Perhaps due to her childhood and her father's marriages, Elizabeth never married, nor did it seem she ever intended to, though this cannot be proven. Marriage for her would have meant giving up her power, her throne, and her country to a man. It would have also meant heirs to the throne which is why so many suitors came knocking and why her advisors were always bringing the subject up. Elizabeth was cunning and smart and would always keep her suitors interested but kept at bay.

 

 

A foreign marriage would have meant a foreign king and a foreign heir, something that went terribly badly for her older sister Mary who married Phillip II of Spain. However, an English king would have meant jealousy in the court and probably an uprising with the opponents of whomever she picked.

For Elizabeth, marriage was not a certain thing and as she had witnessed as a child, could easily lead to trouble. Also, another theory is that she feared dying in childbirth, as she had witnessed with two of Henry VIII's wives. The security of her kingdom was paramount so she gave up all notions of marriage or children for the betterment of her country and its people.

Find out more about Elizabeth's suitors