Young Elizabeth

Elizabeth I is renowned for the hugely successful reign that has led her to be considered one of the most celebrated monarchs in English history. But what of the trials she faced in her tumultuous early life? Her status as a princess didn’t last long – when she was less than three years old, her mother, the infamous Anne Boleyn, was brutally beheaded and Elizabeth was relegated to the title of bastard. After losing several stepmothers, she then faced predatory attentions and illicit flirtations from her stepfather, which ultimately forced Elizabeth to leave her home. But these were only the start of Elizabeth’s problems. Later, she became implicated in a plot to overthrow her half-sister, Mary, and faced interrogation and imprisonment in the very tower in which her mother died. Adamantly protesting her innocence, Elizabeth endured the interrogation and was eventually liberated. Her popularity as a royal increased, and she finally became Queen at the age of twenty-five. This