As a princess, Elizabeth was sent to the Tower of London by her half-sister, Queen Mary I.
She was suspected of involvement in a plot against the Queen, led by the traitor Sir Thomas Wyatt. ‘Oh Lord!’ said Elizabeth, as she entered the Tower, ‘I never thought to have come here as a prisoner.’
In 1559, Elizabeth returned to the Tower under very different circumstances.
On 14 January, after the traditional celebrations, she left the fortress to ride through the City of London to her coronation at Westminster Abbey.
Also famous for...
Being a royal icon
She has become an admired, national heroine. She single-handedly rallied troops to inspire victory over the invading Spanish Armada.
She nurtured a golden age of playwrights and poets and steered the country towards its Protestant destiny.
