“On Monsieur’s Departure” was written by Queen Elizabeth 1. She is widely recognized as the “Virgin Queen” and was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Ann Boleyn (whom Henry beheaded when Elizabeth was only 3). This was found in her diary and published by the royal family.
The poem is about her love for the Duke of Anjou yet her inability to marry lest she risk losing her power as Queen- and, as expressed in the poem, she goes through her emotional ups and downs. The melody is based off of Hildur Högland’s composition- who turned this poem into an amazing song. I highly recommend you listen to her, too, especially if you like musical instruments 😂. I habitually record my voice on my phone and sing Acapella 😂 and personally I wanted to keep the format written by Elizabeth in iambic pentameter. I hope you enjoyed my shorter, slower version.
