Was Queen Elizabeth I really a virgin?
She certainly never had sex with anyone during her years as Queen, it would simply have been impossible, she was too closely watched, and if she ever had been so reckless as to make love with a man, everyone would have known about it. she was constantly watched throughout her reign. The Spanish Ambassador for instance even used to bribe the royal washerwomen to report on the state of the Queen's sheets, so any untoward goings-on would have been spotted immediately.
Elizabeth, of course, had numerous romantic friendships: As a young woman, she was proposed to by Thomas Seymour, brother of Elizabeth's stepmother and Henry VIII's third wife, Jane, who took her mother's place, as well as Thomas Seymour, also a brother of Jane as well as Catherine Parr's husband after the death of Henry VIII. Thomas Seymour was a little too friendly while Catherine Parr was still alive, and the pair were caught in some compromising situations.
Other liaisons most probably included Sir Christopher Halton, Lord Chancellor (1587-91), Sir Walter Raleigh, Robert Deuereaux, Earl of Essex, and the love of Elizabeth's life, Lord Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
Given Elizabeth's childhood and Henry VIII's treatment of his six wives and the ill-fated marriages of her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth was probably wise to stay single. A queen by birth in 16th-century Europe lost much of her power once she gave her hand in marriage.
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As far as movies go, Queen Elizabeth is basically seen as fascinating powerful woman. A sexually disfunctional woman rarely make a powerful film character.
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QE1 was crowned at age 25. When she was age 32 Mary queen of Scots gave birth to a baby boy (so now there was an heir from the oldest sister of Henry VIII) At age 36, there was massive rebellion in the northern part of England, that wanted to overthrow QE1 and put Mary on the throne. She was also excommunicated by the pope. Starting at about this age, the cult of the Virgin queen began to be developed in earnest. It made Elizabeth into an object of veneration to counteract the public re-action to the constant plots against her life.
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In the movie Elizabeth, she is portrayed as someone who created her own icy goddess persona when she is still in her 20's. The movie also incorrectly had some of her close confidants betray her so that she would be seen as completely alone.
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Historical dramas often defend their manipulation of history saying that they are works of entertainment, and the increased attention they bring to the subject justifies their deviations. Elizabeth had many completely inaccurate or fictional story lines. "The Tudors" on television doesn't even pretend to be accurate. And of course the love scene between William Wallace resulting in him being the real father of Edward of Windsor in the movie "Braveheart" was total fiction since Isabel was about 10 years old when he died.
I am not in favour of either side of the debate, whether she was a virgin or not, but it definitely gives great character to her. What else would we call her if she had been married off, she would have been a queen consort like any other - certainly not as interesting as Gloriana.
I can't even say what I personally believe, because I have no idea! There are many points for and against her being untouched, so it's a mighty difficult decision. While just a teen she was tangled in amorous scenes with Thomas Seymour - what REALLY became of those? One would like to think she remained chaste, as the daughter of a great king and the sister of two monarchs [though shortlived], but what if she hadn't? Then there is Sir Robert Dudley, who was her favourite for quite a long time, having been childhood friends and perhaps a little more - how can we honestly say the little more was true? Elizabeth never kept a diary, that we know of, she never told anyone, that would have been ignorant of her, and if anybody could have possibly found about her being wanton they certainly would have been silenced by an axe.
That is likely my most favourite part of history, the uncertainty of random things. Sometimes there is that elusive story or two that we can never truly be sure of - and those drive me right mad! It makes things a little livelier, I suppose. Things could get rather dry with out mystery otherwise...
Anyways...Think what you like, but it's in my opinion that it would be best if we kept the chaste image of the last Tudor Queen, whether she lived up to it or not!
Cheers!
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