When was Elizabeth I forced to marry?

Answer 1

The advisers of Elizabeth I may have urged her to marry but she was not forced to marry anyone. Though it was expected that she would marry, in fact she never did. She received many offers of marriage. Moreover, she considered several suitors. Elizabeth kept the marriage question open for many years but often only as a political or diplomatic tactic.

It is thought that she was in love with childhood friend Lord Robert Dudley (Elizabeth later created Dudley Earl of Leicester) but he was a married man. Amy Dudley, his wife, died in 1560 after falling down a flight of stairs. The coroner's inquest finding was accidental death, but some people suspected Dudley had arranged his wife's death so that he could marry Elizabeth.

Elizabeth seriously considered marrying him but certain peers of the realm made clear their disapproval of him and the question mark over his wife's death. There was a risk that the nobility would rise against Elizabeth if the marriage took place. However, she continued to have a close friendship with Robert Dudley for over 30 years until his death 1588.

Elizabeth also continued to consider suitors up until she was about 50 years of age. No one can be sure why Elizabeth chose not to marry. Perhaps, overall, she did not want to risk losing power. Having never had children, she was the final monarch of the Tudor dynasty