[31681] | 1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
|
---|
| 2 | <!DOCTYPE Archive SYSTEM "http://greenstone.org/dtd/Archive/1.0/Archive.dtd">
|
---|
| 3 | <Archive>
|
---|
| 4 | <Section>
|
---|
| 5 | <Description>
|
---|
| 6 | <Metadata name="gsdlsourcefilename">import/englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz5.html</Metadata>
|
---|
| 7 | <Metadata name="gsdldoctype">indexed_doc</Metadata>
|
---|
| 8 | <Metadata name="Plugin">HTMLPlugin</Metadata>
|
---|
| 9 | <Metadata name="FileSize">30106</Metadata>
|
---|
| 10 | <Metadata name="Source">eliz5.html</Metadata>
|
---|
| 11 | <Metadata name="SourceFile">eliz5.html</Metadata>
|
---|
| 12 | <Metadata name="Language">en</Metadata>
|
---|
| 13 | <Metadata name="Encoding">windows_1252</Metadata>
|
---|
| 14 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
|
---|
| 15 | <Metadata name="Content">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
|
---|
| 16 | <Metadata name="Page_topic">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
|
---|
| 17 | <Metadata name="Title">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
|
---|
| 18 | <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
|
---|
| 19 | <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz5.html</Metadata>
|
---|
| 20 | <Metadata name="UTF8URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz5.html</Metadata>
|
---|
| 21 | <Metadata name="Identifier">HASH0172bf8eccdb2b873b219c61</Metadata>
|
---|
[32161] | 22 | <Metadata name="lastmodified">1522032934</Metadata>
|
---|
| 23 | <Metadata name="lastmodifieddate">20180326</Metadata>
|
---|
| 24 | <Metadata name="oailastmodified">1522033092</Metadata>
|
---|
| 25 | <Metadata name="oailastmodifieddate">20180326</Metadata>
|
---|
[31681] | 26 | <Metadata name="assocfilepath">HASH0172/bf8eccdb/2b873b21.dir</Metadata>
|
---|
| 27 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">eliz1-queenuse.gif:image/gif:</Metadata>
|
---|
| 28 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">eliz5-mainpic.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
|
---|
| 29 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">philipos-crop.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
|
---|
| 30 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">eliz1-oldercrop.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
|
---|
| 31 | </Description>
|
---|
| 32 | <Content>
|
---|
| 33 |
|
---|
| 34 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
|
---|
| 35 | <tr>
|
---|
| 36 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
|
---|
| 37 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="29"><p align="center">&nbsp;</td>
|
---|
| 38 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
|
---|
| 39 | </tr>
|
---|
| 40 | <tr>
|
---|
| 41 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
|
---|
| 42 | <td width="50%" height="3">
|
---|
| 43 | <p align="center">
|
---|
| 44 | <IMG height=98 alt="Queen Elizabeth I"
|
---|
| 45 | src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1-queenuse.gif" width=422></td>
|
---|
| 46 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
|
---|
| 47 | </tr>
|
---|
| 48 | <tr>
|
---|
| 49 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
|
---|
| 50 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
|
---|
| 51 | <p align="center">
|
---|
| 52 | <IMG height=427 alt="crop from the famous 'Armada Portrait' of Elizabeth I"
|
---|
| 53 | src="_httpdocimg_/eliz5-mainpic.jpg" width=325 border=2><blockquote>
|
---|
| 54 | <p align="left">
|
---|
| 55 | &nbsp;</blockquote>
|
---|
| 56 | <DIV align=left>Visit
|
---|
| 57 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html">Elizabethan
|
---|
| 58 | Images</a> to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with
|
---|
| 59 | commentary.<BR>Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at <A
|
---|
| 60 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html">Primary
|
---|
| 61 | Sources</A>.</DIV>
|
---|
| 62 | <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
|
---|
| 63 | <DIV align=left>Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen
|
---|
| 64 | Elizabeth I at <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html">
|
---|
| 65 | Secondary Sources</a>.<BR><BR>Visit <A
|
---|
| 66 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html">the Anne
|
---|
| 67 | Boleyn website</A> to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.<BR>Visit <A
|
---|
| 68 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html">the Mary,
|
---|
| 69 | queen of Scots website</A> to learn more about Elizabeth's
|
---|
| 70 | cousin.<BR><BR>Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at <A
|
---|
| 71 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html">Tudor
|
---|
| 72 | Quizzes</A>.</DIV>
|
---|
| 73 | <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
|
---|
| 74 | <DIV align=left>Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
|
---|
| 75 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.alassea.net%2ffl%2felizabeth">The Virgin Queen
|
---|
| 76 | fanlisting</a>.</DIV>
|
---|
| 77 | <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
|
---|
| 78 | </td>
|
---|
| 79 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
|
---|
| 80 | </tr>
|
---|
| 81 | </table>
|
---|
| 82 |
|
---|
| 83 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 84 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 85 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 86 | <hr>
|
---|
| 87 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 88 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 89 | <p><font size="4">'She is certainly a great Queen and were she only a Catholic
|
---|
| 90 | she would be our dearly beloved.&nbsp; Just look how well she governs!&nbsp;
|
---|
| 91 | She is only a woman, only mistress of half an island, and yet she makes
|
---|
| 92 | herself feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all....&nbsp; Our
|
---|
| 93 | children would have ruled the whole world.'&nbsp;&nbsp; </font><I><FONT size=-1>
|
---|
| 94 | Pope Sixtus V describes Elizabeth, c1588</FONT></I><font size="2"> </font></p>
|
---|
| 95 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 96 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 97 | <hr>
|
---|
| 98 | <p>When news of the execution of Mary, queen of Scots reached Europe, it
|
---|
| 99 | gave Philip II of Spain yet another reason to look askance at his former
|
---|
| 100 | sister-in-law.&nbsp; English harassment of Spanish shipping and their
|
---|
| 101 | support of rebellions against his rule had long angered him.&nbsp; He had
|
---|
| 102 | tried diplomacy; it had been successful enough until Elizabeth's
|
---|
| 103 | Protestant councilors grew suspicious of his motives and angry over his
|
---|
| 104 | treatment of continental Protestants.&nbsp; After diplomacy came a gradual
|
---|
| 105 | cooling between the countries; Philip even tried his hand at encouraging
|
---|
| 106 | Irish rebellions against Elizabeth.&nbsp; And Philip grew increasingly
|
---|
| 107 | pious as the years passed, and thus more inclined to take the
|
---|
| 108 | excommunication of 1570 more seriously.</p>
|
---|
| 109 | <p>
|
---|
| 110 | <img border="2" src="_httpdocimg_/philipos-crop.jpg" lowsrc="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/Philip%20II%20of%20Spain" width="155" height="282" align="left">Serious consequences were avoided for the first thirty years of
|
---|
| 111 | Elizabeth's rule due to her own prevarication and Philip's more pressing
|
---|
| 112 | problems.&nbsp; But as the 1580s began, it was clear that something must
|
---|
| 113 | give.&nbsp; Philip could no longer afford the blatant piracy of the English,
|
---|
| 114 | publicly disavowed but privately approved by Elizabeth (who always received
|
---|
| 115 | the largest share of profits.)&nbsp; She had even gone so far as to knight
|
---|
| 116 | her greatest pirate, Sir Francis Drake, in 1581.&nbsp; Four years later, the
|
---|
| 117 | English openly supported the Netherlands when it revolted against Philip, a
|
---|
| 118 | dangerous but popular policy for Elizabeth.&nbsp; Furthermore, Philip had
|
---|
| 119 | long claimed the throne of Portugal but had only recently seized it by force
|
---|
| 120 | of arms.&nbsp; If he wished to maintain control, he needed to defend the
|
---|
| 121 | rich and wide-ranging Portuguese colonies.</p>
|
---|
| 122 | <p>Philip also needed to end the Protestant menace to Europe.&nbsp; He
|
---|
| 123 | supported plans to free Mary, queen of Scots and place her on the English
|
---|
| 124 | throne.&nbsp; His ambassador Mendoza had been peripherally involved in the
|
---|
| 125 | Babington Plot and was expelled from England as a result.&nbsp; Many of
|
---|
| 126 | Elizabeth's councilors, most importantly the influential Robert Dudley, had
|
---|
| 127 | advocated a tougher approach to Spanish meddling.&nbsp; But always the
|
---|
| 128 | queen, mindful of her treasury and always desiring peace, had held back.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 129 | She would send a few troops and some money, but little else.&nbsp; Philip,
|
---|
| 130 | however, had less love of peace and a more pressing piety.&nbsp; England
|
---|
| 131 | would be brought back into the Catholic fold, as the pope had commanded in
|
---|
| 132 | 1570.&nbsp; The execution of Mary, queen of Scots in early 1587 gave him
|
---|
| 133 | added impetus to act.&nbsp; The English had sought to publicize Mary's
|
---|
| 134 | various crimes, but most Europeans, even the Scots who had applauded her
|
---|
| 135 | overthrow years ago, preferred the more tragic image of an innocent queen
|
---|
| 136 | trapped by Elizabeth's wily councilors.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 137 | <p>Philip spent much of 1587 finally preparing his long-rumored 'Armada'
|
---|
| 138 | against England.&nbsp; While Elizabeth's council had long warned her of this
|
---|
| 139 | possibility, Philip's own advisors believed he could ill afford this new
|
---|
| 140 | battle.&nbsp; The Spanish fleet and army had fought too long and hard over
|
---|
| 141 | the years.&nbsp; They comprised the largest and best-prepared army and navy
|
---|
| 142 | in the world; they had been successful against the Turks, had watched their
|
---|
| 143 | traditional enemy, France, succumb to internal religious turmoil, had seized
|
---|
| 144 | Portugal, and fought throughout the Low Countries.&nbsp; But victories could
|
---|
| 145 | be as tiresome and expensive as defeats.&nbsp; Morale was low and leadership
|
---|
| 146 | was lacking.</p>
|
---|
| 147 | <p>Philip's advisors consistently stressed the expense of the proposed
|
---|
| 148 | battle.&nbsp; But for the king, expenses were driving him to fight.&nbsp; He
|
---|
| 149 | needed to stop the English from seizing Spanish ships filled with precious
|
---|
| 150 | coin and goods.&nbsp; Each loss was a further blow to a nearly empty
|
---|
| 151 | treasury.&nbsp; There was no better time to fight than now, he declared, for
|
---|
| 152 | the murder of Mary Stuart had at last united European opinion against
|
---|
| 153 | Elizabeth.&nbsp; In July 1587, he received official approval from the pope
|
---|
| 154 | for the invasion, provided England returned to Catholicism.&nbsp; The pope
|
---|
| 155 | even agreed to allow Philip to choose the next English ruler.&nbsp; It would
|
---|
| 156 | in all likelihood be the Spanish king himself for he claimed descent from
|
---|
| 157 | the famous Edward III.</p>
|
---|
| 158 | <p>As further impetus to Philip, even as he negotiated approval of the
|
---|
| 159 | invasion with the pope, Drake led an expedition into Spain itself, seizing
|
---|
| 160 | and destroying many vessels.&nbsp; Elizabeth protested that Drake had acted
|
---|
| 161 | without her knowledge; this may have been true.&nbsp; Certainly the queen
|
---|
| 162 | had no desire for war.&nbsp; But her protestations did not matter.&nbsp; It
|
---|
| 163 | was an audacious act which could not go unpunished.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 164 | <p>Elizabeth, of course, knew of the Spanish army lodged in the Low
|
---|
| 165 | Countries, so close to English shores and able to intercept English
|
---|
| 166 | shipping.&nbsp; When word came that these forces were being steadily
|
---|
| 167 | increased and an armada of Spanish ships was being prepared for battle, she
|
---|
| 168 | could no longer debate and hesitate.&nbsp; The impending threat was too
|
---|
| 169 | obvious to ignore.</p>
|
---|
| 170 | <p>Yet what could England do against the great Spanish fleet?&nbsp; All of
|
---|
| 171 | Europe, and many Englishmen, believed England could not withstand the
|
---|
| 172 | overwhelming Spanish force.</p>
|
---|
| 173 | <hr>
|
---|
| 174 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 175 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 176 | <p><font size="4">'Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved
|
---|
| 177 | myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in
|
---|
| 178 | the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects... I know I have the body but of
|
---|
| 179 | a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a
|
---|
| 180 | king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince
|
---|
| 181 | of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm...'&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
---|
| 182 | </font> <i>
|
---|
| 183 | <font size="2">from Elizabeth I's speech to the troops at Tilbury, 1588</font></i></p>
|
---|
| 184 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 185 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 186 | <hr>
|
---|
| 187 | <p>The Armada which sailed against England is sometimes called 'The
|
---|
| 188 | Invincible Armada', but its correct name is La Armada Grande.&nbsp; Its
|
---|
| 189 | supreme commander was the duke of Medina Sidonia, a nobleman who had done
|
---|
| 190 | all he could to avoid this appointment.&nbsp; He spent hours urging Philip,
|
---|
| 191 | in the most polite and obsequious way possible,
|
---|
| 192 | to find someone else, pointing out his own lack of experience in naval
|
---|
| 193 | matters.&nbsp; But the king would not listen.&nbsp; Spain's greatest naval
|
---|
| 194 | commander Don Alvaro de Bazan the elder, the marquess of Santa Cruz, had
|
---|
| 195 | died and there had been a long, fruitless search for a suitable replacement.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 196 | The conscientious Medina Sidonia was Philip's choice, much to the duke's
|
---|
| 197 | everlasting regret.</p>
|
---|
| 198 | <p>The Armada sailed from Lisbon on 20 May 1588, a grand procession of 130
|
---|
| 199 | ships and over 30,000 men.&nbsp; However, half of the vessels were transport
|
---|
| 200 | ships and the majority of men were soldiers, not sailors.&nbsp; Medina
|
---|
| 201 | Sidonia was to sail to Flanders, where he would join the prince of Parma who
|
---|
| 202 | waited with more soldiers and transports.&nbsp; But the Armada stopped first
|
---|
| 203 | in Corunna for some repair work and Medina Sidonia wrote to Philip, asking
|
---|
| 204 | for the invasion to be postponed indefinitely.&nbsp; The king was adamant,
|
---|
| 205 | however, and the fleet sailed to Flanders.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 206 | <p>Their arrival was expected and observed by the English.&nbsp; Under the
|
---|
| 207 | command of Lord Howard, they set out from Plymouth, under cover of night.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 208 | They managed to destroy some of the chief Spanish ships so that, with
|
---|
| 209 | reinforcements, their numbers roughly equaled the Spanish.&nbsp; More
|
---|
| 210 | importantly, in terms of command and gunnery, the English had a far superior
|
---|
| 211 | advantage.&nbsp; By the time of the great battle off Gravelines, each fleet
|
---|
| 212 | had roughly sixty warships.&nbsp; The Spaniards fought heroically, but
|
---|
| 213 | Howard was relentless.&nbsp; The English ships were more agile and their
|
---|
| 214 | commanders more inventive.&nbsp; They did not allow the Spanish time to regroup
|
---|
| 215 | and refit.&nbsp; Only one Spanish ship was captured but several sank or ran
|
---|
| 216 | ashore.&nbsp; Medina Sidonia decided to lead the remaining fleet home,
|
---|
| 217 | sailing along the north of Scotland and Ireland.&nbsp; They met constant
|
---|
| 218 | storms and rough seas, and not one pilot remained in the whole fleet.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 219 | Each passing storm destroyed more ships until, when the Armada finally
|
---|
| 220 | limped home in the mid-September, half the fleet and most of its men were
|
---|
| 221 | gone.</p>
|
---|
| 222 | <p>The defeat of the Armada was justly celebrated in Elizabeth's time.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 223 | It continues to be one of the most famous naval victories in history.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 224 | There is an engaging aspect to the whole story - the English fleet taking on
|
---|
| 225 | the greatest naval power in the world and, against all odds, winning a
|
---|
| 226 | stunning victory.&nbsp; The psychological effect upon both nations was
|
---|
| 227 | enormous.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 228 | <p>Yet, upon closer inspection, the victory was neither as unexpected or
|
---|
| 229 | immediately successful as is often believed.&nbsp; The English navy had
|
---|
| 230 | always been superior in tactics and gunnery than the Spanish, but had
|
---|
| 231 | suffered from Elizabeth's penny-pinching support.&nbsp; They simply never
|
---|
| 232 | had enough money to build the ships and pay the sailors needed to become a
|
---|
| 233 | world-class naval power.&nbsp; The Spanish took so long to rebuild their
|
---|
| 234 | navy that England finally had their opportunity, and they seized it with
|
---|
| 235 | enthusiasm.&nbsp; England would become the undisputed master of the seas.</p>
|
---|
| 236 | <p>But Spain was not nearly finished as a world power.&nbsp; Barely two
|
---|
| 237 | years after the Armada, they were virtually omnipotent in European affairs.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 238 | The religious turmoil in France had weakened their traditional enemy to such
|
---|
| 239 | an extent that Spain stood unchallenged until 1598, when Henri of Navarre
|
---|
| 240 | converted to Catholicism.&nbsp; The balance of power in Europe was thus
|
---|
| 241 | restored.&nbsp; But Spain's army continued to grow until their dominance of
|
---|
| 242 | land warfare equaled England's naval power.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 243 | <p>For Elizabeth, of course, the most important development was the most
|
---|
| 244 | immediate - a brilliant victory over her greatest enemy, whose threats to
|
---|
| 245 | invade had haunted most years of her reign.&nbsp; She could breathe a
|
---|
| 246 | much-deserved sigh of relief.&nbsp; And she deserved no small credit for the
|
---|
| 247 | success.&nbsp; Her speech to the troops at Tilbury, rallying them to fight,
|
---|
| 248 | remains justly famous; it is among her most stirring:</p>
|
---|
| 249 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 250 | <p>My loving people,
|
---|
| 251 | We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed
|
---|
| 252 | how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I
|
---|
| 253 | assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving
|
---|
| 254 | people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I
|
---|
| 255 | have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and
|
---|
| 256 | good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see,
|
---|
| 257 | at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the
|
---|
| 258 | midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down
|
---|
| 259 | for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even
|
---|
| 260 | in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I
|
---|
| 261 | have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and
|
---|
| 262 | think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare
|
---|
| 263 | to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall
|
---|
| 264 | grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general,
|
---|
| 265 | judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know
|
---|
| 266 | already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We
|
---|
| 267 | do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the
|
---|
| 268 | mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never
|
---|
| 269 | prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your
|
---|
| 270 | obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the
|
---|
| 271 | field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God,
|
---|
| 272 | of my kingdom, and of my people. <br>
|
---|
| 273 | &nbsp;</p>
|
---|
| 274 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 275 | <p>She enjoyed a renaissance of sorts among her people after the Armada.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 276 | She had already ruled for thirty years.&nbsp; Those years of peace and
|
---|
| 277 | general prosperity had led to an inevitable resentment amongst her subjects,
|
---|
| 278 | particularly the young noblemen who now dominated her court.&nbsp; They
|
---|
| 279 | wanted adventure, glory, grand military exploits; they were fervent
|
---|
| 280 | nationalists who wanted England to finally challenge the great powers of
|
---|
| 281 | Europe; they believed themselves capable of anything.&nbsp; And Elizabeth,
|
---|
| 282 | nearing sixty, would regard them with either amusement or anger.&nbsp; They
|
---|
| 283 | did not know the price of war, she would complain; they did not understand
|
---|
| 284 | how difficult it had been to bring peace and security to England.&nbsp; They
|
---|
| 285 | had not lived through the tumultuous reigns of her father and siblings.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 286 | They did not remember the bitter religious divide, which even now she only
|
---|
| 287 | bridged with her inestimable charm and intellect.&nbsp; England was at peace
|
---|
| 288 | and her young courtiers chafed at peace.&nbsp; But for the queen, peace was
|
---|
| 289 | her greatest gift to her 'loving people.'&nbsp; She knew its importance, the
|
---|
| 290 | dear price it had cost her.&nbsp; 'To be a King and wear a crown is a thing
|
---|
| 291 | more pleasant to them that see it, than it is pleasant to them that bear
|
---|
| 292 | it,' she remarked in her Golden Speech of 1601.</p>
|
---|
| 293 | <p>But she also knew those young courtiers disagreed, however much they
|
---|
| 294 | fawned over her, pretending she was still the young queen of thirty.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 295 | Elizabeth was content to play the game for her vanity would not allow
|
---|
| 296 | otherwise.&nbsp; To grow old was a curse to her, she remarked; 'I am not
|
---|
| 297 | sick, I feel no pain, yet I pine away.'&nbsp; To have a young mind in an old
|
---|
| 298 | body was another common lament.&nbsp; She felt the loss of her youth keenly
|
---|
| 299 | and did what she could to create a timeless role for herself.&nbsp; She wore
|
---|
| 300 | wigs and heavy make-up and still dressed in the opulent gowns of a maid, a
|
---|
| 301 | fetching style when she was younger but now merely a reminder of her lack of
|
---|
| 302 | marriage and family.&nbsp; Her older subjects understood her melancholy; of
|
---|
| 303 | the younger ones, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Bacon were clever
|
---|
| 304 | enough to guess its cause.&nbsp; But most did not.</p>
|
---|
| 305 | <p>And the queen no longer had the comfort of loyal Cecil and her beloved
|
---|
| 306 | Dudley.&nbsp; Though Dudley had commanded the troops at Tilbury, he had died
|
---|
| 307 | barely a month afterwards.&nbsp; Cecil was now very old and had ceded much
|
---|
| 308 | of his influence to his ambitious son Robert and Sir Francis Walsingham, who
|
---|
| 309 | died in 1590.&nbsp; The queen thus turned to another favorite, a young man
|
---|
| 310 | who was a last link to Dudley.&nbsp; His name was Robert Devereux, earl of
|
---|
| 311 | Essex; he was Dudley's stepson and his mother was Elizabeth's cousin,
|
---|
| 312 | Lettice Knollys.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 313 | <p>Essex remains one of the more interesting courtiers of Elizabeth's later
|
---|
| 314 | years.&nbsp; He was the mortal enemy of Raleigh (who found him arrogant and
|
---|
| 315 | overbearing) and close friends with Bacon.&nbsp; He became the great
|
---|
| 316 | favorite of Elizabeth's later years because, for a while, he was the ablest
|
---|
| 317 | flirt and wit at court.&nbsp; But his ambitions went far beyond being the
|
---|
| 318 | queen's 'wild-horse'.&nbsp; In this, he was encouraged by his flighty mother
|
---|
| 319 | and sycophantic admirers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 320 | <p>Essex believed in the primacy of the nobility at Elizabeth's court and
|
---|
| 321 | disliked the influence of Cecil and his son, Robert, and other 'upstarts'
|
---|
| 322 | such as Raleigh.&nbsp; He was too proud, which the queen - depending upon
|
---|
| 323 | her mood - found endearing or infuriating.&nbsp; And he dreamed of military
|
---|
| 324 | glory, badgering the queen to send him to Ireland to quell rebellions or
|
---|
| 325 | with the navy to harass Spanish ships.&nbsp; Elizabeth often refused; she
|
---|
| 326 | genuinely enjoyed his company and would not risk his life.&nbsp; And when
|
---|
| 327 | she did succumb, Essex performed disastrously.&nbsp; Though a daring and
|
---|
| 328 | brave soldier, he was a terrible commander and his exploits cost the frugal
|
---|
| 329 | queen dearly.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 330 | <p>His worst offense, however, was a slip of the tongue.&nbsp; Elizabeth
|
---|
| 331 | would respond to Essex's tantrums by banishing him to the country until he
|
---|
| 332 | begged forgiveness.&nbsp; Once, he decided to pretend illness instead.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 333 | When news of his condition reached Elizabeth, she sent a letter asking after
|
---|
| 334 | his health - but nothing more.&nbsp; Someone mentioned the queen's
|
---|
| 335 | conditions for letting him return.&nbsp; Infuriated, Essex cried out, 'Her
|
---|
| 336 | conditions!&nbsp; Her conditions are as crooked as her carcase.'&nbsp; Those
|
---|
| 337 | words reached the queen and she never forgot them.</p>
|
---|
| 338 | <p>Essex did return to court.&nbsp; But his subsequent behavior was
|
---|
| 339 | outlandish and insulting; he even dared to turn his back on Elizabeth during
|
---|
| 340 | a council meeting.&nbsp; The final blow came when he led a rebellion against
|
---|
| 341 | the queen.&nbsp; With his friend, the earl of Southampton, he planned to
|
---|
| 342 | gather a small army and seize the queen and throne.&nbsp; When captured, as
|
---|
| 343 | inevitably he was, for his supporters were few and even those deserted him,
|
---|
| 344 | Essex declared he only meant to save the queen from evil counsel.&nbsp; But
|
---|
| 345 | Elizabeth, who had so often vacillated over executions, only hesitated once
|
---|
| 346 | with Essex.&nbsp; He was executed on 25 February 1601.</p>
|
---|
| 347 | <p>Despite scurrilous gossip, Elizabeth's affection for Essex was more
|
---|
| 348 | maternal than romantic.&nbsp; She had no choice but to sign his
|
---|
| 349 | death-warrant but it broke her heart.&nbsp; When her godson, Sir John
|
---|
| 350 | Harington, visited in the winter of 1602, he found her taste for old
|
---|
| 351 | pleasures gone.&nbsp; Harington read some of his rhymes and Elizabeth, with
|
---|
| 352 | a little smile, remarked, 'When thou dost feel creeping time at thy gate,
|
---|
| 353 | these fooleries will please thee less; I am past my relish for such
|
---|
| 354 | matters.'&nbsp; To the earl of Nottingham, mourning the loss of his wife,
|
---|
| 355 | she said, ' I am tied with a chain of iron about my neck.&nbsp; I am tied,
|
---|
| 356 | I am tied, and the case is altered with me.'</p>
|
---|
| 357 | <p>She mentioned Essex at times, but this was merely a symptom of her
|
---|
| 358 | awareness that all of the work and struggle of her reign had ended in
|
---|
| 359 | solitude.&nbsp; She had often remarked on the essential loneliness of the
|
---|
| 360 | crown but she felt it most deeply now.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 361 | <p>Her council, led by Robert Cecil, whose father had died in 1601, watched
|
---|
| 362 | her slow decline while preparing<img border="0" src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1-oldercrop.jpg" lowsrc="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/portrait%20of%20Elizabeth%20I%20in%20old%20age" alt="portrait of Elizabeth I in old age" width="165" height="171" align="right"> for the future.&nbsp; Elizabeth still had
|
---|
| 363 | not named a successor.&nbsp; She had always understood its dangerous
|
---|
| 364 | implications.&nbsp; Yet there was no real doubt that she meant for James VI
|
---|
| 365 | of Scotland, son of Mary queen of Scots, to succeed her.&nbsp; He had
|
---|
| 366 | married a Protestant princess and was already a father.&nbsp; And he had
|
---|
| 367 | long since made his peace with Elizabeth, exchanging frequent letters and
|
---|
| 368 | accepting her political advice.</p>
|
---|
| 369 | <p>Elizabeth retired to Richmond Palace, her 'warm, snug box' in March 1603.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 370 | Her death was preceded by physical weakness and mental depression, but there
|
---|
| 371 | were no overt causes.&nbsp; She was almost seventy years old, ancient for
|
---|
| 372 | her time.&nbsp; She rested in a low chair by the fire, refusing to let
|
---|
| 373 | doctors examine her.&nbsp; As the days passed, her condition slowly
|
---|
| 374 | worsened.&nbsp; She stood for hours on end until, finally, she was persuaded
|
---|
| 375 | to lay upon cushions on the floor.&nbsp; She rested there for two days, not
|
---|
| 376 | speaking.&nbsp; A doctor ventured close and asked how she could bear the
|
---|
| 377 | endless silence.&nbsp; She replied simply, 'I meditate.'&nbsp; For the third
|
---|
| 378 | and fourth day, she continued to rest in silence, with a finger often in her
|
---|
| 379 | mouth.&nbsp; Her attendants were terrified; they must move her but she
|
---|
| 380 | refused.&nbsp; The younger Cecil visited and said, 'Your Majesty, to content
|
---|
| 381 | the people, you must go to bed.'&nbsp; Elizabeth replied, with some of her
|
---|
| 382 | old spirit, 'Little man, little man, the word <i>must</i> is not used to
|
---|
| 383 | princes.'</p>
|
---|
| 384 | <p>Finally, she grew so weak that they could carry her to bed.&nbsp; She
|
---|
| 385 | asked for music and, for a time, it brought some comfort.&nbsp; Her
|
---|
| 386 | councilors assembled; did she have any instructions regarding the
|
---|
| 387 | succession?&nbsp; She made a sign when Cecil mentioned the king of Scotland.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 388 | It was enough.&nbsp; He returned to his office to begin the paperwork for a
|
---|
| 389 | new ruler.</p>
|
---|
| 390 | <p>Meanwhile, Archbishop Whitgift, whom she once called her 'little black
|
---|
| 391 | husband', arrived to pray.&nbsp; He was old and his knees ached terribly,
|
---|
| 392 | but he knelt at the royal bedside until she finally slept.&nbsp; She slept on into
|
---|
| 393 | the early hours of 24 March until, at last, as the courtiers watched and
|
---|
| 394 | waited, the steady breathing stopped.&nbsp; 'Her Majesty departed this life,
|
---|
| 395 | mildly like a lamb, easily like a ripe apple from the tree,' John Manningham
|
---|
| 396 | was told.</p>
|
---|
| 397 | <p>That same morning, the chief councilors rode to Whitehall where Cecil
|
---|
| 398 | drafted the proclamation of the queen's death and James's succession.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 399 | He read it aloud first at Whitehall and then at St Paul's and finally
|
---|
| 400 | Cheapside cross.&nbsp; The councilors then formally demanded entrance to the
|
---|
| 401 | Tower of London in the name of King James I of England.&nbsp; Elizabeth's
|
---|
| 402 | maids and ladies were still waiting in the Coffer Room at Richmond Palace.&nbsp;
|
---|
| 403 | When news of the peaceful transition of power came, they began to prepare
|
---|
| 404 | for Elizabeth's funeral.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 405 | <p>The new king received the news of his accession on 27 March, for the
|
---|
| 406 | ambitious Robert Carey had ridden at top speed to Edinburgh; his journey was
|
---|
| 407 | so quick that its speed would not be matched until 1832.&nbsp; But while
|
---|
| 408 | James was initially welcomed peacefully and happily, his reign would quickly
|
---|
| 409 | turn sour.&nbsp; It was not long before even Robert Cecil, who became the
|
---|
| 410 | most powerful statesman of James's reign, wrote to Harington:</p>
|
---|
| 411 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 412 | <p>You know all my former steps: good knight, rest content, and give heed to
|
---|
| 413 | one that hath sorrowed in the bright lustre of a court, and gone heavily
|
---|
| 414 | even on the best-seeming fair ground.&nbsp; Tis a great task to prove one's
|
---|
| 415 | honesty, and yet not spoil one's fortune.&nbsp; You have tasted a little
|
---|
| 416 | hereof in our blessed Queen's time, who was more than a man and, in troth,
|
---|
| 417 | sometimes less than a woman.&nbsp; I wish I waited now in her Presence
|
---|
| 418 | Chamber, with ease at my foot, and rest in my bed.&nbsp; I am pushed from
|
---|
| 419 | the shore of comfort, and know not where the winds and waves of a court may
|
---|
| 420 | bear me.</p>
|
---|
| 421 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 422 | <p>And the common people realized their loss as well, as Godfrey Goodman,
|
---|
| 423 | bishop of Gloucester wrote:</p>
|
---|
| 424 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 425 | <p>After a few years, when we had experience of a Scottish government, the
|
---|
| 426 | Queen did seem to revive; then was her memory much magnified: such ringing
|
---|
| 427 | of bells, such public joy and sermons in commemoration of her, the picture
|
---|
| 428 | of her tomb painted in many churches, and in effect more solemnity and joy
|
---|
| 429 | in memory of her coronation than was for the coming-in of King James.</p>
|
---|
| 430 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 431 | <p>Elizabeth's funeral procession, composed of more than a thousand
|
---|
| 432 | mourners, began on 28 April.&nbsp; It was a stirring tribute to the queen,
|
---|
| 433 | never forgotten by those who witnessed its passing.&nbsp; But her tomb, paid
|
---|
| 434 | for by the new king, was less impressive than that provided to his disgraced
|
---|
| 435 | mother, and cost far less.&nbsp; It can still be visited in Westminster
|
---|
| 436 | Abbey, where Elizabeth rests alongside her half-sister Queen Mary I.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
| 437 | <hr>
|
---|
| 438 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 439 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 440 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 441 |
|
---|
| 442 | <p align="center"><font size="4">'My good mistress is gone, I shall not
|
---|
| 443 | hastily put forth for a new master.'<br></font><i><font size="2">Sir John Harington, Nugae Antiquae</font></i></p>
|
---|
| 444 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 445 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 446 | <blockquote>
|
---|
| 447 | <hr>
|
---|
| 448 | <P align="center"><FONT size=-1><A
|
---|
| 449 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html">to Tudor
|
---|
| 450 | Monarchs</A><BR>
|
---|
| 451 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz4.html">back to
|
---|
| 452 | Queen Elizabeth I, part four</a></FONT><B><BR></B></P>
|
---|
| 453 | <P align="left"><font size="-1"><b>Note:</b> The complicated story of Robert
|
---|
| 454 | Devereux, earl of Essex, is most beautifully told in Lytton Strachey's
|
---|
| 455 | 'Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History'.&nbsp; Strachey often wanders far
|
---|
| 456 | off course, and his psychological portrait of Elizabeth is flawed, but he
|
---|
| 457 | writes like a dream.&nbsp; As for conventional biographies of Elizabeth I,
|
---|
| 458 | my favorite is by Lacey Baldwin Smith.<br>Thanks for
|
---|
| 459 | exploring / reading my Queen Elizabeth I website.&nbsp; <i>-Marilee</i></font></P>
|
---|
| 460 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 461 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 462 | </blockquote>
|
---|
| 463 |
|
---|
| 464 | <P align="center"><i><font size="2">last
|
---|
| 465 | revised 8 March 2004</font></i></P>
|
---|
| 466 |
|
---|
| 467 |
|
---|
| 468 |
|
---|
| 469 | <!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082767" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
|
---|
| 470 | <IMG SRC="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=76001524&t=1108082767" ALT=1 WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1>
|
---|
| 471 | </Content>
|
---|
| 472 | </Section>
|
---|
| 473 | </Archive>
|
---|