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    <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="Content">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="Page_topic">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="Title">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot; height=&quot;667&quot;&gt;
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    &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;29&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
    &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;29&quot;&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;
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    &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
    &lt;td width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
    &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
    &lt;IMG height=98 alt=&quot;Queen Elizabeth I&quot; 
      src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-queenuse.gif&quot; width=422&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
    &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
  &lt;/tr&gt;
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    &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;
    &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
    &lt;IMG height=427 alt=&quot;crop from the famous 'Armada Portrait' of Elizabeth I&quot; 
      src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz5-mainpic.jpg&quot; width=325 border=2&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;
    &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;
    &amp;nbsp;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
      &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Visit
        &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html&quot;&gt;Elizabethan 
      Images&lt;/a&gt; to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with 
      commentary.&lt;BR&gt;Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at &lt;A 
      href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html&quot;&gt;Primary 
      Sources&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
      &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
      &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen 
        Elizabeth I at &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html&quot;&gt;
        Secondary Sources&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Visit &lt;A 
      href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html&quot;&gt;the Anne 
      Boleyn website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.&lt;BR&gt;Visit &lt;A 
      href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html&quot;&gt;the Mary, 
      queen of Scots website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's 
      cousin.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at &lt;A 
      href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html&quot;&gt;Tudor 
      Quizzes&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
      &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
      &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
        &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.alassea.net%2ffl%2felizabeth&quot;&gt;The Virgin Queen 
        fanlisting&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
      &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
      &lt;/td&gt;
    &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
  &lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;

&lt;blockquote&gt;
  &lt;blockquote&gt;
    &lt;blockquote&gt;
      &lt;hr&gt;
    &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'She is certainly a great Queen and were she only a Catholic 
  she would be our dearly beloved.&amp;nbsp; Just look how well she governs!&amp;nbsp; 
  She is only a woman, only mistress of half an island, and yet she makes 
  herself feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all....&amp;nbsp; Our 
  children would have ruled the whole world.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;
  Pope Sixtus V describes Elizabeth, c1588&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;blockquote&gt;
    &lt;blockquote&gt;
      &lt;hr&gt;
      &lt;p&gt;When news of the execution of Mary, queen of Scots reached Europe, it 
      gave Philip II of Spain yet another reason to look askance at his former 
      sister-in-law.&amp;nbsp; English harassment of Spanish shipping and their 
      support of rebellions against his rule had long angered him.&amp;nbsp; He had 
      tried diplomacy; it had been successful enough until Elizabeth's 
      Protestant councilors grew suspicious of his motives and angry over his 
      treatment of continental Protestants.&amp;nbsp; After diplomacy came a gradual 
      cooling between the countries; Philip even tried his hand at encouraging 
      Irish rebellions against Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; And Philip grew increasingly 
      pious as the years passed, and thus more inclined to take the 
      excommunication of 1570 more seriously.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;
    &lt;img border=&quot;2&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/philipos-crop.jpg&quot; lowsrc=&quot;http://englishhistory.net/tudor/Philip%20II%20of%20Spain&quot; width=&quot;155&quot; height=&quot;282&quot; align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;Serious consequences were avoided for the first thirty years of 
    Elizabeth's rule due to her own prevarication and Philip's more pressing 
    problems.&amp;nbsp; But as the 1580s began, it was clear that something must 
    give.&amp;nbsp; Philip could no longer afford the blatant piracy of the English, 
    publicly disavowed but privately approved by Elizabeth (who always received 
    the largest share of profits.)&amp;nbsp; She had even gone so far as to knight 
    her greatest pirate, Sir Francis Drake, in 1581.&amp;nbsp; Four years later, the 
    English openly supported the Netherlands when it revolted against Philip, a 
    dangerous but popular policy for Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; Furthermore, Philip had 
    long claimed the throne of Portugal but had only recently seized it by force 
    of arms.&amp;nbsp; If he wished to maintain control, he needed to defend the 
    rich and wide-ranging Portuguese colonies.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Philip also needed to end the Protestant menace to Europe.&amp;nbsp; He 
    supported plans to free Mary, queen of Scots and place her on the English 
    throne.&amp;nbsp; His ambassador Mendoza had been peripherally involved in the 
    Babington Plot and was expelled from England as a result.&amp;nbsp; Many of 
    Elizabeth's councilors, most importantly the influential Robert Dudley, had 
    advocated a tougher approach to Spanish meddling.&amp;nbsp; But always the 
    queen, mindful of her treasury and always desiring peace, had held back.&amp;nbsp; 
    She would send a few troops and some money, but little else.&amp;nbsp; Philip, 
    however, had less love of peace and a more pressing piety.&amp;nbsp; England 
    would be brought back into the Catholic fold, as the pope had commanded in 
    1570.&amp;nbsp; The execution of Mary, queen of Scots in early 1587 gave him 
    added impetus to act.&amp;nbsp; The English had sought to publicize Mary's 
    various crimes, but most Europeans, even the Scots who had applauded her 
    overthrow years ago, preferred the more tragic image of an innocent queen 
    trapped by Elizabeth's wily councilors.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Philip spent much of 1587 finally preparing his long-rumored 'Armada' 
    against England.&amp;nbsp; While Elizabeth's council had long warned her of this 
    possibility, Philip's own advisors believed he could ill afford this new 
    battle.&amp;nbsp; The Spanish fleet and army had fought too long and hard over 
    the years.&amp;nbsp; They comprised the largest and best-prepared army and navy 
    in the world; they had been successful against the Turks, had watched their 
    traditional enemy, France, succumb to internal religious turmoil, had seized 
    Portugal, and fought throughout the Low Countries.&amp;nbsp; But victories could 
    be as tiresome and expensive as defeats.&amp;nbsp; Morale was low and leadership 
    was lacking.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Philip's advisors consistently stressed the expense of the proposed 
    battle.&amp;nbsp; But for the king, expenses were driving him to fight.&amp;nbsp; He 
    needed to stop the English from seizing Spanish ships filled with precious 
    coin and goods.&amp;nbsp; Each loss was a further blow to a nearly empty 
    treasury.&amp;nbsp; There was no better time to fight than now, he declared, for 
    the murder of Mary Stuart had at last united European opinion against 
    Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; In July 1587, he received official approval from the pope 
    for the invasion, provided England returned to Catholicism.&amp;nbsp; The pope 
    even agreed to allow Philip to choose the next English ruler.&amp;nbsp; It would 
    in all likelihood be the Spanish king himself for he claimed descent from 
    the famous Edward III.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;As further impetus to Philip, even as he negotiated approval of the 
    invasion with the pope, Drake led an expedition into Spain itself, seizing 
    and destroying many vessels.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth protested that Drake had acted 
    without her knowledge; this may have been true.&amp;nbsp; Certainly the queen 
    had no desire for war.&amp;nbsp; But her protestations did not matter.&amp;nbsp; It 
    was an audacious act which could not go unpunished.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Elizabeth, of course, knew of the Spanish army lodged in the Low 
    Countries, so close to English shores and able to intercept English 
    shipping.&amp;nbsp; When word came that these forces were being steadily 
    increased and an armada of Spanish ships was being prepared for battle, she 
    could no longer debate and hesitate.&amp;nbsp; The impending threat was too 
    obvious to ignore.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Yet what could England do against the great Spanish fleet?&amp;nbsp; All of 
    Europe, and many Englishmen, believed England could not withstand the 
    overwhelming Spanish force.&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;hr&gt;
    &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved 
    myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in 
  the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects... I know I have the body but of 
  a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a 
  king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince 
  of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm...'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
  &lt;/font&gt; &lt;i&gt;
    &lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;from Elizabeth I's speech to the troops at Tilbury, 1588&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;blockquote&gt;
    &lt;blockquote&gt;
      &lt;hr&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;The Armada which sailed against England is sometimes called 'The 
    Invincible Armada', but its correct name is La Armada Grande.&amp;nbsp; Its 
    supreme commander was the duke of Medina Sidonia, a nobleman who had done 
    all he could to avoid this appointment.&amp;nbsp; He spent hours urging Philip, 
    in the most polite and obsequious way possible, 
    to find someone else, pointing out his own lack of experience in naval 
    matters.&amp;nbsp; But the king would not listen.&amp;nbsp; Spain's greatest naval 
    commander Don Alvaro de Bazan the elder, the marquess of Santa Cruz, had 
    died and there had been a long, fruitless search for a suitable replacement.&amp;nbsp; 
    The conscientious Medina Sidonia was Philip's choice, much to the duke's 
    everlasting regret.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;The Armada sailed from Lisbon on 20 May 1588, a grand procession of 130 
    ships and over 30,000 men.&amp;nbsp; However, half of the vessels were transport 
    ships and the majority of men were soldiers, not sailors.&amp;nbsp; Medina 
    Sidonia was to sail to Flanders, where he would join the prince of Parma who 
    waited with more soldiers and transports.&amp;nbsp; But the Armada stopped first 
    in Corunna for some repair work and Medina Sidonia wrote to Philip, asking 
    for the invasion to be postponed indefinitely.&amp;nbsp; The king was adamant, 
    however, and the fleet sailed to Flanders.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Their arrival was expected and observed by the English.&amp;nbsp; Under the 
    command of Lord Howard, they set out from Plymouth, under cover of night.&amp;nbsp; 
    They managed to destroy some of the chief Spanish ships so that, with 
    reinforcements, their numbers roughly equaled the Spanish.&amp;nbsp; More 
    importantly, in terms of command and gunnery, the English had a far superior 
    advantage.&amp;nbsp; By the time of the great battle off Gravelines, each fleet 
    had roughly sixty warships.&amp;nbsp; The Spaniards fought heroically, but 
    Howard was relentless.&amp;nbsp; The English ships were more agile and their 
    commanders more inventive.&amp;nbsp; They did not allow the Spanish time to regroup 
    and refit.&amp;nbsp; Only one Spanish ship was captured but several sank or ran 
    ashore.&amp;nbsp; Medina Sidonia decided to lead the remaining fleet home, 
    sailing along the north of Scotland and Ireland.&amp;nbsp; They met constant 
    storms and rough seas, and not one pilot remained in the whole fleet.&amp;nbsp; 
    Each passing storm destroyed more ships until, when the Armada finally 
    limped home in the mid-September, half the fleet and most of its men were 
    gone.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;The defeat of the Armada was justly celebrated in Elizabeth's time.&amp;nbsp; 
    It continues to be one of the most famous naval victories in history.&amp;nbsp; 
    There is an engaging aspect to the whole story - the English fleet taking on 
    the greatest naval power in the world and, against all odds, winning a 
    stunning victory.&amp;nbsp; The psychological effect upon both nations was 
    enormous.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Yet, upon closer inspection, the victory was neither as unexpected or 
    immediately successful as is often believed.&amp;nbsp; The English navy had 
    always been superior in tactics and gunnery than the Spanish, but had 
    suffered from Elizabeth's penny-pinching support.&amp;nbsp; They simply never 
    had enough money to build the ships and pay the sailors needed to become a 
    world-class naval power.&amp;nbsp; The Spanish took so long to rebuild their 
    navy that England finally had their opportunity, and they seized it with 
    enthusiasm.&amp;nbsp; England would become the undisputed master of the seas.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;But Spain was not nearly finished as a world power.&amp;nbsp; Barely two 
    years after the Armada, they were virtually omnipotent in European affairs.&amp;nbsp; 
    The religious turmoil in France had weakened their traditional enemy to such 
    an extent that Spain stood unchallenged until 1598, when Henri of Navarre 
    converted to Catholicism.&amp;nbsp; The balance of power in Europe was thus 
    restored.&amp;nbsp; But Spain's army continued to grow until their dominance of 
    land warfare equaled England's naval power.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;For Elizabeth, of course, the most important development was the most 
    immediate - a brilliant victory over her greatest enemy, whose threats to 
    invade had haunted most years of her reign.&amp;nbsp; She could breathe a 
    much-deserved sigh of relief.&amp;nbsp; And she deserved no small credit for the 
    success.&amp;nbsp; Her speech to the troops at Tilbury, rallying them to fight, 
    remains justly famous; it is among her most stirring:&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;blockquote&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;My loving people,
    We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed 
    how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I 
    assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving 
    people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I 
    have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and 
    good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, 
    at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the 
    midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down 
    for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even 
    in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I 
    have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and 
    think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare 
    to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall 
    grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, 
    judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know 
    already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We 
    do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the 
    mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never 
    prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your 
    obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the 
    field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, 
    of my kingdom, and of my people. &lt;br&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;/blockquote&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;She enjoyed a renaissance of sorts among her people after the Armada.&amp;nbsp; 
    She had already ruled for thirty years.&amp;nbsp; Those years of peace and 
    general prosperity had led to an inevitable resentment amongst her subjects, 
    particularly the young noblemen who now dominated her court.&amp;nbsp; They 
    wanted adventure, glory, grand military exploits; they were fervent 
    nationalists who wanted England to finally challenge the great powers of 
    Europe; they believed themselves capable of anything.&amp;nbsp; And Elizabeth, 
    nearing sixty, would regard them with either amusement or anger.&amp;nbsp; They 
    did not know the price of war, she would complain; they did not understand 
    how difficult it had been to bring peace and security to England.&amp;nbsp; They 
    had not lived through the tumultuous reigns of her father and siblings.&amp;nbsp; 
    They did not remember the bitter religious divide, which even now she only 
    bridged with her inestimable charm and intellect.&amp;nbsp; England was at peace 
    and her young courtiers chafed at peace.&amp;nbsp; But for the queen, peace was 
    her greatest gift to her 'loving people.'&amp;nbsp; She knew its importance, the 
    dear price it had cost her.&amp;nbsp; 'To be a King and wear a crown is a thing 
    more pleasant to them that see it, than it is pleasant to them that bear 
    it,' she remarked in her Golden Speech of 1601.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;But she also knew those young courtiers disagreed, however much they 
    fawned over her, pretending she was still the young queen of thirty.&amp;nbsp; 
    Elizabeth was content to play the game for her vanity would not allow 
    otherwise.&amp;nbsp; To grow old was a curse to her, she remarked; 'I am not 
    sick, I feel no pain, yet I pine away.'&amp;nbsp; To have a young mind in an old 
    body was another common lament.&amp;nbsp; She felt the loss of her youth keenly 
    and did what she could to create a timeless role for herself.&amp;nbsp; She wore 
    wigs and heavy make-up and still dressed in the opulent gowns of a maid, a 
    fetching style when she was younger but now merely a reminder of her lack of 
    marriage and family.&amp;nbsp; Her older subjects understood her melancholy; of 
    the younger ones, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Bacon were clever 
    enough to guess its cause.&amp;nbsp; But most did not.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;And the queen no longer had the comfort of loyal Cecil and her beloved 
    Dudley.&amp;nbsp; Though Dudley had commanded the troops at Tilbury, he had died 
    barely a month afterwards.&amp;nbsp; Cecil was now very old and had ceded much 
    of his influence to his ambitious son Robert and Sir Francis Walsingham, who 
    died in 1590.&amp;nbsp; The queen thus turned to another favorite, a young man 
    who was a last link to Dudley.&amp;nbsp; His name was Robert Devereux, earl of 
    Essex; he was Dudley's stepson and his mother was Elizabeth's cousin, 
    Lettice Knollys.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Essex remains one of the more interesting courtiers of Elizabeth's later 
    years.&amp;nbsp; He was the mortal enemy of Raleigh (who found him arrogant and 
    overbearing) and close friends with Bacon.&amp;nbsp; He became the great 
    favorite of Elizabeth's later years because, for a while, he was the ablest 
    flirt and wit at court.&amp;nbsp; But his ambitions went far beyond being the 
    queen's 'wild-horse'.&amp;nbsp; In this, he was encouraged by his flighty mother 
    and sycophantic admirers.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Essex believed in the primacy of the nobility at Elizabeth's court and 
    disliked the influence of Cecil and his son, Robert, and other 'upstarts' 
    such as Raleigh.&amp;nbsp; He was too proud, which the queen - depending upon 
    her mood - found endearing or infuriating.&amp;nbsp; And he dreamed of military 
    glory, badgering the queen to send him to Ireland to quell rebellions or 
    with the navy to harass Spanish ships.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth often refused; she 
    genuinely enjoyed his company and would not risk his life.&amp;nbsp; And when 
    she did succumb, Essex performed disastrously.&amp;nbsp; Though a daring and 
    brave soldier, he was a terrible commander and his exploits cost the frugal 
    queen dearly.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;His worst offense, however, was a slip of the tongue.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth 
    would respond to Essex's tantrums by banishing him to the country until he 
    begged forgiveness.&amp;nbsp; Once, he decided to pretend illness instead.&amp;nbsp; 
    When news of his condition reached Elizabeth, she sent a letter asking after 
    his health - but nothing more.&amp;nbsp; Someone mentioned the queen's 
    conditions for letting him return.&amp;nbsp; Infuriated, Essex cried out, 'Her 
    conditions!&amp;nbsp; Her conditions are as crooked as her carcase.'&amp;nbsp; Those 
    words reached the queen and she never forgot them.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Essex did return to court.&amp;nbsp; But his subsequent behavior was 
    outlandish and insulting; he even dared to turn his back on Elizabeth during 
    a council meeting.&amp;nbsp; The final blow came when he led a rebellion against 
    the queen.&amp;nbsp; With his friend, the earl of Southampton, he planned to 
    gather a small army and seize the queen and throne.&amp;nbsp; When captured, as 
    inevitably he was, for his supporters were few and even those deserted him, 
    Essex declared he only meant to save the queen from evil counsel.&amp;nbsp; But 
    Elizabeth, who had so often vacillated over executions, only hesitated once 
    with Essex.&amp;nbsp; He was executed on 25 February 1601.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Despite scurrilous gossip, Elizabeth's affection for Essex was more 
    maternal than romantic.&amp;nbsp; She had no choice but to sign his 
    death-warrant but it broke her heart.&amp;nbsp; When her godson, Sir John 
    Harington, visited in the winter of 1602, he found her taste for old 
    pleasures gone.&amp;nbsp; Harington read some of his rhymes and Elizabeth, with 
    a little smile, remarked, 'When thou dost feel creeping time at thy gate, 
    these fooleries will please thee less; I am past my relish for such 
    matters.'&amp;nbsp; To the earl of Nottingham, mourning the loss of his wife, 
    she said, ' I am tied with a chain of iron about my neck.&amp;nbsp; I am tied, 
    I am tied, and the case is altered with me.'&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;She mentioned Essex at times, but this was merely a symptom of her 
    awareness that all of the work and struggle of her reign had ended in 
    solitude.&amp;nbsp; She had often remarked on the essential loneliness of the 
    crown but she felt it most deeply now.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Her council, led by Robert Cecil, whose father had died in 1601, watched 
    her slow decline while preparing&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-oldercrop.jpg&quot; lowsrc=&quot;http://englishhistory.net/tudor/portrait%20of%20Elizabeth%20I%20in%20old%20age&quot; alt=&quot;portrait of Elizabeth I in old age&quot; width=&quot;165&quot; height=&quot;171&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt; for the future.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth still had 
    not named a successor.&amp;nbsp; She had always understood its dangerous 
    implications.&amp;nbsp; Yet there was no real doubt that she meant for James VI 
    of Scotland, son of Mary queen of Scots, to succeed her.&amp;nbsp; He had 
    married a Protestant princess and was already a father.&amp;nbsp; And he had 
    long since made his peace with Elizabeth, exchanging frequent letters and 
    accepting her political advice.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Elizabeth retired to Richmond Palace, her 'warm, snug box' in March 1603.&amp;nbsp; 
    Her death was preceded by physical weakness and mental depression, but there 
    were no overt causes.&amp;nbsp; She was almost seventy years old, ancient for 
    her time.&amp;nbsp; She rested in a low chair by the fire, refusing to let 
    doctors examine her.&amp;nbsp; As the days passed, her condition slowly 
    worsened.&amp;nbsp; She stood for hours on end until, finally, she was persuaded 
    to lay upon cushions on the floor.&amp;nbsp; She rested there for two days, not 
    speaking.&amp;nbsp; A doctor ventured close and asked how she could bear the 
    endless silence.&amp;nbsp; She replied simply, 'I meditate.'&amp;nbsp; For the third 
    and fourth day, she continued to rest in silence, with a finger often in her 
    mouth.&amp;nbsp; Her attendants were terrified; they must move her but she 
    refused.&amp;nbsp; The younger Cecil visited and said, 'Your Majesty, to content 
    the people, you must go to bed.'&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth replied, with some of her 
    old spirit, 'Little man, little man, the word &lt;i&gt;must&lt;/i&gt; is not used to 
    princes.'&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Finally, she grew so weak that they could carry her to bed.&amp;nbsp; She 
    asked for music and, for a time, it brought some comfort.&amp;nbsp; Her 
    councilors assembled; did she have any instructions regarding the 
    succession?&amp;nbsp; She made a sign when Cecil mentioned the king of Scotland.&amp;nbsp; 
    It was enough.&amp;nbsp; He returned to his office to begin the paperwork for a 
    new ruler.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Meanwhile, Archbishop Whitgift, whom she once called her 'little black 
    husband', arrived to pray.&amp;nbsp; He was old and his knees ached terribly, 
    but he knelt at the royal bedside until she finally slept.&amp;nbsp; She slept on into 
    the early hours of 24 March until, at last, as the courtiers watched and 
    waited, the steady breathing stopped.&amp;nbsp; 'Her Majesty departed this life, 
    mildly like a lamb, easily like a ripe apple from the tree,' John Manningham 
    was told.&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;That same morning, the chief councilors rode to Whitehall where Cecil 
    drafted the proclamation of the queen's death and James's succession.&amp;nbsp; 
    He read it aloud first at Whitehall and then at St Paul's and finally 
    Cheapside cross.&amp;nbsp; The councilors then formally demanded entrance to the 
    Tower of London in the name of King James I of England.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth's 
    maids and ladies were still waiting in the Coffer Room at Richmond Palace.&amp;nbsp; 
    When news of the peaceful transition of power came, they began to prepare 
    for Elizabeth's funeral.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;The new king received the news of his accession on 27 March, for the 
    ambitious Robert Carey had ridden at top speed to Edinburgh; his journey was 
    so quick that its speed would not be matched until 1832.&amp;nbsp; But while 
    James was initially welcomed peacefully and happily, his reign would quickly 
    turn sour.&amp;nbsp; It was not long before even Robert Cecil, who became the 
    most powerful statesman of James's reign, wrote to Harington:&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;blockquote&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;You know all my former steps: good knight, rest content, and give heed to 
    one that hath sorrowed in the bright lustre of a court, and gone heavily 
    even on the best-seeming fair ground.&amp;nbsp; Tis a great task to prove one's 
    honesty, and yet not spoil one's fortune.&amp;nbsp; You have tasted a little 
    hereof in our blessed Queen's time, who was more than a man and, in troth, 
    sometimes less than a woman.&amp;nbsp; I wish I waited now in her Presence 
    Chamber, with ease at my foot, and rest in my bed.&amp;nbsp; I am pushed from 
    the shore of comfort, and know not where the winds and waves of a court may 
    bear me.&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;/blockquote&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;And the common people realized their loss as well, as Godfrey Goodman, 
    bishop of Gloucester wrote:&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;blockquote&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;After a few years, when we had experience of a Scottish government, the 
    Queen did seem to revive; then was her memory much magnified: such ringing 
    of bells, such public joy and sermons in commemoration of her, the picture 
    of her tomb painted in many churches, and in effect more solemnity and joy 
    in memory of her coronation than was for the coming-in of King James.&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;/blockquote&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;Elizabeth's funeral procession, composed of more than a thousand 
    mourners, began on 28 April.&amp;nbsp; It was a stirring tribute to the queen, 
    never forgotten by those who witnessed its passing.&amp;nbsp; But her tomb, paid 
    for by the new king, was less impressive than that provided to his disgraced 
    mother, and cost far less.&amp;nbsp; It can still be visited in Westminster 
    Abbey, where Elizabeth rests alongside her half-sister Queen Mary I.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;hr&gt;
      &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  &lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;

      &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'My good mistress is gone, I shall not 
    hastily put forth for a new master.'&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Sir John Harington, Nugae Antiquae&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;blockquote&gt;
        &lt;blockquote&gt;
          &lt;blockquote&gt;
            &lt;hr&gt;
      &lt;P align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;A 
      href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html&quot;&gt;to Tudor 
      Monarchs&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
      &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz4.html&quot;&gt;back to 
      Queen Elizabeth I, part four&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
      &lt;P align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Note:&lt;/b&gt; The complicated story of Robert 
      Devereux, earl of Essex, is most beautifully told in Lytton Strachey's 
      'Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History'.&amp;nbsp; Strachey often wanders far 
      off course, and his psychological portrait of Elizabeth is flawed, but he 
      writes like a dream.&amp;nbsp; As for conventional biographies of Elizabeth I, 
      my favorite is by Lacey Baldwin Smith.&lt;br&gt;Thanks for 
      exploring / reading my Queen Elizabeth I website.&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;-Marilee&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
          &lt;/blockquote&gt;
        &lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;

      &lt;P align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;last 
      revised 8 March 2004&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
          


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