» Renaissance » Tudor England » Reformation » Queen Elizabeth I. » Erzherzog Karl » Philipp II._of_Spain » Habsburg » 1559 » William Cecil_Lord Burleigh
Anne Boleyn`s daughter hadn`t had the time to recover from the surprise the unexpected turn of fortune had given her, transforming the former state prisoner into the head of the very state that had kept her prisoner; when Europe`s royal bachelors sent special envoys to England who, on behalf of their masters, asked for the newly acceded Queen`s hand in marriage.
Surprisingly, neither Francis II. who had succeeded his father, King Henry II. of France, half a year after Elizabeth`s coronation nor his younger brother and successor, Charles IX., were among the suitors for the Queen`s hand at this point in time. Ten years later - ´Francis II. had died in 1560, Charles had followed suit in 1574 - their surviving brothers, King Henry III. and Francis, Duke of Alencon, would give it a try, with the latter returning from his journey of courtship to England as Elizabeth`s official fiancée. Lucky for Elizabeth and England, the 24 year old Duke headed straight for the Low Countries where he was scheduled to take over a military command. Having put himself in command of the French troops that besieged Antwerp, Alencon decided to take a shortcut to glory because in the pursuit of immortality he, at 24, had no more time to lose. The Duke felt his situation called for a bold decision
Anne Boleyn`s daughter hadn`t had the time to recover from the surprise the unexpected turn of fortune had given her, transforming the former state prisoner into the head of the very state that had kept her prisoner; when Europe`s royal bachelors sent special envoys to England who, on behalf of their masters, asked for the newly acceded Queen`s hand in marriage.
Surprisingly, neither Francis II. who had succeeded his father, King Henry II. of France, half a year after Elizabeth`s coronation nor his younger brother and successor, Charles IX., were among the suitors for the Queen`s hand at this point in time. Ten years later - ´Francis II. had died in 1560, Charles had followed suit in 1574 - their surviving brothers, King Henry III. and Francis, Duke of Alencon, would give it a try, with the latter returning from his journey of courtship to England as Elizabeth`s official fiancée. Lucky for Elizabeth and England, the 24 year old Duke headed straight for the Low Countries where he was scheduled to take over a military command. Having put himself in command of the French troops that besieged Antwerp, Alencon decided to take a shortcut to glory because in the pursuit of immortality he, at 24, had no more time to lose. The Duke felt his situation called for a bold decision
