The history of Great Britain, in particular England, has many dynasties that succeeded one after another. Among the formidable kings of the Middle Ages and the times of absolutism, queens also ruled, great women who left their mark on the history of the country. One of these queens, “symbols of the nation,” was Elizabeth I of England Tudor. Historians characterize the period of her reign as the “golden age” in the history of England. For 45 years on the throne, Elizabeth was able to regulate diplomatic relations, maintain stability in the kingdom, strengthen the position of absolutism, and restore the Anglican Church. She was also a true philanthropist since it was under her that many writers and musicians worked, and the theater developed.
It is known that today the United Kingdom of Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. The head of state for a long time was the monarch – Queen Elizabeth II. But, her power was only symbolic, while the real power belonged to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. However, the Queen has always been the unity and stability of the camps. The purpose of this discussion is to compare the truly great and famous queens of their time, loved by the English people, Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II.
Princess Elizabeth I of England was born on September 7, 1533. Her father was King Henry VIII, and her mother was Anne Boleyn (Greenblatt & Morrill, 2022). Her birth was a disappointment to her father, as he was expecting a son, heir to the throne. By that time, Henry VIII already had a daughter, Mary, from his first wife, the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon. Elizabeth’s youth was very restless. Her mother, the former maid of honor Anna, was unable to give birth to a son to the king and was executed on false charges of adultery on May 19, 1536 (Greenblatt & Morrill, 2022).
The marriage with Queen Anne Boleyn was declared illegal; therefore, Elizabeth herself was recognized as illegitimate. Like her older sister Mary, Elizabeth lost her title of princess and became simply Lady Elizabeth. When the king lived, she was safe, but after the death of Henry VIII in January 1547, she began to be seen as a political pawn. Despite the fact that Henry officially declared his daughters illegitimate before his death, he restored their status in the line of succession. Consequently, Mary was the contender for the crown after Edward and Elizabeth after Mary.
The future Queen was born on April 21, 1926, and was named Elizabeth-Mary-Alexandra in honor of her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother on her father’s side. Her father was George VI, Prince Albert, Duke of York; mother – Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (Britannica, 2022). Elizabeth was such a charming child that she soon became the favorite of the royal family and of all the British people.
Unlike Elizabeth Tudor, the princess grew up in an atmosphere of love and care. She had the best nannies and governesses. One of them was a Scottish woman, Marion Crawford, who was able to instill in Elizabeth such qualities as self-discipline, diligence, and punctuality and accustom her to accuracy and order. Since childhood, she has had an interest in horses. And she learned to ride a horse before she could read and write. People around immediately noticed the ability and strong character of the young princess.
Another distinguishing feature of the life of Elizabeth II, from the Queen of the Tudor dynasty, is that Elizabeth Windsor did not give up family life, and moreover, at the age of 13, on the eve of World War II, Elizabeth met her future fiancé Prince Philip (Britannica, 2022). At that time, he was a cadet at the Royal Naval College Dartmouth. The future groom was born in 1921 and was the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice.
Elizabeth I was one of those monarchs whom the people loved; she reciprocated them. Consciously refusing to marry, Elizabeth declared that she was “betrothed to the nation.” After the reign of her sister, Mary “Bloody”, Elizabeth was able to bring stability to the kingdom (Greenblatt & Morrill, 2022). The Anglican Church, as a moderate form of Protestantism, established itself as the state religion. It was completely subordinate to the state and became an important pillar of absolutism. Under Elizabeth I, England moved to commercial and colonial expansion around the world. Under Elizabeth I, dramatic art flourished. The Queen herself contributed to its development. She patronized the theater, and she herself participated in amateur performances.
On June 2, 1953, the coronation ceremony of Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey. It should be noted that this was the first televised coronation of a British monarch. Unlike Elizabeth I, she did not have such extensive activities in the government of the country (Britannica, 2022). The Queen, in accordance with the British tradition of constitutional monarchy, performed mainly representative functions. During her reign, she successfully maintained the authority of the British monarchy and had correct relations with almost all prime ministers. An important part of the Queen’s job is to support and encourage the public life of society. Elizabeth has been a trustee of over 600 charities.
Based on the analyzed material, it seems necessary to draw the following conclusions. Despite the fact that the queens ruled in different eras, they became the symbols of the nations and the loving and beloved monarchs of the kingdom. Even if their childhoods were extremely different from each other, they received a good upbringing and education, which helped in the later life of great women. Mostly, both queens successfully reigned, were able to stabilize the situation in the country, and were able to devote themselves to their work and duty to the Motherland.
References
Britannica. (2022). Elizabeth II. Web.
Greenblatt, S. J., & Morrill, J. S. (2022). Elizabeth I. Britannica. Web.