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Five Outlandish Myths About the Virgin Queen, Queen Elizabeth I
Let’s set the record straight
Everyone knows about King Henry VIII, though they tend to get the facts about him wrong more often than not. The same is true of his equally famous daughter, and today we take a look at some of the many myths that have sprung up over the centuries about Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen.
Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1533 and was the only child of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, to survive infancy. When Henry ordered her mother executed in 1536, Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and sent away. However, when her half-sister Mary died in November of 1558 Elizabeth became queen. She reigned for 44 years, oversaw the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and sponsored a Golden Age of English drama and literature.
When it comes to debunking myths about Elizabeth I, the task is actually easier than when dealing with her famous father. This is because the myths surrounding her are, for the most part, so outrageous that they are laughable. Most have taken root only at the fringes of historical scholarship, though they have been spread more widely since the advent of the internet (as have myths, legends, and general fallacies of all types). Here are just a few:
