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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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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 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;
59 &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;
60 &amp;nbsp;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
61 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Visit
62 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html&quot;&gt;Elizabethan
63 Images&lt;/a&gt; to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with
64 commentary.&lt;BR&gt;Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at &lt;A
65 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html&quot;&gt;Primary
66 Sources&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen
67 Elizabeth I at &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html&quot;&gt;
68 Secondary Sources&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
69 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
70 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Visit &lt;A
71 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html&quot;&gt;the Anne
72 Boleyn website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.&lt;BR&gt;Visit &lt;A
73 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html&quot;&gt;the Mary,
74 queen of Scots website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's
75 cousin.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at &lt;A
76 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html&quot;&gt;Tudor
77 Quizzes&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
78 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
79 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
80 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.alassea.net%2ffl%2felizabeth&quot;&gt;The Virgin Queen
81 fanlisting&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
82 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
83 &lt;/td&gt;
84 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
85 &lt;/tr&gt;
86&lt;/table&gt;
87
88&lt;blockquote&gt;
89 &lt;blockquote&gt;
90 &lt;blockquote&gt;
91 &lt;hr&gt;
92 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
93 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
94 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Some have fallen from being Princes of this land to be
95 prisoners in this place; I am raised from being prisoner in this place to be
96 Prince of this land.&amp;nbsp; That dejection was a work of God's justice; this
97 advancement is a work of His mercy.' &lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Elizabeth
98 I at the Tower of London, during her coronation ceremonies,
99 1559&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
100 &lt;blockquote&gt;
101 &lt;blockquote&gt;
102 &lt;hr&gt;
103
104 &lt;P&gt;There is an apocryphal story about Elizabeth's accession.&amp;nbsp; In it,
105 she was out in the meadows surrounding Hatfield when the courtiers
106 approached.&amp;nbsp; They bowed before her, and presented Mary's signet
107 ring.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth supposedly fell upon her knees and exclaimed, most
108 aptly, 'A Domino factum est illud et est mirabile in oculis nostris.'
109 ('This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in Our eyes.')&amp;nbsp; The
110 citizens of London undoubtedly felt the same; upon receiving word of
111 Mary's death, bonfires were lit and tables were set in the streets for a
112 grand celebratory feast.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
113 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;A glorious accession, then, and much celebrated.&amp;nbsp; A
114 contemporary observer, however, commented wryly upon the state of affairs
115 in England in 1558: 'The Queen poor; the realm exhausted; the nobility
116 poor and decayed; want of good captains and soldiers; the people out of
117 order; justice not executed; justices of peace unmeet for office; all
118 things dear; excess of meat and drink, and apparel; division among
119 ourselves; war with France and Scotland; the French King, having one foot
120 in Calais and the other in Scotland; steadfast enmity, but no steadfast
121 friendship abroad.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
122 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth was well aware of the dire situation she faced.&amp;nbsp; She
123 herself had been the victim of the religious and political confusion of
124 Mary's reign.&amp;nbsp; And&lt;IMG height=412
125 alt=&quot;'The Ditchley Portrait' of Elizabeth I&quot;
126 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-ditchley.jpg&quot; width=281 border=2 align=&quot;right&quot;&gt; even the weather had been uncooperative for Queen
127 Mary; the droughts which had plagued farmers led to high prices and much
128 poverty.&amp;nbsp; Most of the poor flocked to London where they crowded into
129 ever-expanding slums.&amp;nbsp; Mary's attempts to reform the debased currency
130 of Henry VIII and Edward VI's reign had been somewhat successful, but
131 England was still considered a poor credit risk on the Continent.&amp;nbsp;
132 &lt;/P&gt;
133 &lt;P&gt;And so the new queen, though popular and much-admired, did not inherit
134 a stable and prosperous country - and the quest for stability and
135 prosperity became the guiding force of her reign.&amp;nbsp; To that end, she
136 came to eschew foreign entanglements and religious extremism.&amp;nbsp;
137 Practical and pragmatic, Elizabeth chose as her motto 'Semper Eadem'
138 ('Always the Same'), and it was highly appropriate.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
139 &lt;P&gt;Her succession was assured and untroubled.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth knew
140 that when the celebrations ended, the real work would begin.&amp;nbsp; Almost
141 immediately, she would be forced to consider a rival claim to the throne
142 by her cousin, Mary Stuart.&amp;nbsp; Queen of Scotland since infancy, and now
143 the wife of the French dauphin (and crowned queen of France in 1559), Mary
144 was denied a place in the Tudor succession by Henry VIII's will.&amp;nbsp; But
145 she was a Catholic and had the French monarchy behind her.&amp;nbsp; For her
146 part, she was content to stay in France.&amp;nbsp; But she did - with spirit
147 and not much sense, as was her wont - choose to quarter the royal arms of
148 England, Wales and Ireland upon her heraldry, thus openly laying claim to
149 the throne of England.&amp;nbsp; Even this symbolic act was fraught with
150 political danger for the queenly cousins.&amp;nbsp; From her accession on,
151 Elizabeth knew her Scottish 'sister' was a serious concern; and while Mary
152 was safely in France, it was all for the better.&amp;nbsp; Scotland was
153 already turning Protestant and England could continue to support its
154 religious dissension and political upheaval.&amp;nbsp; If their northern
155 neighbor was kept busy with its own troubles, it was less likely to clash
156 with England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
157 &lt;P&gt;As for her English subjects, even the Catholics were largely against
158 Mary Stuart's claims.&amp;nbsp; In this case, nationalism trumped
159 religion.&amp;nbsp; There were other English claimants, of course; the younger
160 sisters of the unfortunate &lt;A
161 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html&quot;&gt;Lady Jane
162 Grey&lt;/A&gt;.&amp;nbsp; But of the two, &lt;A
163 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fcathgrey.html&quot;&gt;Catherine&lt;/A&gt;
164 was flighty and foolish and Mary was barely four feet tall.&amp;nbsp; Neither
165 was a popular choice to be queen.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
166 &lt;P&gt;Her smooth accession was further assured by the Lord Chancellor,
167 Nicholas Heath.&amp;nbsp; Parliament had been in session while Mary lay dying
168 and, on 17 November, Heath announced her death to the assembled lords and
169 commons.&amp;nbsp; He then said, 'Which hap as it is most heavy and grievous
170 unto us, so have we no less cause another way to rejoice with praise to
171 Almighty God for that He hath left unto us a true, lawful and right
172 inheritrice to the crown of this realm, which is the Lady Elizabeth, of
173 whose lawful right and title we need not to doubt.&amp;nbsp; Wherefore the
174 lords of this house have determined with your assents and consents, to
175 pass from hence into the palace, and there to proclaim the said Lady
176 Elizabeth Queen of this realm without further tract of time.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
177 &lt;P&gt;There was no dissension at Heath's words.&amp;nbsp; Traditionally,
178 Parliament dissolved upon the death of the reigning monarch - but Heath's
179 prompt actions ensured Elizabeth's lawful recognition as queen before the
180 lords and commons dispersed.&amp;nbsp; And, as a leading Catholic, Heath also
181 secured the loyalty of his religious party for the new queen.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
182 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth held court at Hatfield for about a week, assembling statesmen
183 and studying English affairs more acutely.&amp;nbsp; Nicholas Throckmorton
184 wrote to her immediately; he advised her to be wary and careful, so that
185 neither 'the old or the new should wholly understand what you mean.'&amp;nbsp;
186 She did not need such advice; it was already central to her
187 character.&amp;nbsp; How else had she survived the reigns of Edward and
188 Mary?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
189 &lt;P&gt;
190 &lt;IMG height=206 alt=&quot;Elizabeth I's greatest advisor, Sir William Cecil&quot;
191 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
192 loyal William Cecil as her Principal Secretary of State.&amp;nbsp; They had
193 been friends for a long while, since his appointment as her accountant
194 many years ago.&amp;nbsp; And, for the next forty years, they were to rule
195 England as a virtually inseparable team.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth's words to Cecil
196 have become justly famous: 'I give you this charge, that you shall be of
197 my Privy Council and content to take pains for me and my realm.&amp;nbsp; This
198 judgment I have of you that you will not be corrupted by any manner of
199 gift and that you will be faithful to the state; and that without respect
200 of my private will you will give me that counsel which you think best and
201 if you shall know anything necessary to be declared to me of secrecy, you
202 shall show it to myself only.&amp;nbsp; And assure yourself I will not fail to
203 keep taciturnity therein and therefore herewith I charge you.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
204 &lt;P&gt;All monarchs use such appointments to reward loyalty and friendship;
205 Cecil's was also a reward for ability.&amp;nbsp; On a more personal note,
206 Elizabeth rewarded the faithful servants who had been her companions since
207 childhood, among them Thomas Parry and Kat Ashley.&amp;nbsp; The handsome
208 Robert Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse; he was the son of the
209 late Lord Protector and had been imprisoned in the Tower with Elizabeth
210 during Mary's reign.&amp;nbsp; Not coincidentally, this position required
211 close contact with the queen.&amp;nbsp; Thus from the very beginning, a source
212 of rivalry was established amongst Elizabeth's closest councilors.&amp;nbsp;
213 Cecil and Dudley disliked one another, each man viewing the other as his
214 main rival for the queen's attention.&amp;nbsp; But even this potentially
215 untenable situation benefited the young queen; it meant that she alone
216 dominated her government while two rival factions developed, each centered
217 around Cecil and Dudley.&lt;/P&gt;
218 &lt;hr&gt;
219 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
220 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
221 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Everything depends upon the husband this woman takes.'&amp;nbsp;
222 &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;
223 &lt;blockquote&gt;
224 &lt;blockquote&gt;
225 &lt;hr&gt;
226 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
227 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
228 &lt;P align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'If I were a milkmaid with a pail on my
229 arm, whereby my private person might be little set by, I would not forsake
230 that poor and single state to match with the greatest monarch.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
231 &lt;/font&gt;&lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Elizabeth I
232 to Parliament, regarding marriage&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
233 &lt;blockquote&gt;
234 &lt;blockquote&gt;
235 &lt;hr&gt;
236 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth well understood the importance of public relations and knew
237 her entry into London must be a lavish spectacle; the coronation which
238 would follow must be even more impressive.&amp;nbsp; Dudley was placed in
239 charge of the coronation plans.&amp;nbsp; He was well-suited to the
240 task.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth's favorite astronomer, Dr John Dee, was consulted
241 and Sunday, 15 January 1559 was selected as the perfect date.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
242 &lt;P&gt;On 23 November, Elizabeth left Hatfield for London; she stayed at the
243 Charterhouse, and for the next five days she made regular appearances
244 before adoring crowds.&amp;nbsp; On Monday 28 November, she left the
245 Charterhouse to ride through London and to the Tower.&amp;nbsp; She wore a
246 purple velvet gown and had a scarf tied loosely around her neck.&amp;nbsp;
247 Dudley rode closely behind her.&amp;nbsp; When they neared the Tower, both the
248 queen and her Master of the Horse appreciated the irony of the
249 moment.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth said simply, and wittily: 'Some have fallen from
250 being Princes of this land to be prisoners in this place; I am raised from
251 being prisoner in this place to be Prince of this land.&amp;nbsp; That
252 dejection was a work of God's justice; this advancement is a work of His
253 mercy.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
254 &lt;P&gt;She spent the next ten days at the Tower, holding council meetings and
255 slowly but steadily learning how to rule.&amp;nbsp; She had been welcomed to
256 the throne with great celebration, but few monarchs have inherited such a
257 dire predicament.&amp;nbsp; Religious turmoil was inevitable; though
258 the Protestants regarded Elizabeth as their savior, many Marian exiles
259 believed she would maintain her sister's religious changes.&amp;nbsp; She had
260 to tread carefully - and fortunately for both Elizabeth and her nation,
261 she was uniquely suited to do so.&amp;nbsp; She made it clear to her
262 councilors that she wanted no windows into men's souls.&amp;nbsp; Also, she
263 would not be dominated by one religious party at the expense of
264 another.&amp;nbsp; For Elizabeth, her citizens were Englishmen first; their
265 religious loyalties - whether Catholic or Protestant - were to remain
266 subservient to their loyalty to her as queen of England.&amp;nbsp; This
267 explains her later disregard for Puritanism.&amp;nbsp; She characteristically
268 remarked that she preferred loyal Catholics to Puritans; this may have
269 confused some of her subjects since she was a Protestant queen, and the
270 Puritans were simply Protestant extremists.&amp;nbsp; However, Elizabeth
271 recognized that, by the end of her reign, most of her Catholic subjects
272 were loyal to her instead of the pope (despite her excommunication) and
273 accepted royal prerogative.&amp;nbsp; Her Puritan subjects, however, did not
274 recognize the sanctity of the crown, and their presence in Parliament
275 ensured a steady erosion of royal power.&amp;nbsp; The end result of this
276 conflict occurred during the reign of Charles I, when a powerful Puritan
277 populace revolted against their Catholic king and beheaded him.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
278 &lt;P&gt;Luckily, most of Elizabeth's councilors were of the same mind as the
279 queen.&amp;nbsp; Their first priority was the stability of the realm, and they
280 wanted to negotiate a truce of sorts between the two factions.&amp;nbsp; Of
281 course, the more extreme members of both parties could not be
282 satisfied.&amp;nbsp; Also, Philip II of Spain and Henri II of France had
283 recently ended their near-constant warfare, and now England remained
284 outside Continental affairs; perhaps it would become the prey of both
285 powers.&amp;nbsp; When Elizabeth's court moved to Whitehall for Christmas, the
286 Spanish ambassador De Feria tried to secure a possible marriage between
287 Elizabeth and one of Philip's innumerable relatives.&amp;nbsp; Already her
288 expected marriage dominated European politics.&amp;nbsp; No one expected her
289 to rule alone.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
290 &lt;P&gt;The Christmas festivities at Whitehall were quite extravagant.&amp;nbsp;
291 The English court had not had cause for much celebration in years; Mary's
292 reign had been increasingly insular and solemn.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth, young
293 and beautiful, was determined to celebrate her near-miraculous
294 triumph.&amp;nbsp; And yet Christmas would pale in comparison to her
295 coronation festivities.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
296 &lt;P&gt;On the 12th of January, she set out once again to the Tower, traveling
297 by river from Whitehall.&amp;nbsp; Two days later, at two o'clock in the
298 afternoon, she rode in an open litter for her recognition procession
299 throughout London.&amp;nbsp; She wore a gown of crimson velvet and cloth of
300 gold with an ermine cape for warmth, and was surrounded by richly-dressed
301 lords and ladies.&amp;nbsp; Crowds of Londoners thronged the streets, to the
302 queen's open delight.&amp;nbsp; It was a cold and wet Saturday with snow
303 flurries settling upon the brocade canopy of the queen's litter, but the
304 weather could not distract from the spectacle.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
305 &lt;P&gt;The entire route through the city was marked by pageants, plays, and
306 orations; even Anne Boleyn appeared in a tableau beside Henry VIII.&amp;nbsp;
307 Elizabeth's replies to each presentation were memorable and kind; to the
308 Recorder of London, she memorably said, 'Whereas your request is that I
309 should continue your good lady and Queen, be ye assured that I will be as
310 good unto you as ever Queen was to her people.&amp;nbsp; No will in me can
311 lack, neither do I trust shall there lack any power.&amp;nbsp; And persuade
312 yourselves, that for the safety and quietness of you all, I will not spare
313 if need be to spare my blood.'&amp;nbsp; These words were not merely facile
314 endearments.&amp;nbsp; Long ago, during the dark days of Mary's reign, she had
315 realized the importance of public relations and popular support.&amp;nbsp;
316&lt;/P&gt;
317 &lt;P&gt;The next day she was crowned queen of England.&amp;nbsp; She entered
318 Westminster on foot, walking upon a long blue carpet which the crowd
319 promptly cut up for souvenirs.&amp;nbsp; The great Abbey was crowded full of
320 both rural and urban dignitaries, and their ladies.&amp;nbsp; They watched as
321 the queen marched slowly forward, the long red velvet train of her gown
322 carried by the duchess of Norfolk.&amp;nbsp; Hundreds of candles and lamps
323 burned, and the boys' choir sang beautifully while a medley of pipes,
324 drums, and the church organ played.)&amp;nbsp; She was crowned by Owen
325 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,
326 Reginald Pole, had died the same day as Queen Mary; the archbishop of York
327 asked to be excused on grounds of conscience; the bishop of Durham said he
328 was too old to perform the ceremony.&amp;nbsp; And so it fell to Dr
329 Oglethorpe, who was as good as anyone else in Elizabeth's eyes.&amp;nbsp; The
330 ceremony itself was a mish-mash of Catholic and Protestant rituals - the
331 Mass was said in Latin but the celebrant did not elevate the Host; the
332 epistle and gospel were read in Latin and English; and the coronation oath
333 itself was read from an English Bible.&amp;nbsp; In other words, it was a
334 ceremony which accurately reflected the religious confusion of mid-16th
335 century England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
336 &lt;P&gt;Oglethorpe placed the heavy Crown of St Edward on her head, but it was
337 quickly removed after the oath was administered.&amp;nbsp; Then, wearing a
338 lighter crown, the new queen was presented to the congregation.&amp;nbsp;
339 There was an explosion of noise (the Venetian ambassador said it sounded
340 like the end of the world) as bells were rung, trumpets were blown, and
341 every other musical instrument played with such force that spectators
342 winced.&amp;nbsp; The coronation banquet was held at Westminster Hall at three
343 o'clock and lasted until one o'clock Monday morning.&amp;nbsp; The new queen,
344 who now wore a becoming gown of purple velvet, sat beneath the great
345 window on a raised dais.&amp;nbsp; There were eight hundred guests, and the
346 queen was served by the Lord Chamberlain and the Chief Steward.&amp;nbsp; She
347 spoke little during the banquet, and was so tired when it ended that a
348 tournament planned for Monday afternoon was canceled.&amp;nbsp; She had also
349 caught a cold; the opening of Parliament was thus delayed from the 23rd of
350 January to the 25th.&amp;nbsp; Her arrival at Parliament, however, was another
351 moment of triumph for Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; She wore a crimson gown and a cap
352 decorated with pearls and was quite lovely and energetic despite her
353 recent cold.&amp;nbsp; When the crowd called out, 'God save and maintain
354 thee!', she responded with enthusiasm, 'God a' mercy, good people!'&amp;nbsp;
355 &lt;/P&gt;
356 &lt;P&gt;All things considered, these first two months on the throne had gone
357 very smoothly.&amp;nbsp; But most European powers were convinced she wouldn't
358 last a year as queen.&amp;nbsp; If she did, it would only be due to a
359 quick marriage.&amp;nbsp; And so, over the next several years, the dominant
360 issue of her reign would be one which she personally detested - who would
361 the queen marry, and when?&amp;nbsp; For Elizabeth, treading carefully and
362 conscious of the novelty of her position, the issue was a personal and
363 political threat - and one which she handled with exquisite care.&lt;/P&gt;
364 &lt;hr&gt;
365 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
366 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
367 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'She [Elizabeth] is incomparably more feared than her
368 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;
369 &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,
370 1559&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
371 &lt;blockquote&gt;
372 &lt;blockquote&gt;
373 &lt;hr&gt;
374 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth's seeming obliviousness to marriage, her refusal to discuss
375 it, or her occasional witty but vague comments - all these infuriated her
376 councilors.&amp;nbsp; They seemed incapable of appreciating the impact
377 marriage would have upon her life, while its impact was distressingly
378 clear to Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; The councilors wanted a king, and an heir, a
379 natural enough desire since her throne could not be completely secure without
380 them.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth knew herself to be intellectually superior to
381 most men and she relished her independence.&amp;nbsp; And, of course, her
382 father's marital history - as well as her sister's - made her question
383 both the personal and political cost of marriage.&amp;nbsp; The new queen always
384 had a low opinion of marital happiness, and saw little reason to change
385 her mind.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
386 &lt;P&gt;Even in her own lifetime, rumors abounded that Elizabeth was physically
387 deformed, incapable of pleasing a husband or bearing a child.&amp;nbsp; It was
388 also whispered that she was a sexual deviant whose appetites could not be
389 satisfied by marriage.&amp;nbsp; However, it is clear enough that Elizabeth's
390 character - pragmatic, rational, and calculating - was not overly
391 romantic; she was openly fond of many courtiers, particularly Robert
392 Dudley.&amp;nbsp; But she never wed Dudley, and a healthy flirtation does not
393 indicate sexual deviancy.&amp;nbsp; Rather, it shows Elizabeth to be a normal
394 young woman who enjoyed the company of a handsome man.&amp;nbsp; If she had
395 not flirted with Dudley, or her other courtiers, then speculation about
396 her character would be understandable.&amp;nbsp; In truth, she was no less
397 flirtatious than her father, but the simple, unavoidable fact of her
398 gender made her flirtations far more politically charged.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
399 &lt;P&gt;Furthermore, any sexual activity would have been immediately
400 reported.&amp;nbsp; 'I do not live in a corner,' the queen once commented. 'A
401 thousand eyes see all I do, and calumny will not fasten on me for
402 ever.'&amp;nbsp; A foreign ambassador was caught paying one of her laundresses
403 for proof of the queen's regular menstrual cycle; everyone at court
404 gossiped about her relationships with the handsome courtiers who soon
405 flocked to London.&amp;nbsp; The queen herself preferred to rise above such
406 discussion.&amp;nbsp; If she fulfilled her royal duties with care and
407 diligence, and if she brought prosperity and peace to her country, then
408 she was successful.&amp;nbsp; And since she had great faith in her own
409 talents, she saw no reason to share her throne with a husband.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
410 &lt;P&gt;And so, out of love of independence and power, and a native distrust of
411 marriage, Elizabeth was determined to remain single.&amp;nbsp; Her councilors,
412 for their part, pretended to believe otherwise for quite a long
413 time.&amp;nbsp; Despite her repeated vows to 'live and die a virgin', they
414 embarked upon countless rounds of diplomatic negotiations searching for a
415 husband.&amp;nbsp; They visited her in private, they
416 openly begged her; they eventually forced a parliamentary showdown upon
417 her.&amp;nbsp; William Cecil prayed that 'God would send our mistress a
418 husband, and by time a son, that we may hope our posterity shall have a
419 masculine succession.'&amp;nbsp; Despite their close friendship, and mutual
420 respect, even Cecil succumbed to the sexism of their age - he rebuked a
421 messenger for talking to the queen of something that 'was too much for
422 woman's knowledge.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
423 &lt;P&gt;But over the years, her councilor's discomfort lessened.&amp;nbsp; Mary
424 Stuart bore a son, James, in 1566 and was imprisoned in England shortly
425 afterwards.&amp;nbsp; James was raised as a Protestant and was soon the only
426 Tudor relative with a viable claim.&amp;nbsp; His religion allowed most
427 Englishmen to look favorably upon him as Elizabeth's eventual heir.&amp;nbsp;
428 The queen wisely dangled its possibility before him and thus ensured
429 Scottish political cooperation throughout the later years of her
430 reign.&amp;nbsp; Also, as the years passed, so did the possibility that
431 Elizabeth would bear a child.&amp;nbsp; And why marry, if not for an
432 heir?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
433 &lt;P&gt;It is also worth noting the endless difficulties in selecting a
434 suitable husband.&amp;nbsp; A foreign match would have dragged England into
435 the morass of European politics, with possibly the same disastrous results
436 of Mary's marriage.&amp;nbsp; But marriage to an Englishman would have given
437 too much power to one political faction or the other.&amp;nbsp; And so
438 Elizabeth's personal dislike of marriage turned out to be a shrewd
439 political decision, though it confounded everyone for several years.&amp;nbsp;
440 &lt;/P&gt;
441 &lt;P&gt;From the earliest days of her reign, one of Elizabeth's greatest
442 political attributes was her endless prevarication.&amp;nbsp; Many historians
443 have described it less as an attribute, and more as her greatest failing.&amp;nbsp;
444 They mention her inability to decide upon marriage, or - most famously -
445 her refusal to execute Mary queen of Scots.&amp;nbsp; They argue that these
446 incidents prove she was hesitant and indecisive.&amp;nbsp; But it actually
447 reveals a formidable political talent, and one which greatly benefited her
448 nation.&amp;nbsp; The new queen was not one to whole-heartedly plunge into any
449 scheme, personal or political; thus, she refused to become involved in
450 foreign entanglements which would have bankrupted her country and produced
451 strife and discontent.&amp;nbsp; She sent money and a few troops to
452 continental Protestants, but no more.&amp;nbsp; In terms of religion, she
453 sought to strike a balance between two extremes through careful thought
454 and debate.&amp;nbsp; In doing so, she negotiated a truce of sorts which
455 lasted through most of her reign - in contrast to the religious turmoil
456 which marked the reigns before and after her own.&amp;nbsp; One could label
457 her indecisive since she did not strike a definitive stance on either
458 issue.&amp;nbsp; But she preserved the peace and prosperity of her nation; she
459 put England, and the welfare of its citizens, first.&amp;nbsp; Thus, the
460 ability to prevaricate was an essential tool of her political success,
461 however much it frustrated those who wanted her to take sides.&amp;nbsp; In
462 Elizabeth's case, one could argue that she took only the English side.&lt;/P&gt;
463 &lt;hr&gt;
464 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
465 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
466 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'She is a very vain and clever woman.&amp;nbsp; She must have
467 been thoroughly schooled in the manner in which her father conducted his
468 affairs.&amp;nbsp; She is determined to be governed by no one.' &lt;/font&gt;
469 &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;
470 &lt;blockquote&gt;
471 &lt;blockquote&gt;
472 &lt;hr&gt;
473 &lt;P&gt;
474 &lt;IMG height=307 alt=&quot;Elizabeth I's greatest love, Sir Robert Dudley&quot;
475 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliztruelove.jpg&quot; width=300 align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;This understandably caused strife within her council.&amp;nbsp; It was
476 clear from the beginning that Robert Dudley was the queen's favorite
477 courtier.&amp;nbsp; They were openly affectionate and Dudley enjoyed flaunting
478 the queen's favor.&amp;nbsp; Cecil was often terrified that Elizabeth would
479 wed Dudley, but that fear at least was soon put to rest.&amp;nbsp; At the
480 start of Elizabeth's reign, Dudley was still married to an heiress called
481 Amy Robsart; she was safely tucked away in the country while her husband
482 flirted at court.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth knew of the match; she had attended the
483 wedding.&amp;nbsp; But the marriage, which had begun happily, was soon torn
484 apart by Dudley's ambition.&amp;nbsp; But whatever he planned for the future,
485 it was soon impossible for him to dream of becoming king.&amp;nbsp; Amy was
486 living in secluded and deprived circumstances at Cumnor Place, the
487 Oxfordshire manor of Anthony Forster, an MP and close friend of
488 Dudley's.&amp;nbsp; She had been ill for some time.&amp;nbsp; On Sunday the 8th of
489 September 1560, roughly nine months after Elizabeth's coronation, she gave
490 her few servants permission to visit a fair.&amp;nbsp; When they returned,
491 they found her lying dead at the bottom of the staircase with a broken
492 neck.&amp;nbsp; There had been other ladies in the home; they reported playing
493 backgammon with Amy until, suddenly and without explanation, she left the
494 room and fell to her death.&amp;nbsp; Dudley was informed of the news while at
495 Windsor Castle with the queen.&amp;nbsp; He immediately ordered a thorough
496 investigation.&amp;nbsp; Why?&amp;nbsp; His close relationship with the queen was
497 already a minor scandal; Amy's suspicious death could make it
498 explosive.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
499 &lt;P&gt;Amy had been ill for some months, with a 'canker in her breast', as the
500 doctors said.&amp;nbsp; They had assured Dudley that his wife would not live
501 much longer.&amp;nbsp; So the immediate supposition after her death - that
502 Dudley had murdered Amy so he could marry the queen - does not make
503 sense.&amp;nbsp; There were only three other conclusions to draw - first, that
504 Amy, knowing her own condition, was depressed and angry at her husband;
505 she therefore took her own life in an attempt to end her suffering and
506 Dudley's hopes to be king.&amp;nbsp; Second, that one of Dudley's enemies had
507 murdered Amy in an attempt to discredit him and make marriage with the
508 queen impossible.&amp;nbsp; Or third, that nothing so nefarious occurred and
509 her death was completely accidental; she simply fell while walking down
510 the stairs.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
511 &lt;P&gt;But everyone enjoyed gossip and scandal too much to let it pass.&amp;nbsp;
512 And Amy's maid told a jury that her mistress had often 'prayed to God to
513 deliver her from desperation', and many courtiers remembered Dudley's
514 public speculation about divorcing his wife.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth was forced to
515 send Dudley from court until the funeral, but he did not attend the
516 service.&amp;nbsp; The queen sent Lady Norton as her representative, and it
517 was known that other ladies had been asked but refused to go because of
518 the scandal.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth's affection for Dudley was at its
519 greatest during these early years and could not be denied.&amp;nbsp; Soon
520 enough he was back at court and in as much favor as always.&amp;nbsp; Once,
521 during a boating party on the Thames, he asked the ambassador de Quadra,
522 who was also Bishop of Avila, to marry he and Elizabeth immediately.&amp;nbsp;
523 The ambassador remarked that he would do so as soon as the queen dismissed
524 her Protestant councilors from service.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
525 &lt;P&gt;In light of Amy Robsart's death, it is worth considering Elizabeth's
526 own feelings on the matter.&amp;nbsp; Her closest advisors thought she had
527 good cause to dread the woman's death, though not because of any
528 scandal.&amp;nbsp; The queen, they realized, enjoyed flirting with Dudley and
529 occasionally encouraged his fantasies, but she did not want to be given
530 the opportunity to marry him.&amp;nbsp; When Amy Robsart died, Elizabeth had
531 no ready excuse for denying Dudley's proposals.&lt;/P&gt;
532 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
533 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
534&lt;/blockquote&gt;
535
536&lt;blockquote&gt;
537 &lt;blockquote&gt;
538 &lt;blockquote&gt;
539 &lt;P&gt;But the queen had other, far more appropriate suitors.&amp;nbsp; Cecil's
540 natural inclination was to make peace with England's
541 traditional enemy, France.&amp;nbsp; He urged a match with one of Queen Catherine d'Medici and
542 King Henry II's sons.&amp;nbsp; These Francophile maneuvers began seriously
543 after Mary Stuart's French husband died in 1560 and she returned to
544 Scotland.&amp;nbsp; To thwart Cecil, other councilors pressed a Spanish
545 marriage, perhaps even to her former brother-in-law Philip.&amp;nbsp; The
546 queen expertly considered all options but never committed to any.&amp;nbsp;
547 This routine would continue until advancing age made childbirth
548 impossible.&amp;nbsp; Only then was Elizabeth truly free of parliamentary
549 meddling in her private affairs, a situation which had inspired several
550 famously bitter outbursts in 1566.&amp;nbsp; After insisting that the
551 succession was too weighty an issue for such &amp;quot;a knot of harebrains&amp;quot; as the
552 House of Commons, she later invoked her own arrest during Wyatt's
553 rebellion as the reason for her refusal to name a successor (if she would
554 not marry): &amp;quot;I did differ from her [Mary I] in religion and I was sought
555 for divers ways.&amp;nbsp; And so shall never be my successor.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; And, she
556 warned them, &amp;quot;as your Prince and head&amp;quot;, it was up to her to judge such
557 weighty political issues without parliamentary interference, &amp;quot;For it is
558 monstrous that the feet should direct the head.&amp;quot;&lt;/P&gt;
559 &lt;P&gt;In other words, they could discuss and debate and suggest - but only
560 Elizabeth could rule.&lt;/P&gt;
561 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
562 &lt;CENTER&gt;
563 &lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;A
564 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz3.html&quot;&gt;CONTINUE
565 READING&lt;/A&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
566 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;A
567 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html&quot;&gt;to Tudor
568 Monarchs&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;A
569 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz1.html&quot;&gt;back to Queen
570 Elizabeth I, part one&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
571 &lt;/CENTER&gt;
572 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
573 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
574&lt;/blockquote&gt;
575
576
577
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580</Content>
581</Section>
582</Archive>
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