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16 <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
17 <Metadata name="Content">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
18 <Metadata name="Page_topic">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
19 <Metadata name="Title">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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39
40&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot; height=&quot;667&quot;&gt;
41 &lt;tr&gt;
42 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;29&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
43 &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;
44 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;29&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
45 &lt;/tr&gt;
46 &lt;tr&gt;
47 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
48 &lt;td width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
49 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
50 &lt;IMG height=98 alt=&quot;Queen Elizabeth I&quot;
51 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-queenuse.gif&quot; width=422&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
52 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
53 &lt;/tr&gt;
54 &lt;tr&gt;
55 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
56 &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;
57 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
58 &lt;IMG height=427 alt=&quot;crop from the famous 'Armada Portrait' of Elizabeth I&quot;
59 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz5-mainpic.jpg&quot; width=325 border=2&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;
60 &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;
61 &amp;nbsp;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
62 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Visit
63 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html&quot;&gt;Elizabethan
64 Images&lt;/a&gt; to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with
65 commentary.&lt;BR&gt;Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at &lt;A
66 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html&quot;&gt;Primary
67 Sources&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
68 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
69 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen
70 Elizabeth I at &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html&quot;&gt;
71 Secondary Sources&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Visit &lt;A
72 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html&quot;&gt;the Anne
73 Boleyn website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.&lt;BR&gt;Visit &lt;A
74 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html&quot;&gt;the Mary,
75 queen of Scots website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's
76 cousin.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at &lt;A
77 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html&quot;&gt;Tudor
78 Quizzes&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
79 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
80 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
81 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.alassea.net%2ffl%2felizabeth&quot;&gt;The Virgin Queen
82 fanlisting&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
83 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
84 &lt;/td&gt;
85 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
86 &lt;/tr&gt;
87&lt;/table&gt;
88
89&lt;blockquote&gt;
90 &lt;blockquote&gt;
91 &lt;blockquote&gt;
92 &lt;hr&gt;
93 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
94 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
95 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'She is certainly a great Queen and were she only a Catholic
96 she would be our dearly beloved.&amp;nbsp; Just look how well she governs!&amp;nbsp;
97 She is only a woman, only mistress of half an island, and yet she makes
98 herself feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all....&amp;nbsp; Our
99 children would have ruled the whole world.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;
100 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;
101 &lt;blockquote&gt;
102 &lt;blockquote&gt;
103 &lt;hr&gt;
104 &lt;p&gt;When news of the execution of Mary, queen of Scots reached Europe, it
105 gave Philip II of Spain yet another reason to look askance at his former
106 sister-in-law.&amp;nbsp; English harassment of Spanish shipping and their
107 support of rebellions against his rule had long angered him.&amp;nbsp; He had
108 tried diplomacy; it had been successful enough until Elizabeth's
109 Protestant councilors grew suspicious of his motives and angry over his
110 treatment of continental Protestants.&amp;nbsp; After diplomacy came a gradual
111 cooling between the countries; Philip even tried his hand at encouraging
112 Irish rebellions against Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; And Philip grew increasingly
113 pious as the years passed, and thus more inclined to take the
114 excommunication of 1570 more seriously.&lt;/p&gt;
115 &lt;p&gt;
116 &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
117 Elizabeth's rule due to her own prevarication and Philip's more pressing
118 problems.&amp;nbsp; But as the 1580s began, it was clear that something must
119 give.&amp;nbsp; Philip could no longer afford the blatant piracy of the English,
120 publicly disavowed but privately approved by Elizabeth (who always received
121 the largest share of profits.)&amp;nbsp; She had even gone so far as to knight
122 her greatest pirate, Sir Francis Drake, in 1581.&amp;nbsp; Four years later, the
123 English openly supported the Netherlands when it revolted against Philip, a
124 dangerous but popular policy for Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; Furthermore, Philip had
125 long claimed the throne of Portugal but had only recently seized it by force
126 of arms.&amp;nbsp; If he wished to maintain control, he needed to defend the
127 rich and wide-ranging Portuguese colonies.&lt;/p&gt;
128 &lt;p&gt;Philip also needed to end the Protestant menace to Europe.&amp;nbsp; He
129 supported plans to free Mary, queen of Scots and place her on the English
130 throne.&amp;nbsp; His ambassador Mendoza had been peripherally involved in the
131 Babington Plot and was expelled from England as a result.&amp;nbsp; Many of
132 Elizabeth's councilors, most importantly the influential Robert Dudley, had
133 advocated a tougher approach to Spanish meddling.&amp;nbsp; But always the
134 queen, mindful of her treasury and always desiring peace, had held back.&amp;nbsp;
135 She would send a few troops and some money, but little else.&amp;nbsp; Philip,
136 however, had less love of peace and a more pressing piety.&amp;nbsp; England
137 would be brought back into the Catholic fold, as the pope had commanded in
138 1570.&amp;nbsp; The execution of Mary, queen of Scots in early 1587 gave him
139 added impetus to act.&amp;nbsp; The English had sought to publicize Mary's
140 various crimes, but most Europeans, even the Scots who had applauded her
141 overthrow years ago, preferred the more tragic image of an innocent queen
142 trapped by Elizabeth's wily councilors.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
143 &lt;p&gt;Philip spent much of 1587 finally preparing his long-rumored 'Armada'
144 against England.&amp;nbsp; While Elizabeth's council had long warned her of this
145 possibility, Philip's own advisors believed he could ill afford this new
146 battle.&amp;nbsp; The Spanish fleet and army had fought too long and hard over
147 the years.&amp;nbsp; They comprised the largest and best-prepared army and navy
148 in the world; they had been successful against the Turks, had watched their
149 traditional enemy, France, succumb to internal religious turmoil, had seized
150 Portugal, and fought throughout the Low Countries.&amp;nbsp; But victories could
151 be as tiresome and expensive as defeats.&amp;nbsp; Morale was low and leadership
152 was lacking.&lt;/p&gt;
153 &lt;p&gt;Philip's advisors consistently stressed the expense of the proposed
154 battle.&amp;nbsp; But for the king, expenses were driving him to fight.&amp;nbsp; He
155 needed to stop the English from seizing Spanish ships filled with precious
156 coin and goods.&amp;nbsp; Each loss was a further blow to a nearly empty
157 treasury.&amp;nbsp; There was no better time to fight than now, he declared, for
158 the murder of Mary Stuart had at last united European opinion against
159 Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; In July 1587, he received official approval from the pope
160 for the invasion, provided England returned to Catholicism.&amp;nbsp; The pope
161 even agreed to allow Philip to choose the next English ruler.&amp;nbsp; It would
162 in all likelihood be the Spanish king himself for he claimed descent from
163 the famous Edward III.&lt;/p&gt;
164 &lt;p&gt;As further impetus to Philip, even as he negotiated approval of the
165 invasion with the pope, Drake led an expedition into Spain itself, seizing
166 and destroying many vessels.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth protested that Drake had acted
167 without her knowledge; this may have been true.&amp;nbsp; Certainly the queen
168 had no desire for war.&amp;nbsp; But her protestations did not matter.&amp;nbsp; It
169 was an audacious act which could not go unpunished.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
170 &lt;p&gt;Elizabeth, of course, knew of the Spanish army lodged in the Low
171 Countries, so close to English shores and able to intercept English
172 shipping.&amp;nbsp; When word came that these forces were being steadily
173 increased and an armada of Spanish ships was being prepared for battle, she
174 could no longer debate and hesitate.&amp;nbsp; The impending threat was too
175 obvious to ignore.&lt;/p&gt;
176 &lt;p&gt;Yet what could England do against the great Spanish fleet?&amp;nbsp; All of
177 Europe, and many Englishmen, believed England could not withstand the
178 overwhelming Spanish force.&lt;/p&gt;
179 &lt;hr&gt;
180 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
181 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
182 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved
183 myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in
184 the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects... I know I have the body but of
185 a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a
186 king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince
187 of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm...'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
188 &lt;/font&gt; &lt;i&gt;
189 &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;
190 &lt;blockquote&gt;
191 &lt;blockquote&gt;
192 &lt;hr&gt;
193 &lt;p&gt;The Armada which sailed against England is sometimes called 'The
194 Invincible Armada', but its correct name is La Armada Grande.&amp;nbsp; Its
195 supreme commander was the duke of Medina Sidonia, a nobleman who had done
196 all he could to avoid this appointment.&amp;nbsp; He spent hours urging Philip,
197 in the most polite and obsequious way possible,
198 to find someone else, pointing out his own lack of experience in naval
199 matters.&amp;nbsp; But the king would not listen.&amp;nbsp; Spain's greatest naval
200 commander Don Alvaro de Bazan the elder, the marquess of Santa Cruz, had
201 died and there had been a long, fruitless search for a suitable replacement.&amp;nbsp;
202 The conscientious Medina Sidonia was Philip's choice, much to the duke's
203 everlasting regret.&lt;/p&gt;
204 &lt;p&gt;The Armada sailed from Lisbon on 20 May 1588, a grand procession of 130
205 ships and over 30,000 men.&amp;nbsp; However, half of the vessels were transport
206 ships and the majority of men were soldiers, not sailors.&amp;nbsp; Medina
207 Sidonia was to sail to Flanders, where he would join the prince of Parma who
208 waited with more soldiers and transports.&amp;nbsp; But the Armada stopped first
209 in Corunna for some repair work and Medina Sidonia wrote to Philip, asking
210 for the invasion to be postponed indefinitely.&amp;nbsp; The king was adamant,
211 however, and the fleet sailed to Flanders.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
212 &lt;p&gt;Their arrival was expected and observed by the English.&amp;nbsp; Under the
213 command of Lord Howard, they set out from Plymouth, under cover of night.&amp;nbsp;
214 They managed to destroy some of the chief Spanish ships so that, with
215 reinforcements, their numbers roughly equaled the Spanish.&amp;nbsp; More
216 importantly, in terms of command and gunnery, the English had a far superior
217 advantage.&amp;nbsp; By the time of the great battle off Gravelines, each fleet
218 had roughly sixty warships.&amp;nbsp; The Spaniards fought heroically, but
219 Howard was relentless.&amp;nbsp; The English ships were more agile and their
220 commanders more inventive.&amp;nbsp; They did not allow the Spanish time to regroup
221 and refit.&amp;nbsp; Only one Spanish ship was captured but several sank or ran
222 ashore.&amp;nbsp; Medina Sidonia decided to lead the remaining fleet home,
223 sailing along the north of Scotland and Ireland.&amp;nbsp; They met constant
224 storms and rough seas, and not one pilot remained in the whole fleet.&amp;nbsp;
225 Each passing storm destroyed more ships until, when the Armada finally
226 limped home in the mid-September, half the fleet and most of its men were
227 gone.&lt;/p&gt;
228 &lt;p&gt;The defeat of the Armada was justly celebrated in Elizabeth's time.&amp;nbsp;
229 It continues to be one of the most famous naval victories in history.&amp;nbsp;
230 There is an engaging aspect to the whole story - the English fleet taking on
231 the greatest naval power in the world and, against all odds, winning a
232 stunning victory.&amp;nbsp; The psychological effect upon both nations was
233 enormous.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
234 &lt;p&gt;Yet, upon closer inspection, the victory was neither as unexpected or
235 immediately successful as is often believed.&amp;nbsp; The English navy had
236 always been superior in tactics and gunnery than the Spanish, but had
237 suffered from Elizabeth's penny-pinching support.&amp;nbsp; They simply never
238 had enough money to build the ships and pay the sailors needed to become a
239 world-class naval power.&amp;nbsp; The Spanish took so long to rebuild their
240 navy that England finally had their opportunity, and they seized it with
241 enthusiasm.&amp;nbsp; England would become the undisputed master of the seas.&lt;/p&gt;
242 &lt;p&gt;But Spain was not nearly finished as a world power.&amp;nbsp; Barely two
243 years after the Armada, they were virtually omnipotent in European affairs.&amp;nbsp;
244 The religious turmoil in France had weakened their traditional enemy to such
245 an extent that Spain stood unchallenged until 1598, when Henri of Navarre
246 converted to Catholicism.&amp;nbsp; The balance of power in Europe was thus
247 restored.&amp;nbsp; But Spain's army continued to grow until their dominance of
248 land warfare equaled England's naval power.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
249 &lt;p&gt;For Elizabeth, of course, the most important development was the most
250 immediate - a brilliant victory over her greatest enemy, whose threats to
251 invade had haunted most years of her reign.&amp;nbsp; She could breathe a
252 much-deserved sigh of relief.&amp;nbsp; And she deserved no small credit for the
253 success.&amp;nbsp; Her speech to the troops at Tilbury, rallying them to fight,
254 remains justly famous; it is among her most stirring:&lt;/p&gt;
255 &lt;blockquote&gt;
256 &lt;p&gt;My loving people,
257 We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed
258 how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I
259 assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving
260 people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I
261 have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and
262 good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see,
263 at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the
264 midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down
265 for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even
266 in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I
267 have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and
268 think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare
269 to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall
270 grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general,
271 judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know
272 already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We
273 do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the
274 mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never
275 prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your
276 obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the
277 field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God,
278 of my kingdom, and of my people. &lt;br&gt;
279&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
280 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
281 &lt;p&gt;She enjoyed a renaissance of sorts among her people after the Armada.&amp;nbsp;
282 She had already ruled for thirty years.&amp;nbsp; Those years of peace and
283 general prosperity had led to an inevitable resentment amongst her subjects,
284 particularly the young noblemen who now dominated her court.&amp;nbsp; They
285 wanted adventure, glory, grand military exploits; they were fervent
286 nationalists who wanted England to finally challenge the great powers of
287 Europe; they believed themselves capable of anything.&amp;nbsp; And Elizabeth,
288 nearing sixty, would regard them with either amusement or anger.&amp;nbsp; They
289 did not know the price of war, she would complain; they did not understand
290 how difficult it had been to bring peace and security to England.&amp;nbsp; They
291 had not lived through the tumultuous reigns of her father and siblings.&amp;nbsp;
292 They did not remember the bitter religious divide, which even now she only
293 bridged with her inestimable charm and intellect.&amp;nbsp; England was at peace
294 and her young courtiers chafed at peace.&amp;nbsp; But for the queen, peace was
295 her greatest gift to her 'loving people.'&amp;nbsp; She knew its importance, the
296 dear price it had cost her.&amp;nbsp; 'To be a King and wear a crown is a thing
297 more pleasant to them that see it, than it is pleasant to them that bear
298 it,' she remarked in her Golden Speech of 1601.&lt;/p&gt;
299 &lt;p&gt;But she also knew those young courtiers disagreed, however much they
300 fawned over her, pretending she was still the young queen of thirty.&amp;nbsp;
301 Elizabeth was content to play the game for her vanity would not allow
302 otherwise.&amp;nbsp; To grow old was a curse to her, she remarked; 'I am not
303 sick, I feel no pain, yet I pine away.'&amp;nbsp; To have a young mind in an old
304 body was another common lament.&amp;nbsp; She felt the loss of her youth keenly
305 and did what she could to create a timeless role for herself.&amp;nbsp; She wore
306 wigs and heavy make-up and still dressed in the opulent gowns of a maid, a
307 fetching style when she was younger but now merely a reminder of her lack of
308 marriage and family.&amp;nbsp; Her older subjects understood her melancholy; of
309 the younger ones, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Bacon were clever
310 enough to guess its cause.&amp;nbsp; But most did not.&lt;/p&gt;
311 &lt;p&gt;And the queen no longer had the comfort of loyal Cecil and her beloved
312 Dudley.&amp;nbsp; Though Dudley had commanded the troops at Tilbury, he had died
313 barely a month afterwards.&amp;nbsp; Cecil was now very old and had ceded much
314 of his influence to his ambitious son Robert and Sir Francis Walsingham, who
315 died in 1590.&amp;nbsp; The queen thus turned to another favorite, a young man
316 who was a last link to Dudley.&amp;nbsp; His name was Robert Devereux, earl of
317 Essex; he was Dudley's stepson and his mother was Elizabeth's cousin,
318 Lettice Knollys.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
319 &lt;p&gt;Essex remains one of the more interesting courtiers of Elizabeth's later
320 years.&amp;nbsp; He was the mortal enemy of Raleigh (who found him arrogant and
321 overbearing) and close friends with Bacon.&amp;nbsp; He became the great
322 favorite of Elizabeth's later years because, for a while, he was the ablest
323 flirt and wit at court.&amp;nbsp; But his ambitions went far beyond being the
324 queen's 'wild-horse'.&amp;nbsp; In this, he was encouraged by his flighty mother
325 and sycophantic admirers.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
326 &lt;p&gt;Essex believed in the primacy of the nobility at Elizabeth's court and
327 disliked the influence of Cecil and his son, Robert, and other 'upstarts'
328 such as Raleigh.&amp;nbsp; He was too proud, which the queen - depending upon
329 her mood - found endearing or infuriating.&amp;nbsp; And he dreamed of military
330 glory, badgering the queen to send him to Ireland to quell rebellions or
331 with the navy to harass Spanish ships.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth often refused; she
332 genuinely enjoyed his company and would not risk his life.&amp;nbsp; And when
333 she did succumb, Essex performed disastrously.&amp;nbsp; Though a daring and
334 brave soldier, he was a terrible commander and his exploits cost the frugal
335 queen dearly.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
336 &lt;p&gt;His worst offense, however, was a slip of the tongue.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth
337 would respond to Essex's tantrums by banishing him to the country until he
338 begged forgiveness.&amp;nbsp; Once, he decided to pretend illness instead.&amp;nbsp;
339 When news of his condition reached Elizabeth, she sent a letter asking after
340 his health - but nothing more.&amp;nbsp; Someone mentioned the queen's
341 conditions for letting him return.&amp;nbsp; Infuriated, Essex cried out, 'Her
342 conditions!&amp;nbsp; Her conditions are as crooked as her carcase.'&amp;nbsp; Those
343 words reached the queen and she never forgot them.&lt;/p&gt;
344 &lt;p&gt;Essex did return to court.&amp;nbsp; But his subsequent behavior was
345 outlandish and insulting; he even dared to turn his back on Elizabeth during
346 a council meeting.&amp;nbsp; The final blow came when he led a rebellion against
347 the queen.&amp;nbsp; With his friend, the earl of Southampton, he planned to
348 gather a small army and seize the queen and throne.&amp;nbsp; When captured, as
349 inevitably he was, for his supporters were few and even those deserted him,
350 Essex declared he only meant to save the queen from evil counsel.&amp;nbsp; But
351 Elizabeth, who had so often vacillated over executions, only hesitated once
352 with Essex.&amp;nbsp; He was executed on 25 February 1601.&lt;/p&gt;
353 &lt;p&gt;Despite scurrilous gossip, Elizabeth's affection for Essex was more
354 maternal than romantic.&amp;nbsp; She had no choice but to sign his
355 death-warrant but it broke her heart.&amp;nbsp; When her godson, Sir John
356 Harington, visited in the winter of 1602, he found her taste for old
357 pleasures gone.&amp;nbsp; Harington read some of his rhymes and Elizabeth, with
358 a little smile, remarked, 'When thou dost feel creeping time at thy gate,
359 these fooleries will please thee less; I am past my relish for such
360 matters.'&amp;nbsp; To the earl of Nottingham, mourning the loss of his wife,
361 she said, ' I am tied with a chain of iron about my neck.&amp;nbsp; I am tied,
362 I am tied, and the case is altered with me.'&lt;/p&gt;
363 &lt;p&gt;She mentioned Essex at times, but this was merely a symptom of her
364 awareness that all of the work and struggle of her reign had ended in
365 solitude.&amp;nbsp; She had often remarked on the essential loneliness of the
366 crown but she felt it most deeply now.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
367 &lt;p&gt;Her council, led by Robert Cecil, whose father had died in 1601, watched
368 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
369 not named a successor.&amp;nbsp; She had always understood its dangerous
370 implications.&amp;nbsp; Yet there was no real doubt that she meant for James VI
371 of Scotland, son of Mary queen of Scots, to succeed her.&amp;nbsp; He had
372 married a Protestant princess and was already a father.&amp;nbsp; And he had
373 long since made his peace with Elizabeth, exchanging frequent letters and
374 accepting her political advice.&lt;/p&gt;
375 &lt;p&gt;Elizabeth retired to Richmond Palace, her 'warm, snug box' in March 1603.&amp;nbsp;
376 Her death was preceded by physical weakness and mental depression, but there
377 were no overt causes.&amp;nbsp; She was almost seventy years old, ancient for
378 her time.&amp;nbsp; She rested in a low chair by the fire, refusing to let
379 doctors examine her.&amp;nbsp; As the days passed, her condition slowly
380 worsened.&amp;nbsp; She stood for hours on end until, finally, she was persuaded
381 to lay upon cushions on the floor.&amp;nbsp; She rested there for two days, not
382 speaking.&amp;nbsp; A doctor ventured close and asked how she could bear the
383 endless silence.&amp;nbsp; She replied simply, 'I meditate.'&amp;nbsp; For the third
384 and fourth day, she continued to rest in silence, with a finger often in her
385 mouth.&amp;nbsp; Her attendants were terrified; they must move her but she
386 refused.&amp;nbsp; The younger Cecil visited and said, 'Your Majesty, to content
387 the people, you must go to bed.'&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth replied, with some of her
388 old spirit, 'Little man, little man, the word &lt;i&gt;must&lt;/i&gt; is not used to
389 princes.'&lt;/p&gt;
390 &lt;p&gt;Finally, she grew so weak that they could carry her to bed.&amp;nbsp; She
391 asked for music and, for a time, it brought some comfort.&amp;nbsp; Her
392 councilors assembled; did she have any instructions regarding the
393 succession?&amp;nbsp; She made a sign when Cecil mentioned the king of Scotland.&amp;nbsp;
394 It was enough.&amp;nbsp; He returned to his office to begin the paperwork for a
395 new ruler.&lt;/p&gt;
396 &lt;p&gt;Meanwhile, Archbishop Whitgift, whom she once called her 'little black
397 husband', arrived to pray.&amp;nbsp; He was old and his knees ached terribly,
398 but he knelt at the royal bedside until she finally slept.&amp;nbsp; She slept on into
399 the early hours of 24 March until, at last, as the courtiers watched and
400 waited, the steady breathing stopped.&amp;nbsp; 'Her Majesty departed this life,
401 mildly like a lamb, easily like a ripe apple from the tree,' John Manningham
402 was told.&lt;/p&gt;
403 &lt;p&gt;That same morning, the chief councilors rode to Whitehall where Cecil
404 drafted the proclamation of the queen's death and James's succession.&amp;nbsp;
405 He read it aloud first at Whitehall and then at St Paul's and finally
406 Cheapside cross.&amp;nbsp; The councilors then formally demanded entrance to the
407 Tower of London in the name of King James I of England.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth's
408 maids and ladies were still waiting in the Coffer Room at Richmond Palace.&amp;nbsp;
409 When news of the peaceful transition of power came, they began to prepare
410 for Elizabeth's funeral.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
411 &lt;p&gt;The new king received the news of his accession on 27 March, for the
412 ambitious Robert Carey had ridden at top speed to Edinburgh; his journey was
413 so quick that its speed would not be matched until 1832.&amp;nbsp; But while
414 James was initially welcomed peacefully and happily, his reign would quickly
415 turn sour.&amp;nbsp; It was not long before even Robert Cecil, who became the
416 most powerful statesman of James's reign, wrote to Harington:&lt;/p&gt;
417 &lt;blockquote&gt;
418 &lt;p&gt;You know all my former steps: good knight, rest content, and give heed to
419 one that hath sorrowed in the bright lustre of a court, and gone heavily
420 even on the best-seeming fair ground.&amp;nbsp; Tis a great task to prove one's
421 honesty, and yet not spoil one's fortune.&amp;nbsp; You have tasted a little
422 hereof in our blessed Queen's time, who was more than a man and, in troth,
423 sometimes less than a woman.&amp;nbsp; I wish I waited now in her Presence
424 Chamber, with ease at my foot, and rest in my bed.&amp;nbsp; I am pushed from
425 the shore of comfort, and know not where the winds and waves of a court may
426 bear me.&lt;/p&gt;
427 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
428 &lt;p&gt;And the common people realized their loss as well, as Godfrey Goodman,
429 bishop of Gloucester wrote:&lt;/p&gt;
430 &lt;blockquote&gt;
431 &lt;p&gt;After a few years, when we had experience of a Scottish government, the
432 Queen did seem to revive; then was her memory much magnified: such ringing
433 of bells, such public joy and sermons in commemoration of her, the picture
434 of her tomb painted in many churches, and in effect more solemnity and joy
435 in memory of her coronation than was for the coming-in of King James.&lt;/p&gt;
436 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
437 &lt;p&gt;Elizabeth's funeral procession, composed of more than a thousand
438 mourners, began on 28 April.&amp;nbsp; It was a stirring tribute to the queen,
439 never forgotten by those who witnessed its passing.&amp;nbsp; But her tomb, paid
440 for by the new king, was less impressive than that provided to his disgraced
441 mother, and cost far less.&amp;nbsp; It can still be visited in Westminster
442 Abbey, where Elizabeth rests alongside her half-sister Queen Mary I.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
443 &lt;hr&gt;
444 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
445 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
446&lt;/blockquote&gt;
447
448 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'My good mistress is gone, I shall not
449 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;
450 &lt;blockquote&gt;
451 &lt;blockquote&gt;
452 &lt;blockquote&gt;
453 &lt;hr&gt;
454 &lt;P align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;A
455 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html&quot;&gt;to Tudor
456 Monarchs&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
457 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz4.html&quot;&gt;back to
458 Queen Elizabeth I, part four&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
459 &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
460 Devereux, earl of Essex, is most beautifully told in Lytton Strachey's
461 'Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History'.&amp;nbsp; Strachey often wanders far
462 off course, and his psychological portrait of Elizabeth is flawed, but he
463 writes like a dream.&amp;nbsp; As for conventional biographies of Elizabeth I,
464 my favorite is by Lacey Baldwin Smith.&lt;br&gt;Thanks for
465 exploring / reading my Queen Elizabeth I website.&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt;-Marilee&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
466 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
467 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
468&lt;/blockquote&gt;
469
470 &lt;P align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;last
471 revised 8 March 2004&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
472
473
474
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477</Content>
478</Section>
479</Archive>
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