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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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35
36&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot; height=&quot;667&quot;&gt;
37 &lt;tr&gt;
38 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;29&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
39 &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;
40 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;29&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
41 &lt;/tr&gt;
42 &lt;tr&gt;
43 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
44 &lt;td width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
45 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
46 &lt;IMG height=98 alt=&quot;Queen Elizabeth I&quot;
47 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-queenuse.gif&quot; width=422&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
48 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
49 &lt;/tr&gt;
50 &lt;tr&gt;
51 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
52 &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;
53 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
54 &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;
55 &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;
56 &amp;nbsp;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
57 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Visit
58 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html&quot;&gt;Elizabethan
59 Images&lt;/a&gt; to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with
60 commentary.&lt;BR&gt;Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at &lt;A
61 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html&quot;&gt;Primary
62 Sources&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen
63 Elizabeth I at &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html&quot;&gt;
64 Secondary Sources&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
65 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
66 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Visit &lt;A
67 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html&quot;&gt;the Anne
68 Boleyn website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.&lt;BR&gt;Visit &lt;A
69 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html&quot;&gt;the Mary,
70 queen of Scots website&lt;/A&gt; to learn more about Elizabeth's
71 cousin.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at &lt;A
72 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html&quot;&gt;Tudor
73 Quizzes&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
74 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
75 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
76 &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.alassea.net%2ffl%2felizabeth&quot;&gt;The Virgin Queen
77 fanlisting&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/DIV&gt;
78 &lt;DIV align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;
79 &lt;/td&gt;
80 &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
81 &lt;/tr&gt;
82&lt;/table&gt;
83
84&lt;blockquote&gt;
85 &lt;blockquote&gt;
86 &lt;blockquote&gt;
87 &lt;hr&gt;
88 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
89 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
90 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Some have fallen from being Princes of this land to be
91 prisoners in this place; I am raised from being prisoner in this place to be
92 Prince of this land.&amp;nbsp; That dejection was a work of God's justice; this
93 advancement is a work of His mercy.' &lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Elizabeth
94 I at the Tower of London, during her coronation ceremonies,
95 1559&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
96 &lt;blockquote&gt;
97 &lt;blockquote&gt;
98 &lt;hr&gt;
99
100 &lt;P&gt;There is an apocryphal story about Elizabeth's accession.&amp;nbsp; In it,
101 she was out in the meadows surrounding Hatfield when the courtiers
102 approached.&amp;nbsp; They bowed before her, and presented Mary's signet
103 ring.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth supposedly fell upon her knees and exclaimed, most
104 aptly, 'A Domino factum est illud et est mirabile in oculis nostris.'
105 ('This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in Our eyes.')&amp;nbsp; The
106 citizens of London undoubtedly felt the same; upon receiving word of
107 Mary's death, bonfires were lit and tables were set in the streets for a
108 grand celebratory feast.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
109 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;A glorious accession, then, and much celebrated.&amp;nbsp; A
110 contemporary observer, however, commented wryly upon the state of affairs
111 in England in 1558: 'The Queen poor; the realm exhausted; the nobility
112 poor and decayed; want of good captains and soldiers; the people out of
113 order; justice not executed; justices of peace unmeet for office; all
114 things dear; excess of meat and drink, and apparel; division among
115 ourselves; war with France and Scotland; the French King, having one foot
116 in Calais and the other in Scotland; steadfast enmity, but no steadfast
117 friendship abroad.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
118 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth was well aware of the dire situation she faced.&amp;nbsp; She
119 herself had been the victim of the religious and political confusion of
120 Mary's reign.&amp;nbsp; And&lt;IMG height=412
121 alt=&quot;'The Ditchley Portrait' of Elizabeth I&quot;
122 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliz1-ditchley.jpg&quot; width=281 border=2 align=&quot;right&quot;&gt; even the weather had been uncooperative for Queen
123 Mary; the droughts which had plagued farmers led to high prices and much
124 poverty.&amp;nbsp; Most of the poor flocked to London where they crowded into
125 ever-expanding slums.&amp;nbsp; Mary's attempts to reform the debased currency
126 of Henry VIII and Edward VI's reign had been somewhat successful, but
127 England was still considered a poor credit risk on the Continent.&amp;nbsp;
128 &lt;/P&gt;
129 &lt;P&gt;And so the new queen, though popular and much-admired, did not inherit
130 a stable and prosperous country - and the quest for stability and
131 prosperity became the guiding force of her reign.&amp;nbsp; To that end, she
132 came to eschew foreign entanglements and religious extremism.&amp;nbsp;
133 Practical and pragmatic, Elizabeth chose as her motto 'Semper Eadem'
134 ('Always the Same'), and it was highly appropriate.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
135 &lt;P&gt;Her succession was assured and untroubled.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth knew
136 that when the celebrations ended, the real work would begin.&amp;nbsp; Almost
137 immediately, she would be forced to consider a rival claim to the throne
138 by her cousin, Mary Stuart.&amp;nbsp; Queen of Scotland since infancy, and now
139 the wife of the French dauphin (and crowned queen of France in 1559), Mary
140 was denied a place in the Tudor succession by Henry VIII's will.&amp;nbsp; But
141 she was a Catholic and had the French monarchy behind her.&amp;nbsp; For her
142 part, she was content to stay in France.&amp;nbsp; But she did - with spirit
143 and not much sense, as was her wont - choose to quarter the royal arms of
144 England, Wales and Ireland upon her heraldry, thus openly laying claim to
145 the throne of England.&amp;nbsp; Even this symbolic act was fraught with
146 political danger for the queenly cousins.&amp;nbsp; From her accession on,
147 Elizabeth knew her Scottish 'sister' was a serious concern; and while Mary
148 was safely in France, it was all for the better.&amp;nbsp; Scotland was
149 already turning Protestant and England could continue to support its
150 religious dissension and political upheaval.&amp;nbsp; If their northern
151 neighbor was kept busy with its own troubles, it was less likely to clash
152 with England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
153 &lt;P&gt;As for her English subjects, even the Catholics were largely against
154 Mary Stuart's claims.&amp;nbsp; In this case, nationalism trumped
155 religion.&amp;nbsp; There were other English claimants, of course; the younger
156 sisters of the unfortunate &lt;A
157 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html&quot;&gt;Lady Jane
158 Grey&lt;/A&gt;.&amp;nbsp; But of the two, &lt;A
159 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fcathgrey.html&quot;&gt;Catherine&lt;/A&gt;
160 was flighty and foolish and Mary was barely four feet tall.&amp;nbsp; Neither
161 was a popular choice to be queen.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
162 &lt;P&gt;Her smooth accession was further assured by the Lord Chancellor,
163 Nicholas Heath.&amp;nbsp; Parliament had been in session while Mary lay dying
164 and, on 17 November, Heath announced her death to the assembled lords and
165 commons.&amp;nbsp; He then said, 'Which hap as it is most heavy and grievous
166 unto us, so have we no less cause another way to rejoice with praise to
167 Almighty God for that He hath left unto us a true, lawful and right
168 inheritrice to the crown of this realm, which is the Lady Elizabeth, of
169 whose lawful right and title we need not to doubt.&amp;nbsp; Wherefore the
170 lords of this house have determined with your assents and consents, to
171 pass from hence into the palace, and there to proclaim the said Lady
172 Elizabeth Queen of this realm without further tract of time.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
173 &lt;P&gt;There was no dissension at Heath's words.&amp;nbsp; Traditionally,
174 Parliament dissolved upon the death of the reigning monarch - but Heath's
175 prompt actions ensured Elizabeth's lawful recognition as queen before the
176 lords and commons dispersed.&amp;nbsp; And, as a leading Catholic, Heath also
177 secured the loyalty of his religious party for the new queen.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
178 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth held court at Hatfield for about a week, assembling statesmen
179 and studying English affairs more acutely.&amp;nbsp; Nicholas Throckmorton
180 wrote to her immediately; he advised her to be wary and careful, so that
181 neither 'the old or the new should wholly understand what you mean.'&amp;nbsp;
182 She did not need such advice; it was already central to her
183 character.&amp;nbsp; How else had she survived the reigns of Edward and
184 Mary?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
185 &lt;P&gt;
186 &lt;IMG height=206 alt=&quot;Elizabeth I's greatest advisor, Sir William Cecil&quot;
187 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
188 loyal William Cecil as her Principal Secretary of State.&amp;nbsp; They had
189 been friends for a long while, since his appointment as her accountant
190 many years ago.&amp;nbsp; And, for the next forty years, they were to rule
191 England as a virtually inseparable team.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth's words to Cecil
192 have become justly famous: 'I give you this charge, that you shall be of
193 my Privy Council and content to take pains for me and my realm.&amp;nbsp; This
194 judgment I have of you that you will not be corrupted by any manner of
195 gift and that you will be faithful to the state; and that without respect
196 of my private will you will give me that counsel which you think best and
197 if you shall know anything necessary to be declared to me of secrecy, you
198 shall show it to myself only.&amp;nbsp; And assure yourself I will not fail to
199 keep taciturnity therein and therefore herewith I charge you.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
200 &lt;P&gt;All monarchs use such appointments to reward loyalty and friendship;
201 Cecil's was also a reward for ability.&amp;nbsp; On a more personal note,
202 Elizabeth rewarded the faithful servants who had been her companions since
203 childhood, among them Thomas Parry and Kat Ashley.&amp;nbsp; The handsome
204 Robert Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse; he was the son of the
205 late Lord Protector and had been imprisoned in the Tower with Elizabeth
206 during Mary's reign.&amp;nbsp; Not coincidentally, this position required
207 close contact with the queen.&amp;nbsp; Thus from the very beginning, a source
208 of rivalry was established amongst Elizabeth's closest councilors.&amp;nbsp;
209 Cecil and Dudley disliked one another, each man viewing the other as his
210 main rival for the queen's attention.&amp;nbsp; But even this potentially
211 untenable situation benefited the young queen; it meant that she alone
212 dominated her government while two rival factions developed, each centered
213 around Cecil and Dudley.&lt;/P&gt;
214 &lt;hr&gt;
215 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
216 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
217 &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Everything depends upon the husband this woman takes.'&amp;nbsp;
218 &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;
219 &lt;blockquote&gt;
220 &lt;blockquote&gt;
221 &lt;hr&gt;
222 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
223 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
224 &lt;P align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'If I were a milkmaid with a pail on my
225 arm, whereby my private person might be little set by, I would not forsake
226 that poor and single state to match with the greatest monarch.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
227 &lt;/font&gt;&lt;I&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Elizabeth I
228 to Parliament, regarding marriage&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
229 &lt;blockquote&gt;
230 &lt;blockquote&gt;
231 &lt;hr&gt;
232 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth well understood the importance of public relations and knew
233 her entry into London must be a lavish spectacle; the coronation which
234 would follow must be even more impressive.&amp;nbsp; Dudley was placed in
235 charge of the coronation plans.&amp;nbsp; He was well-suited to the
236 task.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth's favorite astronomer, Dr John Dee, was consulted
237 and Sunday, 15 January 1559 was selected as the perfect date.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
238 &lt;P&gt;On 23 November, Elizabeth left Hatfield for London; she stayed at the
239 Charterhouse, and for the next five days she made regular appearances
240 before adoring crowds.&amp;nbsp; On Monday 28 November, she left the
241 Charterhouse to ride through London and to the Tower.&amp;nbsp; She wore a
242 purple velvet gown and had a scarf tied loosely around her neck.&amp;nbsp;
243 Dudley rode closely behind her.&amp;nbsp; When they neared the Tower, both the
244 queen and her Master of the Horse appreciated the irony of the
245 moment.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth said simply, and wittily: 'Some have fallen from
246 being Princes of this land to be prisoners in this place; I am raised from
247 being prisoner in this place to be Prince of this land.&amp;nbsp; That
248 dejection was a work of God's justice; this advancement is a work of His
249 mercy.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
250 &lt;P&gt;She spent the next ten days at the Tower, holding council meetings and
251 slowly but steadily learning how to rule.&amp;nbsp; She had been welcomed to
252 the throne with great celebration, but few monarchs have inherited such a
253 dire predicament.&amp;nbsp; Religious turmoil was inevitable; though
254 the Protestants regarded Elizabeth as their savior, many Marian exiles
255 believed she would maintain her sister's religious changes.&amp;nbsp; She had
256 to tread carefully - and fortunately for both Elizabeth and her nation,
257 she was uniquely suited to do so.&amp;nbsp; She made it clear to her
258 councilors that she wanted no windows into men's souls.&amp;nbsp; Also, she
259 would not be dominated by one religious party at the expense of
260 another.&amp;nbsp; For Elizabeth, her citizens were Englishmen first; their
261 religious loyalties - whether Catholic or Protestant - were to remain
262 subservient to their loyalty to her as queen of England.&amp;nbsp; This
263 explains her later disregard for Puritanism.&amp;nbsp; She characteristically
264 remarked that she preferred loyal Catholics to Puritans; this may have
265 confused some of her subjects since she was a Protestant queen, and the
266 Puritans were simply Protestant extremists.&amp;nbsp; However, Elizabeth
267 recognized that, by the end of her reign, most of her Catholic subjects
268 were loyal to her instead of the pope (despite her excommunication) and
269 accepted royal prerogative.&amp;nbsp; Her Puritan subjects, however, did not
270 recognize the sanctity of the crown, and their presence in Parliament
271 ensured a steady erosion of royal power.&amp;nbsp; The end result of this
272 conflict occurred during the reign of Charles I, when a powerful Puritan
273 populace revolted against their Catholic king and beheaded him.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
274 &lt;P&gt;Luckily, most of Elizabeth's councilors were of the same mind as the
275 queen.&amp;nbsp; Their first priority was the stability of the realm, and they
276 wanted to negotiate a truce of sorts between the two factions.&amp;nbsp; Of
277 course, the more extreme members of both parties could not be
278 satisfied.&amp;nbsp; Also, Philip II of Spain and Henri II of France had
279 recently ended their near-constant warfare, and now England remained
280 outside Continental affairs; perhaps it would become the prey of both
281 powers.&amp;nbsp; When Elizabeth's court moved to Whitehall for Christmas, the
282 Spanish ambassador De Feria tried to secure a possible marriage between
283 Elizabeth and one of Philip's innumerable relatives.&amp;nbsp; Already her
284 expected marriage dominated European politics.&amp;nbsp; No one expected her
285 to rule alone.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
286 &lt;P&gt;The Christmas festivities at Whitehall were quite extravagant.&amp;nbsp;
287 The English court had not had cause for much celebration in years; Mary's
288 reign had been increasingly insular and solemn.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth, young
289 and beautiful, was determined to celebrate her near-miraculous
290 triumph.&amp;nbsp; And yet Christmas would pale in comparison to her
291 coronation festivities.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
292 &lt;P&gt;On the 12th of January, she set out once again to the Tower, traveling
293 by river from Whitehall.&amp;nbsp; Two days later, at two o'clock in the
294 afternoon, she rode in an open litter for her recognition procession
295 throughout London.&amp;nbsp; She wore a gown of crimson velvet and cloth of
296 gold with an ermine cape for warmth, and was surrounded by richly-dressed
297 lords and ladies.&amp;nbsp; Crowds of Londoners thronged the streets, to the
298 queen's open delight.&amp;nbsp; It was a cold and wet Saturday with snow
299 flurries settling upon the brocade canopy of the queen's litter, but the
300 weather could not distract from the spectacle.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
301 &lt;P&gt;The entire route through the city was marked by pageants, plays, and
302 orations; even Anne Boleyn appeared in a tableau beside Henry VIII.&amp;nbsp;
303 Elizabeth's replies to each presentation were memorable and kind; to the
304 Recorder of London, she memorably said, 'Whereas your request is that I
305 should continue your good lady and Queen, be ye assured that I will be as
306 good unto you as ever Queen was to her people.&amp;nbsp; No will in me can
307 lack, neither do I trust shall there lack any power.&amp;nbsp; And persuade
308 yourselves, that for the safety and quietness of you all, I will not spare
309 if need be to spare my blood.'&amp;nbsp; These words were not merely facile
310 endearments.&amp;nbsp; Long ago, during the dark days of Mary's reign, she had
311 realized the importance of public relations and popular support.&amp;nbsp;
312&lt;/P&gt;
313 &lt;P&gt;The next day she was crowned queen of England.&amp;nbsp; She entered
314 Westminster on foot, walking upon a long blue carpet which the crowd
315 promptly cut up for souvenirs.&amp;nbsp; The great Abbey was crowded full of
316 both rural and urban dignitaries, and their ladies.&amp;nbsp; They watched as
317 the queen marched slowly forward, the long red velvet train of her gown
318 carried by the duchess of Norfolk.&amp;nbsp; Hundreds of candles and lamps
319 burned, and the boys' choir sang beautifully while a medley of pipes,
320 drums, and the church organ played.)&amp;nbsp; She was crowned by Owen
321 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,
322 Reginald Pole, had died the same day as Queen Mary; the archbishop of York
323 asked to be excused on grounds of conscience; the bishop of Durham said he
324 was too old to perform the ceremony.&amp;nbsp; And so it fell to Dr
325 Oglethorpe, who was as good as anyone else in Elizabeth's eyes.&amp;nbsp; The
326 ceremony itself was a mish-mash of Catholic and Protestant rituals - the
327 Mass was said in Latin but the celebrant did not elevate the Host; the
328 epistle and gospel were read in Latin and English; and the coronation oath
329 itself was read from an English Bible.&amp;nbsp; In other words, it was a
330 ceremony which accurately reflected the religious confusion of mid-16th
331 century England.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
332 &lt;P&gt;Oglethorpe placed the heavy Crown of St Edward on her head, but it was
333 quickly removed after the oath was administered.&amp;nbsp; Then, wearing a
334 lighter crown, the new queen was presented to the congregation.&amp;nbsp;
335 There was an explosion of noise (the Venetian ambassador said it sounded
336 like the end of the world) as bells were rung, trumpets were blown, and
337 every other musical instrument played with such force that spectators
338 winced.&amp;nbsp; The coronation banquet was held at Westminster Hall at three
339 o'clock and lasted until one o'clock Monday morning.&amp;nbsp; The new queen,
340 who now wore a becoming gown of purple velvet, sat beneath the great
341 window on a raised dais.&amp;nbsp; There were eight hundred guests, and the
342 queen was served by the Lord Chamberlain and the Chief Steward.&amp;nbsp; She
343 spoke little during the banquet, and was so tired when it ended that a
344 tournament planned for Monday afternoon was canceled.&amp;nbsp; She had also
345 caught a cold; the opening of Parliament was thus delayed from the 23rd of
346 January to the 25th.&amp;nbsp; Her arrival at Parliament, however, was another
347 moment of triumph for Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; She wore a crimson gown and a cap
348 decorated with pearls and was quite lovely and energetic despite her
349 recent cold.&amp;nbsp; When the crowd called out, 'God save and maintain
350 thee!', she responded with enthusiasm, 'God a' mercy, good people!'&amp;nbsp;
351 &lt;/P&gt;
352 &lt;P&gt;All things considered, these first two months on the throne had gone
353 very smoothly.&amp;nbsp; But most European powers were convinced she wouldn't
354 last a year as queen.&amp;nbsp; If she did, it would only be due to a
355 quick marriage.&amp;nbsp; And so, over the next several years, the dominant
356 issue of her reign would be one which she personally detested - who would
357 the queen marry, and when?&amp;nbsp; For Elizabeth, treading carefully and
358 conscious of the novelty of her position, the issue was a personal and
359 political threat - and one which she handled with exquisite care.&lt;/P&gt;
360 &lt;hr&gt;
361 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
362 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
363 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'She [Elizabeth] is incomparably more feared than her
364 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;
365 &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,
366 1559&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
367 &lt;blockquote&gt;
368 &lt;blockquote&gt;
369 &lt;hr&gt;
370 &lt;P&gt;Elizabeth's seeming obliviousness to marriage, her refusal to discuss
371 it, or her occasional witty but vague comments - all these infuriated her
372 councilors.&amp;nbsp; They seemed incapable of appreciating the impact
373 marriage would have upon her life, while its impact was distressingly
374 clear to Elizabeth.&amp;nbsp; The councilors wanted a king, and an heir, a
375 natural enough desire since her throne could not be completely secure without
376 them.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth knew herself to be intellectually superior to
377 most men and she relished her independence.&amp;nbsp; And, of course, her
378 father's marital history - as well as her sister's - made her question
379 both the personal and political cost of marriage.&amp;nbsp; The new queen always
380 had a low opinion of marital happiness, and saw little reason to change
381 her mind.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
382 &lt;P&gt;Even in her own lifetime, rumors abounded that Elizabeth was physically
383 deformed, incapable of pleasing a husband or bearing a child.&amp;nbsp; It was
384 also whispered that she was a sexual deviant whose appetites could not be
385 satisfied by marriage.&amp;nbsp; However, it is clear enough that Elizabeth's
386 character - pragmatic, rational, and calculating - was not overly
387 romantic; she was openly fond of many courtiers, particularly Robert
388 Dudley.&amp;nbsp; But she never wed Dudley, and a healthy flirtation does not
389 indicate sexual deviancy.&amp;nbsp; Rather, it shows Elizabeth to be a normal
390 young woman who enjoyed the company of a handsome man.&amp;nbsp; If she had
391 not flirted with Dudley, or her other courtiers, then speculation about
392 her character would be understandable.&amp;nbsp; In truth, she was no less
393 flirtatious than her father, but the simple, unavoidable fact of her
394 gender made her flirtations far more politically charged.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
395 &lt;P&gt;Furthermore, any sexual activity would have been immediately
396 reported.&amp;nbsp; 'I do not live in a corner,' the queen once commented. 'A
397 thousand eyes see all I do, and calumny will not fasten on me for
398 ever.'&amp;nbsp; A foreign ambassador was caught paying one of her laundresses
399 for proof of the queen's regular menstrual cycle; everyone at court
400 gossiped about her relationships with the handsome courtiers who soon
401 flocked to London.&amp;nbsp; The queen herself preferred to rise above such
402 discussion.&amp;nbsp; If she fulfilled her royal duties with care and
403 diligence, and if she brought prosperity and peace to her country, then
404 she was successful.&amp;nbsp; And since she had great faith in her own
405 talents, she saw no reason to share her throne with a husband.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
406 &lt;P&gt;And so, out of love of independence and power, and a native distrust of
407 marriage, Elizabeth was determined to remain single.&amp;nbsp; Her councilors,
408 for their part, pretended to believe otherwise for quite a long
409 time.&amp;nbsp; Despite her repeated vows to 'live and die a virgin', they
410 embarked upon countless rounds of diplomatic negotiations searching for a
411 husband.&amp;nbsp; They visited her in private, they
412 openly begged her; they eventually forced a parliamentary showdown upon
413 her.&amp;nbsp; William Cecil prayed that 'God would send our mistress a
414 husband, and by time a son, that we may hope our posterity shall have a
415 masculine succession.'&amp;nbsp; Despite their close friendship, and mutual
416 respect, even Cecil succumbed to the sexism of their age - he rebuked a
417 messenger for talking to the queen of something that 'was too much for
418 woman's knowledge.'&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
419 &lt;P&gt;But over the years, her councilor's discomfort lessened.&amp;nbsp; Mary
420 Stuart bore a son, James, in 1566 and was imprisoned in England shortly
421 afterwards.&amp;nbsp; James was raised as a Protestant and was soon the only
422 Tudor relative with a viable claim.&amp;nbsp; His religion allowed most
423 Englishmen to look favorably upon him as Elizabeth's eventual heir.&amp;nbsp;
424 The queen wisely dangled its possibility before him and thus ensured
425 Scottish political cooperation throughout the later years of her
426 reign.&amp;nbsp; Also, as the years passed, so did the possibility that
427 Elizabeth would bear a child.&amp;nbsp; And why marry, if not for an
428 heir?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
429 &lt;P&gt;It is also worth noting the endless difficulties in selecting a
430 suitable husband.&amp;nbsp; A foreign match would have dragged England into
431 the morass of European politics, with possibly the same disastrous results
432 of Mary's marriage.&amp;nbsp; But marriage to an Englishman would have given
433 too much power to one political faction or the other.&amp;nbsp; And so
434 Elizabeth's personal dislike of marriage turned out to be a shrewd
435 political decision, though it confounded everyone for several years.&amp;nbsp;
436 &lt;/P&gt;
437 &lt;P&gt;From the earliest days of her reign, one of Elizabeth's greatest
438 political attributes was her endless prevarication.&amp;nbsp; Many historians
439 have described it less as an attribute, and more as her greatest failing.&amp;nbsp;
440 They mention her inability to decide upon marriage, or - most famously -
441 her refusal to execute Mary queen of Scots.&amp;nbsp; They argue that these
442 incidents prove she was hesitant and indecisive.&amp;nbsp; But it actually
443 reveals a formidable political talent, and one which greatly benefited her
444 nation.&amp;nbsp; The new queen was not one to whole-heartedly plunge into any
445 scheme, personal or political; thus, she refused to become involved in
446 foreign entanglements which would have bankrupted her country and produced
447 strife and discontent.&amp;nbsp; She sent money and a few troops to
448 continental Protestants, but no more.&amp;nbsp; In terms of religion, she
449 sought to strike a balance between two extremes through careful thought
450 and debate.&amp;nbsp; In doing so, she negotiated a truce of sorts which
451 lasted through most of her reign - in contrast to the religious turmoil
452 which marked the reigns before and after her own.&amp;nbsp; One could label
453 her indecisive since she did not strike a definitive stance on either
454 issue.&amp;nbsp; But she preserved the peace and prosperity of her nation; she
455 put England, and the welfare of its citizens, first.&amp;nbsp; Thus, the
456 ability to prevaricate was an essential tool of her political success,
457 however much it frustrated those who wanted her to take sides.&amp;nbsp; In
458 Elizabeth's case, one could argue that she took only the English side.&lt;/P&gt;
459 &lt;hr&gt;
460 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
461 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
462 &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'She is a very vain and clever woman.&amp;nbsp; She must have
463 been thoroughly schooled in the manner in which her father conducted his
464 affairs.&amp;nbsp; She is determined to be governed by no one.' &lt;/font&gt;
465 &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;
466 &lt;blockquote&gt;
467 &lt;blockquote&gt;
468 &lt;hr&gt;
469 &lt;P&gt;
470 &lt;IMG height=307 alt=&quot;Elizabeth I's greatest love, Sir Robert Dudley&quot;
471 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/eliztruelove.jpg&quot; width=300 align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;This understandably caused strife within her council.&amp;nbsp; It was
472 clear from the beginning that Robert Dudley was the queen's favorite
473 courtier.&amp;nbsp; They were openly affectionate and Dudley enjoyed flaunting
474 the queen's favor.&amp;nbsp; Cecil was often terrified that Elizabeth would
475 wed Dudley, but that fear at least was soon put to rest.&amp;nbsp; At the
476 start of Elizabeth's reign, Dudley was still married to an heiress called
477 Amy Robsart; she was safely tucked away in the country while her husband
478 flirted at court.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth knew of the match; she had attended the
479 wedding.&amp;nbsp; But the marriage, which had begun happily, was soon torn
480 apart by Dudley's ambition.&amp;nbsp; But whatever he planned for the future,
481 it was soon impossible for him to dream of becoming king.&amp;nbsp; Amy was
482 living in secluded and deprived circumstances at Cumnor Place, the
483 Oxfordshire manor of Anthony Forster, an MP and close friend of
484 Dudley's.&amp;nbsp; She had been ill for some time.&amp;nbsp; On Sunday the 8th of
485 September 1560, roughly nine months after Elizabeth's coronation, she gave
486 her few servants permission to visit a fair.&amp;nbsp; When they returned,
487 they found her lying dead at the bottom of the staircase with a broken
488 neck.&amp;nbsp; There had been other ladies in the home; they reported playing
489 backgammon with Amy until, suddenly and without explanation, she left the
490 room and fell to her death.&amp;nbsp; Dudley was informed of the news while at
491 Windsor Castle with the queen.&amp;nbsp; He immediately ordered a thorough
492 investigation.&amp;nbsp; Why?&amp;nbsp; His close relationship with the queen was
493 already a minor scandal; Amy's suspicious death could make it
494 explosive.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
495 &lt;P&gt;Amy had been ill for some months, with a 'canker in her breast', as the
496 doctors said.&amp;nbsp; They had assured Dudley that his wife would not live
497 much longer.&amp;nbsp; So the immediate supposition after her death - that
498 Dudley had murdered Amy so he could marry the queen - does not make
499 sense.&amp;nbsp; There were only three other conclusions to draw - first, that
500 Amy, knowing her own condition, was depressed and angry at her husband;
501 she therefore took her own life in an attempt to end her suffering and
502 Dudley's hopes to be king.&amp;nbsp; Second, that one of Dudley's enemies had
503 murdered Amy in an attempt to discredit him and make marriage with the
504 queen impossible.&amp;nbsp; Or third, that nothing so nefarious occurred and
505 her death was completely accidental; she simply fell while walking down
506 the stairs.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
507 &lt;P&gt;But everyone enjoyed gossip and scandal too much to let it pass.&amp;nbsp;
508 And Amy's maid told a jury that her mistress had often 'prayed to God to
509 deliver her from desperation', and many courtiers remembered Dudley's
510 public speculation about divorcing his wife.&amp;nbsp; Elizabeth was forced to
511 send Dudley from court until the funeral, but he did not attend the
512 service.&amp;nbsp; The queen sent Lady Norton as her representative, and it
513 was known that other ladies had been asked but refused to go because of
514 the scandal.&amp;nbsp; But Elizabeth's affection for Dudley was at its
515 greatest during these early years and could not be denied.&amp;nbsp; Soon
516 enough he was back at court and in as much favor as always.&amp;nbsp; Once,
517 during a boating party on the Thames, he asked the ambassador de Quadra,
518 who was also Bishop of Avila, to marry he and Elizabeth immediately.&amp;nbsp;
519 The ambassador remarked that he would do so as soon as the queen dismissed
520 her Protestant councilors from service.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
521 &lt;P&gt;In light of Amy Robsart's death, it is worth considering Elizabeth's
522 own feelings on the matter.&amp;nbsp; Her closest advisors thought she had
523 good cause to dread the woman's death, though not because of any
524 scandal.&amp;nbsp; The queen, they realized, enjoyed flirting with Dudley and
525 occasionally encouraged his fantasies, but she did not want to be given
526 the opportunity to marry him.&amp;nbsp; When Amy Robsart died, Elizabeth had
527 no ready excuse for denying Dudley's proposals.&lt;/P&gt;
528 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
529 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
530&lt;/blockquote&gt;
531
532&lt;blockquote&gt;
533 &lt;blockquote&gt;
534 &lt;blockquote&gt;
535 &lt;P&gt;But the queen had other, far more appropriate suitors.&amp;nbsp; Cecil's
536 natural inclination was to make peace with England's
537 traditional enemy, France.&amp;nbsp; He urged a match with one of Queen Catherine d'Medici and
538 King Henry II's sons.&amp;nbsp; These Francophile maneuvers began seriously
539 after Mary Stuart's French husband died in 1560 and she returned to
540 Scotland.&amp;nbsp; To thwart Cecil, other councilors pressed a Spanish
541 marriage, perhaps even to her former brother-in-law Philip.&amp;nbsp; The
542 queen expertly considered all options but never committed to any.&amp;nbsp;
543 This routine would continue until advancing age made childbirth
544 impossible.&amp;nbsp; Only then was Elizabeth truly free of parliamentary
545 meddling in her private affairs, a situation which had inspired several
546 famously bitter outbursts in 1566.&amp;nbsp; After insisting that the
547 succession was too weighty an issue for such &amp;quot;a knot of harebrains&amp;quot; as the
548 House of Commons, she later invoked her own arrest during Wyatt's
549 rebellion as the reason for her refusal to name a successor (if she would
550 not marry): &amp;quot;I did differ from her [Mary I] in religion and I was sought
551 for divers ways.&amp;nbsp; And so shall never be my successor.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; And, she
552 warned them, &amp;quot;as your Prince and head&amp;quot;, it was up to her to judge such
553 weighty political issues without parliamentary interference, &amp;quot;For it is
554 monstrous that the feet should direct the head.&amp;quot;&lt;/P&gt;
555 &lt;P&gt;In other words, they could discuss and debate and suggest - but only
556 Elizabeth could rule.&lt;/P&gt;
557 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
558 &lt;CENTER&gt;
559 &lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;&lt;A
560 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz3.html&quot;&gt;CONTINUE
561 READING&lt;/A&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
562 &lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;A
563 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html&quot;&gt;to Tudor
564 Monarchs&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;A
565 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz1.html&quot;&gt;back to Queen
566 Elizabeth I, part one&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
567 &lt;/CENTER&gt;
568 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
569 &lt;/blockquote&gt;
570&lt;/blockquote&gt;
571
572
573
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576</Content>
577</Section>
578</Archive>
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