Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth I, was born at Greenwich Palace on 7 September 1533. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who had been crowned queen three months earlier.

Henry wanted the pregnancy to produce a son. His marriage to Catherine of Aragon had failed to produce a surviving male heir, and his marriage to Anne was closely tied to the continuation of the Tudor dynasty.

Preparations for the birth reflected that expectation. Official letters announcing the arrival of the royal child had been prepared using the word ‘Prince’. When Anne gave birth to a daughter, the wording had to be altered to ‘Princess’.

Elizabeth’s position changed quickly. Anne failed to produce the surviving son Henry still wanted and was executed in May 1536, when Elizabeth was two. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and no longer treated as a princess.

Her prospects of becoming monarch remained uncertain. Her younger half-brother Edward VI became king in 1547, followed by her elder half-sister Mary I in 1553.

When Mary died in November 1558, the daughter whose birth had disappointed expectations in 1533 became Queen of England.