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Imagine you're a king or queen. What

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do you envision? Do you see yourself sitting

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on a throne in a gorgeous palace,

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wearing a thick robe and big

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jeweled crown. Or possibly you

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think of a beautiful gold carriage drawn

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through the street by stomping black steeds,

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a sea of people waving and yelling happily

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as you pass by. Or maybe you

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think of dancing in a fancy ballroom with

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chandeliers, mirrors and musicians.

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Well, all of this is certainly true for many

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modern royals, but many centuries

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ago, being a king or queen wasn't

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an easy job. Yes, they had jewels

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and palaces, but they were also surrounded

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by enemies, treachery, and lies.

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A famous quote from history says heavy

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is the head that wears the crown, meaning

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if you were a king or queen, you did not rest

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easily. You had to make difficult decisions

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and face scary situations. In

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those days, life wasn't all about parties

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and ponies, pallices and parades

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like royal life today. Often

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it involved family members plotting

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against you to kick you off the throne.

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Sometimes it involved kidnapping. To

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be a successful ruler in olden times,

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you needed intelligence, cunning, loyal

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advisers, and trustworthy friends.

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You needed a will of iron, boundless

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courage and the strength of a warrior.

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You needed to be seen as a fierce fighter

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as well as a compassionate leader. You

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needed to protect your country from invasion

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by neighboring kingdoms and make tough

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laws to keep the peace. Throughout

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history, many of these kings were men

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who charged into battle on thundering horses,

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wearing thick armor and carrying heavy

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swords. They kept their crowns many

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times by facing their foes on the

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field of battle. One such king

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was King Henry the eighth of England. He

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became king in fifteen o nine at

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the age of seventeen. He

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was a big, powerful man, standing

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over six feet tall, with broad shoulders

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and a fighting spirit. He was a

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fierce competitor in battle against the French,

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Scots, Irish, and even enemies

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within his own kingdom. He ruled

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England for thirty eight years and had six

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wives, but the one thing he didn't have

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was sons to inherit the throne. At

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that time in history, the crown was generally

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passed down to males in the royal family,

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but King Henry the Eighth had two daughters,

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Princess Mary and Elizabeth, and

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only one son, Prince Edward, who was

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sickly and weak. Both Mary

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and Elizabeth had an unhappy childhood

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due to the whims of their father. King

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Henry divorce Mary's mother, Queen Catharine

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because she could not produce a son. He

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sent her into exile, and she eventually

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died alone and abandoned by the king and

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court. His

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second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn, had

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a daughter, Princess Elizabeth, who was

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just two years old when she lost her mother.

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King Henry then declared that Elizabeth was illegitimate,

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not a true royal princess or heir, and

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sent her away to live in the country. Elizabeth

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quickly learned that life can change in an instant.

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One minute, she was a princess, and the next

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she was abandoned by her father and kicked

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out of the line of succession, meaning

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she would never sit on the throne.

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She determined that she must study and learn all

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she could to survive in this world.

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She practiced many languages, including

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French, Latin, Italian, Flemish,

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Welsh, Cornish, Scottish, Irish, German,

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Spanish and Greek. She

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studied people and their personalities. She

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learned valuable skills about diplomacy

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and public relations. She cultivated

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her charm, poise, cunning and intelligence.

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When she was ten, her father changed his mind

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about Elizabeth and restored her

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prince's title and her succession

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to the throne behind Edward and Mary.

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He died four years later. In Elizabeth, when

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fourteen, was sent to live with his wife,

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Catharine Parr and her new husband,

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King Henry's son Edward, was now king at

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only nine years old. But Edward was

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very sickly and died when he was fifteen

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from tuberculosis. Before

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he died, Edward, a Protestant,

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drafted a will to make his cousin, Lady

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Jane Gray, also a Protestant, the next

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ruler, instead of his older sister Mary,

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who was Catholic. Lady Jane

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Gray was then proclaimed queen against her wishes

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and thrust on the throne based on Edward's

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will, plus the manipulations of powerful

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men in her family and at court. She

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knew in her heart that Edward's oldest sister

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Mary should be the rightful queen, and

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Mary thought so too. Mary quickly

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gathered troops and rode to London, throwing

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Jane off the throne and locking her in the Tower

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of London. Jane Gray lost her

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life at only sixteen years old and

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on Mary's orders. Due to her nine days on the

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throne, she was never wanted. As

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you can see, kings and queens in those days did

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not seat easily on a throne. Anything

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could happened to throw them off it angry enemies,

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untrustworthy family members, counselors,

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or faithless friends. Mary

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then took the throne and became Mary the First.

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She was a very so queen and often harsh

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with her people. She was a Catholic

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and wanted everyone to practice that religion,

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but she knew that many in her kingdom were Protestant,

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including her younger sister Elizabeth.

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Elizabeth, now nineteen, possessed a charming

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personality and keen intelligence.

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Mary grew very jealous of Elizabeth and thought

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Elizabeth was plotting to overthrow her and

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take her crown. Mary ordered

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that Elizabeth be taken captive and rowed

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by boat in the pouring rain to the

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Tower of London and imprisoned. Elizabeth

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passed under Trader's gait proclaiming

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her innocence. She was held in the tower

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for two months before she was released and

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sent to a country home, where she was held under

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house arrest. Queen Mary the First

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only ruled for five years before dying

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of stomach cancer at the age of forty

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two. At the time, she was

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married to Prince Philip of Spain, but they had

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no children. Thus, on

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January fifteenth, fifteen fifty

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nine, Princess Elizabeth, aged

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twenty five, was crowned Queen Elizabeth

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the First in Westminster Abbey.

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She arrived at the abbey a young beauty and

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an elaborate gold gown, shimmering

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jewels, ornate crown, and a fur lined

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robe. No one thought that the little

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redheaded toddler, the only child

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of King Henry the Eighth and Queen Anne Boleyn,

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a trader's daughter, would one day be

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queen. Through her intelligence,

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iron will, and perseverance, Elizabeth

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survived a tyrannical father, the

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loss of her mother, abandonment by her family,

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imprisonment and false accusations

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by her half sister, and a sly stepfather.

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To survive and thrive.

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She became the ruler of a powerful nation as

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a single woman. In her own right. She

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never married nor had children. She ruled

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for forty four years, much longer than

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her siblings or even her all powerful

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father. She survived several assassination

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attempts, foiled the Spanish Armada

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you can find one of our episodes to learn more about

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that, and thwarted various plots

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to overthrow her. One of these plots

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was allegedly masterminded by her own

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cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots.

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Her reign was called the Elizabethan Era

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and saw achievements by William Shakespeare

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and Christopher Marlowe, plus

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successful sea adventures by Sir Walter

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Raleigh and Francis Drake. She

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was called the Virgin Queen Gloriana

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and Good Queen Bess. In

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honor of this historic queen. Consider visiting

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your local library to find a book about her life

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and reign, or listen to our prior episode

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History of the Spanish Armada and Queen Elizabeth.

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This young princess turnqueen lived in a world

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of men and rose to the highest position of

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power and prestige during a ruthless

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time in history. She knew that if she married,

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her husband would assume control over her and her

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country. Therefore, she never married

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and kept her power throughout

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her life. She had few people she could trust.

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Everyone around her, including her own family

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members, counselors, and other rulers,

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often plotted against her for power, position,

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or property. Being a queen during

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that time was one of the loneliest jobs in the

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world, and with no children, she had

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no one to love or mentor as the next

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monarch. To day, British

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monarchs no longer make laws or act as

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the sole ruler of the kingdom. They are

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considered a figurehead or symbol of their

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nation, while their parliament rules

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the kingdom and makes laws. Kings and

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queens to day approve bills, appoint prime

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ministers and open parliament every

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season. They no longer make laws,

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start war, or order their enemies

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imprisoned. Instead, they tour the country

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speaking with their countrymen, listening to their

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concerns and shining a spotlight on organizations

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and causes. They conduct outreach

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to other nations to foster peace and good

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will. Their life is much different

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in many respects than kings and queens of the

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past. To day, a monarch's power

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rests not in their swords, but in their

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statemanship and how they treat others, They

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work for the better men of their people, and promote

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their interests in many ways. The

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weight of the crown today is much lighter and

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the risks much fewer. What

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do you think of Queen Elizabeth and her rocky road

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to the throne? Would you like to live as a king

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or a queen during their time in history? Does

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her story change your opinion of royalty?

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If so, how do you live in a country

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with a king or queen? If so? Where

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I love to hear from you and learn your thoughts

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about Queen Elizabeth the First and your king

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or queen If you have one, feel free to click

9:18

the link in the show notes below and you

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might be mentioned in a future episode.

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We hope you enjoyed this episode about Queen Elizabeth

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the First in her rocky road to the throne.

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Be sure to tune in next Monday for a new episode.