Do most historians think that Queen Elizabeth I was a true virgin?

honeybee4

No, and there is a possibility that she may have had a child with Thyomas Seymour. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090325205429AAECMpo Jun 16 11, 10:03 PM

bloomsby

Question-and-answer sites are not reliable sources, and the answer(s) given in this case make no reference to 'most historians'. Jun 17 11, 4:26 PM

star_gazer

This answer in the site states: Most historians feel that she was not a virgin, but that was part of the myth that kept her in power. The idea was to make her a godlike figure in the minds of her people. She sacrificed her sexuality (like a priest) for the good of her people. I don't mean to tell you different bloomsby; but is Wikipedia any more reliable? Jun 18 11, 8:21 AM

AyatollahK

No answer that cites to "most historians" is going to be reliable unless it provides support for its conclusion (which Wikipedia is supposed to do but often does not). I doubt that "most historians" have a yes-or-no opinion on any question (such as whether QEI was a virgin) unless there is a "smoking gun" piece of evidence. With Queen Elizabeth I, there is no such smoking gun. The factional nature of royal family life after the death of King Henry VIII meant that there were lots of rumors and smears about everyone (due both to family rivalries and religious rivalries), and we have little conclusive knowledge of the realities behind them. A more accurate statement would be to imply that there is a strong possibility that Elizabeth was not a virgin, and also that Elizabeth was the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of her stepmother's second husband -- although whether that abuse involved the loss of Elizabeth's virginity could never be known from current sources. PBS took that approach in its summary bio of QEI: http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/players/player21.html "Catherine Parr, upon Henry VIII's death, married her former lover Thomas Seymour. It is thought that during Elizabeth's stay with Catherine Parr, Seymour became a frequent visitor to her bedchamber. "When Catherine Parr died in childbirth in 1548, Seymour proposed to Elizabeth, but was rebuffed. Elizabeth was still only fourteen years of age "And so in today's language, Elizabeth was a survivor of childhood sexual abuse at Seymour's hands. . . ." Jun 18 11, 11:58 AM