered her for Elizabeth, however this was never proven and he never received her hand in marriage (Britannica). The other contender for Elizabeth’s hand was Francis, a Duke who was in line for the French throne. Similarly to Dudley, political considerations made this marriage nearly