Image: Elizabeth I at prayer, from the frontispiece of her personal prayer book, 1569, shared on www.marileecody.com. The death of the queen without a settled succession would imperil everything for which he had worked. However, Elizabeth I survived and went on to reign until her death in March 1603. The dental care was minimalistic at the time and Elizabeth had some teeth removed. https://www.tudorsociety.com/10-october-1562-elizabeth-i-catches-smallpox/, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? The disease infected several relatives of King Henry VII, leaving visible scars. … Elizabeth was a survivor - FACT. A more natural explanation would be a genetic immunity marker in her DNA and that she was one of those who naturally recovered. Anna Whitelock looks beyond Elizabeth I's carefully crafted image as an all-conquering Tudor beauty and finds a balding, frail woman, scarred by pox, crippled by headaches and plagued by bouts of depression June 1, 2013 at 10:15 am Elizabeth exalted in being the queen bee at court. Her entry into London and the great coronation procession that followed were masterpieces of political courtship. This disease is caused by the variola virus, since there are two forms of this virus, essentially one is superior. Courtiers often came to court through high birth, rank or service to the monarch. However, the cold developed into a violent fever, and it became clear that the young queen actually had smallpox. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. There is a new theory in epidemiology today that we lived through the plague and other killer diseases or rather our ancestors did and our genetic immunity built up over the generations and the gene to beat serious disease came with it. That makes so much total sense… hummm wow, just to think it was just the way your DNA succumbed or not…. She was buried at the nearby village of Hampton and her ornate tomb with rhyming epitaph survives. Her father recovered from a mild version of smallpox but wasn’t marked. Smallpox was a disease that arrived in London in October of 1562. When you look at portraits of Queen Elizabeth I, you wouldn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. That is unlikely as she never named an heir until her eventual death in 1603. Henry VIII never wanted that to happen either, but Frances Grey had already pushed her chances by working with John Dudley to place her daughter on the throne. Part of the problem was that many saw Catherine as the heir to the throne, she was also the sister of the unfortunate but condemned traitor, Lady Jane Dudley and she was more Royal than Elizabeth, according to several supporters. On 10th October 1562, twenty-nine year-old Queen Elizabeth I was taken ill at Hampton Court Palace, with what was thought to be a bad cold. Members can find out more about Elizabeth I's experience, other important people who caught it, and about the illness itself in my Claire Chats video talk. After contracting the disease from the queen, Lady Mary was left so badly scarred that her husband wrote about how disfigured and ugly she was (charming!). However, you would never be able to tell that from the paintings! When the heiress of Haddon Hall eloped with her lover, Elizabethan society he... Elizabeth I - the greatest queen, the best book subject. (Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images) Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, also promoted vaccinations after losing two sons to smallpox. Wish we had known the history when visiting Kew Gardens A year ago! There is now a vaccine for it and has pretty much died out in the Western World thanks to medicine. ... but because there had been an outbreak of mumps and chicken pox among the cadets it … She used rouge on her lips and then egg white with red dye for her cheeks. Here's where you ca... Haddon Hall: An Elizabethan Love Story That Shocked Society. Isn’t it true that Queen Elizabeth thereafter would always break court protocol & go, herself, to see Lady Mary, rather than ordering Lady Mary to come to see her? Our ancestors who survived serious disease could pass on a strengthened immune system allowing later generations to defeat these killers. Still, numerous individuals reported on her personal attractiveness. In 1562, the best person eligible for the throne was Mary, Queen of Scots, but Elizabeth didn’t want her cousin to become queen. Her mother was beheaded two and a half years after her birth and she was declared illegitimate and deprived of the title of princess. The cellars of this house are to be found under the 17th century house now called Kew Palace in Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Thank you! I expect it thinned as she grew older, like many women’s, but she was recorded as having her “hair about her face” when Essex strode into her chambers uninvited and before she was properly dressed and ready in late 1599. That you for that rid-bit. Thank you so much to Kyra Kramer, author of Blood Will Tell: A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII, for writing this guest article to celebrate the anniversary of Henry VIII’s birth, which happened on 28th June 1491.I’m sure Henry would appreciate her words. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. Unlike The Bubonic disease, this sickness had no nonhuman host. Her nursemaid, Lady Mary Sidney, wasn’t so lucky. He wanted to marry her for love. Learn how your comment data is processed. She became extremely vain after this, hiding her scars with makeup and wearing a wig for the rest of her years. It was during this time that Robert was clearly supportive of Mary Stuart’s claim to the English throne and supported the Protestant lords in Scotland. I’ve never heard of her losing her hair. Catherine Grey, her cousin married without her permission and was imprisoned with her husband Edward Seymour. Luckily for Elizabeth, she managed to fight the infection and went onto reign for another 41 years without any other serious illnesses. Lucky for him it could never be proved, since Queen Elizabeth threatened to have him rot in the tower if it had been true. Elizabeth I Contracts Smallpox On October 10, Elizabeth started with a cold but it soon became much more serious. January 8, 2021 at 8:01 am. Elizabeth needed someone that she could trust in power. Really!! young Elizabeth: She was not alone. Queen Elizabeth survived smallpox as a young woman, though none of the portraits of her show the scars she probably had from the disease. Rose: Read anything by Alison Weir and Sarah Griswold…..they are experts on the Tudors…both non-fiction and fiction. However, the Virgin Queen was lucky not to be left too disfigured—she was able to cover most of the scars with makeup. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. When Queen Elizabeth I was 29, in 1562, she was struck down with what was believed to be a violent fever. It was thought that the queen would die, so there was panic over the succession, and it was at this point that Elizabeth chose Robert Dudley as “protector of the kingdom”. However, some diseases simply died out and the immune system theory is part of the reason. Surprised no mention has been made of Sybil Penn, Lady of the Bed Chamber, who also nursed Elizabeth through the small pox and died of the disease on 6th November 1562. The Armada Portrait. I am fascinated about the history of smallpox and when you think that we only found the vacation by accident, the cow dairy maids recovered from smallpox, so we made the vaccine from their blood. Elizabeth saw her every day while she was there. extraction, there would not have been many visible. Biography Early life. 11 October 1549 – The Arrest of Edward Seymo…, START YOUR FREE TRIAL RIGHT NOW - CLICK HERE. very interesting never knew queen Elizabeth had small pox. Elizabeth feared that England would become the Catholic state that her half-sister, Mary I, had created. Queen Elizabeth I caught smallpox in October 1562 -- less than two years before Shakespeare was born -- during one of the worst outbreaks in England. Her teeth did rot as she aged, despite trying to care for them. No, I don’t believe so, she would have been seen as doing her duty to her queen. According to the Guardian, British artist Mat Collishaw has created an art installation that projects an alternative representation of Elizabeth in her later reign. I was under the impression that she lost her hair & never grew back. She would also have rags stuffed in her mouth so that her cheeks didn’t look hollow, as she was slim built. Actually, Elizabeth went to visit Mary Sydney At Hampton Court when she stayed there after the smallpox ordeal. What a horrific thing that Mary Queen of Scots had to indure! It causes a rash to appear along the skin and can lead to the hair falling out. Just seven days later, it was feared that the Queen would die. On 10th October 1562, twenty-nine year-old Queen Elizabeth I was taken ill at Hampton Court Palace, with what was thought to be a bad cold. 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