Page "Elizabeth I of England" Paragraph 5

Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace and was named after both her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard.

She was the second child of Henry VIII of England born in wedlock to survive infancy.

Her mother was Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn.

At birth, Elizabeth was the heiress presumptive to the throne of England.

Her older half-sister, Mary, had lost her position as a legitimate heir when Henry annulled his marriage to Mary's mother, Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry Anne and sire a male heir to ensure the Tudor succession.

Elizabeth was baptised on 10 September ; Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the Marquess of Exeter, the Duchess of Norfolk and the Dowager Marchioness of Dorset stood as her four godparents.