Just a Girl (19 page)

Now, as Kat Ashley bears the tray with my breakfast and hesitates before opening my door, as my ladies cluster about me and my mistress of the robes handles my coronation dress of gold reverently, my fate remains marvellous in my eyes. No matter my terror, no matter the overwhelming responsibility or what the future may hold, I am the queen.

Governess to Princess Elizabeth from 1537. Married Sir John Ashley, Elizabeth's senior gentleman attendant and cousin to Anne Boleyn, in 1545. On Queen Elizabeth's accession became Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber until her death.

Attendant to Princess Elizabeth from 1533, cousin to William Cecil and (possibly) to Dr John Dee. On Kat Ashley's death she became Queen Elizabeth's Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber. Like her mistress, she never married.

Gentlewoman serving Princess Elizabeth who accompanied Princess Elizabeth in her imprisonment to both The Tower and Woodstock. Dismissed by Queen Mary, she returned to Elizabeth Tudor's service when she became Queen.

Cofferer (or treasurer) to Princess Elizabeth. He became a privy councilor and controller of her household on her accession to the throne in 1559.

Mathematician, astrologer, magician. Astrologer to both Mary I and Elizabeth I.

Member of parliament and political advisor, he was first a servant of Edward VI, then Mary I, finally transferring his allegiance to Elizabeth before she inherited the throne. He then served as her Chief Councillor until his death. She made
him the first Baron of Burghley in recognition of his great service and looked on him as a father figure.

Playmates as children, he was Elizabeth's great friend and favourite, becoming her Master of the Horse on her accession to the throne. Many consider he was her one true love, and there were rumours they would marry when his first wife died in mysterious circumstances. They never did; he later married Lady Essex. Elizabeth made him Earl of Leicester and he was the most richly rewarded of her courtiers throughout her reign.

Robert Dudley's first wife, she was found dead of a broken neck at the bottom of the staircase at their marital home Cumnor Place. Rumours that her husband had her murdered so he could marry Elizabeth continue to this day, but the scandal that followed her death meant that there was absolutely no chance of any such marriage, even if Elizabeth I had ever actually contemplated it.

Tutor to Princess Elizabeth and (perhaps) Lady Jane Grey. Famous for his book
The Schoolmaster
published posthumously in 1570.

Famous for nursing Queen Elizabeth through her near fatal bout of smallpox in 1562 and thereby catching the disease and becoming badly scarred herself, Mary Sidney was one of Elizabeth Tudor's most devoted ladies. Married to Sir Henry Sidney, she was also Robert Dudley's sister and John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland's, daughter and implicated in the plot to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne.

Younger son of the first Tudor monarch Henry VII (1485–1509) and Elizabeth of York, daughter of the last Plantagenet King Edward V. Father of Mary I, Elizabeth I, Edward VI. King of England from 1509–1547.

Eldest son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Betrothed to Katharine of Aragon.

Youngest daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Betrothed to Prince Arthur of England. First wife of Henry VIII divorced in 1533. Mother of Mary I. Queen of England 1509–1533.

Second wife of Henry VIII. Mother of Elizabeth I. Executed for treason and adultery 1536. Queen of England 1533–1536.

Third wife of Henry VIII. Mother of Edward VI. Sister of Edward Seymour, first Duke of Somerset, first Lord Protector of Edward VI, and Thomas Seymour, first Baron of Sudeley, Lord High Admiral and fourth husband of Catherine Parr. Queen of England 1536–1537.

Fourth wife of Henry VIII. Duchess of Cleves. Divorced 1540. Queen of England January 1540–July 1540.

Fifth wife of Henry VIII. Niece of the Duke of Norfolk, cousin to Anne Boleyn. Executed for treason and adultery 1542. Queen of England 1540–1542.

Sixth wife of Henry VIII, who was her third husband. Married Thomas Seymour, Baron Sudeley, Lord High Admiral of England, after the King's death in 1547. Queen of England 1543–1547.

Eldest daughter of Henry VIII. Married Prince Philip of Spain 1554. Queen of England 1553–1558.

Youngest daughter and second child of Henry VIII. Queen of England from 1558–1603.

Youngest child and only son of Henry VIII. Inherited the throne aged 9 died aged 16. King of England 1547–1553.

Grandaughter of Henry VIII's younger sister Mary Rose Tudor. Married Guildford Dudley, son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, second Lord Protector of Edward VI, in 1553. Queen of England 10 July, 1553–19 July 1553. Executed for treason 1554.

Granddaughter of Henry VIII's older sister Margaret Tudor. Married King Francis II of France in 1558, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley in 1556 (by whom she had one son James Stuart, James VI of Scotland, who followed Elizabeth I to the throne of England as James I in 1603), and James Hepburn, Earl Bothwell in 1567. Executed for treason by Elizabeth I in 1587.

Chief minister and principal secretary for Henry VIII 1532–1540. Executed for treason 1540.

Gentleman of the King's Privy Chamber. Executed for adultery with Queen Katherine Howard, 1541.

Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VIII and Edward VI. Executed for heresy by Mary I in 1556.

Chief gentleman for Henry VIII and last person to speak to the King alive. Brother in law of Kat Ashley, governess of Elizabeth I.

An outspoken Protestant preacher (and divorced woman) in an era when women were not supposed to take any part in such activities, Askew was called ‘The Fair Gospeler' for her outspoken opinions and scholarly knowledge of the gospels. A friend of Queen Catherine Parr and her ladies, she was tortured and then burnt at the stake for heresy.

Musician in the court of Henry VIII. Accused of adultery with Anne Boleyn, he was tortured until he confessed and executed in 1536 on trumped up charges with three others including Anne's own brother George Boleyn, Earl of Rochford.

Older brother of Queen Jane Seymour and Thomas Seymour. Lord Protector of England under Edward VI from 1547–1549. Executed for treason 1552.

Younger brother of Edward Seymour and Queen Jane Seymour. Created Lord High Admiral in 1547. Married Queen Catherine Parr 1547. Executed for treason 1549.

Lord Protector of England under Edward VI from 1549–1553. Created first Duke of Northumberland 1551. Attempted to place his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey on the throne to prevent accession of the Catholic Mary Tudor. Executed for treason 1553. Father of Elizabeth I's favourite Robin Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Member of Parliament sent by Edward VI's Council to interrogate Princess Elizabeth about her relationship with Thomas Seymour.

William Paulet, first Marquess of Winchester, was sent with Roger Tyrwhit to interrogate Elizabeth about her relationship with Thomas Seymour and also charged by Mary I to escort Princess Elizabeth to the Tower. When Elizabeth inherited the throne he switched allegiances and served her loyally.

King of Spain, his second wife was Mary I of England. Called Philip the Prudent, he nevertheless launched the ill-fated Armada against England in 1588 and was humiliatingly defeated by Elizabeth I's navy.

Bishop of Winchester, he was prominent amongst the conservative clergy and was imprisoned in the Tower by Edward VI. Released by Mary I and made her Lord Chancellor and Chief Advisor, he led the persecution of Princess Elizabeth.

Mary I appointed him the gaoler of Princess Elizabeth at her hunting lodge in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.

Last of the Plantagenets, the royal family usurped by Elizabeth I's grandfather Henry Tudor in the War of the Roses. Protestant plotters continually attempted to marry him off to Princess Elizabeth during Mary Tudor's reign.

French Ambassador to England 1553–1556.

French Ambassador to England after Antoine de Noailles.

Thomas Radclyffe, third Earl of Sussex, was a cousin of Anne Boleyn and faithfully served both Mary I and Elizabeth I as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.

Mary I's favourite Lady in Waiting, born Susan White.

Son of Thomas Wyatt the poet and rumoured lover of Anne Boleyn, he led the rebellion against Mary Tudor's Spanish marriage and was executed in The Tower, but refused to the end to implicate Princess Elizabeth in the plot.

Youngest child of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, younger brother of Robert Dudley and Mary Sidney, Guildford Dudley was executed with his wife Lady Jane Grey for treason by Mary Tudor.

Founder of Trinity College, Oxford, he reluctantly accepted the post of guardian to Princess Elizabeth at Hatfield as commanded by Mary Tudor.

The first thing to say is that
Just a Girl
is a novel so it makes no pretence at being historically authoritative. It is, however, historically accurate. How could it be otherwise? Elizabeth Tudor is one of the most written about and researched women in history. And, as a long-time amateur Elizabeth-watcher myself, nothing annoys me more than people mucking about with the true story of her remarkable and fascinating life. Filmmakers are probably most often guilty of this, due to the limitations of time and the dramatic requirements of cinema. Novels, fortunately, do not have the same difficulties but they also do not have the same excuse.

But, like the film-maker, the novelist does have special privileges, so while none of the major incidents written about here are fictional, I have fictionalised them. What I mean by this is that I have created conversations, minor incidents, meetings and moments of emotional
significance within the context of the events for which we have hard historical evidence. Given the tumultuous nature of Elizabeth's early life it has proved unnecessary to make up any extra plot at all.

The only incident I have completely invented is the reason why Elizabeth was banished from court for six months towards the end of her father's reign, while he was married to Catherine Parr. This is because while we know she was banished (although there is even some dispute amongst historians about this) I was unable to find any explanation as to why. For a novelist, this represents a creative opportunity and given the unacknowledged shadow that Anne Boleyn and her death must have cast over the relationship between Elizabeth and her father, the events I have imagined seemed at least psychologically appropriate, if nothing else.

Sometimes, if there are legends and competing stories about incidents in Elizabeth's life, I have chosen the versions that best suited the novel's purposes and that seemed to fit best with the Elizabeth I have created.

And my Elizabeth is a fictional creation. I have approached her as I imagine an actress might when tasked with playing the role. The technique I have used is to imagine how it would feel to find yourself in the situations the real Elizabeth experienced and react accordingly, creating a character based on her
personality, age and situation. A character, however, that also needs to resonate with twenty-first century readers, particularly young readers, who may know little or nothing about Elizabeth Tudor and her times. Some of the words she speaks (and to a lesser extent, some of those spoken by people around her) are direct quotations. However, where the archaic sentence structure and word choice would make them unnecessarily difficult to understand for today's young reader, I have simplified them slightly, without changing their essential meaning.

As a novelist I am particularly indebted to those more scholarly researchers and historians whose biographies of Elizabeth, other great historical figures of the time, and of England in the sixteenth century helped me to create a logical and accurate journey from birth to coronation for my character. All of them helped me flesh out and create a sense of the time and its great themes and debates – the new religious divide and the English Reformation being of particular importance. I owe a special debt to Alison Plowden's masterly and fascinating biography:
Elizabeth I
(Sutton Publishing, 2004). It was to this book I most often turned when I needed to know where Elizabeth was at a particular time, or to find the kind of small, domestic details that someone living a life was likely to notice much more than someone merely chronicling it. Plowden's biography is much more personal and detailed than most of the others I discovered and it was she who furnished me with fascinating moments like de Noailles' troublesome gift of apples, and the small children who played with Elizabeth and her ladies during their imprisonment in the Tower.

If you have enjoyed this book and, like me, have become interested in finding out more about the real Elizabeth Tudor, her life and times, I have included a further reading list. Every one of these books and authors has helped me create this novel and for that I remain forever in their debt.