The Morning After
Jan. 18th, 2007 09:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nomanselizabthFor four years after the death of my brother, Edward, after foolish attempt of a few to raise our cousin, Lady Jane Grey to the throne for a mere nine days, my sister Mary reigned as Queen of England. During that time England ran red with the blood of Protestants martyrs and my sister bled dry our treasuries for her devotion to her husband, Philip of Spain and their shared fervour toward the papacy in Rome.
In the evening of Hope Wednesday, November 16, 1558, word came that my sister, Mary I, Queen of England would not last much longer. I made every effort to downplay the rising tide of revelry that was going on around me. In fact, at Hatfield, where I had been allowed to retire away from my sister's court but yet under guard, I had forbade my ladies and as tactfully as possible sent away the stream of delegates and nobles that sought to ingratiate themselves to me even before my sister had departed this world. To my mind, these things were inappropriate, even though for the last four years we had all been walking on the precipice between life under Mary and Philip and death. I spent the greater part of that day and through the night in prayer and reading scripture. It was all that I could do to occupy my mind and keep my wits about me.We had all lived under such strain for so long, would the day dawn and it would be over at last?
It was Kat who announced to me at mid-morning that the Earl of Sussex was there to see me. I remember elation, relief and especially terror at this news. Was I going back to the Tower? Had the Lord intervened to grant my sister the recovery that those around her had been praying for? I walked into the very bright sunlight that November morning, clasping Kat's hand in mine. We walked across the gardens and there beneath the large ancient oak, Sussex held out in his hand the ring that had been my sister's. "The Queen is dead," said that same voice that had once interrogated me in the Tower, "Long live the Queen!" Sussex sank to his knees in obeisance, as did the men in his retinue. Kat, the rest of my ladies and those in attendance also sank to their knees.
"Long live the Queen!"
I stiffled back a sob of relief and finally managed to speak in Latin, my eyes welling with tears. *"A domino factum est et mirabile in oculis nostris!"
The long, four year night of suffering was now over. I, Elizabeth Regina, daughter of Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boelyn was now Queen of England.
* "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."
Muse: Elizabeth I
Fandom: RPF / Historical / "Elizabeth", "The Golden Age"
Word Count: 457
crossposted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
theatrical_muse
In the evening of Hope Wednesday, November 16, 1558, word came that my sister, Mary I, Queen of England would not last much longer. I made every effort to downplay the rising tide of revelry that was going on around me. In fact, at Hatfield, where I had been allowed to retire away from my sister's court but yet under guard, I had forbade my ladies and as tactfully as possible sent away the stream of delegates and nobles that sought to ingratiate themselves to me even before my sister had departed this world. To my mind, these things were inappropriate, even though for the last four years we had all been walking on the precipice between life under Mary and Philip and death. I spent the greater part of that day and through the night in prayer and reading scripture. It was all that I could do to occupy my mind and keep my wits about me.We had all lived under such strain for so long, would the day dawn and it would be over at last?
It was Kat who announced to me at mid-morning that the Earl of Sussex was there to see me. I remember elation, relief and especially terror at this news. Was I going back to the Tower? Had the Lord intervened to grant my sister the recovery that those around her had been praying for? I walked into the very bright sunlight that November morning, clasping Kat's hand in mine. We walked across the gardens and there beneath the large ancient oak, Sussex held out in his hand the ring that had been my sister's. "The Queen is dead," said that same voice that had once interrogated me in the Tower, "Long live the Queen!" Sussex sank to his knees in obeisance, as did the men in his retinue. Kat, the rest of my ladies and those in attendance also sank to their knees.
"Long live the Queen!"
I stiffled back a sob of relief and finally managed to speak in Latin, my eyes welling with tears. *"A domino factum est et mirabile in oculis nostris!"
The long, four year night of suffering was now over. I, Elizabeth Regina, daughter of Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boelyn was now Queen of England.
* "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."
Muse: Elizabeth I
Fandom: RPF / Historical / "Elizabeth", "The Golden Age"
Word Count: 457
crossposted to
theatrical_muse