If Queen Elizabeth I never married or had children, who became King (or Queen) of England after her death?

Question

Where did they come from and what was their relationship to her?

Answer 1

Right she never married or had children, the throne was passed down to her nephew King James I. Must have been the guy that translated/changed the bible.

Answer 2

King James VI of Scotland who also became James I of England

Answer 3

Queen Elizabeth I never married or had children.  James VI of Scotland was named her successor by default because no one of the time had the means to challenge him.  He was the grandson of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland - and Henry VIII's will specifically forbade the passing of the throne to his sister Margaret or her children (he disliked her for one reason or another).  James I (as he became) was Elizabeth's second cousin.

There were actually several people who were in line for the throne, but Lady Anne Stanley (who was the granddaughter of Lady Margaret Clifford, who was then daughter of Eleanor Brandon, who was a daughter of Princess Mary Tudor, Henry's younger sister) had the strongest claim.  Her problem was that her family were notorious Catholics, and she lacked the resources for an army and the support to mount her claim.  

Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp of Hache could be considered, but was technically illegitimate because the Queen NEVER acknowledged the marriage of his mother, the Lady Catherine Grey, to her father, Edward Seymour.  Catherine and her husband were in fact jailed for this as traitors to the Crown (it was illegal for an heir to the Crown to marry without permission).  As Elizabeth was supreme head of the Anglican Church, her rule was law.

Mary Grey was a claimant, but no one ever took her seriously as she married beneath her (without permission) and was severely disabled (she had a hunched back).

William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby had a good claim too, because his grandmother was also Eleanore Brandon, daughter of Mary Tudor.  However, he was Catholic and again did not have the means or support for his claim.

Overall, Parliament decided to overlook that portion of Henry's will, and went with the rule primogeniture which allowed for the eldest descendent's of the eldest brother, then sister (that being Henry's hated sister Margaret).

It's all a twisted mess isn't it?  Think on this: what if Elizabeth had married her most serious suitor, Francois de Valois, the duc d'Anjou?  What if they had kids?  Can you imagine how different history would be then?

Answer 4

That would be King I of Scotland. He was given the ring of coronation several hours after Elizabeth's death. James I was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, the person some say was the actual heir to the English throne after Henry VIII, Elizabeths father , died. By the will of Henry, James had no right to the throne as he wanted the House of Tudor, his family name, to continue. Elizabeth's death ended the line, as she had no children, and began the era of the House of Stuat, James' family name.

Answer 5

Her nephew James took the throne

Answer 6

james the 1st of england 6th of scotland  came after elizabeth i

Answer 7

Her cousin, James VI King of Scotland, became James I King of England on Elizabeth's death.

Answer 8

i think she gave it to her sis or someone she will give her will to

Answer 9

What everyone is saying is correct and there is a way that this is determined. Just like when anyone in England or the U.S. dies without a will and no children.

The courts will determine who the relatives are and I believe that it would go to parents then siblings and then uncles, aunts, then nephews and nieces [sic].

Point is that it has been decided who would be next in line to be king or queen based on the succession determined by the Parliament (House of Lords) which is like our Supreme Court.

Do you like my hat, its Elizabethan?

Answer 10

Well, no one has quite stated how James VI of Scotland ties in to the royal line of England.  Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII.  His sister, Margaret Tudor, married King James IV of Scotland.  Their son, James V, became king of Scotland, and left only a daughter, who became Mary Queen of Scots.  James VI of Scotland (and I of England) was her son.  So, with respect to Elizabeth, James was her aunt's great-grandson, or first cousin twice removed.

Henry VIII had excluded the "Scottish line" in his will, so if that had been followed, the throne would have passed to Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp of Hache, son of Lady Catherine Gray, daughter of Frances Brandon, who was in turn daughter of Henry's other sister Mary Tudor.  (Lady Catherine Gray was the younger sister of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey.)

Answer 11

Queen Elizabeth I named King James VI of Scotland (who was later also known as King James I of England) as her heir and successor. James' claim to the throne of England came through his mother, not his father. Naturally, under the succession law, James' mother, Mary I of Scotland was the heiress of the English throne after Elizabeth I.

Mary I of Scotland's paternal grandmother was Princess Margaret Tudor, who was also Elizabeth I's aunt (her father's eldest sister). Under the succession law, if no offspring survived from the male line, the crown will be passed unto the the King's sister(s).

James was the most suitabe candidate:

- He was raised as a Protestant

- He was crowned King of Scotland since the age of one (meaning he has the experience to run a country)

- He was married and had two sons (meaning the continuation of the royal bloodline was guranteed and secured)

- He was the rightful heir to claim the English throne after his mother whose paternal great-grandmother was the eldest daughter of King Henry VII.