The Lady Elizabeth in about 1546, by an unknown artist
Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace and was named after both her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard. She was the second child of Henry VIII of England born in wedlock to survive infancy. Her mother was Henry's second wife,Anneiress presumptive to the throne of England. Her older half-sister, Mary, had lost her position as a legitimate heir when Henry annulled his marriage to Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne, with the intent to sire a male heir and ensure the Tudor succession. Elizabeth was baptised on 10 September; Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the Marquess of Exeter, the Duchess of Norfolk and the Dowager Marchioness of Dorset stood as her godparents.
When she was young, she was unmarried. She has never refused or agreed with others’ pursuing. She took advantage of her unmarried indentity to deal with those crowns like Spanish﹑Roman Empire﹑France and Sweden without sincerity who chased her one after another , and to keep the right balance in the continent, especially between France and Spanish, for obtaining the maximal benefits of England. She considered herself to be married to England;calling her people “my husbands”.