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15 <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
16 <Metadata name="Content">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
17 <Metadata name="Page_topic">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
18 <Metadata name="Title">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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22 <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Monarchs</Metadata>
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37
38&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot; height=&quot;667&quot;&gt;
39 &lt;tr&gt;
40 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;29&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
41 &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;
42 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;29&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
43 &lt;/tr&gt;
44 &lt;tr&gt;
45 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
46 &lt;td width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
47 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
48 &lt;IMG height=98 alt=&quot;Queen Elizabeth I&quot;
49 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-queenuse.gif&quot; width=422&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
50 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
51 &lt;/tr&gt;
52 &lt;tr&gt;
53 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
54 &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;
55 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
56 &lt;img border=&quot;2&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-coronation.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;The 'Coronation Portrait' of Elizabeth I; late 16th copy of a lost original&quot; width=&quot;294&quot; height=&quot;427&quot;&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;
57 &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;
58 &amp;nbsp;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
59 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Visit
60 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html&quot;&gt;Elizabethan
61 Images&lt;/a&gt; to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with
62 commentary.&lt;BR&gt;Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at &lt;A
63 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html&quot;&gt;Primary
64 Sources&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen
65 Elizabeth I at &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html&quot;&gt;
66 Secondary Sources&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
67 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
68 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Visit &lt;A
69 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html&quot;&gt;the Anne
70 Boleyn website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.&lt;BR&gt;Visit &lt;A
71 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html&quot;&gt;the Mary,
72 queen of Scots website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's
73 cousin.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at &lt;A
74 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html&quot;&gt;Tudor
75 Quizzes&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
76 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
77 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
78 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.alassea.net%2ffl%2felizabeth&quot;&gt;The Virgin Queen
79 fanlisting&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
80 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
81 &lt;/td&gt;
82 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
83 &lt;/tr&gt;
84&lt;/table&gt;
85
86&lt;blockquote&gt;
87 &lt;blockquote&gt;
88 &lt;blockquote&gt;
89 &lt;hr&gt;
90 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
91 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
92 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Some have fallen from being Princes of this land to be
93 prisoners in this place; I am raised from being prisoner in this place to be
94 Prince of this land.&amp;nbsp; That dejection was a work of God's justice; this
95 advancement is a work of His mercy.' &lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Elizabeth
96 I at the Tower of London, during her coronation ceremonies,
97 1559&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
98 &lt;blockquote&gt;
99 &lt;blockquote&gt;
100 &lt;hr&gt;
101
102 &lt;P&gt;There is an apocryphal story about Elizabeth's accession.&amp;nbsp; In it,
103 she was out in the meadows surrounding Hatfield when the courtiers
104 approached.&amp;nbsp; They bowed before her, and presented Mary's signet
105 ring.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth supposedly fell upon her knees and exclaimed, most
106 aptly, 'A Domino factum est illud et est mirabile in oculis nostris.'
107 ('This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in Our eyes.')&amp;nbsp; The
108 citizens of London undoubtedly felt the same; upon receiving word of
109 Mary's death, bonfires were lit and tables were set in the streets for a
110 grand celebratory feast.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
111 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;A glorious accession, then, and much celebrated.&amp;nbsp; A
112 contemporary observer, however, commented wryly upon the state of affairs
113 in England in 1558: 'The Queen poor; the realm exhausted; the nobility
114 poor and decayed; want of good captains and soldiers; the people out of
115 order; justice not executed; justices of peace unmeet for office; all
116 things dear; excess of meat and drink, and apparel; division among
117 ourselves; war with France and Scotland; the French King, having one foot
118 in Calais and the other in Scotland; steadfast enmity, but no steadfast
119 friendship abroad.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
120 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth was well aware of the dire situation she faced.&amp;nbsp; She
121 herself had been the victim of the religious and political confusion of
122 Mary's reign.&amp;nbsp; And&lt;IMG height=412
123 alt=&quot;'The Ditchley Portrait' of Elizabeth I&quot;
124 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-ditchley.jpg&quot; width=281 border=2 align=&quot;right&quot;&gt; even the weather had been uncooperative for Queen
125 Mary; the droughts which had plagued farmers led to high prices and much
126 poverty.&amp;nbsp; Most of the poor flocked to London where they crowded into
127 ever-expanding slums.&amp;nbsp; Mary's attempts to reform the debased currency
128 of Henry VIII and Edward VI's reign had been somewhat successful, but
129 England was still considered a poor credit risk on the Continent.&amp;nbsp;
130 &lt;/P&gt;
131 &lt;P&gt;And so the new queen, though popular and much-admired, did not inherit
132 a stable and prosperous country - and the quest for stability and
133 prosperity became the guiding force of her reign.&amp;nbsp; To that end, she
134 came to eschew foreign entanglements and religious extremism.&amp;nbsp;
135 Practical and pragmatic, Elizabeth chose as her motto 'Semper Eadem'
136 ('Always the Same'), and it was highly appropriate.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
137 &lt;P&gt;Her succession was assured and untroubled.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth knew
138 that when the celebrations ended, the real work would begin.&amp;nbsp; Almost
139 immediately, she would be forced to consider a rival claim to the throne
140 by her cousin, Mary Stuart.&amp;nbsp; Queen of Scotland since infancy, and now
141 the wife of the French dauphin (and crowned queen of France in 1559), Mary
142 was denied a place in the Tudor succession by Henry VIII's will.&amp;nbsp; But
143 she was a Catholic and had the French monarchy behind her.&amp;nbsp; For her
144 part, she was content to stay in France.&amp;nbsp; But she did - with spirit
145 and not much sense, as was her wont - choose to quarter the royal arms of
146 England, Wales and Ireland upon her heraldry, thus openly laying claim to
147 the throne of England.&amp;nbsp; Even this symbolic act was fraught with
148 political danger for the queenly cousins.&amp;nbsp; From her accession on,
149 Elizabeth knew her Scottish 'sister' was a serious concern; and while Mary
150 was safely in France, it was all for the better.&amp;nbsp; Scotland was
151 already turning Protestant and England could continue to support its
152 religious dissension and political upheaval.&amp;nbsp; If their northern
153 neighbor was kept busy with its own troubles, it was less likely to clash
154 with England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
155 &lt;P&gt;As for her English subjects, even the Catholics were largely against
156 Mary Stuart's claims.&amp;nbsp; In this case, nationalism trumped
157 religion.&amp;nbsp; There were other English claimants, of course; the younger
158 sisters of the unfortunate &lt;A
159 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html&quot;&gt;Lady Jane
160 Grey&lt;/A&gt;.&amp;nbsp; But of the two, &lt;A
161 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fcathgrey.html&quot;&gt;Catherine&lt;/A&gt;
162 was flighty and foolish and Mary was barely four feet tall.&amp;nbsp; Neither
163 was a popular choice to be queen.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
164 &lt;P&gt;Her smooth accession was further assured by the Lord Chancellor,
165 Nicholas Heath.&amp;nbsp; Parliament had been in session while Mary lay dying
166 and, on 17 November, Heath announced her death to the assembled lords and
167 commons.&amp;nbsp; He then said, 'Which hap as it is most heavy and grievous
168 unto us, so have we no less cause another way to rejoice with praise to
169 Almighty God for that He hath left unto us a true, lawful and right
170 inheritrice to the crown of this realm, which is the Lady Elizabeth, of
171 whose lawful right and title we need not to doubt.&amp;nbsp; Wherefore the
172 lords of this house have determined with your assents and consents, to
173 pass from hence into the palace, and there to proclaim the said Lady
174 Elizabeth Queen of this realm without further tract of time.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
175 &lt;P&gt;There was no dissension at Heath's words.&amp;nbsp; Traditionally,
176 Parliament dissolved upon the death of the reigning monarch - but Heath's
177 prompt actions ensured Elizabeth's lawful recognition as queen before the
178 lords and commons dispersed.&amp;nbsp; And, as a leading Catholic, Heath also
179 secured the loyalty of his religious party for the new queen.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
180 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth held court at Hatfield for about a week, assembling statesmen
181 and studying English affairs more acutely.&amp;nbsp; Nicholas Throckmorton
182 wrote to her immediately; he advised her to be wary and careful, so that
183 neither 'the old or the new should wholly understand what you mean.'&amp;nbsp;
184 She did not need such advice; it was already central to her
185 character.&amp;nbsp; How else had she survived the reigns of Edward and
186 Mary?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
187 &lt;P&gt;
188 &lt;IMG height=206 alt=&quot;Elizabeth I's greatest advisor, Sir William Cecil&quot;
189 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/cecil-sm1.jpg&quot; width=140 border=2 align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;On 20 November, she held her first council meeting and appointed the
190 loyal William Cecil as her Principal Secretary of State.&amp;nbsp; They had
191 been friends for a long while, since his appointment as her accountant
192 many years ago.&amp;nbsp; And, for the next forty years, they were to rule
193 England as a virtually inseparable team.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth's words to Cecil
194 have become justly famous: 'I give you this charge, that you shall be of
195 my Privy Council and content to take pains for me and my realm.&amp;nbsp; This
196 judgment I have of you that you will not be corrupted by any manner of
197 gift and that you will be faithful to the state; and that without respect
198 of my private will you will give me that counsel which you think best and
199 if you shall know anything necessary to be declared to me of secrecy, you
200 shall show it to myself only.&amp;nbsp; And assure yourself I will not fail to
201 keep taciturnity therein and therefore herewith I charge you.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
202 &lt;P&gt;All monarchs use such appointments to reward loyalty and friendship;
203 Cecil's was also a reward for ability.&amp;nbsp; On a more personal note,
204 Elizabeth rewarded the faithful servants who had been her companions since
205 childhood, among them Thomas Parry and Kat Ashley.&amp;nbsp; The handsome
206 Robert Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse; he was the son of the
207 late Lord Protector and had been imprisoned in the Tower with Elizabeth
208 during Mary's reign.&amp;nbsp; Not coincidentally, this position required
209 close contact with the queen.&amp;nbsp; Thus from the very beginning, a source
210 of rivalry was established amongst Elizabeth's closest councilors.&amp;nbsp;
211 Cecil and Dudley disliked one another, each man viewing the other as his
212 main rival for the queen's attention.&amp;nbsp; But even this potentially
213 untenable situation benefited the young queen; it meant that she alone
214 dominated her government while two rival factions developed, each centered
215 around Cecil and Dudley.&lt;/P&gt;
216 &lt;hr&gt;
217 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
218 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
219 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Everything depends upon the husband this woman takes.'&amp;nbsp;
220 &lt;BR&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;the Spanish ambassador De Feria, 1560&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
221 &lt;blockquote&gt;
222 &lt;blockquote&gt;
223 &lt;hr&gt;
224 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
225 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
226 &lt;P align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'If I were a milkmaid with a pail on my
227 arm, whereby my private person might be little set by, I would not forsake
228 that poor and single state to match with the greatest monarch.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
229 &lt;/font&gt;&lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Elizabeth I
230 to Parliament, regarding marriage&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
231 &lt;blockquote&gt;
232 &lt;blockquote&gt;
233 &lt;hr&gt;
234 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth well understood the importance of public relations and knew
235 her entry into London must be a lavish spectacle; the coronation which
236 would follow must be even more impressive.&amp;nbsp; Dudley was placed in
237 charge of the coronation plans.&amp;nbsp; He was well-suited to the
238 task.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth's favorite astronomer, Dr John Dee, was consulted
239 and Sunday, 15 January 1559 was selected as the perfect date.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
240 &lt;P&gt;On 23 November, Elizabeth left Hatfield for London; she stayed at the
241 Charterhouse, and for the next five days she made regular appearances
242 before adoring crowds.&amp;nbsp; On Monday 28 November, she left the
243 Charterhouse to ride through London and to the Tower.&amp;nbsp; She wore a
244 purple velvet gown and had a scarf tied loosely around her neck.&amp;nbsp;
245 Dudley rode closely behind her.&amp;nbsp; When they neared the Tower, both the
246 queen and her Master of the Horse appreciated the irony of the
247 moment.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth said simply, and wittily: 'Some have fallen from
248 being Princes of this land to be prisoners in this place; I am raised from
249 being prisoner in this place to be Prince of this land.&amp;nbsp; That
250 dejection was a work of God's justice; this advancement is a work of His
251 mercy.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
252 &lt;P&gt;She spent the next ten days at the Tower, holding council meetings and
253 slowly but steadily learning how to rule.&amp;nbsp; She had been welcomed to
254 the throne with great celebration, but few monarchs have inherited such a
255 dire predicament.&amp;nbsp; Religious turmoil was inevitable; though
256 the Protestants regarded Elizabeth as their savior, many Marian exiles
257 believed she would maintain her sister's religious changes.&amp;nbsp; She had
258 to tread carefully - and fortunately for both Elizabeth and her nation,
259 she was uniquely suited to do so.&amp;nbsp; She made it clear to her
260 councilors that she wanted no windows into men's souls.&amp;nbsp; Also, she
261 would not be dominated by one religious party at the expense of
262 another.&amp;nbsp; For Elizabeth, her citizens were Englishmen first; their
263 religious loyalties - whether Catholic or Protestant - were to remain
264 subservient to their loyalty to her as queen of England.&amp;nbsp; This
265 explains her later disregard for Puritanism.&amp;nbsp; She characteristically
266 remarked that she preferred loyal Catholics to Puritans; this may have
267 confused some of her subjects since she was a Protestant queen, and the
268 Puritans were simply Protestant extremists.&amp;nbsp; However, Elizabeth
269 recognized that, by the end of her reign, most of her Catholic subjects
270 were loyal to her instead of the pope (despite her excommunication) and
271 accepted royal prerogative.&amp;nbsp; Her Puritan subjects, however, did not
272 recognize the sanctity of the crown, and their presence in Parliament
273 ensured a steady erosion of royal power.&amp;nbsp; The end result of this
274 conflict occurred during the reign of Charles I, when a powerful Puritan
275 populace revolted against their Catholic king and beheaded him.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
276 &lt;P&gt;Luckily, most of Elizabeth's councilors were of the same mind as the
277 queen.&amp;nbsp; Their first priority was the stability of the realm, and they
278 wanted to negotiate a truce of sorts between the two factions.&amp;nbsp; Of
279 course, the more extreme members of both parties could not be
280 satisfied.&amp;nbsp; Also, Philip II of Spain and Henri II of France had
281 recently ended their near-constant warfare, and now England remained
282 outside Continental affairs; perhaps it would become the prey of both
283 powers.&amp;nbsp; When Elizabeth's court moved to Whitehall for Christmas, the
284 Spanish ambassador De Feria tried to secure a possible marriage between
285 Elizabeth and one of Philip's innumerable relatives.&amp;nbsp; Already her
286 expected marriage dominated European politics.&amp;nbsp; No one expected her
287 to rule alone.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
288 &lt;P&gt;The Christmas festivities at Whitehall were quite extravagant.&amp;nbsp;
289 The English court had not had cause for much celebration in years; Mary's
290 reign had been increasingly insular and solemn.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth, young
291 and beautiful, was determined to celebrate her near-miraculous
292 triumph.&amp;nbsp; And yet Christmas would pale in comparison to her
293 coronation festivities.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
294 &lt;P&gt;On the 12th of January, she set out once again to the Tower, traveling
295 by river from Whitehall.&amp;nbsp; Two days later, at two o'clock in the
296 afternoon, she rode in an open litter for her recognition procession
297 throughout London.&amp;nbsp; She wore a gown of crimson velvet and cloth of
298 gold with an ermine cape for warmth, and was surrounded by richly-dressed
299 lords and ladies.&amp;nbsp; Crowds of Londoners thronged the streets, to the
300 queen's open delight.&amp;nbsp; It was a cold and wet Saturday with snow
301 flurries settling upon the brocade canopy of the queen's litter, but the
302 weather could not distract from the spectacle.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
303 &lt;P&gt;The entire route through the city was marked by pageants, plays, and
304 orations; even Anne Boleyn appeared in a tableau beside Henry VIII.&amp;nbsp;
305 Elizabeth's replies to each presentation were memorable and kind; to the
306 Recorder of London, she memorably said, 'Whereas your request is that I
307 should continue your good lady and Queen, be ye assured that I will be as
308 good unto you as ever Queen was to her people.&amp;nbsp; No will in me can
309 lack, neither do I trust shall there lack any power.&amp;nbsp; And persuade
310 yourselves, that for the safety and quietness of you all, I will not spare
311 if need be to spare my blood.'&amp;nbsp; These words were not merely facile
312 endearments.&amp;nbsp; Long ago, during the dark days of Mary's reign, she had
313 realized the importance of public relations and popular support.&amp;nbsp;
314&lt;/P&gt;
315 &lt;P&gt;The next day she was crowned queen of England.&amp;nbsp; She entered
316 Westminster on foot, walking upon a long blue carpet which the crowd
317 promptly cut up for souvenirs.&amp;nbsp; The great Abbey was crowded full of
318 both rural and urban dignitaries, and their ladies.&amp;nbsp; They watched as
319 the queen marched slowly forward, the long red velvet train of her gown
320 carried by the duchess of Norfolk.&amp;nbsp; Hundreds of candles and lamps
321 burned, and the boys' choir sang beautifully while a medley of pipes,
322 drums, and the church organ played.)&amp;nbsp; She was crowned by Owen
323 Oglethorpe, the bishop of Carlisle.&amp;nbsp; The&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1woodcrop.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;portrait of Elizabeth I on wood; c1565&quot; align=&quot;right&quot; width=&quot;200&quot; height=&quot;285&quot;&gt; archbishop of Canterbury,
324 Reginald Pole, had died the same day as Queen Mary; the archbishop of York
325 asked to be excused on grounds of conscience; the bishop of Durham said he
326 was too old to perform the ceremony.&amp;nbsp; And so it fell to Dr
327 Oglethorpe, who was as good as anyone else in Elizabeth's eyes.&amp;nbsp; The
328 ceremony itself was a mish-mash of Catholic and Protestant rituals - the
329 Mass was said in Latin but the celebrant did not elevate the Host; the
330 epistle and gospel were read in Latin and English; and the coronation oath
331 itself was read from an English Bible.&amp;nbsp; In other words, it was a
332 ceremony which accurately reflected the religious confusion of mid-16th
333 century England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
334 &lt;P&gt;Oglethorpe placed the heavy Crown of St Edward on her head, but it was
335 quickly removed after the oath was administered.&amp;nbsp; Then, wearing a
336 lighter crown, the new queen was presented to the congregation.&amp;nbsp;
337 There was an explosion of noise (the Venetian ambassador said it sounded
338 like the end of the world) as bells were rung, trumpets were blown, and
339 every other musical instrument played with such force that spectators
340 winced.&amp;nbsp; The coronation banquet was held at Westminster Hall at three
341 o'clock and lasted until one o'clock Monday morning.&amp;nbsp; The new queen,
342 who now wore a becoming gown of purple velvet, sat beneath the great
343 window on a raised dais.&amp;nbsp; There were eight hundred guests, and the
344 queen was served by the Lord Chamberlain and the Chief Steward.&amp;nbsp; She
345 spoke little during the banquet, and was so tired when it ended that a
346 tournament planned for Monday afternoon was canceled.&amp;nbsp; She had also
347 caught a cold; the opening of Parliament was thus delayed from the 23rd of
348 January to the 25th.&amp;nbsp; Her arrival at Parliament, however, was another
349 moment of triumph for Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; She wore a crimson gown and a cap
350 decorated with pearls and was quite lovely and energetic despite her
351 recent cold.&amp;nbsp; When the crowd called out, 'God save and maintain
352 thee!', she responded with enthusiasm, 'God a' mercy, good people!'&amp;nbsp;
353 &lt;/P&gt;
354 &lt;P&gt;All things considered, these first two months on the throne had gone
355 very smoothly.&amp;nbsp; But most European powers were convinced she wouldn't
356 last a year as queen.&amp;nbsp; If she did, it would only be due to a
357 quick marriage.&amp;nbsp; And so, over the next several years, the dominant
358 issue of her reign would be one which she personally detested - who would
359 the queen marry, and when?&amp;nbsp; For Elizabeth, treading carefully and
360 conscious of the novelty of her position, the issue was a personal and
361 political threat - and one which she handled with exquisite care.&lt;/P&gt;
362 &lt;hr&gt;
363 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
364 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
365 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'She [Elizabeth] is incomparably more feared than her
366 sister, and gives her orders and has her way as absolutely as her father did.'&lt;/font&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;
367 &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;the Spanish ambassador De Feria,
368 1559&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
369 &lt;blockquote&gt;
370 &lt;blockquote&gt;
371 &lt;hr&gt;
372 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth's seeming obliviousness to marriage, her refusal to discuss
373 it, or her occasional witty but vague comments - all these infuriated her
374 councilors.&amp;nbsp; They seemed incapable of appreciating the impact
375 marriage would have upon her life, while its impact was distressingly
376 clear to Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; The councilors wanted a king, and an heir, a
377 natural enough desire since her throne could not be completely secure without
378 them.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth knew herself to be intellectually superior to
379 most men and she relished her independence.&amp;nbsp; And, of course, her
380 father's marital history - as well as her sister's - made her question
381 both the personal and political cost of marriage.&amp;nbsp; The new queen always
382 had a low opinion of marital happiness, and saw little reason to change
383 her mind.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
384 &lt;P&gt;Even in her own lifetime, rumors abounded that Elizabeth was physically
385 deformed, incapable of pleasing a husband or bearing a child.&amp;nbsp; It was
386 also whispered that she was a sexual deviant whose appetites could not be
387 satisfied by marriage.&amp;nbsp; However, it is clear enough that Elizabeth's
388 character - pragmatic, rational, and calculating - was not overly
389 romantic; she was openly fond of many courtiers, particularly Robert
390 Dudley.&amp;nbsp; But she never wed Dudley, and a healthy flirtation does not
391 indicate sexual deviancy.&amp;nbsp; Rather, it shows Elizabeth to be a normal
392 young woman who enjoyed the company of a handsome man.&amp;nbsp; If she had
393 not flirted with Dudley, or her other courtiers, then speculation about
394 her character would be understandable.&amp;nbsp; In truth, she was no less
395 flirtatious than her father, but the simple, unavoidable fact of her
396 gender made her flirtations far more politically charged.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
397 &lt;P&gt;Furthermore, any sexual activity would have been immediately
398 reported.&amp;nbsp; 'I do not live in a corner,' the queen once commented. 'A
399 thousand eyes see all I do, and calumny will not fasten on me for
400 ever.'&amp;nbsp; A foreign ambassador was caught paying one of her laundresses
401 for proof of the queen's regular menstrual cycle; everyone at court
402 gossiped about her relationships with the handsome courtiers who soon
403 flocked to London.&amp;nbsp; The queen herself preferred to rise above such
404 discussion.&amp;nbsp; If she fulfilled her royal duties with care and
405 diligence, and if she brought prosperity and peace to her country, then
406 she was successful.&amp;nbsp; And since she had great faith in her own
407 talents, she saw no reason to share her throne with a husband.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
408 &lt;P&gt;And so, out of love of independence and power, and a native distrust of
409 marriage, Elizabeth was determined to remain single.&amp;nbsp; Her councilors,
410 for their part, pretended to believe otherwise for quite a long
411 time.&amp;nbsp; Despite her repeated vows to 'live and die a virgin', they
412 embarked upon countless rounds of diplomatic negotiations searching for a
413 husband.&amp;nbsp; They visited her in private, they
414 openly begged her; they eventually forced a parliamentary showdown upon
415 her.&amp;nbsp; William Cecil prayed that 'God would send our mistress a
416 husband, and by time a son, that we may hope our posterity shall have a
417 masculine succession.'&amp;nbsp; Despite their close friendship, and mutual
418 respect, even Cecil succumbed to the sexism of their age - he rebuked a
419 messenger for talking to the queen of something that 'was too much for
420 woman's knowledge.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
421 &lt;P&gt;But over the years, her councilor's discomfort lessened.&amp;nbsp; Mary
422 Stuart bore a son, James, in 1566 and was imprisoned in England shortly
423 afterwards.&amp;nbsp; James was raised as a Protestant and was soon the only
424 Tudor relative with a viable claim.&amp;nbsp; His religion allowed most
425 Englishmen to look favorably upon him as Elizabeth's eventual heir.&amp;nbsp;
426 The queen wisely dangled its possibility before him and thus ensured
427 Scottish political cooperation throughout the later years of her
428 reign.&amp;nbsp; Also, as the years passed, so did the possibility that
429 Elizabeth would bear a child.&amp;nbsp; And why marry, if not for an
430 heir?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
431 &lt;P&gt;It is also worth noting the endless difficulties in selecting a
432 suitable husband.&amp;nbsp; A foreign match would have dragged England into
433 the morass of European politics, with possibly the same disastrous results
434 of Mary's marriage.&amp;nbsp; But marriage to an Englishman would have given
435 too much power to one political faction or the other.&amp;nbsp; And so
436 Elizabeth's personal dislike of marriage turned out to be a shrewd
437 political decision, though it confounded everyone for several years.&amp;nbsp;
438 &lt;/P&gt;
439 &lt;P&gt;From the earliest days of her reign, one of Elizabeth's greatest
440 political attributes was her endless prevarication.&amp;nbsp; Many historians
441 have described it less as an attribute, and more as her greatest failing.&amp;nbsp;
442 They mention her inability to decide upon marriage, or - most famously -
443 her refusal to execute Mary queen of Scots.&amp;nbsp; They argue that these
444 incidents prove she was hesitant and indecisive.&amp;nbsp; But it actually
445 reveals a formidable political talent, and one which greatly benefited her
446 nation.&amp;nbsp; The new queen was not one to whole-heartedly plunge into any
447 scheme, personal or political; thus, she refused to become involved in
448 foreign entanglements which would have bankrupted her country and produced
449 strife and discontent.&amp;nbsp; She sent money and a few troops to
450 continental Protestants, but no more.&amp;nbsp; In terms of religion, she
451 sought to strike a balance between two extremes through careful thought
452 and debate.&amp;nbsp; In doing so, she negotiated a truce of sorts which
453 lasted through most of her reign - in contrast to the religious turmoil
454 which marked the reigns before and after her own.&amp;nbsp; One could label
455 her indecisive since she did not strike a definitive stance on either
456 issue.&amp;nbsp; But she preserved the peace and prosperity of her nation; she
457 put England, and the welfare of its citizens, first.&amp;nbsp; Thus, the
458 ability to prevaricate was an essential tool of her political success,
459 however much it frustrated those who wanted her to take sides.&amp;nbsp; In
460 Elizabeth's case, one could argue that she took only the English side.&lt;/P&gt;
461 &lt;hr&gt;
462 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
463 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
464 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'She is a very vain and clever woman.&amp;nbsp; She must have
465 been thoroughly schooled in the manner in which her father conducted his
466 affairs.&amp;nbsp; She is determined to be governed by no one.' &lt;/font&gt;
467 &lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;the Spanish ambassador De Feria, 1559&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
468 &lt;blockquote&gt;
469 &lt;blockquote&gt;
470 &lt;hr&gt;
471 &lt;P&gt;
472 &lt;IMG height=307 alt=&quot;Elizabeth I's greatest love, Sir Robert Dudley&quot;
473 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliztruelove.jpg&quot; width=300 align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;This understandably caused strife within her council.&amp;nbsp; It was
474 clear from the beginning that Robert Dudley was the queen's favorite
475 courtier.&amp;nbsp; They were openly affectionate and Dudley enjoyed flaunting
476 the queen's favor.&amp;nbsp; Cecil was often terrified that Elizabeth would
477 wed Dudley, but that fear at least was soon put to rest.&amp;nbsp; At the
478 start of Elizabeth's reign, Dudley was still married to an heiress called
479 Amy Robsart; she was safely tucked away in the country while her husband
480 flirted at court.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth knew of the match; she had attended the
481 wedding.&amp;nbsp; But the marriage, which had begun happily, was soon torn
482 apart by Dudley's ambition.&amp;nbsp; But whatever he planned for the future,
483 it was soon impossible for him to dream of becoming king.&amp;nbsp; Amy was
484 living in secluded and deprived circumstances at Cumnor Place, the
485 Oxfordshire manor of Anthony Forster, an MP and close friend of
486 Dudley's.&amp;nbsp; She had been ill for some time.&amp;nbsp; On Sunday the 8th of
487 September 1560, roughly nine months after Elizabeth's coronation, she gave
488 her few servants permission to visit a fair.&amp;nbsp; When they returned,
489 they found her lying dead at the bottom of the staircase with a broken
490 neck.&amp;nbsp; There had been other ladies in the home; they reported playing
491 backgammon with Amy until, suddenly and without explanation, she left the
492 room and fell to her death.&amp;nbsp; Dudley was informed of the news while at
493 Windsor Castle with the queen.&amp;nbsp; He immediately ordered a thorough
494 investigation.&amp;nbsp; Why?&amp;nbsp; His close relationship with the queen was
495 already a minor scandal; Amy's suspicious death could make it
496 explosive.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
497 &lt;P&gt;Amy had been ill for some months, with a 'canker in her breast', as the
498 doctors said.&amp;nbsp; They had assured Dudley that his wife would not live
499 much longer.&amp;nbsp; So the immediate supposition after her death - that
500 Dudley had murdered Amy so he could marry the queen - does not make
501 sense.&amp;nbsp; There were only three other conclusions to draw - first, that
502 Amy, knowing her own condition, was depressed and angry at her husband;
503 she therefore took her own life in an attempt to end her suffering and
504 Dudley's hopes to be king.&amp;nbsp; Second, that one of Dudley's enemies had
505 murdered Amy in an attempt to discredit him and make marriage with the
506 queen impossible.&amp;nbsp; Or third, that nothing so nefarious occurred and
507 her death was completely accidental; she simply fell while walking down
508 the stairs.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
509 &lt;P&gt;But everyone enjoyed gossip and scandal too much to let it pass.&amp;nbsp;
510 And Amy's maid told a jury that her mistress had often 'prayed to God to
511 deliver her from desperation', and many courtiers remembered Dudley's
512 public speculation about divorcing his wife.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth was forced to
513 send Dudley from court until the funeral, but he did not attend the
514 service.&amp;nbsp; The queen sent Lady Norton as her representative, and it
515 was known that other ladies had been asked but refused to go because of
516 the scandal.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth's affection for Dudley was at its
517 greatest during these early years and could not be denied.&amp;nbsp; Soon
518 enough he was back at court and in as much favor as always.&amp;nbsp; Once,
519 during a boating party on the Thames, he asked the ambassador de Quadra,
520 who was also Bishop of Avila, to marry he and Elizabeth immediately.&amp;nbsp;
521 The ambassador remarked that he would do so as soon as the queen dismissed
522 her Protestant councilors from service.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
523 &lt;P&gt;In light of Amy Robsart's death, it is worth considering Elizabeth's
524 own feelings on the matter.&amp;nbsp; Her closest advisors thought she had
525 good cause to dread the woman's death, though not because of any
526 scandal.&amp;nbsp; The queen, they realized, enjoyed flirting with Dudley and
527 occasionally encouraged his fantasies, but she did not want to be given
528 the opportunity to marry him.&amp;nbsp; When Amy Robsart died, Elizabeth had
529 no ready excuse for denying Dudley's proposals.&lt;/P&gt;
530 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
531 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
532&lt;/blockquote&gt;
533
534&lt;blockquote&gt;
535 &lt;blockquote&gt;
536 &lt;blockquote&gt;
537 &lt;P&gt;But the queen had other, far more appropriate suitors.&amp;nbsp; Cecil's
538 natural inclination was to make peace with England's
539 traditional enemy, France.&amp;nbsp; He urged a match with one of Queen Catherine d'Medici and
540 King Henry II's sons.&amp;nbsp; These Francophile maneuvers began seriously
541 after Mary Stuart's French husband died in 1560 and she returned to
542 Scotland.&amp;nbsp; To thwart Cecil, other councilors pressed a Spanish
543 marriage, perhaps even to her former brother-in-law Philip.&amp;nbsp; The
544 queen expertly considered all options but never committed to any.&amp;nbsp;
545 This routine would continue until advancing age made childbirth
546 impossible.&amp;nbsp; Only then was Elizabeth truly free of parliamentary
547 meddling in her private affairs, a situation which had inspired several
548 famously bitter outbursts in 1566.&amp;nbsp; After insisting that the
549 succession was too weighty an issue for such &amp;quot;a knot of harebrains&amp;quot; as the
550 House of Commons, she later invoked her own arrest during Wyatt's
551 rebellion as the reason for her refusal to name a successor (if she would
552 not marry): &amp;quot;I did differ from her [Mary I] in religion and I was sought
553 for divers ways.&amp;nbsp; And so shall never be my successor.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; And, she
554 warned them, &amp;quot;as your Prince and head&amp;quot;, it was up to her to judge such
555 weighty political issues without parliamentary interference, &amp;quot;For it is
556 monstrous that the feet should direct the head.&amp;quot;&lt;/P&gt;
557 &lt;P&gt;In other words, they could discuss and debate and suggest - but only
558 Elizabeth could rule.&lt;/P&gt;
559 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
560 &lt;CENTER&gt;
561 &lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;A
562 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz3.html&quot;&gt;CONTINUE
563 READING&lt;/A&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
564 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;A
565 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html&quot;&gt;to Tudor
566 Monarchs&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;A
567 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz1.html&quot;&gt;back to Queen
568 Elizabeth I, part one&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
569 &lt;/CENTER&gt;
570 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
571 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
572&lt;/blockquote&gt;
573
574
575
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578</Content>
579</Section>
580</Archive>
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