How was it hard for Queen Elizabeth I to become queen?

Answer 1

Born to Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boyeln, in 1533, Elizabeth I was the last of the Tudor dynasty. Longing for a son and a suitable heir, Elizabeth's birth brought great disappointment to the King and was frowned upon by an entire nation. Henry had already produced a daughter, Mary, with his first wife and the news of Elizabeth's arrival was humiliating. Although there were no laws against a female successor in England, it was an unpopular notion and considered by many offensive. Elizabeth's childhood would only grow more complicated. After the birth of Elizabeth and the miscarriage of a son, Henry tired of Anne and began spending his time with other women. In 1536 Elizabeth's mother was beheaded on charges of adultery; thought to have been by fabricated by Henry to make way for a third wife. Like Mary before her, upon her mother's execution young Elizabeth was declared illegitimate by Parliament. Elizabeth was no longer a Princess. Only an heir to the throne was worthy of such a sacred and royal title. All of Elizabeth's royal privileges, including gifts from her mother, were stripped away. She was also forced to live separately from her father, in neighbouring Hunsdon. Anne's death allowed King Henry to quickly remarry. He took the hand of Jane Seymour. In 1537 she bore him a long-awaited son, Edward, but died shortly after giving birth. Prince Edward became the official heir to the throne under the1543 Act of Succession. Henry did not have any additional children, yet he married three more times. Henry VIII's multiple marriages created problems in succession; however, it would be a twist of politics that would change the outlook for Elizabeth's chances of becoming queen. In 1544, an Act of Parliament allowed both Mary and Elizabeth to be reinstated, given "that the King should and might give, will, limit, assign, appoint or dispose the said imperial Crown and the other premises … by letters patent or last will in writing." When Henry VIII died in 1547, by will Elizabeth and Mary were restored to the line of succession after Edward. It would only be upon the death of Edward and later Mary, that Elizabeth would become Queen of England.