At the time of Elizabeth’s birth in 1635, the country was in the middle of dramatic change. Her father, King Charles I, had dissolved parliament in 1629, following the assassination of the Duke of Buckingham. Charles I declared that he would ‘never again have need for Parliament.’ Her mother, to make matters worse, was a fervent Catholic and was hugely unpopular because of her religion. The people of England also believed that Queen Henrietta Maria was in allegiance with her brother, the King of France, and was trying to convert her husband, as well as England, to Catholicism.
Civil War 1642-1649
Elizabeth's family life was an extremely tranquil one, compared to the anarchy brewing up within the country. Her three elder siblings were Charles, born in 1630, Maria, born in 1631 and James, born in 1633. However, life was to change drastically for the royal family, in 1640, when Charles I was forced to recall Parliament. Unfortunately the relationship between Parliament and the King had been severely damaged. When Charles I tried and consequently failed to arrest several MP’s for treason, in August 1642, this led to the King declaring war on Parliament. On the outbreak of war Elizabeth and her brother Henry, Duke of Gloucester, born in 1640, were placed under the care of Parliament. Their guardian was Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke. Their mother the Queen was to flee to France in 1644, following the birth of her ninth child, also named Henrietta Maria. Elizabeth would never see her mother again. Finally, in 1647, the children were re-united with their father the King in Maidenhead, under Parliamentary supervision. The king however soon escaped and made a last stand against the Parliamentarians, but was soon re-captured.
Execution Of Charles I
Following the final Parliamentary victory, in 1648, the King was imprisoned at Carisbrooke Castle, on the Isle of Wight. Charles I was brought to stand trial in January 1649, and was consequently found guilty of committing treason against his country. He was sentenced to death. The execution took place on January 30th 1649. With their father dead and their mother in exile in France, the royal children Elizabeth and Henry were placed under a new guardian, Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester. Their new home was Penhurst Place. A republican regime, headed by the Oliver Cromwell, was beginning to take over the reigns of government now. The old royal regime seemed gone forever.
Death Of Elizabeth Stuart
These royal children were seemingly forgotten by their counterparts. Just over a year later though in 1650, her eldest brother, Charles, was crowned King in Scotland. Following this, Elizabeth was taken as a hostage to the same place her father had been a prisoner two years previously, Carisbrooke Castle. This move was to prove tragic for Elizabeth, who had complained of poor health and asked for the move to be delayed. Her pleas went unnoticed though, and she soon caught cold, which quickly developed into pneumonia. Elizabeth was to die aged only fifteen, on 8th September. She was buried in St Thomas's Church, Newport, on the Isle of Wight. Her death, so soon after that of the Scottish coronation of her brother Charles, was seen by some contemporaries as suspicious. Poisoning was highly suspected, but could not be proven. Her brother Henry was soon after released, being later reunited with his mother in France.
Ten years later in 1660, her brother Charles II was restored to the throne, following the death of the tyrant Oliver Cromwell. Months later, her brother and fellow captive, Henry, was to die aged only twenty years old of pnemonia, on 13th September 1660. The life of these two young captives can therefore be seen to be rather pitiful, both dying so young and spending so much of their life either in exile or prison. Whether Elizabeth was poisoned or died due to the neglect and unloving treatment of her captors, her death can be seen to be extremely tragic for that of a Stuart princess.
Sources:
Hilliam, David., Kings, Queens, Bones and Bastards, Sutton Publishing, 1998.
Hilliam, David., Monarchs, Murders & Mistresses: A Book of Royal Days, Sutton Publishing, 2000.
Williamson, David., Kings & Queens of Great Britain, The Promotional Reprint Company Ltd, 1991.
