My favorite is Queen Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603) because she put England first, and not her feelings. She was a political genius, especially as a woman in a man's world, and put England on the map as a formidable European power. She was also very very brave having to deal with several life threatening crisis during her youth, and from the Catholic Church who wanted her dead so that Mary Stuart could take over her throne. I also admire that she was not brought up with a silver spoon in her mouth as she was bastardized by her father, and her mother was executed. Most children today never have such dysfunctional and sad childhoods, but it made her a very strong woman who learned from her mistakes and used them to better herself. She also never married, which I find remarkable in her day and age. She was truly an independent mind and a woman who even made the Pope fear her.
Her story and those of her half-siblings is a remarkable piece of history. Mary and Elizabeth Tudor had to pay a heavy price for being the daughters of two very different but fascinating women.
They also had to pay the heavy price of #1) being not only daughters (females without a male sibling at first), but #2) being the daughters of Henry VIII - who was a tyrant IMO. I will only say that Henry did see to it that both women were well educated, but I think he ruined Mary, while the same qualities that destroyed one daughter made the other much stronger - Elizabeth.
I agree. I wonder at times that since had to endure more of Henry's destructive behavior if it just robbed her of any confidence. She went from beloved child to bastard to being back within the family fold for most of her life.
Mary was considered one of the most evil rulers for all of the burnings, but I do think she suffered with mental issues due to her dysfunctional and traumatic upbringing. It's a pity, because I think she could have had potential, but her father ruined her. Elizabeth's upbringing was traumatic and dysfunctional from the age of 3, when Anne Boleyn was beheaded. I find it remarkable that she not only survived that, but she became who she was despite what she had suffered. Edward unfortunately never had a chance to be his own person because he died too young, and he was surrounded by men that used him for their own corrupt efforts.
Mary was unbelievably damaged. She watched her mother Catherine be humiliated and tortured for years by Henry, because she would not give him an annulment. Then he possibly poisoned her to death.
She also watched her catholic faith get dismantled and destroyed throughout the country by her father. She watched him set a whore in her mother's place for over 5 years before he just declared that his first marriage was never valid to begin with. He then changed the religion of the land overnight. Mary was locked away by her father until she declared an oath against her catholicism. (And that means no money, no clothes, no food, no visitors, nothing. But she did get a doctor because she had a history of gynecological problems).
She was also forced to serve as a 'Lady' (being declared a bastard) in her sister 'Princess' Elizabeth's household by the vindictive Anne Boleyn. And she had been forcibly separated from her mother for the final decade of her life (as punishment to them both).... And she was consistently out of her father's good graces for refusing to be gracious to Anne and for referring to her mother as Queen and for insisting on taking mass. So he never wanted her around him.
And Anne did what she could to keep them apart. So Mary was often away from both her Mother and Father and she objected to being with Elizabeth because Anne insisted that Elizabeth take precedence. So Mary was often alone.
She also had had very few (and I mean none) marriage options since her birth status (bastard) was so questionable. So although she had wanted to marry and have children, the option didn't appear until she was Queen when she was quite old.
Mary was a VERY, VERY damaged woman.
And.....this is before the very bad loveless marriage and false pregnancies. Not a happy life at all.
