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14 <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
15 <Metadata name="Content">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
16 <Metadata name="Page_topic">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
17 <Metadata name="Title">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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21 <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Monarchs</Metadata>
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36
37&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot; height=&quot;667&quot;&gt;
38 &lt;tr&gt;
39 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;29&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
40 &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;
41 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;29&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
42 &lt;/tr&gt;
43 &lt;tr&gt;
44 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
45 &lt;td width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
46 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
47 &lt;IMG height=98 alt=&quot;Queen Elizabeth I&quot;
48 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-queenuse.gif&quot; width=422&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
49 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
50 &lt;/tr&gt;
51 &lt;tr&gt;
52 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
53 &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;
54 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
55 &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;
56 &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;
57 &amp;nbsp;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
58 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Visit
59 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html&quot;&gt;Elizabethan
60 Images&lt;/a&gt; to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with
61 commentary.&lt;BR&gt;Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at &lt;A
62 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html&quot;&gt;Primary
63 Sources&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen
64 Elizabeth I at &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html&quot;&gt;
65 Secondary Sources&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
66 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
67 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Visit &lt;A
68 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html&quot;&gt;the Anne
69 Boleyn website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.&lt;BR&gt;Visit &lt;A
70 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html&quot;&gt;the Mary,
71 queen of Scots website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's
72 cousin.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at &lt;A
73 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html&quot;&gt;Tudor
74 Quizzes&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
75 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
76 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
77 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.alassea.net%2ffl%2felizabeth&quot;&gt;The Virgin Queen
78 fanlisting&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
79 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
80 &lt;/td&gt;
81 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
82 &lt;/tr&gt;
83&lt;/table&gt;
84
85&lt;blockquote&gt;
86 &lt;blockquote&gt;
87 &lt;blockquote&gt;
88 &lt;hr&gt;
89 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
90 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
91 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Some have fallen from being Princes of this land to be
92 prisoners in this place; I am raised from being prisoner in this place to be
93 Prince of this land.&amp;nbsp; That dejection was a work of God's justice; this
94 advancement is a work of His mercy.' &lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Elizabeth
95 I at the Tower of London, during her coronation ceremonies,
96 1559&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
97 &lt;blockquote&gt;
98 &lt;blockquote&gt;
99 &lt;hr&gt;
100
101 &lt;P&gt;There is an apocryphal story about Elizabeth's accession.&amp;nbsp; In it,
102 she was out in the meadows surrounding Hatfield when the courtiers
103 approached.&amp;nbsp; They bowed before her, and presented Mary's signet
104 ring.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth supposedly fell upon her knees and exclaimed, most
105 aptly, 'A Domino factum est illud et est mirabile in oculis nostris.'
106 ('This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in Our eyes.')&amp;nbsp; The
107 citizens of London undoubtedly felt the same; upon receiving word of
108 Mary's death, bonfires were lit and tables were set in the streets for a
109 grand celebratory feast.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
110 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;A glorious accession, then, and much celebrated.&amp;nbsp; A
111 contemporary observer, however, commented wryly upon the state of affairs
112 in England in 1558: 'The Queen poor; the realm exhausted; the nobility
113 poor and decayed; want of good captains and soldiers; the people out of
114 order; justice not executed; justices of peace unmeet for office; all
115 things dear; excess of meat and drink, and apparel; division among
116 ourselves; war with France and Scotland; the French King, having one foot
117 in Calais and the other in Scotland; steadfast enmity, but no steadfast
118 friendship abroad.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
119 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth was well aware of the dire situation she faced.&amp;nbsp; She
120 herself had been the victim of the religious and political confusion of
121 Mary's reign.&amp;nbsp; And&lt;IMG height=412
122 alt=&quot;'The Ditchley Portrait' of Elizabeth I&quot;
123 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-ditchley.jpg&quot; width=281 border=2 align=&quot;right&quot;&gt; even the weather had been uncooperative for Queen
124 Mary; the droughts which had plagued farmers led to high prices and much
125 poverty.&amp;nbsp; Most of the poor flocked to London where they crowded into
126 ever-expanding slums.&amp;nbsp; Mary's attempts to reform the debased currency
127 of Henry VIII and Edward VI's reign had been somewhat successful, but
128 England was still considered a poor credit risk on the Continent.&amp;nbsp;
129 &lt;/P&gt;
130 &lt;P&gt;And so the new queen, though popular and much-admired, did not inherit
131 a stable and prosperous country - and the quest for stability and
132 prosperity became the guiding force of her reign.&amp;nbsp; To that end, she
133 came to eschew foreign entanglements and religious extremism.&amp;nbsp;
134 Practical and pragmatic, Elizabeth chose as her motto 'Semper Eadem'
135 ('Always the Same'), and it was highly appropriate.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
136 &lt;P&gt;Her succession was assured and untroubled.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth knew
137 that when the celebrations ended, the real work would begin.&amp;nbsp; Almost
138 immediately, she would be forced to consider a rival claim to the throne
139 by her cousin, Mary Stuart.&amp;nbsp; Queen of Scotland since infancy, and now
140 the wife of the French dauphin (and crowned queen of France in 1559), Mary
141 was denied a place in the Tudor succession by Henry VIII's will.&amp;nbsp; But
142 she was a Catholic and had the French monarchy behind her.&amp;nbsp; For her
143 part, she was content to stay in France.&amp;nbsp; But she did - with spirit
144 and not much sense, as was her wont - choose to quarter the royal arms of
145 England, Wales and Ireland upon her heraldry, thus openly laying claim to
146 the throne of England.&amp;nbsp; Even this symbolic act was fraught with
147 political danger for the queenly cousins.&amp;nbsp; From her accession on,
148 Elizabeth knew her Scottish 'sister' was a serious concern; and while Mary
149 was safely in France, it was all for the better.&amp;nbsp; Scotland was
150 already turning Protestant and England could continue to support its
151 religious dissension and political upheaval.&amp;nbsp; If their northern
152 neighbor was kept busy with its own troubles, it was less likely to clash
153 with England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
154 &lt;P&gt;As for her English subjects, even the Catholics were largely against
155 Mary Stuart's claims.&amp;nbsp; In this case, nationalism trumped
156 religion.&amp;nbsp; There were other English claimants, of course; the younger
157 sisters of the unfortunate &lt;A
158 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html&quot;&gt;Lady Jane
159 Grey&lt;/A&gt;.&amp;nbsp; But of the two, &lt;A
160 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fcathgrey.html&quot;&gt;Catherine&lt;/A&gt;
161 was flighty and foolish and Mary was barely four feet tall.&amp;nbsp; Neither
162 was a popular choice to be queen.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
163 &lt;P&gt;Her smooth accession was further assured by the Lord Chancellor,
164 Nicholas Heath.&amp;nbsp; Parliament had been in session while Mary lay dying
165 and, on 17 November, Heath announced her death to the assembled lords and
166 commons.&amp;nbsp; He then said, 'Which hap as it is most heavy and grievous
167 unto us, so have we no less cause another way to rejoice with praise to
168 Almighty God for that He hath left unto us a true, lawful and right
169 inheritrice to the crown of this realm, which is the Lady Elizabeth, of
170 whose lawful right and title we need not to doubt.&amp;nbsp; Wherefore the
171 lords of this house have determined with your assents and consents, to
172 pass from hence into the palace, and there to proclaim the said Lady
173 Elizabeth Queen of this realm without further tract of time.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
174 &lt;P&gt;There was no dissension at Heath's words.&amp;nbsp; Traditionally,
175 Parliament dissolved upon the death of the reigning monarch - but Heath's
176 prompt actions ensured Elizabeth's lawful recognition as queen before the
177 lords and commons dispersed.&amp;nbsp; And, as a leading Catholic, Heath also
178 secured the loyalty of his religious party for the new queen.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
179 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth held court at Hatfield for about a week, assembling statesmen
180 and studying English affairs more acutely.&amp;nbsp; Nicholas Throckmorton
181 wrote to her immediately; he advised her to be wary and careful, so that
182 neither 'the old or the new should wholly understand what you mean.'&amp;nbsp;
183 She did not need such advice; it was already central to her
184 character.&amp;nbsp; How else had she survived the reigns of Edward and
185 Mary?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
186 &lt;P&gt;
187 &lt;IMG height=206 alt=&quot;Elizabeth I's greatest advisor, Sir William Cecil&quot;
188 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
189 loyal William Cecil as her Principal Secretary of State.&amp;nbsp; They had
190 been friends for a long while, since his appointment as her accountant
191 many years ago.&amp;nbsp; And, for the next forty years, they were to rule
192 England as a virtually inseparable team.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth's words to Cecil
193 have become justly famous: 'I give you this charge, that you shall be of
194 my Privy Council and content to take pains for me and my realm.&amp;nbsp; This
195 judgment I have of you that you will not be corrupted by any manner of
196 gift and that you will be faithful to the state; and that without respect
197 of my private will you will give me that counsel which you think best and
198 if you shall know anything necessary to be declared to me of secrecy, you
199 shall show it to myself only.&amp;nbsp; And assure yourself I will not fail to
200 keep taciturnity therein and therefore herewith I charge you.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
201 &lt;P&gt;All monarchs use such appointments to reward loyalty and friendship;
202 Cecil's was also a reward for ability.&amp;nbsp; On a more personal note,
203 Elizabeth rewarded the faithful servants who had been her companions since
204 childhood, among them Thomas Parry and Kat Ashley.&amp;nbsp; The handsome
205 Robert Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse; he was the son of the
206 late Lord Protector and had been imprisoned in the Tower with Elizabeth
207 during Mary's reign.&amp;nbsp; Not coincidentally, this position required
208 close contact with the queen.&amp;nbsp; Thus from the very beginning, a source
209 of rivalry was established amongst Elizabeth's closest councilors.&amp;nbsp;
210 Cecil and Dudley disliked one another, each man viewing the other as his
211 main rival for the queen's attention.&amp;nbsp; But even this potentially
212 untenable situation benefited the young queen; it meant that she alone
213 dominated her government while two rival factions developed, each centered
214 around Cecil and Dudley.&lt;/P&gt;
215 &lt;hr&gt;
216 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
217 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
218 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Everything depends upon the husband this woman takes.'&amp;nbsp;
219 &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;
220 &lt;blockquote&gt;
221 &lt;blockquote&gt;
222 &lt;hr&gt;
223 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
224 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
225 &lt;P align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'If I were a milkmaid with a pail on my
226 arm, whereby my private person might be little set by, I would not forsake
227 that poor and single state to match with the greatest monarch.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
228 &lt;/font&gt;&lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Elizabeth I
229 to Parliament, regarding marriage&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
230 &lt;blockquote&gt;
231 &lt;blockquote&gt;
232 &lt;hr&gt;
233 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth well understood the importance of public relations and knew
234 her entry into London must be a lavish spectacle; the coronation which
235 would follow must be even more impressive.&amp;nbsp; Dudley was placed in
236 charge of the coronation plans.&amp;nbsp; He was well-suited to the
237 task.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth's favorite astronomer, Dr John Dee, was consulted
238 and Sunday, 15 January 1559 was selected as the perfect date.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
239 &lt;P&gt;On 23 November, Elizabeth left Hatfield for London; she stayed at the
240 Charterhouse, and for the next five days she made regular appearances
241 before adoring crowds.&amp;nbsp; On Monday 28 November, she left the
242 Charterhouse to ride through London and to the Tower.&amp;nbsp; She wore a
243 purple velvet gown and had a scarf tied loosely around her neck.&amp;nbsp;
244 Dudley rode closely behind her.&amp;nbsp; When they neared the Tower, both the
245 queen and her Master of the Horse appreciated the irony of the
246 moment.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth said simply, and wittily: 'Some have fallen from
247 being Princes of this land to be prisoners in this place; I am raised from
248 being prisoner in this place to be Prince of this land.&amp;nbsp; That
249 dejection was a work of God's justice; this advancement is a work of His
250 mercy.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
251 &lt;P&gt;She spent the next ten days at the Tower, holding council meetings and
252 slowly but steadily learning how to rule.&amp;nbsp; She had been welcomed to
253 the throne with great celebration, but few monarchs have inherited such a
254 dire predicament.&amp;nbsp; Religious turmoil was inevitable; though
255 the Protestants regarded Elizabeth as their savior, many Marian exiles
256 believed she would maintain her sister's religious changes.&amp;nbsp; She had
257 to tread carefully - and fortunately for both Elizabeth and her nation,
258 she was uniquely suited to do so.&amp;nbsp; She made it clear to her
259 councilors that she wanted no windows into men's souls.&amp;nbsp; Also, she
260 would not be dominated by one religious party at the expense of
261 another.&amp;nbsp; For Elizabeth, her citizens were Englishmen first; their
262 religious loyalties - whether Catholic or Protestant - were to remain
263 subservient to their loyalty to her as queen of England.&amp;nbsp; This
264 explains her later disregard for Puritanism.&amp;nbsp; She characteristically
265 remarked that she preferred loyal Catholics to Puritans; this may have
266 confused some of her subjects since she was a Protestant queen, and the
267 Puritans were simply Protestant extremists.&amp;nbsp; However, Elizabeth
268 recognized that, by the end of her reign, most of her Catholic subjects
269 were loyal to her instead of the pope (despite her excommunication) and
270 accepted royal prerogative.&amp;nbsp; Her Puritan subjects, however, did not
271 recognize the sanctity of the crown, and their presence in Parliament
272 ensured a steady erosion of royal power.&amp;nbsp; The end result of this
273 conflict occurred during the reign of Charles I, when a powerful Puritan
274 populace revolted against their Catholic king and beheaded him.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
275 &lt;P&gt;Luckily, most of Elizabeth's councilors were of the same mind as the
276 queen.&amp;nbsp; Their first priority was the stability of the realm, and they
277 wanted to negotiate a truce of sorts between the two factions.&amp;nbsp; Of
278 course, the more extreme members of both parties could not be
279 satisfied.&amp;nbsp; Also, Philip II of Spain and Henri II of France had
280 recently ended their near-constant warfare, and now England remained
281 outside Continental affairs; perhaps it would become the prey of both
282 powers.&amp;nbsp; When Elizabeth's court moved to Whitehall for Christmas, the
283 Spanish ambassador De Feria tried to secure a possible marriage between
284 Elizabeth and one of Philip's innumerable relatives.&amp;nbsp; Already her
285 expected marriage dominated European politics.&amp;nbsp; No one expected her
286 to rule alone.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
287 &lt;P&gt;The Christmas festivities at Whitehall were quite extravagant.&amp;nbsp;
288 The English court had not had cause for much celebration in years; Mary's
289 reign had been increasingly insular and solemn.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth, young
290 and beautiful, was determined to celebrate her near-miraculous
291 triumph.&amp;nbsp; And yet Christmas would pale in comparison to her
292 coronation festivities.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
293 &lt;P&gt;On the 12th of January, she set out once again to the Tower, traveling
294 by river from Whitehall.&amp;nbsp; Two days later, at two o'clock in the
295 afternoon, she rode in an open litter for her recognition procession
296 throughout London.&amp;nbsp; She wore a gown of crimson velvet and cloth of
297 gold with an ermine cape for warmth, and was surrounded by richly-dressed
298 lords and ladies.&amp;nbsp; Crowds of Londoners thronged the streets, to the
299 queen's open delight.&amp;nbsp; It was a cold and wet Saturday with snow
300 flurries settling upon the brocade canopy of the queen's litter, but the
301 weather could not distract from the spectacle.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
302 &lt;P&gt;The entire route through the city was marked by pageants, plays, and
303 orations; even Anne Boleyn appeared in a tableau beside Henry VIII.&amp;nbsp;
304 Elizabeth's replies to each presentation were memorable and kind; to the
305 Recorder of London, she memorably said, 'Whereas your request is that I
306 should continue your good lady and Queen, be ye assured that I will be as
307 good unto you as ever Queen was to her people.&amp;nbsp; No will in me can
308 lack, neither do I trust shall there lack any power.&amp;nbsp; And persuade
309 yourselves, that for the safety and quietness of you all, I will not spare
310 if need be to spare my blood.'&amp;nbsp; These words were not merely facile
311 endearments.&amp;nbsp; Long ago, during the dark days of Mary's reign, she had
312 realized the importance of public relations and popular support.&amp;nbsp;
313&lt;/P&gt;
314 &lt;P&gt;The next day she was crowned queen of England.&amp;nbsp; She entered
315 Westminster on foot, walking upon a long blue carpet which the crowd
316 promptly cut up for souvenirs.&amp;nbsp; The great Abbey was crowded full of
317 both rural and urban dignitaries, and their ladies.&amp;nbsp; They watched as
318 the queen marched slowly forward, the long red velvet train of her gown
319 carried by the duchess of Norfolk.&amp;nbsp; Hundreds of candles and lamps
320 burned, and the boys' choir sang beautifully while a medley of pipes,
321 drums, and the church organ played.)&amp;nbsp; She was crowned by Owen
322 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,
323 Reginald Pole, had died the same day as Queen Mary; the archbishop of York
324 asked to be excused on grounds of conscience; the bishop of Durham said he
325 was too old to perform the ceremony.&amp;nbsp; And so it fell to Dr
326 Oglethorpe, who was as good as anyone else in Elizabeth's eyes.&amp;nbsp; The
327 ceremony itself was a mish-mash of Catholic and Protestant rituals - the
328 Mass was said in Latin but the celebrant did not elevate the Host; the
329 epistle and gospel were read in Latin and English; and the coronation oath
330 itself was read from an English Bible.&amp;nbsp; In other words, it was a
331 ceremony which accurately reflected the religious confusion of mid-16th
332 century England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
333 &lt;P&gt;Oglethorpe placed the heavy Crown of St Edward on her head, but it was
334 quickly removed after the oath was administered.&amp;nbsp; Then, wearing a
335 lighter crown, the new queen was presented to the congregation.&amp;nbsp;
336 There was an explosion of noise (the Venetian ambassador said it sounded
337 like the end of the world) as bells were rung, trumpets were blown, and
338 every other musical instrument played with such force that spectators
339 winced.&amp;nbsp; The coronation banquet was held at Westminster Hall at three
340 o'clock and lasted until one o'clock Monday morning.&amp;nbsp; The new queen,
341 who now wore a becoming gown of purple velvet, sat beneath the great
342 window on a raised dais.&amp;nbsp; There were eight hundred guests, and the
343 queen was served by the Lord Chamberlain and the Chief Steward.&amp;nbsp; She
344 spoke little during the banquet, and was so tired when it ended that a
345 tournament planned for Monday afternoon was canceled.&amp;nbsp; She had also
346 caught a cold; the opening of Parliament was thus delayed from the 23rd of
347 January to the 25th.&amp;nbsp; Her arrival at Parliament, however, was another
348 moment of triumph for Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; She wore a crimson gown and a cap
349 decorated with pearls and was quite lovely and energetic despite her
350 recent cold.&amp;nbsp; When the crowd called out, 'God save and maintain
351 thee!', she responded with enthusiasm, 'God a' mercy, good people!'&amp;nbsp;
352 &lt;/P&gt;
353 &lt;P&gt;All things considered, these first two months on the throne had gone
354 very smoothly.&amp;nbsp; But most European powers were convinced she wouldn't
355 last a year as queen.&amp;nbsp; If she did, it would only be due to a
356 quick marriage.&amp;nbsp; And so, over the next several years, the dominant
357 issue of her reign would be one which she personally detested - who would
358 the queen marry, and when?&amp;nbsp; For Elizabeth, treading carefully and
359 conscious of the novelty of her position, the issue was a personal and
360 political threat - and one which she handled with exquisite care.&lt;/P&gt;
361 &lt;hr&gt;
362 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
363 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
364 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'She [Elizabeth] is incomparably more feared than her
365 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;
366 &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,
367 1559&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
368 &lt;blockquote&gt;
369 &lt;blockquote&gt;
370 &lt;hr&gt;
371 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth's seeming obliviousness to marriage, her refusal to discuss
372 it, or her occasional witty but vague comments - all these infuriated her
373 councilors.&amp;nbsp; They seemed incapable of appreciating the impact
374 marriage would have upon her life, while its impact was distressingly
375 clear to Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; The councilors wanted a king, and an heir, a
376 natural enough desire since her throne could not be completely secure without
377 them.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth knew herself to be intellectually superior to
378 most men and she relished her independence.&amp;nbsp; And, of course, her
379 father's marital history - as well as her sister's - made her question
380 both the personal and political cost of marriage.&amp;nbsp; The new queen always
381 had a low opinion of marital happiness, and saw little reason to change
382 her mind.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
383 &lt;P&gt;Even in her own lifetime, rumors abounded that Elizabeth was physically
384 deformed, incapable of pleasing a husband or bearing a child.&amp;nbsp; It was
385 also whispered that she was a sexual deviant whose appetites could not be
386 satisfied by marriage.&amp;nbsp; However, it is clear enough that Elizabeth's
387 character - pragmatic, rational, and calculating - was not overly
388 romantic; she was openly fond of many courtiers, particularly Robert
389 Dudley.&amp;nbsp; But she never wed Dudley, and a healthy flirtation does not
390 indicate sexual deviancy.&amp;nbsp; Rather, it shows Elizabeth to be a normal
391 young woman who enjoyed the company of a handsome man.&amp;nbsp; If she had
392 not flirted with Dudley, or her other courtiers, then speculation about
393 her character would be understandable.&amp;nbsp; In truth, she was no less
394 flirtatious than her father, but the simple, unavoidable fact of her
395 gender made her flirtations far more politically charged.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
396 &lt;P&gt;Furthermore, any sexual activity would have been immediately
397 reported.&amp;nbsp; 'I do not live in a corner,' the queen once commented. 'A
398 thousand eyes see all I do, and calumny will not fasten on me for
399 ever.'&amp;nbsp; A foreign ambassador was caught paying one of her laundresses
400 for proof of the queen's regular menstrual cycle; everyone at court
401 gossiped about her relationships with the handsome courtiers who soon
402 flocked to London.&amp;nbsp; The queen herself preferred to rise above such
403 discussion.&amp;nbsp; If she fulfilled her royal duties with care and
404 diligence, and if she brought prosperity and peace to her country, then
405 she was successful.&amp;nbsp; And since she had great faith in her own
406 talents, she saw no reason to share her throne with a husband.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
407 &lt;P&gt;And so, out of love of independence and power, and a native distrust of
408 marriage, Elizabeth was determined to remain single.&amp;nbsp; Her councilors,
409 for their part, pretended to believe otherwise for quite a long
410 time.&amp;nbsp; Despite her repeated vows to 'live and die a virgin', they
411 embarked upon countless rounds of diplomatic negotiations searching for a
412 husband.&amp;nbsp; They visited her in private, they
413 openly begged her; they eventually forced a parliamentary showdown upon
414 her.&amp;nbsp; William Cecil prayed that 'God would send our mistress a
415 husband, and by time a son, that we may hope our posterity shall have a
416 masculine succession.'&amp;nbsp; Despite their close friendship, and mutual
417 respect, even Cecil succumbed to the sexism of their age - he rebuked a
418 messenger for talking to the queen of something that 'was too much for
419 woman's knowledge.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
420 &lt;P&gt;But over the years, her councilor's discomfort lessened.&amp;nbsp; Mary
421 Stuart bore a son, James, in 1566 and was imprisoned in England shortly
422 afterwards.&amp;nbsp; James was raised as a Protestant and was soon the only
423 Tudor relative with a viable claim.&amp;nbsp; His religion allowed most
424 Englishmen to look favorably upon him as Elizabeth's eventual heir.&amp;nbsp;
425 The queen wisely dangled its possibility before him and thus ensured
426 Scottish political cooperation throughout the later years of her
427 reign.&amp;nbsp; Also, as the years passed, so did the possibility that
428 Elizabeth would bear a child.&amp;nbsp; And why marry, if not for an
429 heir?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
430 &lt;P&gt;It is also worth noting the endless difficulties in selecting a
431 suitable husband.&amp;nbsp; A foreign match would have dragged England into
432 the morass of European politics, with possibly the same disastrous results
433 of Mary's marriage.&amp;nbsp; But marriage to an Englishman would have given
434 too much power to one political faction or the other.&amp;nbsp; And so
435 Elizabeth's personal dislike of marriage turned out to be a shrewd
436 political decision, though it confounded everyone for several years.&amp;nbsp;
437 &lt;/P&gt;
438 &lt;P&gt;From the earliest days of her reign, one of Elizabeth's greatest
439 political attributes was her endless prevarication.&amp;nbsp; Many historians
440 have described it less as an attribute, and more as her greatest failing.&amp;nbsp;
441 They mention her inability to decide upon marriage, or - most famously -
442 her refusal to execute Mary queen of Scots.&amp;nbsp; They argue that these
443 incidents prove she was hesitant and indecisive.&amp;nbsp; But it actually
444 reveals a formidable political talent, and one which greatly benefited her
445 nation.&amp;nbsp; The new queen was not one to whole-heartedly plunge into any
446 scheme, personal or political; thus, she refused to become involved in
447 foreign entanglements which would have bankrupted her country and produced
448 strife and discontent.&amp;nbsp; She sent money and a few troops to
449 continental Protestants, but no more.&amp;nbsp; In terms of religion, she
450 sought to strike a balance between two extremes through careful thought
451 and debate.&amp;nbsp; In doing so, she negotiated a truce of sorts which
452 lasted through most of her reign - in contrast to the religious turmoil
453 which marked the reigns before and after her own.&amp;nbsp; One could label
454 her indecisive since she did not strike a definitive stance on either
455 issue.&amp;nbsp; But she preserved the peace and prosperity of her nation; she
456 put England, and the welfare of its citizens, first.&amp;nbsp; Thus, the
457 ability to prevaricate was an essential tool of her political success,
458 however much it frustrated those who wanted her to take sides.&amp;nbsp; In
459 Elizabeth's case, one could argue that she took only the English side.&lt;/P&gt;
460 &lt;hr&gt;
461 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
462 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
463 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'She is a very vain and clever woman.&amp;nbsp; She must have
464 been thoroughly schooled in the manner in which her father conducted his
465 affairs.&amp;nbsp; She is determined to be governed by no one.' &lt;/font&gt;
466 &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;
467 &lt;blockquote&gt;
468 &lt;blockquote&gt;
469 &lt;hr&gt;
470 &lt;P&gt;
471 &lt;IMG height=307 alt=&quot;Elizabeth I's greatest love, Sir Robert Dudley&quot;
472 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliztruelove.jpg&quot; width=300 align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;This understandably caused strife within her council.&amp;nbsp; It was
473 clear from the beginning that Robert Dudley was the queen's favorite
474 courtier.&amp;nbsp; They were openly affectionate and Dudley enjoyed flaunting
475 the queen's favor.&amp;nbsp; Cecil was often terrified that Elizabeth would
476 wed Dudley, but that fear at least was soon put to rest.&amp;nbsp; At the
477 start of Elizabeth's reign, Dudley was still married to an heiress called
478 Amy Robsart; she was safely tucked away in the country while her husband
479 flirted at court.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth knew of the match; she had attended the
480 wedding.&amp;nbsp; But the marriage, which had begun happily, was soon torn
481 apart by Dudley's ambition.&amp;nbsp; But whatever he planned for the future,
482 it was soon impossible for him to dream of becoming king.&amp;nbsp; Amy was
483 living in secluded and deprived circumstances at Cumnor Place, the
484 Oxfordshire manor of Anthony Forster, an MP and close friend of
485 Dudley's.&amp;nbsp; She had been ill for some time.&amp;nbsp; On Sunday the 8th of
486 September 1560, roughly nine months after Elizabeth's coronation, she gave
487 her few servants permission to visit a fair.&amp;nbsp; When they returned,
488 they found her lying dead at the bottom of the staircase with a broken
489 neck.&amp;nbsp; There had been other ladies in the home; they reported playing
490 backgammon with Amy until, suddenly and without explanation, she left the
491 room and fell to her death.&amp;nbsp; Dudley was informed of the news while at
492 Windsor Castle with the queen.&amp;nbsp; He immediately ordered a thorough
493 investigation.&amp;nbsp; Why?&amp;nbsp; His close relationship with the queen was
494 already a minor scandal; Amy's suspicious death could make it
495 explosive.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
496 &lt;P&gt;Amy had been ill for some months, with a 'canker in her breast', as the
497 doctors said.&amp;nbsp; They had assured Dudley that his wife would not live
498 much longer.&amp;nbsp; So the immediate supposition after her death - that
499 Dudley had murdered Amy so he could marry the queen - does not make
500 sense.&amp;nbsp; There were only three other conclusions to draw - first, that
501 Amy, knowing her own condition, was depressed and angry at her husband;
502 she therefore took her own life in an attempt to end her suffering and
503 Dudley's hopes to be king.&amp;nbsp; Second, that one of Dudley's enemies had
504 murdered Amy in an attempt to discredit him and make marriage with the
505 queen impossible.&amp;nbsp; Or third, that nothing so nefarious occurred and
506 her death was completely accidental; she simply fell while walking down
507 the stairs.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
508 &lt;P&gt;But everyone enjoyed gossip and scandal too much to let it pass.&amp;nbsp;
509 And Amy's maid told a jury that her mistress had often 'prayed to God to
510 deliver her from desperation', and many courtiers remembered Dudley's
511 public speculation about divorcing his wife.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth was forced to
512 send Dudley from court until the funeral, but he did not attend the
513 service.&amp;nbsp; The queen sent Lady Norton as her representative, and it
514 was known that other ladies had been asked but refused to go because of
515 the scandal.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth's affection for Dudley was at its
516 greatest during these early years and could not be denied.&amp;nbsp; Soon
517 enough he was back at court and in as much favor as always.&amp;nbsp; Once,
518 during a boating party on the Thames, he asked the ambassador de Quadra,
519 who was also Bishop of Avila, to marry he and Elizabeth immediately.&amp;nbsp;
520 The ambassador remarked that he would do so as soon as the queen dismissed
521 her Protestant councilors from service.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
522 &lt;P&gt;In light of Amy Robsart's death, it is worth considering Elizabeth's
523 own feelings on the matter.&amp;nbsp; Her closest advisors thought she had
524 good cause to dread the woman's death, though not because of any
525 scandal.&amp;nbsp; The queen, they realized, enjoyed flirting with Dudley and
526 occasionally encouraged his fantasies, but she did not want to be given
527 the opportunity to marry him.&amp;nbsp; When Amy Robsart died, Elizabeth had
528 no ready excuse for denying Dudley's proposals.&lt;/P&gt;
529 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
530 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
531&lt;/blockquote&gt;
532
533&lt;blockquote&gt;
534 &lt;blockquote&gt;
535 &lt;blockquote&gt;
536 &lt;P&gt;But the queen had other, far more appropriate suitors.&amp;nbsp; Cecil's
537 natural inclination was to make peace with England's
538 traditional enemy, France.&amp;nbsp; He urged a match with one of Queen Catherine d'Medici and
539 King Henry II's sons.&amp;nbsp; These Francophile maneuvers began seriously
540 after Mary Stuart's French husband died in 1560 and she returned to
541 Scotland.&amp;nbsp; To thwart Cecil, other councilors pressed a Spanish
542 marriage, perhaps even to her former brother-in-law Philip.&amp;nbsp; The
543 queen expertly considered all options but never committed to any.&amp;nbsp;
544 This routine would continue until advancing age made childbirth
545 impossible.&amp;nbsp; Only then was Elizabeth truly free of parliamentary
546 meddling in her private affairs, a situation which had inspired several
547 famously bitter outbursts in 1566.&amp;nbsp; After insisting that the
548 succession was too weighty an issue for such &amp;quot;a knot of harebrains&amp;quot; as the
549 House of Commons, she later invoked her own arrest during Wyatt's
550 rebellion as the reason for her refusal to name a successor (if she would
551 not marry): &amp;quot;I did differ from her [Mary I] in religion and I was sought
552 for divers ways.&amp;nbsp; And so shall never be my successor.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; And, she
553 warned them, &amp;quot;as your Prince and head&amp;quot;, it was up to her to judge such
554 weighty political issues without parliamentary interference, &amp;quot;For it is
555 monstrous that the feet should direct the head.&amp;quot;&lt;/P&gt;
556 &lt;P&gt;In other words, they could discuss and debate and suggest - but only
557 Elizabeth could rule.&lt;/P&gt;
558 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
559 &lt;CENTER&gt;
560 &lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;A
561 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz3.html&quot;&gt;CONTINUE
562 READING&lt;/A&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
563 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;A
564 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html&quot;&gt;to Tudor
565 Monarchs&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;A
566 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz1.html&quot;&gt;back to Queen
567 Elizabeth I, part one&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
568 &lt;/CENTER&gt;
569 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
570 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
571&lt;/blockquote&gt;
572
573
574
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577</Content>
578</Section>
579</Archive>
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