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All the monarchs of the world.
Western Europe
Konstantin Vladislavovich Ryzhov
ELIZABETH 1
Queen of England from the Tudor family, who ruled in 1558-1603.
Daughter
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
Born 7 Sep. 1533 Died 3 Apr. 1603
Elizabeth was the daughter of the unfortunate Anne Boleyn.
After her mother's execution
the despotic and cruel Henry VIII declared baby Elizabeth
illegitimate, he forbade her to be called a princess and kept her away from
the capital at the Hetfield Estate.
However, the fact that Elizabeth was in disgrace, went to her in a certain sense for the benefit, saving her from the ceremonial fuss and intrigues of the royal court.
She could devote more time to education, she was taught by teachers sent from Cambridge.
Since childhood, she has shown great zeal for science, brilliant abilities and a great memory.
Elizabeth was particularly successful in languages: French, Italian, Latin and Greek.
It was not about superficial knowledge.
For example, she studied Latin to such an extent that she wrote and spoke fluently in this classical language.
Her knowledge of languages allowed her to later do without interpreters when meeting with foreign ambassadors.
In 1544, when she was eleven years old, Elizabeth sent a letter to her stepmother Catherine Parr, written in Italian.
By the end of the same year, she had finished translating one of the essays of Queen Marguerite of Navarre from French, and soon translated the psalms composed by Catherine into Latin, French and Italian.
In the same year, she was able to make extensive annotations of works
Plato, Thomas More, Erasmus of Rotterdam.
Even as an adult, she loved
she could read Seneca in the original, and when she was attacked by melancholy, she could spend hours
to translate the works of this erudite Roman into English.
Book c
since childhood, she became a familiar companion of Elizabeth, and this was reflected on
a portrait of her, painted during her studies, is kept in Windsor Castle.
Towards the end of his reign, Henry restored Elizabeth to her rights
succession to the throne, appointing her to reign after her son Edward and the eldest
the Sisters of Mary.
After the death of her father, Elizabeth began a time of anxiety and
excitement.
Under the young Edward VI, the most influential position was occupied by the brothers
The Seymours.
One of them, Thomas, with the permission of the king, began to take care of the youngest
a princess.
Edward was not against this marriage, but Elizabeth herself soon became
to avoid the temporary worker, and when he directly offered her his hand, she replied
an evasive refusal.
In 1549, Thomas was accused of minting a counterfeit coin and
beheaded.
Elizabeth was also brought to court in this sinful case, but
she managed to completely deflect suspicion from herself.
But the most difficult time in Elizabeth's life came when she came to the throne
her older sister Maria rose.
A fervent Catholic, she set out to convert Elizabeth to her faith.
It was not easy: Elizabeth persisted.
The relationship between the sisters, which had never been warm, became
to deteriorate day by day.
Finally, Elizabeth asked for permission to retire to her estate.
Maria allowed her to leave, but she treated her sister very much
suspicious.
In January 1554, during the Protestant uprising led by Thomas White, Elizabeth was hurriedly taken to London and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Two months while the investigation was going on, the princess
she was in prison.
Then she was exiled to Woodstock under strict supervision.
In autumn
In 1555, Mary allowed her sister to return to Hetfield.
Since that time, there has been talk again that it needs to be issued
married.
However, Elizabeth stubbornly refused and insisted that her
left alone.
In November 1558, Queen Mary died.
Before her death, she reluctantly declared her younger sister her heir.
Without wasting time,
Elizabeth hurried to London, everywhere met with expressions of unfeigned
joy.
Her long reign began.
An unhappy fate during the years of government
her father and sister developed in Elizabeth a firmness of character and judgment, which
novice rulers rarely possess them.
She didnot want to sever ties with
the papal throne, nor offend the King of Spain.
Only a tough policy
pope Paul IV, who declared the youngest daughter of Henry VIII illegitimate,
finally pushed Elizabeth away from Catholicism.
The queen herself did not like
external forms of pure Protestantism.
However, her minister Cecil convinced her
Elizabeth, that it would be in the interests of her policy to keep the reformed
churches.
Indeed, the English Catholics considered the rights questionable
Elizabeth and were always ready to arrange plots in favor of the Scottish
queen Mary Stuart, who was declared the only legitimate successor
Mary I.
But, having made her choice in favor of the Reformation, Elizabeth remained
an opponent of its extreme currents.
In 1559, the laws were issued by the Parliament,
finally formed the Anglican national church.
One of them
he established the service in English, the second declared English
the monarch of the holy church.
The third prescribed a general form of worship for
the whole country, in exactly the same spirit as it was established under Henry
VIII.
In 1562, 39 articles were adopted, which became the norm of confession
the Anglican Church.
Along with the Catholic opposition, Elizabeth had to
to face the constantly growing resistance of the Puritans, who believed that in
there is too much of the insufficiently reformed English church left
remnants of Catholicism.
In 1583, a Judicial commission was established, which
she began to vigorously pursue all those who did not obey the supreme authority
queens in matters of religion.
In 1593, the Puritans were ordered to either
to abandon their views, or to leave England.
In all these sins
there was no fanaticism, no religious hypocrisy, they were dictated by
exclusively for political reasons.
Elizabeth had a complex and in many ways contradictory character.
As a woman, she inherited some of her mother's moral shortcomings: greed, vanity, a passion for dresses and jewelry, but did not have any of her attractive qualities.
She had red hair, a long, bony face.
a face and an angry voice.
However, she was very fond of praising her beauty and retained this weakness even in old age.
Until her death, Elizabeth mercilessly painted, bleached herself and diligently followed the fashion.
Wanting to make a special impression on someone, the queen changed her clothes several times a day.
By
the crossings required 300 wagons to transport her luggage, and after her death
Elizabeth has 3,000 dresses left.
However, judging by the portraits that have come down to us,
she didnot have much taste and wore such a large amount
jewelry, sewn, pinned and hung everywhere that it could be
take it for an Indian idol.
At the same time, she had a cheerful and cheerful character and was able to remain calm even in the most difficult years of her life.
Her conversation, full not only of humor, but of grace and sharpness, testified to knowledge of life and subtle insight .
As the empress Elizabeth had many advantages, but even here it is necessary
talk about the dark sides of her character.
The habit of pretending,
developed in her over many years of persecution, was her main feature.
In addition, Elizabeth was selfish and very prone to treachery.
Craving for
self control increased in her over the years, as did the love of flattery.
But
the desire to command never overshadowed the clarity of thought in the queen.
She
always rules not with the stubbornness of unbridledness, but with calculation.
How
a cold blooded rider, she knew the limit to which she could stretch
I have never crossed this limit.
The deprivation of youth made
Elizabeth the thrifty.
In her old age, she was even reproached for being stingy.
Savings in
state expenditures, in general, the government, very commendable, sometimes took
with it, the size is immoderate.
So, in the critical moments of the invasion of the Invincible
armada, she tried with all her might to reduce the composition of her fleet, the number of
the army, the number of released amounts and provisions.
Gratitude is also not
it was one of her virtues.
She gave immoderately, with both hands,
his favorites, but his most loyal servants, such as Lord Borley
or Secretary Wal Singem, left without any reward.
However, in all
in important matters, Elizabeth invariably showed firmness, energy and intelligence.
In her
rule England has derived great benefits from the wars on the continent, won in
1588.
the famous victory over the Spanish Invincible armada.
Marine
trade and industry have achieved notable success.
Already the first parliament, convened in the reign of Elizabeth, turned to
to her with a respectful request to choose a husband between those representatives
christian dynasties who sought her hand.
The same respectful requests
they were renewed almost annually with increasing persistence and strongly
irritated the queen.
She had to choose one of two things or get married,
or appoint his successor.
But Elizabeth did not want either one or the other.
However, she did not admit This and for a quarter of a century played
the engagement comedy with great pleasure, because she liked it
philandering, accompanied by the composition of madrigals and the presentation of gifts.
She inspired hopes of success to the Swedish king, then the Spanish, then
french, but there is no doubt that she has never had a serious
intentions to get married.
Even in the first years of her reign, Elizabeth several times talked about her
the intention to die a virgin.
This desire seemed strange to many and even
fake.
In addition, the queen was not at all alien to men and felt for
to his favorites such a tender affection that it cast a strong shadow on
her reputation as a virgin.
Nevertheless, although constantly in love, she,
apparently, she did not allow any of her fans to go last
the limit.
It can be assumed that there was some kind of physical or
the psychological reason that made Elizabeth marry or even the thought of
physical rapprochement with a man is impossible.
"I hate the idea of
marriage, 'she once said to Lord Sussex,' for reasons that donot
I will reveal it even to the most devoted soul."
Something for the reason, and it remained
secretly, but the Spanish envoy, after making careful inquiries, wrote to his
to the king with full confidence that Elizabeth can not have children,
"even if I wanted to."
With all this, the queen has been playing with her own for many years
marriage, reveled in the thought of it and attracted many men with it.
The first favorite of Elizabeth was a young handsome Robert Grandfather Ley, Count
Leicester.
The Princess met him during her imprisonment in the Tower,
where Leicester, like her, was under investigation.
From the first meeting
Elizabeth felt an irresistible attraction to him.
Becoming a queen,
she conferred on Leister the rank of chief of the horse master and the Knight of the Order of the Garter with
the addition of many castles and estates.
But she didnot stop there and on
for many years, she inspired Leicester with a vague hope for the possibility of marriage
with her.
Showered with all possible favors, Leicester played for many years
the first role at the court, but did not wait for the fulfillment of his hopes.
By
according to contemporaries, he, except for his masculine beauty, had no
other advantages.
In 1588, he died at the age of 58, and the queen became
to pay unequivocal attentions to his stepson, Earl Robert of Essex.
Elizabeth was then 56 years old, and the favorite was 22.
Nevertheless, she was flirtatious
like a young girl, she fluttered with him at balls, bothered him with jealousy and
whims.
The Earl of Essex, although he had a sad experience before the Goths of his
stepfather, allowed himself to be carried away by the same chimeras about a possible marriage with the queen.
By
compared to Leicester, he was more honest, nobler, kinder and more talented.
He tried to justify the gracious attitude of the Queen to himself with military
feats of which Leicester was never capable.
But at the same time, he was also
more ardent.
Having spent several years as a favorite, but never achieved
a real pledge of love, Essex became hot tempered, impatient, between
he and the queen began to have quarrels.
Describe, for example, such
case.
In 1598, during a dispute in the Privy Council, Elizabeth abruptly cut off
Essex and told him to shut up.
Offended to the core of his soul, he wanted to
to leave, but the queen stopped him - grabbed him by the ears from behind and shouted: "Go
to hell with it!"
The favorite took up his sword and exclaimed: "I would not tolerate such audacity
even from your father!
I am your subject, but not your slave!"
This trick got away with him
hands.
But in 1601, Essex allowed himself to be involved in a real conspiracy to
to overthrow Elizabeth and put James VI of Scotland on the throne.
His plans were revealed.
Essex appeared in court in February of the same year
goda was beheaded.
Elizabeth's life after the death of her favorite was sad.
Her health is fast
it was upset, and together with the bodily suffering, it sometimes appeared as if
clouding of mental abilities.
She kept saying: "Essex!
Essex! " and burst into inconsolable tears.
The doctors suggested that she go to the
the bed, but she replied that then she would certainly die.
The whole floor is in her
the bedroom was covered with pillows.
Without undressing, she fell in one corner, then in another
in another, but then she got up again and continued to rush around the room.
She is not
she allowed herself to change her underwear and dresses, wrapped herself in a royal mantle and
she did not remove the crown from her disheveled head.
On the evening of March 24, she fell into
oblivion, from which I woke up only on April 2.
To the questions of the chancellor: who will now pass the throne, Elizabeth vaguely named James, the king of Scotland.
On the evening of April 3, she was gone.
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