Question about Queen Elizabeth I?

Question

Why was she put into the Tower of London as a child? I know two possible causes, both which could be true.

A) She was considered illgetimite by the Catholic Church.

B) Her father (King Henry VIII) didn't want her

The reason I'm asking is because I have a report on her this Friday, and I had to read a book on her. I was planning on mentioning the reason she was put into the tower, but the book only states who she was there with and for how long. Thanks for any help, very much appreciated!

Answer 1

It was early in 1554 that Elizabeth was taken to the Tower, which makes her 20 years old (born 7 September 1533).  She was staying at Hatfield, well away from the court under Queen Mary and all political intrigue.  But the half-sisters never really got on together, and Elizabeth managed to sit on the fence, and conformed outwardly to the Catholic faith, but she couldn't distance herself completely from her Protestant supporters.

However, Sir Thomas Wyatt (son of the poet who so admired Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn) led a rebellion in January 1554 and had written to Elizabeth that he intended to overthrow Mary.  The letter implied that Elizabeth knew of the revolt in advance, and repeated rumors that she was off gathering armed supporters.  It was intercepted, the rebellion quashed and Wyatt arrested.   Mary's council could find no real proof that the accusations were true but they decided to summon Elizabeth back to London for questioning.

Elizabeth was terrified.  At first she said she was too ill to travel, but in the end she had to come to London.  Nobody knew where to accommodate her as it would be a huge responsibility and dangerous.  So she was sent to the Tower.

She spent two months there, but didn't know herself how long it would be, and was very frightened.

It was Philip of Spain who was instrumental in Elizabeth's release.  He wrote to Mary and advised her to set the Princess free.  The Queen was waiting for him to come to England so that she could marry him; she was desperate to please him and did as he asked.

There is a graphic account of Elizabeth's danger and time in the Tower on this site, just a bit more than halfway down.  It's a good site with a lot of information! -

http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs...

Answer 2

Elizabeth was in the Tower after Henry VIII was dead.  Her older sister, Mary I, brought England back into communion with Rome.  Elizabeth was still a Protestant and many Protestants thought that she should be queen instead.  One man, Thomas Wyatt, led a rebellion early in Mary's reign, which planned to overthrow the government and replace Mary with Elizabeth (the rebellion was probably motivated by political considerations as well, specifically by the planned marriage between Mary and Philip II of Spain, but all the leaders were also committed Protestants).  After the rebellion failed, Elizabeth was committed to the Tower as a precautionary measure.  Some of Mary's advisors wanted Elizabeth to be executed, but others argued against that, and eventually Mary released Elizabeth to house arrest at Woodstock.

Answer 3

She was not a child, she was about 20 years old when that happened.  She was imprisioned by the Mary I, bloody mary, so that she could not lead a protestant rebellion against Mary and seize the throne.  However, she only spent two months in prision.