8-4QueenBeforeElizabeth

Who was Queen before Elizabeth? What was her legacy? //Answer Prepared by Kyler W.// Not much is known about the Queen before Elizabeth, or even known that there was a “Queen” before her. Many people thought that after King Edward died, he appointed Elizabeth, his daughter, to the thrown. This belief is wrong. After King Edward died he appointed Lady Jane Grey, whose reign was over within two weeks. She then appointed Mary, Duchess of Suffolk.

When Mary was a child she was not even noticed or acknowledged. She was treated more like a servant than the daughter of a king. When King Henry was dying there was an issue with the heir to the thrown. A short while after Mary was appointed queen, she married Prince Philip of Spain, which made her very unpopular with the people of England (Englanders didn’t like Spaniards). Queen Mary was a horrible sister to Elizabeth and set out to destroy her sister’s faith. She forced all the people of England, who were protestant, to attend mass. Elizabeth was deeply troubled by this and so were a lot of Englanders. Many riots broke out in the name of Elizabeth because many of the people saw her as their savior. Queen Mary sensed danger from Elizabeth and imprisoned her in the Tower.

Soon following Queen Mary was seen pregnant and let Elizabeth out of the Tower. After a few months Queen Mary’s belly continued to swell but no baby was coming. Philip who realized that no child was coming left the country and returned to Spain. Mary had a rare cancer of the ovaries, which led to her death in November of 1558. Although Queen Mary died on that day, no one was really sad. They were happy because Queen Elizabeth was now queen of England. Bells were ringing and songs where being played on the day of the death of one of the worst queens of all time. Works Cited Chrisp, Peter. Eyewitness Books: Shakespeare. New York City, NY: DK Publishing Inc., 1995. Print.

Laroque, Francois. The Age of Shakespeare. Abrams, New York: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1991. Print.

Schlesinger, Arthur. Elizabeth I. New York City, NY: Chelsea House, 1985. Print.

Thomas, Jane. Behind the Mask; The Life of Queen Elizabeth I. New York City, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Print.