Queen Elizabeth was born in Greenwich Palace on September 7, 1533. She died on March 24, 1603, of natural causes. Her father was Henry VII. His second wife, Anne Boleyn was Elizabeth's mother. King Henry wanted ason, but received a daughter, instead, from his second wife. BeforeElizabeth's third birthday, Henry had her mother beheaded in charges ofadultery and treason. Elizabeth was brought up in a separate household at Hatfield (notknown). King Henry's third wife gave birth to a son. This boy was namedEdward. Edward was declared first in line for King Henry's throne, whileMary (Daughter of Henry's first wife) was declared second, and Elizabethwas declared third and last in line for the throne. Elizabeth received a thorough education that was normally reserved formen. She was taught by special tutors of whom, the most known, was aCambridge humanist by the name of Roger Ascham. Roger Ascham wrote aboutElizabeth, "Her mind has no womanly weakness. Her perseverance is equal tothat of a man and her memory long keeps what it quickly picks up. With thehelp of these tutors, she was not only fluent in two languages, but in fourlanguages. She was fluent in the languages of Greek, Latin, French, andItalian. When Henry died in 1547, her brother, Edward, took over the throne atten years of age. Edward, with a short reign on the throne, died in 1553,and Elizabeth's half, older sister, Mary took the throne. Mary, likeEdward, died on November 17, 1558, after a short time on the throne.InOctober 1562, Queen Elizabeth almost died of small pox. In 1584, Europe's other major protestant leader, William of Orange,was assassinated. For the first time in her life, Elizabeth showed someconcern. She was now, the only major protestant leader in Europe. At thistime, Elizabeth's Privy council drew up a Bond of Association which pledgedthat its signers, in an attempt on Elizabeth's life, would kill theassassins along with the claima...
