Technically we New Zealanders are still subjects of the Queen of England — but my favorite Elizabeth is not the sitting monarch. It is Elizabeth I, who reigned over the most creative, fascinating time of English History. Being the daughter of Henry VIII makes her a peripheral player in a most awful, misogynistic episodes of history: imagine your mother’s head literally cut off by your father. Yet Elizabeth rose to greatness through her deep sense of duty and love of England as well as her own personal strength, probably from overcoming such a bizarre childhood.
Elizabeth I is a heroine of mine because as a girl I imagined myself queen of all I surveyed. I made a set of these imagined crown jewels out of colored paper and would walk around my house telling all of the family pets to treat me like an all-powerful queen. Some would say I am still a little like that.
-Carrie Macaulay
For more information, check out the Elizabeth I website.
Check back tomorrow to learn about a heroine who made both children and adults laugh.