[00000.0-00006.2] After Queen Elizabeth I died, her advisers searched her belongings and found a letter buried deep in
[00006.2-00014.4] them. When they looked closer, their blood ran cold. Queen Elizabeth I is one of the most famous
[00014.4-00021.0] and notorious monarchs of England. In 1533 she was born into the biggest scandal of her time.
[00021.8-00026.9] Not many people can say that their own father executed their mother, but that's exactly what
[00026.9-00033.0] happened to Elizabeth. Anne Boleyn fell out of King Henry's favour and he beheaded his queen on
[00033.0-00041.9] May 19th 1536 when Elizabeth was two years old. Henry's third queen Jane Seymour moved into the
[00041.9-00053.3] palace just 11 days later. In 1537 Elizabeth had a new baby brother Edward. Henry now had a male
[00053.3-00059.2] heir and a fate hadn't intervened. Elizabeth might have played second fiddle to him all her life.
[00060.2-00065.3] King Henry died when Elizabeth was a teenager, leaving her in the care of her stepmother,
[00065.3-00072.8] Catherine Parr. Parr almost immediately married a nobleman named Thomas Seymour,
[00072.8-00079.2] integrating the princess into her household. Right away, the 40 year old Seymour began exhibiting
[00079.2-00085.3] disturbing behaviours. First he would creep into Elizabeth's bedroom in his nightgown and tickle
[00085.3-00091.6] her. He would also openly slap her on the bum. According to records from the time,
[00091.6-00098.2] Catherine Parr did nothing to stop these inappropriate romps. In fact, she even participated in them.
[00098.2-00103.4] At least twice she helped her husband tickle Elizabeth, and then a particularly alarming
[00103.4-00108.2] incident held the princess down as Seymour ripped the girl's dress into pieces.
[00110.6-00117.4] Sometime around May 1548, Catherine Parr made a shocking discovery. She stumbled across Seymour
[00117.4-00123.9] and the teenage Elizabeth locked in an embrace. Whether from jealousy or fear for the girl,
[00123.9-00132.5] Parr sent the princess away soon after. Meer months later, Catherine Parr died in childbirth.
[00133.1-00139.2] Now the exile of Elizabeth was truly alone, and Thomas Seymour wasted no time taking advantage
[00139.2-00147.0] of her vulnerability. With his wife conveniently out of the way, the mourning Seymour turned
[00147.0-00151.6] his attentions back to the princess. This time it would be as downfall.
[00153.1-00158.4] By this point, even the royal council had had enough of Seymour's creepy scheming,
[00158.4-00163.7] and they charged him with treason for his plot to marry Elizabeth. The princess's tormentor
[00163.7-00173.8] was executed on March 20th 1549. On July 6th 1553, Elizabeth's brother Edward,
[00173.8-00178.9] who had become king in Henry's stead, died young, throwing the kingdom into chaos.
[00179.4-00184.5] For one, he named the upstart Jane Grey, not his sister's Elizabeth or Mary,
[00184.5-00190.3] as his successor. Suddenly, Mary and Elizabeth found themselves fighting for their birthright,
[00190.4-00193.7] and they joined forces to overthrow the usurping queen.
[00197.3-00204.0] In the end, Lady Jane Grey was the nine days queen. The sisters had her executed, and in August
[00204.0-00212.5] 1553, the elder Mary rode into London to officially reclaim her throne. It could have been a triumphant
[00212.5-00220.8] moment of sisterly love, but that's not what happened. Elizabeth and Mary were very different
[00220.8-00226.3] people, and not just because they had different mothers. Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon,
[00226.3-00231.8] raised her to be a strict Catholic. Meanwhile, Elizabeth, born not just at the height of the
[00231.8-00238.4] English Reformation, but practically because of it, was Protestant. This caused tension,
[00238.4-00246.3] which became a crisis in 1554. Mary's reign was unpopular for her persecution of Protestants,
[00246.3-00252.3] as well as her infamously gruesome method of burning heretics at the stake. So when a rebellion
[00252.3-00258.3] broke out, Mary instantly suspected Elizabeth and threw her sister in the notorious Tower of London.
[00260.4-00266.0] For three terrifying months, Elizabeth's life hung in the balance at the tower. Even though
[00266.0-00272.2] there's no evidence she participated in the rebellion, she was at Mary's mercy, and Mary wasn't much
[00272.2-00278.5] for forgiveness. During this time, Mary's advisers whispered in her ear that while Elizabeth breathed,
[00278.5-00284.5] her throne was never safe. The only thing to do, they said, was to execute her own sister.
[00288.0-00293.3] Thankfully, Elizabeth did have some supporters in Mary's court, and they eventually convinced the
[00293.3-00299.2] Queen to spare her sister's life. But just because she was alive, didn't mean Elizabeth had it easy.
[00301.5-00308.4] On May 22, 1554, Mary exiled Elizabeth to the countryside and put her under house arrest.
[00311.3-00317.9] In late 1558, the young Elizabeth's life got turned upside down yet again. Queen Mary, who'd
[00317.9-00323.6] been unhealthy for quite some time, died in November of that year, without having had any children.
[00324.2-00332.7] The Princess was now Queen Elizabeth the first. From the moment she became Queen, Elizabeth's
[00332.7-00338.5] advisers assumed she would take a husband, not only to strengthen England's power, but also to help
[00338.5-00344.8] produce the air that her late sister had tried and failed to have. Though she considered eligible
[00344.8-00350.8] candidates until she was 50, she never married, and historians suggest that it was her dalliances
[00350.8-00359.1] with Thomas Seymour that put her off the whole idea of matrimony. Elizabeth might have had no
[00359.1-00366.2] husbands, but her romantic antics became infamous. One of her most notorious relationships was with
[00366.2-00371.7] her handsome childhood friend Robert Dudley, who she seemed to be genuinely in love with.
[00373.7-00379.1] The problem was that he was already married, as wife Amy was suffering from breast cancer,
[00379.1-00384.8] and it was assumed that she wasn't going to be around very long. But when her death did come,
[00384.8-00388.9] it was much more suspicious and violent than anyone could have predicted.
[00389.4-00398.4] Amy died in September 1560, but not from breast cancer. She apparently fell down a flight of stairs,
[00398.4-00407.5] leaving Dudley free to pursue the Queen. Historians agree that Elizabeth was fully prepared to marry Dudley,
[00407.5-00414.8] only to be left heartbroken. As her childhood friend, Dudley held no political clout, and monarchs
[00414.9-00420.7] from all over Europe were currently vying for the Queen's hand. Her counsellors told her, in no
[00420.7-00429.3] uncertain terms, that if she married Dudley, they would revolt. In 1578, Dudley married Elizabeth's
[00429.3-00434.9] distant relative, Lattice Knowles. When Elizabeth got wind of her true love's wedding, she was so
[00434.9-00440.6] furious that she banished Lattice from her court and never acknowledged the nuptials for as long as
[00440.6-00447.1] she lived. In the 1560s, Elizabeth terrified her Parliament when she caught smallpox without
[00447.1-00453.8] an air in sight. Though she recovered, the house was beside itself and gave one last push to get her
[00453.8-00460.0] to marry. The Queen even had to convene Parliament and give a public speech to assure them,
[00460.0-00468.4] I will marry as soon as I can conveniently. But did she? No. By 1570, even her most anxious advisors
[00468.4-00476.1] had given up all hope. Elizabeth's most better enemy was also one of her closest relatives,
[00476.1-00483.9] her Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. From the very beginning, Mary posed a threat to Elizabeth's
[00483.9-00492.3] reign and religion, spurring a game of thrones for the ages. Eventually Mary's forces grew so strong
[00492.3-00498.7] and her decisions became so erratic, Elizabeth had to take drastic action. She tore Mary away from
[00498.7-00505.1] her baby son, James VI, imprisoned her in lock-leaving castle and then forced her to abdicate.
[00505.7-00511.1] Astonishingly, Mary spent the next 19 years of her life under Elizabeth's guard.
[00512.6-00518.4] Then Elizabeth discovered a dark truth. Mary, Queen of Scots, was helping incite a rebellion
[00518.4-00524.9] against the English Crown from her jail cell. Elizabeth responded with a brutal show of force.
[00525.9-00534.8] On February 8th, 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots met the axe at Fatheringay Castle. After Mary's death,
[00534.8-00540.3] Elizabeth grew intensely remorseful and even claimed that she'd signed her cousin's warrant
[00540.3-00548.2] without understanding her advisors would carry it out immediately. One of the most iconic moments
[00548.2-00553.5] in Queen Elizabeth's already legendary reign was her defeat of the feared Spanish Armada.
[00556.6-00563.0] After Elizabeth's envoy Francis Drake raided Spanish ships, King Philip of Spain, Elizabeth's
[00563.0-00568.2] ex-brother-in-law, decided he had quite enough of England and took immediate action.
[00570.1-00577.5] Philip sent his Spanish Armada to invade England in 1588, bent on destroying Elizabeth and her reign,
[00577.5-00582.2] but the great naval power of Spain found themselves under-prepared and subsequently
[00582.2-00589.0] outmaneuvered by the English ships. Philip's great hope was forced to run back to Spain in shambles.
[00590.1-00595.1] Elizabeth used the crisis of the conflict with Spain to turn herself into a warrior queen.
[00595.7-00602.9] When she inspected her troops on August 8th, 1588, she donned a silver breastplate under a white dress.
[00602.9-00608.9] Her speech has gone down in history. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman,
[00608.9-00613.3] but I have the heart and stomach of a king and of a king of England too.
[00616.8-00622.9] The once beautiful queen took aging very hard, particularly with her smallpox scars and
[00622.9-00628.9] oncoming baldness. Sir Walter Raleigh once called her a lady whom time had surprised.
[00629.6-00636.1] To combat the flow of time, Elizabeth slathered her face in poisonous cosmetics and insisted on
[00636.1-00642.4] wearing wigs at almost all times. Her courtiers never let on that her beauty was fading
[00642.4-00647.5] and continued to compliment her as if she was still the 25 year old queen of her coronation.
[00648.1-00652.7] Sadly, it seems as though Elizabeth started to believe them and played favourites with
[00652.7-00659.6] whomever could compliment her the most. One of her favourites later in life was Robert Devereaux,
[00659.6-00664.7] Earl of Essex, who took advantage of his good looks to get a great amount of power
[00664.7-00670.8] with very little responsibility. In 1599 he deserted his high military post
[00670.8-00676.6] for the umpteenth time and Elizabeth finally reprimanded him, putting him under house arrest
[00676.6-00680.9] and taking away his luxuries. Devereaux repaid her with betrayal.
[00682.2-00688.8] In 1601 the Earl of Essex plotted his very own rebellion. His plan was to kidnap the queen and
[00688.8-00694.6] take power for himself, except he didn't count on the fact that nobody liked him and he had
[00694.6-00700.9] close to zero supporters. Elizabeth caught wind of the meager plot and finally coming to terms with
[00700.9-00709.9] her misjudgments had him beheaded. Elizabeth's last years were full of heartache and tragedy.
[00709.9-00715.5] In the autumn of 1602, just months before her own death, many of her friends and loved ones
[00715.5-00721.6] passed away, leaving the queen depressed and despondent. According to those close to her,
[00721.6-00727.3] she spent her last days lying motionless on cushions in an unremovable melancholy.
[00729.9-00737.5] Just before she died, Elizabeth finally chose a successor, at least unofficially. James the sixth,
[00737.5-00744.7] the son of her fallen cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. Though she never publicly declared him a
[00744.7-00754.6] successor, she apparently made her intentions known to her advisers. On March 24th 1603,
[00754.6-00760.4] the Virgin Queen Elizabeth died during the early hours of the morning at Richmond Palace.
[00760.4-00766.2] She was 69 years old and her reign remains one of the most famous in British history.
[00767.9-00774.3] After Queen Elizabeth II, who reigned for 70 years and Queen Victoria who reigned for 63,
[00774.3-00780.4] Elizabeth I is the third longest reigning British Queen, sitting on the throne for 44 years.
[00782.9-00788.5] Since she had no heir, the House of Tudor, which began in 1485 with Henry VII,
[00788.5-00796.7] ended with Elizabeth. Her reign was truly a golden age for many. In addition to Francis Drake's
[00796.7-00802.7] feats at sea, literature blossomed in the Elizabethan era, with the likes of William Shakespeare and
[00802.7-00811.2] Christopher Marlow writing masterworks. Before she became the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I lived in
[00811.3-00818.4] penury after her mother's execution. Her father Henry VIII ignored and neglected her so completely
[00818.4-00824.5] that Elizabeth's guardians had to beg the king for finances to provide her with clothes that fit her.
[00826.5-00832.9] Later when she became Queen, she collected more than 2000 dresses for herself. Not only did she
[00832.9-00838.4] start many fashion trends, but her clothes were routinely tweaked and updated and carefully
[00838.4-00844.3] chosen based on what Luke she needed to convey. She was also generous with her things and passed
[00844.3-00853.1] on hand-me-downs to her ladies in waiting. After Elizabeth died, her advisers searched her belongings
[00853.1-00860.1] and found a letter. Its contents were heartbreaking. It was a letter from her old lover Robert Dudley
[00860.1-00866.6] who had died just after the Spanish Armada in 1588, but even more touching than the letter itself
[00866.6-00872.0] was the note Elizabeth had scrawled on it. She marked it as his last letter to her.