Royal Blood, Uncertain Future: Elizabeth I’s Life in a Court Divided

By 1535, the once-hopeful union between Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn was becoming strained. Although the couple attempted to maintain appearances, the court, particularly Anne's detractors, who were many, continued to fuel malicious gossip about her. Added to that, Henry's dalliances with other women had become more frequent, which undoubtedly would have added to Anne's fears for her position and her well documented jealousy.  

The previous year, Anne was reported by the Imperial Ambassador to Spain and other court officials to be with child. However, the pregnancy mysteriously never materialized and was subsequently not reported on. Thus heightening the stakes for Anne to conceive another child to full term. However, in her quest to provide Henry with his long-desired male heir, Anne seemingly never forgot to promote her daughter, Princess Elizabeth, and constantly sought means to ensure her legitimacy. Henry was also anxious to use their daughter as a bargaining tool in his relations with other kingdoms. That meant that for the one-year-old Elizabeth, her future depended on the political machinations and maneuvering of both her parents.                                      

I 

In what would become one of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn's chief disagreements, the former had begun the process of dissolving lesser monasteries and seizing their assets for the crown at the beginning of 1535. This act would later snowball in 1536 and become a point of contention between Henry and Anne, the latter of whom vocalized to the crown's chief minister that she preferred that the bulk of the wealth be distributed to charities. However, that conflict would arise later, as Anne's primary role was to provide the King with a son. However, things were made difficult; as court records from Anne's trial attest, Henry was often unable to perform in the marriage bed. ¹

As Henry and Anne busied themselves with their respective concerns, they put on a united front outwardly. That year, they are recorded in the official state letters and papers as traveling from one estate to another as part of their yearly progress. ²

Against this backdrop was Princess Elizabeth, who was still under the care of largely Boleyn family guardians. In early 1535, Elizabeth's parents entered into negotiations with King Francis I in the hopes of further securing an alliance between their two kingdoms. They aspired to achieve this by betrothing the one-year-old Elizabeth to the French King's teenage son Charles, the Duke of Angoulême. Not only would such a match outmaneuver Spain, but it would also further legitimize Elizabeth and discredit her half-elder sister, Mary. However, the French had begun to treat Anne with hostility, and the idea of the match between her daughter and the young Duke was initially met with icy cold indifference. ³

The French eventually agreed to the match and the terms Henry offered, which primarily consisted of Mary not inheriting the crown. Despite the King outwardly declaring Mary a bastard and stating that he would have no other heir but Elizabeth, he had expressed concern and briefly visited Mary when she was reportedly ill. He also sent physicians to care for her, as well as many fine gifts, much to Anne's chagrin, who, according to historian Paul Friedman, still considered Mary a threat to her and her daughter in the King's affections. Anne's fears were well-founded, as the match between Elizabeth and Charles was later called off in part due to Henry's numerous demands, including having the duke raised in England until his majority and for the French King to persuade the Pope to formally recognize his new marriage. The news would have been particularly unwelcome to Anne, who had a long and close history with France, and, according to historian Tracy Borman, upon hearing that the match was called off, proceeded to expel French diplomats from a series of events held at Hanworth House. ⁴   

II 

Elizabeth's household, like the court, had frequently transitioned from one location to another in 1535, staying at grand palaces such as Richmond, Greenwich, Hatfield House, and Eltham (to name a few). ⁵ 

Unlike many queens before her, Anne played a direct and engaged role in raising her daughter, taking a personal interest in her development and daily care. For instance, although Anne Boleyn was like her husband, a Catholic, she had reformist sympathies. She ensured that, in her youth, Elizabeth was surrounded by reformist scholars and theologians, such as her chaplain, Matthew Parker, the latter of whom is recorded as having first preached before Elizabeth and her household in 1535. ⁶

Anne also spoiled Elizabeth with the best that money could buy. For instance, a bill dated from December 1534 to December 1535 reveals that Elizabeth's household expenses totaled a whopping £50,000 ($67,290.00). ⁷ A clothes bill for 1535 shows that Anne forked over a hefty sum on Elizabeth's attire, including a velvet black collar for a dress, a purple sarsenet for sleeve linings and interior design, and seven yards of damask russet for her bed. In total, Anne was spending around £13,000 ($17,654) per month to dress herself and her daughter, an extravagant expense even in those times. ⁸ 

When various factors, such as courtly duties, prevented Anne from being with Elizabeth, she kept tabs on her upbringing by frequently communicating with her governess, Lady Bryan, to whom Anne sent numerous missives and instructions. For example, by the fall, when Elizabeth had just turned two years old, Lady Bryan informed Anne that her daughter no longer needed a wet nurse and was of sufficient age to drink milk on her own. ⁹ Although the King was also consulted on the matter, Anne took pains to provide separate instructions to Lady Bryan, which the latter was beholden to take. 

The latter half of that year would be a consequential time in Elizabeth's parent's marriage. Not only had Henry become on more familiar terms with the Seymours of Wolf Hall after progress to the latter's estate during the Summer, but it was reported to Henry and Anne, who were spending Christmas at Eltham Palace, that Katherine of Aragon was seriously ill.

How the Actions of Elizabeth’s Parents Echoed Through Her Reign

• Elizabeth's legitimacy had been a point of contention throughout much of her life, which even extended into her Queenship. As early as three years old, Elizabeth was acutely aware of her precarious station in life, as evident by her remark to David Zouche (Lady Bryan's husband), "How haps its Governor? Yesterday, my Lady Princess, and today, My Lady Elizabeth?" ¹⁰ As a result, Elizabeth would seemingly seek out means for her father's approval, such as taking pains to translate a religious manuscript and present it as a New Year's gift for him. Historian David Starkey surmises that instead of being resentful towards Henry VIII, that the "memory of her father, formed in these few years of the mid-1540s, was so benign: for her, he was not a wife-murdering monster, but a loving parent, formidable ruler and model to which she aspired." ¹¹ In later years, Elizabeth built a carefully crafted image of herself, mainly as a mother of the nation, in part by declaring herself a virgin and married to England. She also was careful to never explicitly name an heir to succeed her lest she be supplanted. 

• In Tudor times, royal marriages weren't about love but about forming profitable and politically advantageous alliances. Although Elizabeth famously never married, she had several suitors who desperately wanted to marry her and gain control over England. Elizabeth, known for her astuteness, would often entertain these marriage alliances without ever fully committing herself to them. This was done primarily to keep her counselors, who frequently urged her to marry, content but also to secure much-needed political support. Her father would often also dangle the prospect of marriage to his daughters to other suitors for the same reason. Still, due to fears for his son's position and the possibility of his crown being usurped, he never allowed them to get married whilst he was alive. 

• Henry and Anne's reformist sympathies were passed on to their daughter, Elizabeth. In her youth, Elizabeth and her half-brother Edward were taught by men who were diverging from the evangelical movement to reform the Catholic Church towards doctrines that would soon be characterized as Protestant. That meant that men like Anne's confessor, Matthew Parker, would have significant influence over Elizabeth and her Protestant reign. For example, in 1559, she established a policy known as the Act of Uniformity, which, among other things, required the use of the Book of Common Prayer during church services, aimed at reducing the influence of the Catholic Church in the land.

• Charles, the Duke of Alencon, would not be the only French match considered for the hand of Elizabeth. In 1579, Francis, Duke of Anjou, was in the running to marry Elizabeth, who was 22 years his senior. The Duke even went so far as to travel to England twice, in 1579 and 1581, to woo the Queen and garner support for his foreign exploits. Even though Elizabeth eventually called off the match in large part due to the open hostility towards France by her English subjects, by all accounts, she was fond of him, judging by the affectionate nickname she gave him, "Frog," and also by a poem she penned in his honor titled On Monsieur's Departure. ¹²

• Anne Boleyn’s lavish spending on Elizabeth’s wardrobe not only reflected her own renowned flair for fashion but also planted the seeds for Elizabeth’s lifelong use of style as a powerful tool for image and influence. Anne was well known for her love of fashion and her ingenuity in popularizing courtly styles. Even her most ardent detractors, such as Nicolas Sander, acknowledged her influence, writing that she was “unrivalled in the gracefulness of her attire, and the fertility of her invention in devising new patterns, which were imitated by all the court belles, by whom she was regarded as the glass of fashion.” ¹³ It seems Elizabeth inherited her mother's love of fashion. As noted by the Royal Museums Greenwich: "Elizabeth was intentional in using clothing to project wealth, power, and authority during her reign. Her wardrobe was filled with gowns made of rich fabrics adorned with jewels and elaborate surface detailing." ¹⁴

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References:

1 Myers, S. (2022, June 18). Henry VIII’s sexual problems exposed in evidence from Anne Boleyn’s courtiers. Express. https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1624749/henry-viii-sexual-problems-anne-boleyn-courtiers-evidence-historian-tudors-history-spt

2 Hart, K. (2010). The Mistresses of Henry VIII. United Kingdom: History Press.

3. Levin, C. (2022). The Reign and Life of Queen Elizabeth I: Politics, Culture, and Society. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

4, 8, 9 Borman, T. (2010). Elizabeth's Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen. United States: Random House Publishing Group.

5 Jones, P. (2017). Elizabeth: Virgin Queen?. United States: Fox Chapel Publishing.

6, 7 Tallis, N. (2024). Young Elizabeth: Elizabeth I and Her Perilous Path to the Crown. United States: Pegasus Books.

10 Mayhew, M. (2024). The Anne Boleyn Bible. (n.p.): Pen and Sword.

11 Ridgway, C. (2013, August 26). Henry VIII and Elizabeth I – The lion and his cub. The Anne Boleyn Files. https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/henry-viii-and-elizabeth-i-the-lion-and-his-cub/

12 Queen Elizabeth I. (2017). On Monsieur’s Departure. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved July

10, 2025, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44221/on-monsieurs-departure

13 Sylwia. (n.d.). Anne Boleyn: The glass of fashion. Anne‑Boleyn.com. Retrieved July 10, 2025, from http://www.anne‑boleyn.com/eng/anne‑boleyn‑the‑glass‑of‑fashion/

14"Elizabeth's Royal Wardrobe." Royal Museums Greenwich, https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/royal-history/elizabeth-royal-wardrobe. Accessed 10 July. 2025.