ELIZABETH

wife of King Edward IV in Shakespeare's Richard III; formerly Elizabeth Woodville, Lady Grey, in Henry VI, Part 3. Edward IV's infatuation with and imprudent marriage to the widowed Elizabeth causes him to grant favours to her ambitious brother, Anthony Woodville, earl of Rivers, and sons, thus increasing court rivalries and harming Edward's popularity among the nobility. born Dec. 18 [Dec. 29, New Style], 1709, Kolomenskoye, near Moscow, Russia died Dec. 25, 1761, [Jan. 5, 1762], St. Petersburg Russian in full Yelizaveta Petrovna empress of Russia from 1741 to 1761 (1762, New Style). The daughter of Peter I the Great (reigned 16821725) and Catherine I (reigned 172527), Elizabeth grew up to be a beautiful, charming, intelligent, and vivacious young woman. Despite her talents and popularity, particularly among the guards, she played only a minor political role during the reigns of Peter II (reigned 172730) and Empress Anna (reigned 173040). But when Anna Leopoldovna assumed the regency for her son Ivan VI (174041) and threatened Elizabeth with banishment to a convent, the young princess allowed herself to be influenced by the French ambassador and members of the Russian court who hoped to reduce German domination over Russian affairs and reverse Russia's pro-Austrian, anti-French foreign policy. On the night of Nov. 2425 (Dec. 56), 1741, she staged a coup d'tat, arresting the infant emperor, his mother, and their chief advisers; after summoning all the civil and ecclesiastical notables of St. Petersburg, Elizabeth was proclaimed empress of Russia. Upon ascending the throne, Elizabeth abolished the Cabinet council system of government that had been employed by her predecessors and formally reconstituted the Senate as it had been created by her father. As a result of this and similar measures, her reign has been generally characterized as a return to the principles and traditions of Peter the Great. In fact, Elizabeth's restoration of the Senate as the chief governing body was only nominal (the country really being ruled by her private chancery), and the empress actually abolished some of her father's major reforms. Furthermore, rather than assume a dominant role in government as Peter had done, Elizabeth occupied herself with splendid court and church activities and the purchase of stylish Western clothing. She also encouraged the development of education and art, founding Russia's first university (in Moscow) and the Academy of Arts (in St. Petersburg) and building the extravagant Winter Palace (also in St. Petersburg). She left control of most state affairs to her advisers and favourites, under whose leadership the effectiveness of Russia's government was handicapped by continual court intrigues; the country's financial situation deteriorated; and the gentry acquired broad privileges at the expense of the peasantry. Simultaneously, however, Russia's prestige as a major European power grew. Guided by Aleksey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who enjoyed Elizabeth's complete confidence, the country firmly adhered to a pro-Austrian, anti-Prussian foreign policy, annexed a portion of southern Finland after fighting a war with Sweden (174143), improved its relations with Great Britain, and successfully conducted hostilities against Prussia during the Seven Years' War (175663). Before Russia and its allies, France and Austria, could force Prussia's collapse, however, Elizabeth died, leaving her throne to her nephew Peter III, who was a great admirer of Frederick II the Great of Prussia and who withdrew Russia from the war. born Dec. 24, 1837, Munich, Bavaria died Sept. 10, 1898, Geneva, Switz. empress consort of Austria from April 24, 1854, when she married the emperor Francis Joseph I. She was also queen of Hungary (crowned June 8, 1867) after the Austro-Hungarian Ausgleich, or Compromise. Her assassination brought her rather unsettled life to a tragic end. Elizabeth was the daughter of the Bavarian duke Maximilian Joseph. In August 1853 she met her cousin Francis Joseph, then aged 23, who quickly fell in love with the 15-year-old Elizabeth, who was regarded as the most beautiful princess in Europe. Soon after their marriage she showed a neurotic restlessness that may have been derived from her Wittelsbach ancestors. Generally popular with her subjects, she offended Viennese high society by her impatience with the rigid etiquette of the court. The Hungarians admired her, especially for her endeavours in bringing about the Compromise of 1867. She spent much time at Gdllo, north of Budapest. Her enthusiasm for Hungary, however, affronted German sentiment within Austria. She partly assuaged Austrian feelings by her care for the wounded in the Seven Weeks' War of 1866. The suicide of her only son, the crown prince Rudolf, in 1889, was a shock from which Elizabeth never fully recovered. It was during a visit to Switzerland that she was mortally stabbed by an Italian anarchist, Luigi Luccheni. city, seat (1857) of Union county, northeastern New Jersey, U.S., on Newark Bay and Arthur Kill (channel; connected by bridge to Staten Island, New York City) and is adjacent to Newark, New Jersey, to the north. Settlement began in 1664 with the purchase of land from the Delaware Indians. It was named Elizabethtown to honour the wife of Sir George Carteret, one of the colony's first proprietors. The first colonial assembly met there from 1668 to 1682. In 1740 it was chartered as the free borough and town of Elizabeth. Elizabeth suffered severely during the American Revolution and was the scene of four military engagements. With the coming of the railroads and the development of the Port of Staten Island in the 1830s, the town was assured steady growth. Elizabeth is highly industrialized, with important shipping operations including the ElizabethPort Authority Marine Terminal, with facilities for containerized shipping. Manufactures include sewing machines (the Singer Company relocated there in 1873), textiles, food products, chemicals, automobiles, and machinery. Princeton University originated (1746) in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey. Boxwood Hall, now a state historic site, was the home of Elias Boudinot, president of the Continental Congress in 1783. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr both attended an old academy (burned by the British in 1780) situated where the city's First Presbyterian Church parish house now stands. Inc. city, 1855. Pop. (1990) 110,002; (1996 est.) 110,149. born Aug. 4, 1900, St. Paul's Waldenbury, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, Eng. in full Elizabeth Angela Marguerite, ne Bowes-Lyon, also called (192336) Duchess of York, or (from 1952) Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother queen consort of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (193652), wife of King George VI. The Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was the youngest daughter of Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (d. 1944); the Bowes-Lyon family could claim descent from Robert I the Bruce, king of Scotland. On April 26, 1923, Elizabeth was married to Albert, Duke of York, second son of King George V. This marriage was a popular departure from the long-standing practice of an English prince marrying into a foreign royal family. On Dec. 11, 1936, upon the abdication of Edward VIII and the accession of her husband as George VI, Elizabeth became queen consort. She never forgave Edward, afterward Duke of Windsor, for having abandoned the throne to George, without the latter's adequate anticipation or preparation. Elizabeth bore two daughters, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the future queen Elizabeth II (b. April 21, 1926), and Princess Margaret Rose, the future Countess of Snowden (b. Aug. 21, 1930). After her husband's death on Feb. 6, 1952, and the accession of Elizabeth II, she became known officially as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. She remained one of the most popular and admired members of the royal family.