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Elizabeth Stuart, English Civil War, English Parliament, Isle of Wight, King Charles I of England and Scotland, King Charles II of England and Scotland, Prince Henry, Princess Elizabeth of England and Scotland
Princess Elizabeth suffered from poor health. A Victorian-era examination of her remains revealed that she had suffered from rickets, which caused shoulder and back deformities, knock knees and pigeon toes. These problems would have made it difficult for Prince Elizabeth to walk. The adolescent Prince Elizabeth had a long face with a protruding jaw and reddish-brown hair.
When Parliament decided to remove Prince Elizabeth’s household in 1648, the 12-year-old princess wrote them a letter protesting their decision:
“My Lords, I account myself very miserable that I must have my servants taken from me and strangers put to me. You promised me that you would have a care for me; and I hope you will show it in preventing so great a grief as this would be to me. I pray my lords consider of it, and give me cause to thank you, and to rest. Your loving friend, Elizabeth.”
The Lords were sympathetic to Elizabeth’s plight and condemned the Commons for intervening with the Royal Household, and overturned the decision. However, the Commons demanded that the royal children be brought up as strict Protestants; they were also forbidden to join the Court at Oxford, and were held virtual prisoners at St. James’s Palace. At one point, Parliament considered making Henry a replacement king, but strictly a constitutional monarch.
In 1649, Charles I was captured for the final time. Oliver Cromwell and the other judges immediately sentenced him to death. Elizabeth wrote a long letter to Parliament requesting permission to join her sister Mary in Holland. However, Parliament refused to grant this request until after the execution.
On January 29, 1649, thirteen-year-old Prince Elizabeth and Prince Henry met with their father for the last time. She wrote an account of the meeting: “He told me he was glad I was come, and although he had not time to say much, yet somewhat he had to say to me which he had not to another, or leave in writing, because he feared their cruelty was such as that they would not have permitted him to write to me.
“Elizabeth was reportedly crying so hard that Charles I asked her if she would be able to remember everything he told her. She promised never to forget and said she would record it in writing. She wrote two separate accounts of the meeting.
Her father told her not to “grieve and torment herself for him” and asked her to keep her faith in the Protestant religion. King Charles I told her to read certain books, among them Bishop Andrew’s Sermons, Hooker’s Ecclesiastical Polity and Bishop Laud’s book against Fisher, to ground her against “popery.”
After the death of King Charles I, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Henry became unwanted charges. Joceline, Lord Lisle, the Earl of Northumberland’s son, petitioned Parliament to remove Princess Elizabeth and Prince Henry from the Northumberlands’ care. Parliament refused to allow them to go to Holland, and instead placed the children in the care of Sir Edward Harrington; however, Harrington’s son successfully pleaded that they be looked after elsewhere.
Commonwealth
The next residence for Princess Elizabeth and Prince Henry was Penshurst Place, under the care of Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, and his wife Dorothy. Parliament had instructed the Sidneys not to spoil the children. However, Dorothy Sidney treated Princess Elizabeth with great kindness; as a token of her appreciation, Princess Elizabeth gave Dorothy a jewel from her own collection. The valuable jewel later became the centre of conflict between Dorothy and the Parliamentary commissioners appointed to oversee the late king’s personal estate.
In 1650, Princess Elizabeth’s brother, the now titular Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland, journeyed to Scotland to be crowned king of that country. In response, Parliament moved Princess Elizabeth to the Isle of Wight in the care of Anthony Mildmay with a pension of £3000 a year. Princess Elizabeth complained that she was not well enough to travel, but her concerns were ignored.
Death
During the move to the Isle of Wight, Elizabeth caught a cold that quickly developed into pneumonia. She died on September 8, 1650, at Carisbrooke Castle.
Some accounts say that Princess Elizabeth was found dead with her head on the Bible from her father. In her last days, she was described as a sad child by those who had been around her. Three days after she was found dead, the Council of State granted permission for Princess Elizabeth to join her sister Princess Mary, the Princess Royal, in the Netherlands. She was buried at St. Thomas’s Church, Newport, on the Isle of Wight. Princess Elizabeth’s grave stone was only marked with the initials “ES” for Elizabeth Stuart.