7th September: Elizabeth I

On this date in 1533, Elizabeth I, Queen of England from 1558 to 1603, was born. 10 things you might not know about Elizabeth I:

1. She nearly didn't become queen at all. Because her mother, Anne Boleyn, had fallen out of favour and been executed, Elizabeth was deemed to be illegitimate and to have no claim on the throne. Her brother, Edward VI, named Lady Jane Grey as his heir - but in the end, statute law prevailed and Edward's will was declared invalid.
2. Her godparents were Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the Marquess of Exeter, the Duchess of Norfolk and the Dowager Marchioness of Dorset.
3. Elizabeth spoke 9 languages besides English: French, Flemish, Italian, Spanish, Greek. Welsh, Cornish, Scottish and Irish. According to accounts of the time, she was fluent in all of them.
4. As a teenager, she suffered what today would be deemed sexual abuse at the hands of Catherine Parr's husband, Thomas Seymour, who would tickle her, slap her bottom and even go into her bedroom in his nightclothes. At first, Catherine would join in and once held Elizabeth down while Thomas cut her gown into pieces. However, when she discovered him embracing Elizabeth, that was the final straw and Elizabeth was sent away. When Catherine died, Thomas renewed his attentions towards Elizabeth and this time was executed for plotting to marry her. Some historians believe that Elizabeth was traumatised by his abuse and that was why she would never marry.
5. Elizabeth became queen at the age of 25.
6. It was never in doubt that Elizabeth would follow the Protestant religion - the English church did not view a retroactive declaration of illegitimacy as a bar to her being queen - she had been eligible when she was born and that was sufficient. The Catholics claimed she had always been illegitimate.
7. Although she never married, Elizabeth considered a number of suitors until she was about 50. Her last courtship was with Francis, Duke of Anjou, 22 years her junior - what we'd call a "toy boy" today.
8. Another reason put forward for her single status was that she was in love with a man who was married to somebody else - her childhood friend Robert Dudley. There was a scandal when Dudley's wife Amy died after falling downstairs. Many thought he had pushed her so he would be free to marry the Queen. An inquest found that the fall had been an accident. Elizabeth kept a letter from Dudley, on which she had written "his last letter" in her most personal belongings until she died.
9. Putting a positive spin on her marital status, Elizabeth insisted she was married to her kingdom and subjects, under divine protection. In 1599, she spoke of "all my husbands, my good people".
10. One of her mottoes was "video et taceo" ("I see, and say nothing")