Elizabeth I, who calls herself the "virgin queen", is intoxicated by the worship of her subjects, but when her maid gets something she will never get, she will show strong jealousy, which is called "family happiness". As Sir Edward Stafford later discovered, she was "incompatible with love".
At that time, if anyone could become a maid-in-waiting to serve the queen through layer-by-layer selection, she could achieve a leap in social status, but she had to pay a heavy price to obtain such a prominent position. Elizabeth I asked these maids to keep a consistent lifestyle with themselves, which meant getting up early every morning, working hard during the day and being alone at night. Any maid who wants to get married must get the permission of the queen, and a jealous queen will never give her a good look, and will definitely set many obstacles for them. A couple often have to wait for more than ten years before they can expect Elizabeth I's forgiveness and permission.
Miss arundel, a young maid, once inadvertently told the Queen that she adored a man and they could get married as long as her father allowed. To the surprise of the people present, this time the queen said kindly, "You are really honest. I will make a request to your father for you." Such strong support made the girl in high spirits, and she thought that her father would never refuse her request. Later, the girl's father, Sir Robert arundel, was called into the palace and presented the engagement document to the Queen with trepidation. Elizabeth I was deeply satisfied with this and asked her to step down and said to him, "I'll take care of the rest."
Then the Queen called Miss arundel and told her that her father had agreed to get married. The girl was ecstatic and replied, "If your majesty is happy, I will feel very happy." At this time, she still believes that the Queen will allow her to marry the husband of her choice. "You should be happy, but it will never be because of this stupid marriage," the queen's voice suddenly became stern. "Your father's engagement document has been submitted to me, but I swear I won't let you get it. I think you can't wait to step into the ranks of fools. " The girl was stunned by the thunderbolt, and the queen threw her out with a wave of her hand.
It is really difficult to get Elizabeth I's consent to get married, but for any maid who dares to hide the truth, it is not a difficulty but a disaster. When the news of the secret marriage of maid Mary Shelton and James Sidmore reached the ears of Elizabeth I, the queen was furious and strangled the bride and broke her little finger. Eleanor Bridge thinks that "the price paid by Mary for getting married is unparalleled", but compared with Elizabeth's cousin Katherine Grey, the sister of Jane Grey, the "Nine-Day Queen" in bad karma, this may not be the real pain.
In the palace coup a few years ago, catherine gray not only escaped unscathed from being executed with his father and sister, but also remained innocent except for the confiscation of his property. At the same time, she was lucky enough to get a very prominent position in the court of Mary I, known as "bloody Mary", and her relatives' heads were cut off by the Queen. However, after Mary I's sister Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1558, yekaterina's position in the palace declined. The new queen just doesn't like her cousin and thinks she is arrogant and disgusting. So Elizabeth I rarely allowed Catherine to get close to herself, but paid close attention to her every move. According to Henry VIII's will, Catherine is the second heir. If Elizabeth I had no children, Catherine would succeed to the throne, so Elizabeth I had to take strict care of her.
Catherine gray was proud of her Tudor lineage, but she failed to inherit the wisdom of this family. While serving the Queen, she fell in love with Edward Seymour, the son of the former Regent. The former Regent was beheaded for treason during the reign of his nephew Edward V of England (Elizabeth's younger brother). Catherine and Edward Semou are descendants of two guilty priests. They unwisely started a secret tryst and gradually planned a secret marriage. On the day of the planned wedding, Catherine and her future sister-in-law Jane Semou fell ill together, so they were allowed not to travel by car together that day.
When the Queen and her party left, Catherine and Jane slipped out of the palace and disguised themselves to Edward Semou's residence on the Thames. Catherine and Edward held a secret wedding there. The only witnesses are Jane and the priest who officiated at the wedding. He borrowed it temporarily from Westminster Abbey. The two of them were so anxious to get married that they forgot to ask the priest's name. After the simple ceremony, highly nervous Catherine and her partner Jane sneaked back to the palace, and no one noticed. Incredibly, the secret of this marriage has been kept for months.
But then Jane Semou suddenly fell ill and died. A month later, Edward Semou was sent to France for diplomatic work. Soon, Catherine found herself pregnant. The secret husband is far away in France, and one witness of the wedding is dead, and the other is unknown. These heavy blows plunged the poor lady into endless panic. Besides, she has lost her husband's inheritance contract, which proves that marriage is legal, which is no less than adding insult to injury. Catherine, who was in a mess, told the secret to another maid-in-waiting, Mrs. St. Luo. Mrs. St. Luo is also familiar with the queen's ruthless temperament, so she severely reprimanded Catherine's stupid behavior, not only the secret marriage, but also her confession this time, because it would also bring disaster to her. Mrs. St. Luo was afraid and angry, and she drove Catherine out. Scared to hysteria, Catherine went to the residence of robert dudley, the favorite of Elizabeth I, and begged him to intercede for herself.
As Elizabeth I would come at any moment, Dudley had to appease the frightened Catherine as soon as possible, and promised to intercede for her as much as possible, and then sent someone to send her out of the mansion.
Finally, Elizabeth I learned the whole story from her dear Dudley, but it didn't make her gentle at all. On the contrary, she was completely angered. The brazen cousin's contempt and deception of himself is serious enough. More importantly, Catherine's relationship with the throne is extraordinary, and the marriage of any royal family member must be unanimously approved by the Queen and Parliament. Therefore, Catherine's marriage with Edward Semou was charged with treason. Elizabeth I is not so much jealous of the happiness of marriage as cherishing the kingship in her hands.
Catherine gray was immediately put into the Tower of London, and Mrs. St. Luo suffered the same fate because she didn't report the situation in time. Then, Edward Semou was recalled from France, entered the Tower of London together, and was detained separately from his wife, unable to meet each other. Later, a royal investigation team questioned Edward about his "immoral affair with Ms. catherine gray". However, under the unfavorable conditions of no witnesses and no inheritance contract, Edward really can't support his bold remarks about the legality of marriage.
Catherine was also questioned, but on September 2 156 1, the investigation team temporarily stopped the interrogation because she gave birth to a son that day. Eight months later, the investigation team continued the trial and announced: "There is no legal marriage between Edward Semou and Ms. catherine gray." In this way, their son was demoted as an illegitimate child. According to the Queen's wishes, the family continued to be held in the Tower of London on charges of "hasty and illegal sexual intercourse". However, a kind jailer often arranged for the couple to meet. Before long, Catherine was pregnant with another child, and Catherine completely lost the hope of being pardoned. Although she was later released from the Tower of London and placed under the supervision of her uncle Lord John Gray, she was never reunited with her husband. 1568, Catherine, who has never been forgiven, died of pneumonia painfully.
Catherine's tragic fate doesn't seem to take her dwarf sister Mary as a warning at all. 1565, Mary secretly married Thomas Case, the captain of the Royal Guard, who was much taller than herself. William cecil, the Queen's chief adviser at that time, wrote: "This is really the most unfortunate and absurd accident. Captain Wei is the most respectable gentleman in the palace, but he secretly married the most humble lady in the palace. "
The continuous betrayal of two cousins made Elizabeth I furious. She put Keith in fleet prison, exiled Mary to the country, and then ruthlessly declared that "an illegitimate child named Keith will never be allowed to appear in her country." After being widowed, Mary was allowed to return to the palace again. She is still signed as "Mary Keyes". Mary Case died on 1578, and Elizabeth I, who had never been married, had no intention of mourning for it.