Elizabeth I was the last monarch of the British Tudor Dynasty, and in her nearly half a century of rule, Britain's domestic economic strength increased, foreign trade developed, overseas power expanded, and entered the list of European powers.
In particular, in 1588, after the British defeated the Spanish "Armada", they established themselves as the hegemons of the seas. During this period of Elizabeth's reign, British culture also flourished unprecedentedly, and the Renaissance mainly occurred during this period.
Therefore, the period of Elizabeth's reign, known as the "Golden Age" in British history, she was also known as a generation of British lords. However, it is such a queen who has created an unprecedented and glorious history in Britain, but she has never married in her life and is known as the "Virgin Queen". She even said publicly, "On my deathbed, it was enough to carve such words on a piece of marble, a queen, who ruled the kingdom as a virgin all her life."
(Elizabeth stills)
Why, then, did Elizabeth I choose not to marry for life? Is she not beautiful enough, not good enough?
Elizabeth was lucky to be queen, because she was not the most deserving heir to the throne. His father, Henry VIII, married a total of 6 wives, along with her half-brother Mary and Edward.
Edward VI ascended the throne in 1547 and died six years later. His cousin Jane Grey became heir to the throne. In July of the same year, Mary staged a coup d'état, deposing her successor, Jane Grey, and becoming Queen of England. In 1558, Mary I died, and the 25-year-old Elizabeth became Queen of England, which also ushered in her era of rule in England.
Elizabeth was young and beautiful, and she became queen in her prime, "with all the charm of a mature woman, of medium stature, of good stature, of good looks, with olive skin, bright eyes, and reddish-brown hair."
Elizabeth not only has a beautiful appearance, but she is also talented. She loves to dance, is fluent in seven languages, including English, French, Italian, Spanish, and can improvise in Latin. He is good at music and likes to play the Lute piano for an hour every day.
Such a charming and moving queen, the suitors are naturally not in the minority. It is said that before Elizabeth was 45 years old, there were more than 20 major marriage proposals for her. The kings and nobles of Spain, France, the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, Scotland and other kings and nobles have all proposed to her.
So, Elizabeth is extremely talented and has many suitors, why did she choose celibacy?
This is because Elizabeth used her marriage as a diplomatic tool.
Among them, her brother-in-law, King Philip II of Spain, tried to conquer her.
In 1559, Philip II expressed to Elizabeth a request for marriage. Elizabeth neither refused nor immediately granted Philip II's request. Subsequently, Elizabeth took advantage of Philip II's marriage proposal to negotiate with France about the port of Calais, seizing france's fear of Britain and Spanish joining forces, forcing France to make many concessions on the issue of Calais' ownership.
At the same time, France has also tried to win the initiative and gain more benefits in the struggle between Britain, Spain and France through marriage.
The King of France once told Elizabeth through an intermediary: "If she is willing to break off relations with Spain and marry a friendly French person, then England and France can find a stopgap measure in favor of the monarchs of both countries."
The clever Elizabeth also took an ambiguous attitude and instead told Spain the news, triggering a strong Spanish dissatisfaction with France and thus winning more benefits for her and The British. It was with the help of Spain that Elizabeth thwarted the Pope's attempt to expel her.
In 1570, the strong military strength of Spain aroused elizabeth's vigilance, and she began to change her cold attitude towards the marriage proposal of the French Duke of Anjou and tried to negotiate marriage with France.
Although the negotiations ultimately failed, during the year-long marathon negotiation process, Britain and France signed the Treaty of Blois, which achieved Elizabeth's goal of balancing French and Spanish forces and establishing a barrier for Britain against Spanish invasion in France. The signing of this treaty marked a victory for British diplomacy.
From this point of view, Elizabeth's marriage problem is not a simple personal problem, but a British political problem, a British diplomatic need, and a diplomatic means for Elizabeth to seek benefits for Britain.
So, some people may ask, why doesn't Elizabeth choose a husband at home?
Because Elizabeth knew in her heart that marrying a domestic nobleman would inevitably lead to factional conflicts and religious conflicts. In the face of the clear distinction between the old and new nobles in the country, Elizabeth,No matter which nobleman she chose, meant abandoning the other nobles. The powerful Elizabeth did not want to be kidnapped, she wanted to use her strong wrist to bring everyone together and push Britain to the top.
So Elizabeth chose celibacy, and she used her marriage as Britain's biggest political chip. For more than 20 years after ascending the throne, she has always attracted suitors, and even as late as she was 53 years old, she was still playing this kind of drama. American history professor Will Duran once said: "Elizabeth I's biggest secret weapon in politics is that she never married." ”
Although Elizabeth was determined not to marry for life, the British Privy Council kept urging her to marry as soon as possible, so as to give birth to an heir to the throne for Britain. During her administration, British parliamentarians more than once asked Her Majesty the Queen to explain her thoughts and plans for marriage. Forced to be helpless, Elizabeth asked the ministers sarcastically, "Who do you think I should marry?" "It left the ministers dumbfounded for a moment.
Later, in order to shut the mouths of the ministers, Elizabeth uttered a sentence that moved all the English people: "I can only have one husband, and that is England." ”
(Reference: Biography of Queen Elizabeth I)