Elizabeth's Legitimacy

-To inherit the throne, the monarch must be born whilst the reigning king and queen were married- children born out of wedlock were deemed illegitimate

-Her legitimacy was in doubt because if the way her father divorced Catherine of Aragon before marrying her mother, Anne Boleyn as the head of the Roman Catholic Church (the pope) refused to grant the divorce so it led to the English Reformation

-Committed Catholics refused to acknowledge Henry's divorce as the pope had not agreed to it and some Catholics were even executed for refusing to accept her legitimacy

-In 1536 when Anne Boleyn was executed for reason, Henry VIII himself declared Elizabeth illegitimate and excluded her from succession but he later reversed his decision

-A queen who ruled alone was seen as unnatural in the 16th-century society, the Christian religion taught women should be under the authority of men and monarchs would be expected to lead armies into battle

-Women were considered to be physical, mentally and emotionally weak

-Many thought she should marry but she didn't have that intention. she turned down offers from Phillip II of Spain, King Eric of Sweden and Duke of Alencon

-She was highly intelligent, well-educated and spoke Latin, Greek, French and Italian

-She knew the dangers of the political world as her sister, Mary I had her imprisoned for treason in 1554

-She was confident and able to make great speeches but she had a bad temper which people feared

-She took a long time to make up her mind, especially over serious matters, and her Privy Council and advisers could find her extremely frustrating