10 Elizabeth II

Queen Anne of Great Britain: A Tragic and Incredible Life | Part 1 of the Elizabethan Era

From 1702 until 1714, Queen Anne (1665–1714) ruled as queen regnant and was the first monarch of a united Great Britain. The benefits of being queen weren’t without their drawbacks, though; Anne was ill during her reign and became pregnant no less than seventeen times. Tragically, out of the 18 pregnancies she had—yes, that’s right—only one made it past infancy, and an astounding thirteen were either stillborn or miscarried. She may have had antiphospholipid syndrome, an autoimmune disease that makes women more likely to get blood clots—a condition that is not conducive to healthy pregnancies.

Anne endured insufferable bouts of gout on top of the horrific amount of losses she endured. Five years into her reign as queen, her husband passed away, adding to the already rising troubles she was facing. Friends had to convince her to leave his bedside after he died. Her condition was characterised as “unspeakable grief.” The Stuart dynasty ended with Anne’s death a few years later due to a cluster of strokes.[1]

9 Margaret of Anjou

Elizabeth I of England’s queen consorts Margaret of Anjou (1430–1482) served for two terms, from 1445–1461 and 1470–1471. The marriage was controversial since she was married to King Henry VI at the tender age of fifteen, even though he was eight years her senior. A regent had to be appointed to reign in her husband’s stead in 1453 because he may have suffered from catatonic schizophrenia. After failing to secure the regency, Margaret became embroiled in a bitter conflict with the Duke of York, Henry’s cousin and the embodiment of the opposing political approach.

When her husband’s health improved, Margaret would retake control of the country. However, the outbreak of the War of the Roses forced her to fight for her son Edward’s rightful place at the head of the queue. Her son was apprehended and killed after all those years of trying. Many of the queens on this list spent a significant portion of their twilight years locked up in prison. After a while, Louis XI granted her freedom so that she might spend the rest of her life in exile in France.[2]

8 Boleyn Anne

One Sister | Absolute History: The Real Story of Anne Boleyn’s Notorious Reputation

The legend surrounding Anne Boleyn (c. 1501–1536) has been passed down through the ages; she was the second wife of Henry VIII and the “reason” behind the English separation from the Catholic Church. She was beheaded at the end of her life and is mostly remembered as a seductress. But we must not forget that Elizabeth was a queen who was eager to participate in shaping the emerging Church of England. Whether Anne could have a boy was, alas, Henry’s only concern in the end. Anne felt unfathomable stress after giving birth to her daughter Elizabeth and experiencing two miscarriages.

It was 1536, and things were coming apart quickly. Multiple counts of adultery and incest were levelled against Anne. Worse yet, the King’s interest in Anne had all but vanished, and Henry was developing strong feelings for Jane Seymour, his future bride. Following a trial that relied solely on witness testimony, Anne was first condemned to beheaded but then commuted to burning at the stake. Tragically, she spent her final weeks frantically trying to salvage her position or perhaps her life, but she was unsuccessful.the third

7 Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Crown Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz’s life story | Who was George III’s spouse?

The stunning German princess known as Queen Charlotte (1744–1818) wed King George III despite her complete lack of English language skills on their wedding day. But she picked it up fast, and they ended up having fifteen kids. George III’s reputed insanity worsened as his health declined, ending 25 years of blissful marriage between the monarch and queen.

Charlotte grew increasingly distant from George until they were leading entirely separate lives due to her terror of his improper and aggressive actions. After overcoming the heartbreak of her husband’s illness, she found solace in the study of literature and the natural world, particularly botany, after having previously found happiness in her marriage.[4]

6 The French Empress Henrietta Maria

French empress Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England

After marrying Charles I of England, Henrietta Maria of France (1609–1669) became queen. She faced constant criticism for being a Catholic in a Protestant country. Charles I lost his marbles in the end, so it’s no surprise that Henrietta Maria faced mounting criticism for her and her husband’s managerial decisions in the years leading up to this catastrophe—criticism that extended to the elaborate chapel she had built for herself.

From that point on, Henrietta Maria could accomplish nothing right due to her public image problem. She retreated into the background and started wearing all black after Charles’ execution in 1649.[5]

5 The Aquitaine-born Eleanor

The Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Untold Story of Every Great King

While she was alive, Eleanor of Aquitaine served as queen of France and England (1122–1204). The strain of failing to achieve victory in the Crusades drove a wedge between her and her husband, the French queen. Even though the marriage was nullified, Eleanor was still a highly sought-after bride because of the enormous estate she had inherited in her own name. She was even threatened with kidnapping if her captors tried to force her into a second marriage. She had a strong preference for being unmarried, but she was married off to an English prince—later King Henry II of England—very fast.
Eleanor was perpetually irritated by his indifference for the eight children they had as a royal marriage. Eleanor wholeheartedly backed her son’s plot to depose the monarch. When the plot backfired, she spent the next sixteen years behind bars. Upon her husband’s death, she finally felt freedom. Surprisingly, she is portrayed as a formidable regent for her son as he battled in distant crusades.[6]

4 Catherine Howard

Catherine Howard’s tragic life

Oh, I see. Here we go again with another one of Henry VIII’s wives. However, is it truly shocking? Catherine Howard, who was born between 1523 and 1542, was just eighteen years old when she married Henry, who was nearly fifty years old. Considering the enormous age difference of thirty years and Henry’s deteriorating health, it is evident that Catherine had no intention of having an affair with the elderly monarch. Catherine had little independence in the marriage and started courting younger men despite his overt declarations of love for her.

The public’s focus on Catherine’s infidelity ultimately led to her demise. Does she truly deserve to be accused of being an adulterous whore, or is she doomed to be one for all time? Many people believe that she adored Thomas Culpepper and committed adultery with him because of one piece of evidence—a letter she wrote to him.

But there’s evidence to suggest she was only attempting to defuse his hostile approaches with sugarcoated language. The more accusations there were against Catherine, the more Henry—probably motivated by his love for her—refused to believe them. In 1542, Catherine lost her composure after admitting to having several sexual experiences.[7]

3 Matilda of Flanders are

A Conquering Queen’s Timeline: Matilda of Flanders

Matilda of Flanders (d. 1083) became the first queen of England while serving as the consort to William I, sometimes called William the Conqueror. However, she had a previous life as a young bride-to-be, William, Duke of Normandy, before becoming queen. He dared to propose marriage to her while they were apart, but she had the gall to reject his advances, claiming she would never wed an obnoxious man.

William wasted no time in riding all night to Matilda after hearing her denial. When they met, he brutally beat her after grabbing her hair and throwing her to the ground. After Matilda had recovered for a few days, she finally stated that she would marry no one but William, and he promptly returned home. There will be more, but maybe this says a lot about the future of their marriage.[8]

2 The Lady of Woodville

Elizabeth Woodville: From Commoner to Queen | The Historic White Queen | Wars of the Roses

The name Elizabeth Woodville (1437–1492) follows Margaret of Anjou, another queen consort, on this list. As a result of her inclination to bestow particular favours upon family, Elizabeth’s lack of noble title made her immensely unpopular upon becoming queen. The renowned “Princes in the Tower,” who were her children, vanished shortly after being taken into the care of the notorious Richard III.

No one knows how Elizabeth felt about her husband’s absence, but she must have felt terrible watching his heirs systematically taken away. It was later thought that Elizabeth was complicit in a plan to depose King Henry VII. She lived the remainder of her life in obscurity as a nun after being sent away without thorough investigation. After being alone for a while, she passed away without a funeral.[9]

1 The one and only Queen Mary I

No one would ever imagine Queen Mary I, who reigned from 1516 to 1558 and is commonly called “Bloody Mary,” to be the object of harm. Even though she endured great suffering to maintain her Catholic faith, she strongly advocated for the horrific execution of numerous Protestants. Her father, Henry VIII, declared her illegitimate at a young age, and when her brother—who was to succeed him as king—died, she was obliterated from the succession.

Mary was once a beloved princess, but she fell into oblivion as a result of the men in her life who were too busy pursuing their own goals. When she came to power in 1553, she wed the king of Spain because she wanted a Catholic successor to ensure the kingdom remained strictly Catholic. But Mary was virtually abandoned once again; Philip II seldom paid her any visits, and she never conceived.

When it came to having a family, Queen Mary went through two miscarriages—one of which lasted more than a year—because she was so eager to have a son and an heir. She endured courtroom scorn for her “delusion” of pregnancy and undoubtedly endured tremendous stress over the non-delivery of her baby as she waited with an enlarged tummy. She had to come out of her chamber after being imprisoned for more than three months while she awaited the arrival of her child. No offspring, and a mountain of letdown from both the general public and herself.

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