Childhood and Poem

On September 7, a baby was born to Henry VIII, the king of England.The infant prodige was the culmination of Henry’s seven year affair with Anne Boleyn.He had divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn.He had divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne and legitamize their child. The pope denied Henry’s petition for divorce, so he broke with the Catholic Church and refused to accept their authority over him or his people.This action led to the formation of the Episcopalian faith and numerous other Protestant offshoots.Henry did not care about the results of his actions, he merely wanted a son to insure the safety of his dynasty. The only flaw in his plans was the fact the his child by Anne was a girl, not the predicted prince.Despite is disappointment Henry named the child for his mother Elizabeth. Some critics fill that the fact that Elizabeth was named for a grandmother was an indication that Henry was not to unhappy with his child’s sex.The girl was healthy  and  the couple was sure to  have healthy sons soon.Elizabeth was one of the first English monarchs to be born of pure English parents.Neither of her parents were foreigners and she was born in England. This fact about her immense popularity with  the English people as she grew older and with their fanatic devotion when she became Queen. Regretablly, her mother was never able to bear Henry a healty son. Anne suffered one, perhaps two , miscarriages before delivering a still-born son. Some of her peers felt that she had miscarried her saviour for Henry was unhappy with her and disappoint with his lack of male heirs by the Queen was considered treason because the future of the throne  would be jeporadized.There is some doubt as to wheather Anne was actually guilty of the crime and many modern historians feel she was innocent.Henry could not  divorce her because there were really no grounds to do so and he would be ridiculed for divorcing his second wife also. He was safe by accussing her of adultery and having her executed.If she was found innocent of treason, he planned to accuse her of being a witch and that rid of her that way.The charge may seem far fetched to modern readers, but at the time was considered a terrible crimed punishable by death.Anne had a lare mole on her neck and also an extra pinky on one of her hands. Both of these physical marks would be considered marks of the Devil by an ecclestastical court and she would have been burned.Luckily, for Henry at least, Anne’s minstrel admitted under torture that he had slept with Anne and had been and lover for a long time Anne was bought to trial along with her supposed lovers.She was accused of seducing her minstrel, free members of the court and her own brother.The last was thrown in becase his wife was jealous of Anne and saw a way to get revenge. The court, handpicked by Henry and his ministers, found Anne guilty and sentenced her to death.Her only consolation was that her child was still considered to be Henry’s and would be safe from his anger.She was beheaded by a sword when Elizabeth was three or four years old. There is a question as to how well Elizabeth remembered her mother.Probably she remembered enought of her to realize that she was gone and had been killed by her father.For the rest, Elizabeth rarely spoke of her mother.She would make passing preference to her and her fate,but would not speak of her diretly.She did go out of her way to favor the members of her mothers family and relations. When she spoke of her parents,it was to emphasize the fact that Henry was a father and her resembalance to him.Probably she had been taught that her mother was an adultress who betrayed her father and deserved her fate. Anything contrary to that belief would be considered treason and a betrayal of her father’s omnipotence and memory.She was impacted enought by the death of her mother to have difficulties sending anyone she knew or was related to the block.She  would make an exception only if her throne and life were in jeporady.Even then,she would agonize over the decision for dyas before signing the execution warrants.fter the disgrace and execution of her mother, Elizabeth's life was never to be quite the same again.  She was probably far too young to be greatly effected by her mother's sudden extinction, but her lifestyle changed considerably. The marriage of her father to her mother was annulled, and she was made a royal bastard. She was stripped of her title of Princess, as her sister had previously been, to become simply, the Lady Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a very bright child, and this change in her name did not escape her, for she exclaimed "how haps it governor,  yesterday my Lady Princess, today but my Lady Elizabeth?"  Within days of Anne's death, Henry had married again, this time to Jane Seymour, a young woman who had been a maid of honour to Anne, just as Anne had been a  maid of honour to Catherine.  Although Elizabeth still had her own household, her governess found that the young child's needs were being neglected, and she felt obliged to write to the king asking him to ensure that Elizabeth was provided with all the clothes she needed, as the ones she had were too small.  Jane Seymour died a few days after giving birth to Henry's longed for son, Prince Edward.  The King was devastated at her loss, and gave her a royal burial at the Chapel of St. George in Windsor Castle.  Like Elizabeth, Edward too had to grow up motherless, and from an early age, the two children formed a close bond.  Although Elizabeth was getting along well with her half sister, Mary, the sisters were never close.  They were of different religions - Elizabeth a Protestant , Mary a Catholic, -  of very different ages, Mary being seventeen years older, of different family connections, and they had very different personalities.  Edward and Elizabeth, however, were closer in age, of the same religion, and both shared a passion for learning.  They were both given a very impressive education. From an early age they were taught Latin, Greek, Spanish, French, as well as all the other requirements of a classical humanist education - history philosophy, mathematics.  When Elizabeth was four years old, Lady Bryan was replaced as governess by a young woman called Katherine Champernowne. Katherine was a sweet, motherly, well-educated lady,  who came to love her young charge dearly. She became an important figure in Elizabeth's life, to all extent and purposes her mother-figure, and Elizabeth affectionately came to call her "Kat".  She later married Elizabeth's cousin, John Ashley (or Asteley), which tied her even closer to the young royal.  As well as Kat Ashley, Elizabeth's immediate household also included a Welsh woman named Blanche Parry, and her brother Thomas.  Blanche remained a close friend and confident of the Queen throughout her long life,  and was given an elaborate tomb by Elizabeth when she died in the late 1590's. Blanche also taught Elizabeth some of her native Welsh language. Elizabeth was a gifted student, and her talent was appreciated by those who had the privilege to teach her.  Roger Asham, a well-known scholar of the day responsible for tutoring other talented students, including the daughters of Sir Anthony Cook, regarded Elizabeth as his brightest star. Besides reading and writing, Elizabeth also spent her time learning to play musical instruments, which she came to do with a  degree of proficiency, and also learnt needlework and art. Henry's marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, was quickly annulled as neither she or Henry found each other agreeable.  Although Anne remained in England as the King's "dear sister", she probably had little to do with Elizabeth.  However, Henry's fifth wife, Katherine Howard, had a much more lasting impact upon her. Katherine was Elizabeth's cousin on her mother's side, and the young Queen took a great interest in her new little step-daughter, often having her with her, and playing with her. When she first dined in public, she gave Elizabeth the place of honour opposite her. To the young Elizabeth, who so far had spent her life in the shadows of the court, overlooked as insignificant, this must have been a momentous occasion.  But this happy state of affairs was not destined to continue. It was discovered that Katherine had committed adultery, and just like Elizabeth's mother before her, she was taken to the Tower of London, and condemned to death. This must have been a very painful, confusing, episode for Elizabeth, who was still only eight years old.  The extent of it's impact upon her cannot be measured, but it is significant that Robert Dudley, her childhood friend and confident when she later became Queen, said many years later, that when she was eight years old, Elizabeth told him that she would never marry. In eight short years, she had lost her mother, had had three stepmothers, two of whom were now  dead. Also, no doubt, she had heard tales of the fate of her sister's mother, Catherine of Aragon,  and it is not surprising that these combined events impressed in her a certain fear of what happened to women who married. But life with Henry's sixth wife, Katherine Parr, proved to be rather tranquil for Elizabeth. Katherine was a motherly lady, who did her upmost to give the royal children a family home. She liked to have the children around her, and did much to reconcile Elizabeth and Mary to their father.  But life was certainly not idyllic. During a stay at the royal court, Elizabeth managed to offend her father profoundly, for which she was banished from the Palace. What exactly this offence was, remains unknown, perhaps a remark or question about her mother or Katherine Howard,  or perhaps a remark on religion or another of Henry's policies, that a child would not think inappropriate. Henry's reaction was alarming, but with Katherine Parr's intervention, the episode blew over, and Elizabeth was allowed back to court. By this stage, Henry was far from well. He had a great ulcer on his leg that troubled him immensely, and his enormous weight hindered his mobility considerably. It was becoming clear to all around him that his days were numbered, and Henry died on 28 January 1547. Elizabeth was with her brother Edward at the royal Palace of Enfield, London, when told of her father's death. She and her brother cried bitterly, holding each other close. Both children knew their lives were about to change considerably, and their tears may well have been from fear for the future, as well as grief for the death of  their magnificent, if at times, tyrannical father.  Both were now orphans. Elizabeth was thirteen years of age, and Edward was King of England at the age only nine.

Elizabeth Poem

The doubt of future foes exiles my present joy,

And wit me warns to shun such snares as threaten mine annoy;

For falsehood now doth flow, and subjects' faith doth ebb,

Which should not be if reason ruled or wisdom weaved the web.

But clouds of joys untried do cloak aspiring minds,

Which turn to rain of late repent by changed course of winds.

The top of hope supposed the root upreared shall be,

And fruitless all their grafted guile, as shortly ye shall see.

The dazzled eyes with pride, which great ambition blinds,

Shall be unsealed by worthy wights whose foresight falsehood finds.

The daughter of debate that discord aye doth sow

Shall reap no gain where former rule still peace hath taught to know.

No foreign banished wight shall anchor in this port;

Our realm brooks not seditious sects, let them elsewhere resort.

My rusty sword through rest shall first his edge employ

To poll their tops that seek such change or gape for future joy.