Secrets of Historical Beauties

Bess's Baths

The monarch that ushered in the modern age has been played by a bevy of beauties in recent years: Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett (twice), Anne-Marie Duff (an excellent version), and soon, Vanessa Redgrave.

The self-styled Virgin Queen had to keep herself alluring to maintain all those marriage arrangements she never quite got around to committing to -- a brilliant political maneuver, you don't start a war with someone you might marry.

She was known for taking frequent baths, an anomaly at the time. Baths are great stress relievers, something running a kingdom -- oops, queendom?-- must require. Plus, they're great skin softeners, moreso than showers (but if you must, you could try Olay's new Total Effects anti-aging body wash). Queen Elizabeth, who was nearly 70 when she died, reportedly refused to lie down in her final days, so who knows, she might've taken to showers.