A History of Britain 07文档格式.docx

1、She was supposed to be immortal, of course.And the odd thing was, despite the garish auburn fright wig, the white face mask and the wrinkled bosom, foreign diplomats who saw her at court and had no reason to be gallant, swore they could still see the young woman, no more than 20 years of age.It does

2、nt do to be too starry-eyed about the Virgin Queen.Elizabeth I was only too obviously made of flesh and blood.She was vain, spiteful, arrogant, she was frequently unjust, and she was often maddeningly indecisive.But she was also brave, shockingly clever, an eyeful to look at and on occasions she was

3、 genuinely wise.In other words, she had all the qualities it took to make the genius politician she undoubtedly was.Just a few feet away from Elizabeths tomb in Westminster Abbey lies the body of another woman, Mary, Queen of Scots, who had haunted and fascinated Elizabeth for so much of her life.No

4、 virgin, thats for sure.No politician either.A complete disaster as a ruler, you would have to say, but Mary managed something that eluded Elizabeth.She reproduced.This is the story of two queens and, more importantly, two women - one a politician, the other a mother.It s the story of a painful birt

5、h, the union of England and Scotland, the birth of Britain.A cherished tradition has it that when Elizabeth heard the news that she was to become queen, on November 17th, 1558, she was seated beneath an ancient oak tree.Her first words were from Psalm 118, a domino factum est mirabile in oculis nost

6、ris - this is the Lords doing and it is marvellous in our eyes.She was right, it was marvellous.In fact, it was little short of a miracle that she had made it to that day alive.Tudor royal politics were a bloody affair, especially for Tudor women.She had been only two, after all, when her mother, An

7、ne Boleyn, had gone to the scaffold, her sin, in Henrys mind at least, being her failure to produce a son.It must have been a body possessed by others, by the devil.An unclean piece of flesh, it had to be cut away.So Elizabeth would never be free from suspicion.Out of her dark Boleyn eyes, she watch

8、ed herself being watched.Inevitably, there were times when her guard was down.She was barely a teenager when trouble first struck.She was living with her guardian, Katherine Parr, Henry VIIIs widow, when Parrs new husband, Thomas Seymour, started paying playful visits to her bedroom.When Katherine P

9、arr died, a rumour started circulating that Seymour had his sights set on marrying Elizabeth.To even think of such a thing was treason.Even worse, some wagging tongues said that Elizabeth was pregnant with his child.It took all of Elizabeths already extraordinary composure and self-confidence to per

10、suade Lord Protector Somerset that she was innocent.My Lord, there goeth rumours abroad which be greatly against my honour, which be these: That I am in the Tower and with child by my Lord Admiral.My Lord, these are shameful slanders.I most heartily desire your Lordship that I may come to the court

11、and show myself there as I am.Your assured friend to my little power, Elizabeth.She was, remember, just 14, but there was already the fortitude, the clarity and the courage.Just as well, because she would need these qualities five years later, when facing the most traumatic and dangerous crisis of h

12、er entire life.When her Catholic half-sister, Mary, came to the throne, Elizabeth found herself in even deeper trouble.She found herself in the Tower when a Protestant plot to get rid of Mary backfired.Elizabeth managed to talk herself out of being charged with treason, but she remained under close

13、surveillance.Danger only turned to deliverance five years later when Queen Mary died childless.So here she was, Elizabeth, under the oak, about to be the Protestant queen.She had survived, just, but she must have been full of dark knowledge and experience about how difficult it was all going to be.H

14、er mother had been killed for producing just a daughter and a stillborn, and her sister Marys womb produced only the tumour that killed her.However dazzling Elizabeth looked, however clever she was, she must have known how rough the road was going to be for a ruler of the wrong sex.The 25-year old Elizabeth came into an inheritance of high hopes and deep anxieties.The celebrations at her coronation were carefully designed to show off the young queen as the paragon of vi