Queen Elizabeth 1 was Queen of England for 44 years. Margaret Butler of Kilkenny Castle, Ireland was the grandmother of Anne Boleyn and great grandmother of Queen Elizabeth 1. Elizabeth 1 was born in Greenwich, London on September 7th 1533. She was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.
Efforts by Elizabeth 1 to extend her control in Ireland led to many uprisings, widespread destruction and great loss of life. She is reputed to have been proficient in many languages including Latin, French, Welsh, Cornish and Irish in addition to English. She encouraged the use of Irish even in the Pale.
Following a visit by Shane O Neill of Ulster to Queen Elizabeth 1, she expressed a desire to understand Irish. Sir Christopher Nugent, Baron of Delvin Co Westmeath prepared an Irish primer on her behalf. However when she was visited by Grace O Malley (Graineuaile) from Co Mayo in 1593 the meeting was conducted in Latin.
Queen Elizabeth 1 began her reign in the year 1558 On This Day.
Engraving of Queen Elizabeth I, with chronogram recording the year of her death (1603) by Provenance Online Project on 2013-03-07 07:23:05
Photo by The British Library
Kildownet, Grace O’Malley’s Castle
Photo by Rambling Traveler 