Forum:Lady Elizabeth Tudor

The Character's Background

1) Give a description of your character's personality. It must be at least two paragraphs long, seven sentences each.

The first and most obvious thing about Lady Elizabeth Tudor is the pride she has. She possesses a very high esteem and seems to be inherently aware of where she stands within the wizarding society. A well spoken and calculated woman, it has been noted that she enjoys getting into debates and speaking for what she believes in as well as being able to hold her own in such topics. Some say that they have never seen Elizabeth give up in an argument whereby she feels that she is in the right or, at the very least, the discussion proves too interesting to drop. There is a large air of confidence around her. From the pride she holds to herself and the way she can articulate her words, there is no denying that she has a high level of confidence in not only herself but also her actions. She isn't afraid to speak her mind - something she concealed for the better part of her teen years, to which she regrets - and has a penchant of being brutally honest. Perhaps in that sense, she's a lot like marmite; you either really love her or really dislike her. No need to worry though; Elizabeth doesn't particularly care either way. Undoubtedly there is a pompous element to Elizabeth, largely due to the status she's held for the large majority of her life. Though it has calmed down in recent years - attendance at Hogwarts has helped that - she still is largely concerned with sticking to people of her class rather than seeking friendships downwards. Whilst this is driven by her own personal knowledge of what she's used to, there is an element of not wanting to offend her father any more than she apparently has already done by being born a woman. However, despite saying all of these things, Elizabeth can be a pleasant person to be around. She enjoys a sarcastic sense of humour - dry humour is among her preferences - and likes entertaining her friends and going out with them. Subsequently, it's not unusual to see her at some of the more prestigious and fancier establishments across the country.

Although she wouldn't like to admit it, Elizabeth isn't without her flaws. The largest one is her arrogance, paired with a dash of stubbornness. Although the first quality can largely be attributed to her upbringing rather than her herself, Elizabeth is partial to not do things if she believes it is below what is expected of her, or not something she would usually do. At large, this means viewing things like interacting with 'normal' people as chores rather than something she wants to do. That, paired with her stubbornness, ensures that Elizabeth can be an extremely difficult person to reason with, not that many do as they've given up a long time ago when it comes to changing her mind. Elizabeth is also known to not respond to the negative emotions of fear, anger and sadness well. She is one of those who lashes out at others rather than fuelling the feelings into herself to try and enhance her self-awareness more. To Elizabeth, if she can expel those feelings quickly, anyone who purposefully puts themselves into a position to be a victim of such feelings, is deserving of it.

2) Write about the history of your character. How did they grow up? Is there an incident that made them the way they are? It must be at least three paragraphs long, seven sentences each.

The House of Tudor garnered its claim to the throne of England through the maternal line, which traced back to the Beauforts — an illegitimate line of children by Edward III's son John of Gaunt and his mistress, Katherine Swynford. This illegitimacy would normally render the whole line ineligible to inherit the throne, but this situation was made difficult when John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford did indeed marry in 1396; a compromise was made, in that a papal bill declared the Beauforts legitimate (backed up by Parliament the following year) as did his legitimate son, Henry IV. However, he stipulated that the Beauforts, in exchange for legitimisation, must never inherit the throne.

The Beauforts were closely allied with Gaunt's legitimate line by his first marriage, the House of Lancaster. However, this did not make Henry of Richmond — later Henry VII — a legitimate heir, and neither did his father's ancestry. The legitimate heir was the Countess of Salisbury, but after the broken reigns of Queen Matilda in the early 12th century there was no precedent for women to be heirs to the throne (and wouldn't be until Mary I's accession in 1553.) Thus, a power vacuum was left, and the future Henry VI was left with the perfect opening.

Henry had spent much of his childhood in Brittany with his uncle, Jasper Tudor — he had been moved there after the murder of Lancastrian king Henry VI, and the death of his son Edward (presumably at the Battle of Tewkesbury) in 1471. At that point, young Henry of Richmond became the main face of the Lancastrian cause. He was no longer safe at Raglan Castle, the home of a leading Yorkist who would certainly have turned on them. The two fled to Brittany, while his mother Margaret Beaufort remained behind to advocate for the Lancastrians and form quiet alliances in the wake of Yorkist unpopularity, which came to a head in Richard III in 1483.

Margaret was able to make an agreement with Dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville (wife of Edward IV) whose sons were presumably killed by Richard in the Tower of London to ensure his accession. Thus, a deal was made — that Elizabeth would support Henry's claim, if he would agree to marry her daughter Elizabeth of York and unite the houses — that would garner him key support he needed to triumph over Richard.

Two years after Richard III's accession, Henry and Jasper sailed to meet him in battle, where he was victorious at Bosworth on 22 August 1485 and declared himself Henry VII. To clear out people loyal to Richard, he would date his reign from 21 August, insinuating that all those who fought for Richard were guilty of treason.

Henry VII quickly moved to establish his kingship. In January 1486 he made good on his pledge, and married Elizabeth of York. This unified the houses and symbolised the end of the Wars of the Roses, shown by the heraldic emblem of the Tudor Rose — the Yorks' white rose laid over the Lancastrian red — which is, along with the Beaufort portcullis, still commonly seen today. The unification gave their children a stronger claim to the throne, of which they had seven, four of which survived infancy (Arthur, Henry, Margaret, and Mary) prior to Elizabeth of York's death in 1503.

Their first son Arthur, expected to inherit the throne, was born in September 1486. He was promised to Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon in 1489 through the Treaty of Medina del Campo. They married in 1501, but Arthur would die of sickness within months. The focus then turned to Henry's second son, also named Henry (the future Henry VIII.) Prior to this point, he had been expected to take a role in the church, but he would become king after his father's death in 1509, after which he would seek to marry his brother's widow. The negotiations would take a month before a papal dispensation was granted, and the negotiations were largely centred around the claim that Arthur and Catherine's marriage was never consummated. However, Catherine would not give Henry a son. She gave birth to many stillborn children, and their only son died after 52 days. Eventually, he feared the line would die out, and he was beginning to tire of his wife, six years his senior. He turned to his chief minister Cardinal Wolsey, hoping for an annulment — or rather, hoped that the previous papal dispensation would be rescinded. This would imply that Arthur and Catherine's marriage had indeed been consummated, rendering Catherine and Henry's marriage null and their sole surviving daughter, Mary, illegitimate. Wolsey failed to secure the annulment and thus fell from Henry's favour, though he continued to pursue it.

Henry aimed to marry Anne Boleyn, a lady-in-waiting of Catherine's with whom he had fallen in love. The English parliament enacted laws breaking ties with Rome, declaring the king Supreme Head of the Church of England, detaching the religious structure of England from the Catholic Church and the Pope. The newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was then able to declare Henry's marriage to Catherine annulled. The former queen was swiftly removed from court, where she would spend the rest of her life under “protectorship” in various houses (essentially house arrest.)

Anne Boleyn gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, in 1533. Like Catherine, she would have various stillbirths. However, unlike Catherine, she was not simply divorced; in 1536 she was arrested on charges of high treason (for allegedly being unfaithful), witchcraft, and incest. Despite these charges most likely being made up, she was found guilty and executed in 1536.

He married four others — Jane Seymour, who gave Henry his only son, Edward VI, but died in 1537; Anne of Cleves, whom he swiftly divorced after discovering she looked nothing like her portrait; Catherine Howard, executed on similar grounds to Anne Boleyn; and Katherine Parr, who outlived him.

Henry died on 28 January 1547. His will reinstated his daughters by his annulled marriages to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn to the line of succession. Edward succeeded as Edward VI of England. Unfortunately, the boy king's regency was disturbed by the turbulent reigns of those trying to twist regency to their own advantage, the first being his uncle Edward Seymour, who took control and titled himself Duke of Somerset in February 1547, demonstrating complete control over Edward's council. He aimed to marry Mary, Queen of Scots to Edward, and thus impose Protestant religion on the Catholic Scotland. A bloody victory over the Scots at the battle of Pinkie Cleugh seemed to assure this, but the young queen was smuggled to France and betrothed to the Dauphin, later Francis II. Somerset was set back slightly by the lack of a Scottish marriage, but his decisive victory made him appear to be an unassailable ruler.

Under Somerset religious freedom was strongly restricted, which was not received well in southern, more traditionally Catholic portions of the country. The southern counties of Devon and Cornwall raised the Prayer Book Rebellion, forcing Somerset to send a military response and toughen the Crown's stance on Catholics. Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, was a devout Catholic, and never renounced her faith, while Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, was a moderate Protestant. John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, removed a tyrannous Somerset from power as he had taken his nephew the king hostage. Under Northumberland, religious freedom decreased further, fuelled by a fear of a Catholic Queen as Mary was next in line.

Edward VI became ill in 1553. He wrote a statement rendering the will of his father null and void, bequeathing the throne to his cousin Lady Jane Grey, daughter of his aunt Princess Mary, as he too feared a Catholic regent and found Elizabeth too moderate to rule. Their relationship had also been strained by accusations of Elizabeth having had an affair with a married man in 1549, of which she was found not guilty. When Edward died in July, the throne passed to Lady Jane, who Northumberland married to his son Guildford for his own benefit. However, there was no appetite for this rule, and popular support for the rightful heir won out. Lady Jane was deposed after nine days and imprisoned, and Mary crowned Mary I of England.

Mary released key Catholic nobles from captivity and began to build her Privy Council. This proved difficult, however, as most members of it had been involved in attempting to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne. She would turn her attention to marriage, and seek an alliance through a marriage to Philip of Spain. Her English subjects were displeased, fearing the country would simply become a Habsburg outpost, and when she was adamant upon her plan rebellions began to break out — the most notable of which was Wyatt's Rebellion, which involved the father of Lady Jane. This rebellion was halted and as a result Lady Jane, her father, and her husband were all executed, as was the leader, Thomas Wyatt. Mary's Protestant sister Elizabeth, with whom the insurgents intended to replace Mary, was confined in the Tower of London and then put on house arrest.

Under the English common law doctrine of jure uxoris, the property and titles belonging to a woman became her husband's upon marriage. It was thus feared that should Mary marry, that man would become King of England, and English subjects did not want a Spaniard King of England who would care about Spanish affairs first and English second. There was no love to this marriage, it being pursued purely for the political gains it offered both. According to the marriage act, Philip would be titled "King of England", all official documents would be dated with both names, and Parliament would be called jointly — however, England would not be required to offer military assistance to Charles V, Philip's father, Philip could not act without the consent of Mary, and foreigners were not to be appointed to English office. A false pregnancy in 1555 culminated in Philip leaving court to command his armies.

Mary was well known for religious persecution, which got her the nickname "Bloody Mary". Under Mary, Protestant figures were imprisoned and burnt at the stake, including the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Cranmer. As part of the return to Catholicism, power was given back to Rome and the marriage of her parents was again declared valid, which ought to exclude her sister Elizabeth from succession. However, after another false pregnancy in 1557/58, she was forced to accept that Elizabeth would succeed her, and she died in November 1558, passing the throne onto her moderate Protestant sister.

It is here that the magical Tudor line begins — with Elizabeth I, known to Muggle society as the 'Virgin Queen.' The truth was that strain on magical-muggle relations was at its worst, and Elizabeth sought a solution to this as well as to the issue of Protestantism and Catholicism, and she eventually found it — in her favourite, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. There was, between them, a long-standing flirtation that had appeared to culminate in his wife, Amy Robsart, mysteriously being found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her home, around the same time as Elizabeth was reportedly considering marriage. No rumour his rivals tried would stick — why? Robert Dudley was himself a wizard, and Elizabeth seemed willing to find the moderate solution. Her family had magical links, through her great-great-grandmother Jacquetta of Luxembourg, mother of Elizabeth Woodville, who had been 'suspected' of witchcraft, and though it had turned out to be nothing, the queen herself had once suspected she may be magic.

Wanting a solution to these divisive problems, she married the Earl in secret and, with magic to veil the fact, carried and gave birth to a son, Owen in 1578. After he was safely removed unto magical society where he would be protected, Robert performed a fake 'cover marriage' to a courtier with whom he had been flirting, Lettice Knollys. To convince the rest of the story, and to protect herself should the Earl be exposed as a wizard, Elizabeth banished Knollys from court in an apparent fit of jealousy. Knollys was a witch, and this new distance from the queen allowed her and Dudley to raise the Tudor heir to initiate Robert and Elizabeth's plan — to separate the muggle and magical societies and crowns, and allow both to live in peace and harmony. As a legitimate child of the monarch, and a magical one (as was made apparent by a rather interesting display of fire) Owen would be eligible for this new crown, and he would spend the next twenty years trying to ensure it, for much of this time in solely magical areas where people had moved to get away from persecution and violence.

He was killed by an insurgent who despised the idea of wizards being forced into hiding, and his wife Margaret went into hiding herself, pregnant with his heir. However, when the societies separated officially at last in 1692 the Tudors were living more openly, the risk passed. However, when Princess Charlotte recognised as magical regent sometime after, the Tudors were enraged that they had their birthright seized from them. It was their belief they had a right to the throne, but to appease them and stifle mutterings of outright rebellion from the Tudor House, it was agreed that in return for fealty, members of the House of Tudor would be styled Lord / Lady ___ of House Tudor, and the family as a whole would receive an amount of land, similar to the agreement reached upon between the new Monarchs and House Boleyn, with whom the Tudors had forged a tentative peace with, following their decision to sign an acknowledgment dismissing the false charges against Anne Boleyn. The Tudors were amenable to this settlement, and thus it has been to this day, although it would not do to raise the Tudors' ire — at the end of it all, they still have a claim to the throne.

Lady Elizabeth Tudor was the final child of Lord Henry and Lady Catherine Tudor. Undoubtedly for the man who had hoped to end his offspring the way he had started, Henry was disappointed at the gender of his daughter. Catherine, on the other hand, was considerably more content with the birth of a final daughter, actually suggesting the name Elizabeth. Henry, ever the proud man, took the name surprisingly well an thus Lady Elizabeth Tudor was bestowed onto the world. As she grew up, however, no matter how proud her name would make her or her father in odd bouts of loyalty to the family name, not even Elizabeth would be exempt from the treatment of her father no matter how her mother attempted to plead in the sake that she was the youngest. At her birth, however? That was a glimmer of hope that she'd be the only daughter safe from his abuse as she sometimes got the privileges of sitting on his lap and being read to.

Much like the latter portion of her namesake's life, Elizabeth was a strong, charismatic individual - that much was obvious as soon as she could formulate sentences. It added hope, actually, for Catherine as she believed that since Elizabeth so obviously took from her father in that regards that their final child would be safe from all harm at the hands of her father. After all, nobody could deny how impressive it was how Elizabeth overshadowed some of the children of other families, nor how she excelled at any task the family tutors put her towards. By the age of six alone, Elizabeth was on her way to mastering some four languages - even going out of her way to try and learn Latin despite protests that the language was dead and she didn't need to. And that was just with the more muggle aspects of life. Magically, Elizabeth picked up quickly on the basics and, more often than not, could be seen being frustrated that she couldn't cast the perfect spells she put her child mind to. Truly, as it were, Elizabeth seemed to be on the road to being exempt from her father's abuse that her sisters and mother were victims to - that is, until she had her first magical experience at the age of eight.

Naturally, Elizabeth's experience as a whole wasn't particularly thrilling or exciting; she'd showed signs of magical ability throughout her life and the experience proved largely to be a formality to confirm it beyond doubt. Of course her damaging one of the fountains outside wasn't the most desired way for her to confirm her magical prowess, it served it's purpose all the same. Catherine had thought that the magical experience paired with all of Elizabeth's past achievements would entitle her to the same favouritism that Edward, Elizabeth's older brother, got to have. Unfortunately, nothing could be more wrong from that thought. Much like her older sisters and mother, Elizabeth became the victim to her father's verbal and mental abuse. Elizabeth was lucky that it never got physical - not even as she aged - and she likes to pinpoint it to the way she resembled him in a lot of ways. Still, nonetheless, the abuse was unrelenting and Elizabeth spent the last few years of her childhood unhappy. Close to her siblings, undoubtedly so, but unhappy.

Getting her letter of acceptance to Hogwarts was a blessing for the youngest Tudor; it was an escape from her father's torments and allowed her to practice the thing she excelled in when she was younger. Perhaps naively, she had hoped that if she was among the top of her year then her father would have to be proud of her once again. That was the goal, at the very least. Never get it twisted, however. For however much Elizabeth wanted her father to be proud of her, she didn't want to impress him. In her eyes, resonating once more with her namesake, she felt like she was deserving of his love; that she was entitled to it as much as her older brother was. Though she kept this streak silent within her, save for her mother, it was that drive that made up and continues to make up a large portion of Elizabeth's character.

Being sorted into Gryffindor, Elizabeth truly excelled in Hogwarts, impressing most around her. Still, her father never seemed to be that enthused and continued the abuse whenever she was back home at Tudor Castle. By this point, no matter how much Elizabeth wanted to admit it, she had gotten used to the abuse and paid little mind to it so long as she had the escape of her bedroom. She found, largely throughout her time at Hogwarts, that staying away from her father as much as she could was beneficial to her. Albeit, that didn't stop a massive confrontation between the two when she was sixteen whereby he decided to try and spar with her using magic. Surprisingly to him - not to anyone else, really - she was able to block him easily and hold her own. From that day on, Elizabeth found that her father treated her differently. Not with respect, far from it, but an acknowledgement that she's not someone he can pick on thus easily.

In the past year or so, since graduating from Hogwarts, Elizabeth has risen in the ranks in regards to her father, largely due to her elder sister coming out of the closet. Simultaneously, it's been confirmed to her that she is still to marry Robb Stuart, much like her father had laid out for her despite the four year age gap between the two.

3) Write about your character's appearance. What do they look like? Are you planning on using a certain model for your character? If you already have a picture in mind, you can put it here!

Her faceclaim is Adelaide Kane, shared with Jaye.

4) Is your character a Pure-Blood, Half-Blood or Muggle-Born? Do you have any notable magical relations? (Remember, you cannot be related to important characters from the Harry Potter Universe!)

Elizabeth is a pure-blooded member of the House of Tudor.

5) Does your character have any special magical abilities? Or special abilities in general (photographic memory, etc.)? Is he or she of a different magical race, such as Veela, Vampire, Werewolf or the like? Part or half of that magical race counts! (Remember, you cannot have a character with special abilities/of a different magical race as one of your first two characters!)

N/A

6) What is your character's profession? Does your character plan to enroll your character into the Ministry of Magic? Does your character not work? Is your character a teacher?

Elizabeth is currently unemployed with no definitive plans to enter the workforce as of yet.

The Sorting Quiz

A. Select the option that best fits your character. (Remember, this part is optional for adult characters!)

1. What are you looking forward to learning at Hogwarts the most?


 * A. Transfiguration


 * B. Hexes & Jinxes


 * C. Magical Creatures


 * D. The castle's secret areas

2. Pick one:


 * A. Moon


 * B. Stars

3. If flowers adapted their scent to attract the unwary, what would it smell of in order to lure you in?


 * A. Freshly baked bread


 * B. Parchment


 * C. The Sea


 * D. A crackling log fire

4. Pick one:


 * A. Dawn


 * B. Dusk

'''5. Four boxes are placed before you. Which one do you open?'''


 * A. The ornate one, promising secret knowledge and unbearable temptation


 * B. The small, pewter box that reads "I only open for the worthy"


 * C. The gleaming black box marked with Merlin's rune


 * D. The small, tortoiseshell box, embellished in gold, with a small, squeaking creature

6. Pick one:


 * A. White


 * B. Black

7. What road tempts you the most?


 * A. The cobbled street lined with ancient buildings


 * B. The narrow, dark, lantern-lit alley


 * C. The twisting, leaf-strewn path through woods


 * D. The wide, sunny, grassy lane

8. Pick one:


 * A. Forest


 * B. River

9. What scares you most?


 * A. Speaking in such a silly voice, people will laugh at you and mock you


 * B. An eye at the keyhole of the dark, windowless room where you're locked


 * C. Standing on top of something high, without anything to stop you from falling


 * D. Waking up and realizing your family & friends don't know you

'''10. It's late, you're walking alone, and hear a peculiar cry you believe has a magical source. What do you do?'''


 * A. Draw your wand & search for the source


 * B. Proceed with caution, keep a hand on the concealed wand, and keep an eye out


 * C. Draw your wand & stand your ground


 * D. Wait for developments, while mentally reviewing the most appropriate spells

OOC Questions

B. Whilst the first two questions will not affect the character's house (and are mandatory), the others are designed specifically to help users come up with their character's ideal job (and are optional).

1) Is this your first character?


 * A. This is my first character.


 * B. No, this is not my first character.

2) If your answer to the previous question is B, how many characters do you have? How many of them are "exotic"? If you do have exotic characters, please list both the name and the type of exotic. Remember you are only allowed one of each type with the exception of nymphs.

Eighteen/two [ Harrison Jeom (half nymph) & Reagan Trelawney (seer) ]

3) What would people who know your character well say they're really good at?

4) What do they really want to avoid in their job/career? Do they hate working in an office? Do they hate the field?

5) Aside from family and peers, what motivates your character the most in life? What drives their passion?

6) Where does your character's weaknesses lie?

7) Wand cores and woods speak volumes about a person's character. What is your character's wand? Why does it answer to them?