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| Anne of Denmark |
Childhood
Elizabeth Stuart was the third child of Anne of Denmark[i] and her husband James VI of Scotland. Elizabeth was born on 19th August 1596 at Dunfermline Palace in Fife; three and a half years before her father
became king of England as well as Scotland. She was placed under the governance
of Lord and Lady Livingstone, as was her sister Margaret born two years later. Margaret died
when Elizabeth was four. For the most part Elizabeth lived at Linlithgow Palace.
More
siblings followed; Charles, born in November 1600, Robert who died at the age of four months
and a stillborn child. Mary was born in 1605 and died two years
later. Finally there was Sophia who was born in 1606 and died the day after her birth.
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| Elizabeth age 7 |
At the age
of seven Elizabeth was removed from Scotland and followed her parents down to
England, when James became king upon the death of Elizabeth, the princess’s namesake. The young
Charles was left in Scotland, entrusted to the care of Lord Fyvie[ii], as it was believed that he was too
frail to travel[iii].
Elizabeth
was with her mother and her elder brother Henry when James met them at Easton Neston[iv]. The new king was delighted to be rejoined
with his family, asking Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton;
‘If he did not think his
Annie did not look passing well…….my little Betsy is not too ill-favoured a
wench and may outshine her mother one of these days.’[v]
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| Henry as Prince of Wales |
After the
move to England Elizabeth was transferred from the Livingstones’ care to that
of Frances Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard[vi]; a most unsuitable lady[vii], given the job by virtue
of her high connections. A friend of Robert Cecil, Elizabeth’s chief councillor, Frances’
father was created Earl of Suffolk and Lord Chamberlain by James and was appointed a Privy Counsellor. Elizabeth was extremely upset to be
parted from Lady Livingstone.
Elizabeth
attended Windsor Castle on 2nd July to see Henry
being presented with the Order of the Garter. She stood with Lady Anne Clifford[viii] and watched Henry’s flawless
performance, Henry Howard[ix] and Charles Howard[x], Earl of Nottingham, both admired;
‘[Henry’s] quick and witty
answers, princely carriage and reverend performing his obeyance at the altar,
all of which seemed very strange unto them and the rest of his beholders,
considering his tender age[xi].’[xii]
Schooling
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| Elizabeth age 10 |
Elizabeth’s
tuition was carefully inspected by James and, once she had learned to write, he
encouraged her to write letters to himself and to Henry; a task which cemented
the relationship of the two siblings.
At the end
of 1603 Elizabeth was given into the care of Lord John Harington and his wife Anne[xiii]; a decision that
Elizabeth regretted as it separated her from her siblings. Elizabeth wrote to
Henry from her new home, Coombe Abbey;
‘My dear and worthy brother,
I most kindly salute you, desiring to hear of your health; from whom, though I
am now removed far away, none shall ever be nearer in affection, than your most
loving sister, Elizabeth.’[xiv]
The Harington’s
were chosen as Elizabeth’s governors because they were the parents of Queen
Anne’s especial friend, Lucy Bedford. Their son John was a friend of Prince Henry’s.
Of Lord Harington’s
efforts to school his charge, James wrote in 1606;
‘My cousin, Lord Harrington
of Ex[t]on doth much fatigue himself with the royal charge of the Princess [Elizabeth]……[and]
hath much labour to preserve his own wisdom and sobriety.’[xv]
The cost of
looking after Elizabeth proved ruinous for Lord Harrington and he was given the
licence to mint farthings; a reward that only partially compensated him for the
expense[xvi].
Death of a Prince
The Stuart
family were a loving family; both James and Anne loved their children. Like any
teenager Henry rebelled against some of his father’s preoccupations, in
particular his intellectual concerns, saying;
‘I know what becomes a
Prince, it is not necessary for me to be a professor, but a soldier and a man
of the world.’[xvii]
Henry took
after his mother’s side of the family. In 1605
Henry was sent to study at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he took
an interest in sports. A witty, outgoing & popular young man, Henry was
also interested in naval & military matters, as well as national concerns;
about which he was unafraid to take issue with his father. Henry was also able
to keep financial control of his money (unlike his father & brother).
On 6th
November 1612 the family was beside themselves with grief when Henry, a devout
Protestant, died of typhoid fever. He’d been playing tennis, although
unwell, and had failed to wrap up warm after the game. Elizabeth attempted to
visit her brother during his last illness; knowing that visits from close
family had been forbidden for fear of contagion, she dressed up as a country
girl. But she was recognised and turned away.
.jpg/400px-Charles_I_(young).jpg) |
| Prince Charles |
Elizabeth
and Charles had always been close to Henry and their letters show much evidence
of their love for him. On one occasion Charles wrote;
Sweet, sweet brother, I will
give anything that I have to you: both my horse and my books and my pieces and
my cross-bows or anything that you would have. Good brother, love me and I
shall ever love and serve you.’[xviii]
Henry left
the highly unsuitable young and distraught Charles as heir to the throne. He
was buried with much pomp in Westminster Abbey on
7th December; Charles was the principal mourner.
A Husband Fit for a Princess
Elizabeth’s
future husband had already been decided upon; Frederick, the Elector Palatine[xix] was visiting England when Henry died
and he walked in the funeral procession which James did not attend[xx].
James had
originally leaned towards an alliance with Spain as England’s best hope for continued
prosperity. Elizabeth’s suitors had included the Dauphin, Louis, Frederick Henry the Prince of Orange, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and Philip III of Spain. Indeed the Swedes had been given to understand
that Elizabeth was;
‘More inclined to Duke
Gustav than to any other prince in the world.’[xxi]
James
eventually chose Frederick to strengthen England’s ties with the Protestant
powers in Germany.
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| Frederick, Elector Palantine |
Elizabeth
attended her betrothal ceremony on 27th December, wearing black
satin and silver lace. Frederick was invested with the Order of the Garter in a
private ceremony and on 1st January there was an exchange of gifts
between Frederick and the royal family. Frederick gave Elizabeth a carcanet[xxii], a tiara and a ring
while she gave him a miniature of St George set in gold and precious stones.
The marriage
was set for 14th February and there were great celebrations much to
James’ dismay. On 11th there was a great fireworks display at Whitehall and on the 13th a naval fight was staged.
The 14th
itself saw Elizabeth robed in a gown of white and silver studded with diamonds;
her train was carried by thirteen young ladies also wearing white. The courtiers
were not to be outdone and Lady Wotton, wife of Sir Edward Wotton[xxiii], wore an embroidered dress costing
£50 a yard![xxiv].
Lord Montagu[xxv] spent £1500[xxvi] on apparel for his two
daughters.
Dinner
lasted three hours and then a ballet was performed, prepared by Lord Hay which
the audience felt lasted far too long. The celebrations exhausted the royal
treasury which had spent £140,000[xxvii] on the wedding.
Bibliography
Gustavus
Adolphus the Great – Nils Ahnlund, 1999 History Book Club
Memoirs of
Elizabeth Stuart, vols 1 & 2 – Elizabeth Benger (ed), General Books LLC
2012
The Early
Stuarts – Godfrey Davies, Oxford University Press 1987
The
Gunpowder Plot – Antonia Fraser, BCA 1996
King James –
Antonia Fraser, BCA 1974
Robert Cecil
– Alan Haynes, Peter Owen Publishers 1989
After
Elizabeth – Leanda de Lisle, Harper Perennial 2006
Charles I –
Christopher Hibbert, Penguin 1968
www.wikipedia.en
[ii]
A friend of James
[iii]
He didn’t journey down until mid-July 1604
[iv]
The home of Sir George Fermor
[v]
After Elizabeth – de Lisle
[ix]
Brother of Thomas Howard (see note 2 above) and made Lord Warden
of the Cinque Ports the following year
[x]
Known as Howard of Effingham; he was Lord High Admiral for both Elizabeth and
James
[xi]
Henry was just 9½
[xii]
After Elizabeth – de Lisle
[xiv]
Memoirs of Elizabeth Stuart, vol 1 – Elizabeth Benger (ed)
[xv]
Ibid
[xvi]
After his death, on his journey back from Bohemia escorting Elizabeth to her
new home, Harrington’s estates were taken by his creditors
[xvii]
King James - Fraser
[xviii]
Charles I - Hibbert
[xx]
James did not attend funerals, nor visit the dying; this has led to a belief
that he did not care for his family
[xxi]
Gustavus Adolphus - Ahnlund
[xxii]
An ornamental
necklace, chain, collar, or headband
[xxiv]
In 2013
the relative: real price of that
commodity is £8,071.00 per yard; labour value of that
commodity is £140,400.00 per yard; income value of that commodity is £275,900.00 per yard, www.measuringworth.com
[xxvi]
In 2013
the relative: real price of that
commodity is £242,100.00 labour value of that
commodity is £4,211,000.00 income value of that
commodity is £8,276,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[xxvii]
In 2013
the relative: historic standard of living
value of that income or wealth is £22,600,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £772,500,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £5,364,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
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