Elizabeth I was the Queen of England who ruled from 1558 to 1603.
She is one of the main protagonists of The Tournament.
Fictional History[]
Early History[]
Born in 1533, Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII of England and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Though initially the second-in-line for the throne after her half-sister Mary, Elizabeth would later be shunted down to third following the birth of her half-brother Edward.
As she was growing up, Elizabeth was allowed to play with the similarly-aged Gwinny Stubbes, the daughter of a member of her household's staff, who eventually became a close friend to the young princess.
While overseen day-to-day by her governess Katherine Ashley, Elizabeth's education was largely conducted by Willam Grindal, under the close supervision of the scholar Roger Ascham.
Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl[]
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The Tournament[]
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Between The Tournament and Roger Ascham and the Dead Queen's Command[]
At some point after returning to England, Elizabeth wrote in a diary to note her visit to Constantinople with Ascham.
In the decade after the events of the Chess Championship, Elizabeth's brother Edward ruled England for a time, before dying and being replaced by their elder sister Mary. Following the end of Mary's blood-soaked reign in November 1558, Elizabeth became the first-in-line for the throne, and so, at the age of 25, she was officially coronated on the 15th of January the following year.
Roger Ascham and the Dead Queen's Command[]
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Later Life and Post Death[]
During her reign as Queen, Elizabeth heeded Suleiman's suggestion to build a vast spy network, as she had come to realise he was correct about information being power.
Elizabeth later tasked Sir Francis Drake with identifying the exact coordinates of each of the Three Secret Cities. After locating Ra, however, Drake fell deathly ill, and so he sent to Queen Elizabeth a coded letter to confirm he had succeeded in his mission, and that their coordinates would be buried at sea with him.
In 1603, Elizabeth was bedridden as she approached death. During her final week, she confided to Gwinny the truth of what happened in Constantinople and the Chess tournament, and how it had affected the way she had lived her life. Once she was done, Elizabeth suggested that Gwinny could write down the tale at her own discretion if she so chose, and passed away not long after.
Elizabeth's diary was later stored at the Hall of Royal Records on St. Michael's Mount, among other important documents related to the royals. After she became the Keeper of Records, Iolanthe Compton-Jones found the diary and read it, learning of Elizabeth's visit to Constantinople.
Personality[]
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Skills[]
- Multilingualism: Elizabeth is fluent in many languages, being able to speak and read many besides her native English. At age 7, she was fluent in French, and capable in Spanish, Greek and Latin, and had learned German and Italian by the time she turned 13. Her knowledge of speaking other languages was not widely known when she arrived in Constantinople, as she surprised and annoyed Suleiman's Sadrazam when she revealed her ability to speak Latin, though Suleiman himself was aware that she also spoke German, using it to speak to her privately without others knowing what he was telling her.
- Historical Knowledge: As part of her education, Elizabeth was extensively taught by Ascham on many historical subjects, both ancient and concurrent, in the hopes that learning from the past would help to make her a better ruler.
- Trained Archer: One of Elizabeth's lessons under Ascham's tutelage was archery, which she went on to become quite skilled in.
- Expert Spymaster: On Suleiman's advisement, Elizabeth spent many years during her rule building an extensive spy network, allowing her to obtain well-hidden secrets and use them to her advantage in turn.
Trivia[]
- At age 13, Elizabeth is the youngest main protagonist of any of Reilly's novels.
- Elizabeth is one of the few characters in any of Reilly's novels who dies of natural causes (albeit .