I probably should have been a historian rather than an English lit scholar, but I couldn’t have known that without going down that original path and encountering New Historicism. (How’s that for a Catch 22?) In graduate school, I became obsessed with the intricacies of European history and politics, particularly of monarchies, and specifically, of female monarchs. So here’s a list of my top five favorite English Queens to research:

Boudica: Okay, so she’s not exactly from the Medieval or Renaissance period (Her revolt took place in 60 or 61 AD), but she was certainly a woman with a backbone. When her husband died and left the kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor, Rome ignored the will, annexed the kingdom, and systematically flogged Boudica and raped her daughters while calling in all monetary loans. She raised an army of her Iceni people and proceeded to conquer three roman outpost cities (London being one) and kill between 70-80,000 Romans. She was eventually killed, but her courage and brutality remain legendary. Creepy Fact: She impaled female nobles and had their breasts cut off and sewed to their mouths (according to sources, for the purposes of sacrifices to the British goddess of victory, Andraste).

Isabella of France: Isabella was a schemer, plain and simple. She was married to Edward II, a notoriously bisexual king who, aside from his “marital duties,” spent all his time in wanton behavior. She was abandoned to Robert the Bruce’s army, barely escaping on her own. She took a lover in Robert Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, and fled back to France. They gathered an army and eventually invaded England, placing her son Edward III on the throne. Because Edward II escaped, she and Mortimer plotted rather openly to have him assassinated. Eventually her son staged a coup and imprisoned both Isabella and Mortimer. Creepy Fact: Isabella was buried in her wedding dress with Edward II’s heart.

Eleanor of Aquitaine: First she was Queen of France, married to Louis VII when they both were teens. She was outspoken and intelligent, and embraced her role to a fault. She insisted on joining Louis on the Second Crusade, threatening to withhold Aquitanian troop support, and marriage annulment if denied. While on the Crusade it is rumored that she had an affair with her uncle, though no solid proof exists. The marriage was annulled anyway, and Eleanor ended up marrying Henry Plantagenet (Henry II). They had eight children, one of which would come to be Richard the LionHeart. Henry grew bored with her, took a number of lovers, and Eleanor returned to France. She successfully instigated an uprising of her sons to take the throne of England, and when Richard was on yet another crusade, she ruled in his stead. Creepy Fact: After the uprising, Henry “arrested” (kidnapped) and imprisoned Eleanor for 15 years, moving her often so no rescue attempts by her sons would be possible.

Mary Queen of Scots: While technically not a Queen of England, she did have a legitimate claim, and was in line for the throne. Had Mary lived until Elizabeth I died, she, not her son James, would have inherited the English throne. Mary’s life was full of intrigue, scandal, and speculation. While fleeing an uprising after being forced to abdicate her Scottish throne to her infant son, the catholic queen entered England, where Elizabeth actually imprisoned Mary in the Tower for 19 years. After conspiring to assassinate Elizabeth, Mary was finally beheaded. Creepy Fact: After a botched, three strike beheading with a butcher’s axe, the executioner lifted Mary’s head by the hair, not realizing she was wearing a wig, and the head rolled from the platform.

Elizabeth I: Quite bluntly, she’s my hero. She was highly educated and a political genius. By refusing to marry, and yet give audience to potential suitors until she neared death, she kept every monarch in Europe guessing and hoping to align themselves with her. She surrounded herself with capable, ruthless men, and engaged the people in a way that few other monarchs had. She understood social politics and psychology and used it to perfection. Creepy Fact: Elizabeth spent most of her early years in and out of imprisonment for fear of her coming to power. Her sister Mary (“Bloody” Mary) had her imprisoned in the same room where her mother, Anne Boelyn was held prisoner before she was beheaded.

Write Well,
Dawn

Tags: History, lists, queens