Elizabeth was born the only child of the marriage between Anne Boleyn and her father King Henry VIII. Her stepsister was Mary from Henry's previous marriage, they did not get along well because Elizabeth was in line for Queen ahead of Mary because she was Henry's "legitimate" heir. When Anne Boleyn failed to deliver a son for the king Henry had a plot made to get rid of her and she was executed. This event also made Elizabeth illegitimate along with Mary and although she was illegitimate she was still used as a pawn by those in power, once even having to stand naked in front of a king to show she had no blemishes. Henry's next marriage was to Jane Seymour who invited both of the girls to court. Seymour gave birth to Edward but died thereafter. When Henry himself died Edward Seymour, who was related to Jane Seymour, held power until Edward would become king. Edward gave one of his relatives, Thomas Seymour power. Thomas Seymour tried to romance Elizabeth but failed. He ended up marrying Henry's widow who eventually died after Edward was in power. Elizabeth could not come to court because of Thomas Seymour's shenanigans but when he was executed she was allowed. Meanwhile, Mary was allowed in court by her pro Catholic ways forced her out of popularity so when Elizabeth arrived she was popular. Edward who was often sick was on his death bed and a plot was hatched to get him to debar his sisters from being next in line and having Lady Jane Grey be in power. this plan failed and Jane Grey was executed Mary became queen. At first Mary was liked but her popularity faded as she introduced Roman Catholicism back into England and persecuted protestants. When Mary died she left her successor to be Elizabeth.
citation: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Elizabeth_I_c_1600.jpg
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