Alice Loxton

The making of Good Queen Bess

Only by studying Elizabeth I’s traumatic early life can we make sense of her later years. Little wonder she trusted no one by the time she acceded to the throne, aged 25

A portrait of the young Elizabeth, aged about 13, attributed to William Scrots, c.1546. [Bridgeman Images] 
issue 24 February 2024

In the course of British history there have been few royals with a childhood as traumatic as that of Elizabeth I. She endured the torment of her mother Anne Boleyn’s execution, her father’s death, the comings and goings of four stepmothers, sexual abuse from a stepfather (who was executed soon after), the death of a half-brother, imprisonment and the death of a half-sister before finally acceding to the throne.

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