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2 | <!DOCTYPE Archive SYSTEM "http://greenstone.org/dtd/Archive/1.0/Archive.dtd">
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4 | <Section>
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5 | <Description>
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10 | <Metadata name="Source">eliz2.html</Metadata>
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11 | <Metadata name="SourceFile">eliz2.html</Metadata>
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12 | <Metadata name="Language">en</Metadata>
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13 | <Metadata name="Encoding">windows_1252</Metadata>
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14 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
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15 | <Metadata name="Content">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
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16 | <Metadata name="Page_topic">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
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17 | <Metadata name="Title">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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18 | <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
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19 | <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz2.html</Metadata>
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20 | <Metadata name="UTF8URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz2.html</Metadata>
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21 | <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Monarchs</Metadata>
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24 | <Metadata name="lastmodifieddate">20141028</Metadata>
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29 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">eliz1-coronation.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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30 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">eliz1-ditchley.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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31 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">cecil-sm1.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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33 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">eliztruelove.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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34 | </Description>
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35 | <Content>
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36 |
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37 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
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38 | <tr>
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39 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
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40 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="29"><p align="center">&nbsp;</td>
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41 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
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42 | </tr>
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43 | <tr>
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44 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
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45 | <td width="50%" height="3">
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46 | <p align="center">
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47 | <IMG height=98 alt="Queen Elizabeth I"
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48 | src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1-queenuse.gif" width=422></td>
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49 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
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50 | </tr>
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51 | <tr>
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52 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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53 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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54 | <p align="center">
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55 | <img border="2" src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1-coronation.jpg" alt="The 'Coronation Portrait' of Elizabeth I; late 16th copy of a lost original" width="294" height="427"><blockquote>
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56 | <p align="left">
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57 | &nbsp;</blockquote>
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58 | <DIV align=left>Visit
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59 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html">Elizabethan
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60 | Images</a> to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with
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61 | commentary.<BR>Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at <A
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62 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html">Primary
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63 | Sources</A>.<BR><BR>Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen
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64 | Elizabeth I at <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html">
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65 | Secondary Sources</a>.</DIV>
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66 | <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
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67 | <DIV align=left>Visit <A
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68 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html">the Anne
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69 | Boleyn website</A> to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.<BR>Visit <A
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70 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html">the Mary,
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71 | queen of Scots website</A> to learn more about Elizabeth's
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72 | cousin.<BR><BR>Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at <A
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73 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html">Tudor
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74 | Quizzes</A>.</DIV>
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75 | <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
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76 | <DIV align=left>Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
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77 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.alassea.net%2ffl%2felizabeth">The Virgin Queen
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78 | fanlisting</a>.</DIV>
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79 | <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
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80 | </td>
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81 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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82 | </tr>
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83 | </table>
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84 |
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85 | <blockquote>
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86 | <blockquote>
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87 | <blockquote>
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88 | <hr>
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89 | </blockquote>
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90 | </blockquote>
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91 | <p><font size="4">'Some have fallen from being Princes of this land to be
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92 | prisoners in this place; I am raised from being prisoner in this place to be
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93 | Prince of this land.&nbsp; That dejection was a work of God's justice; this
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94 | advancement is a work of His mercy.' </font>&nbsp; <I><FONT size=-1>Elizabeth
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95 | I at the Tower of London, during her coronation ceremonies,
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96 | 1559</FONT></I></p>
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97 | <blockquote>
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98 | <blockquote>
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99 | <hr>
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100 |
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101 | <P>There is an apocryphal story about Elizabeth's accession.&nbsp; In it,
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102 | she was out in the meadows surrounding Hatfield when the courtiers
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103 | approached.&nbsp; They bowed before her, and presented Mary's signet
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104 | ring.&nbsp; Elizabeth supposedly fell upon her knees and exclaimed, most
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105 | aptly, 'A Domino factum est illud et est mirabile in oculis nostris.'
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106 | ('This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in Our eyes.')&nbsp; The
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107 | citizens of London undoubtedly felt the same; upon receiving word of
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108 | Mary's death, bonfires were lit and tables were set in the streets for a
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109 | grand celebratory feast.&nbsp; </P>
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110 | <P>&nbsp;A glorious accession, then, and much celebrated.&nbsp; A
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111 | contemporary observer, however, commented wryly upon the state of affairs
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112 | in England in 1558: 'The Queen poor; the realm exhausted; the nobility
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113 | poor and decayed; want of good captains and soldiers; the people out of
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114 | order; justice not executed; justices of peace unmeet for office; all
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115 | things dear; excess of meat and drink, and apparel; division among
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116 | ourselves; war with France and Scotland; the French King, having one foot
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117 | in Calais and the other in Scotland; steadfast enmity, but no steadfast
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118 | friendship abroad.'&nbsp; </P>
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119 | <P>Elizabeth was well aware of the dire situation she faced.&nbsp; She
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120 | herself had been the victim of the religious and political confusion of
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121 | Mary's reign.&nbsp; And<IMG height=412
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122 | alt="'The Ditchley Portrait' of Elizabeth I"
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123 | src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1-ditchley.jpg" width=281 border=2 align="right"> even the weather had been uncooperative for Queen
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124 | Mary; the droughts which had plagued farmers led to high prices and much
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125 | poverty.&nbsp; Most of the poor flocked to London where they crowded into
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126 | ever-expanding slums.&nbsp; Mary's attempts to reform the debased currency
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127 | of Henry VIII and Edward VI's reign had been somewhat successful, but
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128 | England was still considered a poor credit risk on the Continent.&nbsp;
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129 | </P>
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130 | <P>And so the new queen, though popular and much-admired, did not inherit
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131 | a stable and prosperous country - and the quest for stability and
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132 | prosperity became the guiding force of her reign.&nbsp; To that end, she
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133 | came to eschew foreign entanglements and religious extremism.&nbsp;
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134 | Practical and pragmatic, Elizabeth chose as her motto 'Semper Eadem'
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135 | ('Always the Same'), and it was highly appropriate.&nbsp; </P>
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136 | <P>Her succession was assured and untroubled.&nbsp; But Elizabeth knew
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137 | that when the celebrations ended, the real work would begin.&nbsp; Almost
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138 | immediately, she would be forced to consider a rival claim to the throne
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139 | by her cousin, Mary Stuart.&nbsp; Queen of Scotland since infancy, and now
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140 | the wife of the French dauphin (and crowned queen of France in 1559), Mary
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141 | was denied a place in the Tudor succession by Henry VIII's will.&nbsp; But
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142 | she was a Catholic and had the French monarchy behind her.&nbsp; For her
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143 | part, she was content to stay in France.&nbsp; But she did - with spirit
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144 | and not much sense, as was her wont - choose to quarter the royal arms of
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145 | England, Wales and Ireland upon her heraldry, thus openly laying claim to
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146 | the throne of England.&nbsp; Even this symbolic act was fraught with
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147 | political danger for the queenly cousins.&nbsp; From her accession on,
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148 | Elizabeth knew her Scottish 'sister' was a serious concern; and while Mary
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149 | was safely in France, it was all for the better.&nbsp; Scotland was
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150 | already turning Protestant and England could continue to support its
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151 | religious dissension and political upheaval.&nbsp; If their northern
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152 | neighbor was kept busy with its own troubles, it was less likely to clash
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153 | with England.&nbsp; </P>
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154 | <P>As for her English subjects, even the Catholics were largely against
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155 | Mary Stuart's claims.&nbsp; In this case, nationalism trumped
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156 | religion.&nbsp; There were other English claimants, of course; the younger
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157 | sisters of the unfortunate <A
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158 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html">Lady Jane
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159 | Grey</A>.&nbsp; But of the two, <A
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160 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fcathgrey.html">Catherine</A>
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161 | was flighty and foolish and Mary was barely four feet tall.&nbsp; Neither
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162 | was a popular choice to be queen.&nbsp; </P>
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163 | <P>Her smooth accession was further assured by the Lord Chancellor,
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164 | Nicholas Heath.&nbsp; Parliament had been in session while Mary lay dying
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165 | and, on 17 November, Heath announced her death to the assembled lords and
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166 | commons.&nbsp; He then said, 'Which hap as it is most heavy and grievous
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167 | unto us, so have we no less cause another way to rejoice with praise to
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168 | Almighty God for that He hath left unto us a true, lawful and right
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169 | inheritrice to the crown of this realm, which is the Lady Elizabeth, of
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170 | whose lawful right and title we need not to doubt.&nbsp; Wherefore the
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171 | lords of this house have determined with your assents and consents, to
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172 | pass from hence into the palace, and there to proclaim the said Lady
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173 | Elizabeth Queen of this realm without further tract of time.'&nbsp; </P>
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174 | <P>There was no dissension at Heath's words.&nbsp; Traditionally,
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175 | Parliament dissolved upon the death of the reigning monarch - but Heath's
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176 | prompt actions ensured Elizabeth's lawful recognition as queen before the
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177 | lords and commons dispersed.&nbsp; And, as a leading Catholic, Heath also
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178 | secured the loyalty of his religious party for the new queen.&nbsp; </P>
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179 | <P>Elizabeth held court at Hatfield for about a week, assembling statesmen
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180 | and studying English affairs more acutely.&nbsp; Nicholas Throckmorton
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181 | wrote to her immediately; he advised her to be wary and careful, so that
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182 | neither 'the old or the new should wholly understand what you mean.'&nbsp;
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183 | She did not need such advice; it was already central to her
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184 | character.&nbsp; How else had she survived the reigns of Edward and
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185 | Mary?&nbsp; </P>
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186 | <P>
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187 | <IMG height=206 alt="Elizabeth I's greatest advisor, Sir William Cecil"
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188 | src="_httpdocimg_/cecil-sm1.jpg" width=140 border=2 align="left">On 20 November, she held her first council meeting and appointed the
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189 | loyal William Cecil as her Principal Secretary of State.&nbsp; They had
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190 | been friends for a long while, since his appointment as her accountant
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191 | many years ago.&nbsp; And, for the next forty years, they were to rule
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192 | England as a virtually inseparable team.&nbsp; Elizabeth's words to Cecil
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193 | have become justly famous: 'I give you this charge, that you shall be of
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194 | my Privy Council and content to take pains for me and my realm.&nbsp; This
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195 | judgment I have of you that you will not be corrupted by any manner of
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196 | gift and that you will be faithful to the state; and that without respect
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197 | of my private will you will give me that counsel which you think best and
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198 | if you shall know anything necessary to be declared to me of secrecy, you
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199 | shall show it to myself only.&nbsp; And assure yourself I will not fail to
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200 | keep taciturnity therein and therefore herewith I charge you.'&nbsp; </P>
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201 | <P>All monarchs use such appointments to reward loyalty and friendship;
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202 | Cecil's was also a reward for ability.&nbsp; On a more personal note,
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203 | Elizabeth rewarded the faithful servants who had been her companions since
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204 | childhood, among them Thomas Parry and Kat Ashley.&nbsp; The handsome
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205 | Robert Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse; he was the son of the
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206 | late Lord Protector and had been imprisoned in the Tower with Elizabeth
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207 | during Mary's reign.&nbsp; Not coincidentally, this position required
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208 | close contact with the queen.&nbsp; Thus from the very beginning, a source
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209 | of rivalry was established amongst Elizabeth's closest councilors.&nbsp;
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210 | Cecil and Dudley disliked one another, each man viewing the other as his
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211 | main rival for the queen's attention.&nbsp; But even this potentially
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212 | untenable situation benefited the young queen; it meant that she alone
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213 | dominated her government while two rival factions developed, each centered
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214 | around Cecil and Dudley.</P>
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215 | <hr>
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216 | </blockquote>
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217 | </blockquote>
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218 | <p align="center"><font size="4">'Everything depends upon the husband this woman takes.'&nbsp;
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219 | <BR></font><I><FONT size=-1>the Spanish ambassador De Feria, 1560</FONT></I></p>
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220 | <blockquote>
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221 | <blockquote>
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222 | <hr>
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223 | </blockquote>
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224 | </blockquote>
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225 | <P align="left"><font size="4">'If I were a milkmaid with a pail on my
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226 | arm, whereby my private person might be little set by, I would not forsake
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227 | that poor and single state to match with the greatest monarch.'&nbsp;&nbsp;
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228 | </font><I><FONT size=-1>Elizabeth I
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229 | to Parliament, regarding marriage</FONT></I></P>
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230 | <blockquote>
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231 | <blockquote>
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232 | <hr>
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233 | <P>Elizabeth well understood the importance of public relations and knew
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234 | her entry into London must be a lavish spectacle; the coronation which
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235 | would follow must be even more impressive.&nbsp; Dudley was placed in
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236 | charge of the coronation plans.&nbsp; He was well-suited to the
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237 | task.&nbsp; Elizabeth's favorite astronomer, Dr John Dee, was consulted
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238 | and Sunday, 15 January 1559 was selected as the perfect date.&nbsp; </P>
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239 | <P>On 23 November, Elizabeth left Hatfield for London; she stayed at the
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240 | Charterhouse, and for the next five days she made regular appearances
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241 | before adoring crowds.&nbsp; On Monday 28 November, she left the
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242 | Charterhouse to ride through London and to the Tower.&nbsp; She wore a
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243 | purple velvet gown and had a scarf tied loosely around her neck.&nbsp;
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244 | Dudley rode closely behind her.&nbsp; When they neared the Tower, both the
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245 | queen and her Master of the Horse appreciated the irony of the
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246 | moment.&nbsp; Elizabeth said simply, and wittily: 'Some have fallen from
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247 | being Princes of this land to be prisoners in this place; I am raised from
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248 | being prisoner in this place to be Prince of this land.&nbsp; That
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249 | dejection was a work of God's justice; this advancement is a work of His
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250 | mercy.'&nbsp; </P>
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251 | <P>She spent the next ten days at the Tower, holding council meetings and
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252 | slowly but steadily learning how to rule.&nbsp; She had been welcomed to
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253 | the throne with great celebration, but few monarchs have inherited such a
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254 | dire predicament.&nbsp; Religious turmoil was inevitable; though
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255 | the Protestants regarded Elizabeth as their savior, many Marian exiles
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256 | believed she would maintain her sister's religious changes.&nbsp; She had
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257 | to tread carefully - and fortunately for both Elizabeth and her nation,
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258 | she was uniquely suited to do so.&nbsp; She made it clear to her
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259 | councilors that she wanted no windows into men's souls.&nbsp; Also, she
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260 | would not be dominated by one religious party at the expense of
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261 | another.&nbsp; For Elizabeth, her citizens were Englishmen first; their
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262 | religious loyalties - whether Catholic or Protestant - were to remain
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263 | subservient to their loyalty to her as queen of England.&nbsp; This
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264 | explains her later disregard for Puritanism.&nbsp; She characteristically
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265 | remarked that she preferred loyal Catholics to Puritans; this may have
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266 | confused some of her subjects since she was a Protestant queen, and the
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267 | Puritans were simply Protestant extremists.&nbsp; However, Elizabeth
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268 | recognized that, by the end of her reign, most of her Catholic subjects
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269 | were loyal to her instead of the pope (despite her excommunication) and
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270 | accepted royal prerogative.&nbsp; Her Puritan subjects, however, did not
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271 | recognize the sanctity of the crown, and their presence in Parliament
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272 | ensured a steady erosion of royal power.&nbsp; The end result of this
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273 | conflict occurred during the reign of Charles I, when a powerful Puritan
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274 | populace revolted against their Catholic king and beheaded him.&nbsp; </P>
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275 | <P>Luckily, most of Elizabeth's councilors were of the same mind as the
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276 | queen.&nbsp; Their first priority was the stability of the realm, and they
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277 | wanted to negotiate a truce of sorts between the two factions.&nbsp; Of
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278 | course, the more extreme members of both parties could not be
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279 | satisfied.&nbsp; Also, Philip II of Spain and Henri II of France had
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280 | recently ended their near-constant warfare, and now England remained
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281 | outside Continental affairs; perhaps it would become the prey of both
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282 | powers.&nbsp; When Elizabeth's court moved to Whitehall for Christmas, the
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283 | Spanish ambassador De Feria tried to secure a possible marriage between
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284 | Elizabeth and one of Philip's innumerable relatives.&nbsp; Already her
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285 | expected marriage dominated European politics.&nbsp; No one expected her
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286 | to rule alone.&nbsp; </P>
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287 | <P>The Christmas festivities at Whitehall were quite extravagant.&nbsp;
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288 | The English court had not had cause for much celebration in years; Mary's
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289 | reign had been increasingly insular and solemn.&nbsp; But Elizabeth, young
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290 | and beautiful, was determined to celebrate her near-miraculous
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291 | triumph.&nbsp; And yet Christmas would pale in comparison to her
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292 | coronation festivities.&nbsp; </P>
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293 | <P>On the 12th of January, she set out once again to the Tower, traveling
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294 | by river from Whitehall.&nbsp; Two days later, at two o'clock in the
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295 | afternoon, she rode in an open litter for her recognition procession
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296 | throughout London.&nbsp; She wore a gown of crimson velvet and cloth of
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297 | gold with an ermine cape for warmth, and was surrounded by richly-dressed
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298 | lords and ladies.&nbsp; Crowds of Londoners thronged the streets, to the
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299 | queen's open delight.&nbsp; It was a cold and wet Saturday with snow
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300 | flurries settling upon the brocade canopy of the queen's litter, but the
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301 | weather could not distract from the spectacle.&nbsp; </P>
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302 | <P>The entire route through the city was marked by pageants, plays, and
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303 | orations; even Anne Boleyn appeared in a tableau beside Henry VIII.&nbsp;
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304 | Elizabeth's replies to each presentation were memorable and kind; to the
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305 | Recorder of London, she memorably said, 'Whereas your request is that I
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306 | should continue your good lady and Queen, be ye assured that I will be as
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307 | good unto you as ever Queen was to her people.&nbsp; No will in me can
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308 | lack, neither do I trust shall there lack any power.&nbsp; And persuade
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309 | yourselves, that for the safety and quietness of you all, I will not spare
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310 | if need be to spare my blood.'&nbsp; These words were not merely facile
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311 | endearments.&nbsp; Long ago, during the dark days of Mary's reign, she had
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312 | realized the importance of public relations and popular support.&nbsp;
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313 | </P>
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314 | <P>The next day she was crowned queen of England.&nbsp; She entered
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315 | Westminster on foot, walking upon a long blue carpet which the crowd
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316 | promptly cut up for souvenirs.&nbsp; The great Abbey was crowded full of
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317 | both rural and urban dignitaries, and their ladies.&nbsp; They watched as
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318 | the queen marched slowly forward, the long red velvet train of her gown
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319 | carried by the duchess of Norfolk.&nbsp; Hundreds of candles and lamps
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320 | burned, and the boys' choir sang beautifully while a medley of pipes,
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321 | drums, and the church organ played.)&nbsp; She was crowned by Owen
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322 | Oglethorpe, the bishop of Carlisle.&nbsp; The<img border="0" src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1woodcrop.jpg" alt="portrait of Elizabeth I on wood; c1565" align="right" width="200" height="285"> archbishop of Canterbury,
|
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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.&nbsp; And so it fell to Dr
|
---|
326 | Oglethorpe, who was as good as anyone else in Elizabeth's eyes.&nbsp; The
|
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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
|
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329 | epistle and gospel were read in Latin and English; and the coronation oath
|
---|
330 | itself was read from an English Bible.&nbsp; In other words, it was a
|
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331 | ceremony which accurately reflected the religious confusion of mid-16th
|
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332 | century England.&nbsp; </P>
|
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333 | <P>Oglethorpe placed the heavy Crown of St Edward on her head, but it was
|
---|
334 | quickly removed after the oath was administered.&nbsp; Then, wearing a
|
---|
335 | lighter crown, the new queen was presented to the congregation.&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.&nbsp; The coronation banquet was held at Westminster Hall at three
|
---|
340 | o'clock and lasted until one o'clock Monday morning.&nbsp; The new queen,
|
---|
341 | who now wore a becoming gown of purple velvet, sat beneath the great
|
---|
342 | window on a raised dais.&nbsp; There were eight hundred guests, and the
|
---|
343 | queen was served by the Lord Chamberlain and the Chief Steward.&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.&nbsp; She had also
|
---|
346 | caught a cold; the opening of Parliament was thus delayed from the 23rd of
|
---|
347 | January to the 25th.&nbsp; Her arrival at Parliament, however, was another
|
---|
348 | moment of triumph for Elizabeth.&nbsp; She wore a crimson gown and a cap
|
---|
349 | decorated with pearls and was quite lovely and energetic despite her
|
---|
350 | recent cold.&nbsp; When the crowd called out, 'God save and maintain
|
---|
351 | thee!', she responded with enthusiasm, 'God a' mercy, good people!'&nbsp;
|
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352 | </P>
|
---|
353 | <P>All things considered, these first two months on the throne had gone
|
---|
354 | very smoothly.&nbsp; But most European powers were convinced she wouldn't
|
---|
355 | last a year as queen.&nbsp; If she did, it would only be due to a
|
---|
356 | quick marriage.&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?&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.</P>
|
---|
361 | <hr>
|
---|
362 | </blockquote>
|
---|
363 | </blockquote>
|
---|
364 | <p><font size="4">'She [Elizabeth] is incomparably more feared than her
|
---|
365 | sister, and gives her orders and has her way as absolutely as her father did.'</font><i><font size="4">&nbsp;
|
---|
366 | </font><font size="-1">&nbsp;</font></i><I><FONT size=-1>the Spanish ambassador De Feria,
|
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367 | 1559</FONT></I></p>
|
---|
368 | <blockquote>
|
---|
369 | <blockquote>
|
---|
370 | <hr>
|
---|
371 | <P>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.&nbsp; They seemed incapable of appreciating the impact
|
---|
374 | marriage would have upon her life, while its impact was distressingly
|
---|
375 | clear to Elizabeth.&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.&nbsp; But Elizabeth knew herself to be intellectually superior to
|
---|
378 | most men and she relished her independence.&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.&nbsp; The new queen always
|
---|
381 | had a low opinion of marital happiness, and saw little reason to change
|
---|
382 | her mind.&nbsp; </P>
|
---|
383 | <P>Even in her own lifetime, rumors abounded that Elizabeth was physically
|
---|
384 | deformed, incapable of pleasing a husband or bearing a child.&nbsp; It was
|
---|
385 | also whispered that she was a sexual deviant whose appetites could not be
|
---|
386 | satisfied by marriage.&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.&nbsp; But she never wed Dudley, and a healthy flirtation does not
|
---|
390 | indicate sexual deviancy.&nbsp; Rather, it shows Elizabeth to be a normal
|
---|
391 | young woman who enjoyed the company of a handsome man.&nbsp; If she had
|
---|
392 | not flirted with Dudley, or her other courtiers, then speculation about
|
---|
393 | her character would be understandable.&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.&nbsp; </P>
|
---|
396 | <P>Furthermore, any sexual activity would have been immediately
|
---|
397 | reported.&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.'&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.&nbsp; The queen herself preferred to rise above such
|
---|
403 | discussion.&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.&nbsp; And since she had great faith in her own
|
---|
406 | talents, she saw no reason to share her throne with a husband.&nbsp; </P>
|
---|
407 | <P>And so, out of love of independence and power, and a native distrust of
|
---|
408 | marriage, Elizabeth was determined to remain single.&nbsp; Her councilors,
|
---|
409 | for their part, pretended to believe otherwise for quite a long
|
---|
410 | time.&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.&nbsp; They visited her in private, they
|
---|
413 | openly begged her; they eventually forced a parliamentary showdown upon
|
---|
414 | her.&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.'&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.'&nbsp; </P>
|
---|
420 | <P>But over the years, her councilor's discomfort lessened.&nbsp; Mary
|
---|
421 | Stuart bore a son, James, in 1566 and was imprisoned in England shortly
|
---|
422 | afterwards.&nbsp; James was raised as a Protestant and was soon the only
|
---|
423 | Tudor relative with a viable claim.&nbsp; His religion allowed most
|
---|
424 | Englishmen to look favorably upon him as Elizabeth's eventual heir.&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.&nbsp; Also, as the years passed, so did the possibility that
|
---|
428 | Elizabeth would bear a child.&nbsp; And why marry, if not for an
|
---|
429 | heir?&nbsp; </P>
|
---|
430 | <P>It is also worth noting the endless difficulties in selecting a
|
---|
431 | suitable husband.&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.&nbsp; But marriage to an Englishman would have given
|
---|
434 | too much power to one political faction or the other.&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.&nbsp;
|
---|
437 | </P>
|
---|
438 | <P>From the earliest days of her reign, one of Elizabeth's greatest
|
---|
439 | political attributes was her endless prevarication.&nbsp; Many historians
|
---|
440 | have described it less as an attribute, and more as her greatest failing.&nbsp;
|
---|
441 | They mention her inability to decide upon marriage, or - most famously -
|
---|
442 | her refusal to execute Mary queen of Scots.&nbsp; They argue that these
|
---|
443 | incidents prove she was hesitant and indecisive.&nbsp; But it actually
|
---|
444 | reveals a formidable political talent, and one which greatly benefited her
|
---|
445 | nation.&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.&nbsp; She sent money and a few troops to
|
---|
449 | continental Protestants, but no more.&nbsp; In terms of religion, she
|
---|
450 | sought to strike a balance between two extremes through careful thought
|
---|
451 | and debate.&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.&nbsp; One could label
|
---|
454 | her indecisive since she did not strike a definitive stance on either
|
---|
455 | issue.&nbsp; But she preserved the peace and prosperity of her nation; she
|
---|
456 | put England, and the welfare of its citizens, first.&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.&nbsp; In
|
---|
459 | Elizabeth's case, one could argue that she took only the English side.</P>
|
---|
460 | <hr>
|
---|
461 | </blockquote>
|
---|
462 | </blockquote>
|
---|
463 | <p><font size="4">'She is a very vain and clever woman.&nbsp; She must have
|
---|
464 | been thoroughly schooled in the manner in which her father conducted his
|
---|
465 | affairs.&nbsp; She is determined to be governed by no one.' </font>
|
---|
466 | <font size="2">&nbsp; </font><I><FONT size=-1>the Spanish ambassador De Feria, 1559</FONT></I></p>
|
---|
467 | <blockquote>
|
---|
468 | <blockquote>
|
---|
469 | <hr>
|
---|
470 | <P>
|
---|
471 | <IMG height=307 alt="Elizabeth I's greatest love, Sir Robert Dudley"
|
---|
472 | src="_httpdocimg_/eliztruelove.jpg" width=300 align="left">This understandably caused strife within her council.&nbsp; It was
|
---|
473 | clear from the beginning that Robert Dudley was the queen's favorite
|
---|
474 | courtier.&nbsp; They were openly affectionate and Dudley enjoyed flaunting
|
---|
475 | the queen's favor.&nbsp; Cecil was often terrified that Elizabeth would
|
---|
476 | wed Dudley, but that fear at least was soon put to rest.&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.&nbsp; Elizabeth knew of the match; she had attended the
|
---|
480 | wedding.&nbsp; But the marriage, which had begun happily, was soon torn
|
---|
481 | apart by Dudley's ambition.&nbsp; But whatever he planned for the future,
|
---|
482 | it was soon impossible for him to dream of becoming king.&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.&nbsp; She had been ill for some time.&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.&nbsp; When they returned,
|
---|
488 | they found her lying dead at the bottom of the staircase with a broken
|
---|
489 | neck.&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.&nbsp; Dudley was informed of the news while at
|
---|
492 | Windsor Castle with the queen.&nbsp; He immediately ordered a thorough
|
---|
493 | investigation.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; His close relationship with the queen was
|
---|
494 | already a minor scandal; Amy's suspicious death could make it
|
---|
495 | explosive.&nbsp; </P>
|
---|
496 | <P>Amy had been ill for some months, with a 'canker in her breast', as the
|
---|
497 | doctors said.&nbsp; They had assured Dudley that his wife would not live
|
---|
498 | much longer.&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.&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.&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.&nbsp; Or third, that nothing so nefarious occurred and
|
---|
506 | her death was completely accidental; she simply fell while walking down
|
---|
507 | the stairs.&nbsp; </P>
|
---|
508 | <P>But everyone enjoyed gossip and scandal too much to let it pass.&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.&nbsp; Elizabeth was forced to
|
---|
512 | send Dudley from court until the funeral, but he did not attend the
|
---|
513 | service.&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.&nbsp; But Elizabeth's affection for Dudley was at its
|
---|
516 | greatest during these early years and could not be denied.&nbsp; Soon
|
---|
517 | enough he was back at court and in as much favor as always.&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.&nbsp;
|
---|
520 | The ambassador remarked that he would do so as soon as the queen dismissed
|
---|
521 | her Protestant councilors from service.&nbsp; </P>
|
---|
522 | <P>In light of Amy Robsart's death, it is worth considering Elizabeth's
|
---|
523 | own feelings on the matter.&nbsp; Her closest advisors thought she had
|
---|
524 | good cause to dread the woman's death, though not because of any
|
---|
525 | scandal.&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.&nbsp; When Amy Robsart died, Elizabeth had
|
---|
528 | no ready excuse for denying Dudley's proposals.</P>
|
---|
529 | </blockquote>
|
---|
530 | </blockquote>
|
---|
531 | </blockquote>
|
---|
532 |
|
---|
533 | <blockquote>
|
---|
534 | <blockquote>
|
---|
535 | <blockquote>
|
---|
536 | <P>But the queen had other, far more appropriate suitors.&nbsp; Cecil's
|
---|
537 | natural inclination was to make peace with England's
|
---|
538 | traditional enemy, France.&nbsp; He urged a match with one of Queen Catherine d'Medici and
|
---|
539 | King Henry II's sons.&nbsp; These Francophile maneuvers began seriously
|
---|
540 | after Mary Stuart's French husband died in 1560 and she returned to
|
---|
541 | Scotland.&nbsp; To thwart Cecil, other councilors pressed a Spanish
|
---|
542 | marriage, perhaps even to her former brother-in-law Philip.&nbsp; The
|
---|
543 | queen expertly considered all options but never committed to any.&nbsp;
|
---|
544 | This routine would continue until advancing age made childbirth
|
---|
545 | impossible.&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.&nbsp; After insisting that the
|
---|
548 | succession was too weighty an issue for such &quot;a knot of harebrains&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): &quot;I did differ from her [Mary I] in religion and I was sought
|
---|
552 | for divers ways.&nbsp; And so shall never be my successor.&quot;&nbsp; And, she
|
---|
553 | warned them, &quot;as your Prince and head&quot;, it was up to her to judge such
|
---|
554 | weighty political issues without parliamentary interference, &quot;For it is
|
---|
555 | monstrous that the feet should direct the head.&quot;</P>
|
---|
556 | <P>In other words, they could discuss and debate and suggest - but only
|
---|
557 | Elizabeth could rule.</P>
|
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558 | <P>&nbsp;</P>
|
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559 | <CENTER>
|
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560 | <P><B><A
|
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561 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz3.html">CONTINUE
|
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562 | READING</A> <BR>&nbsp;</B></P>
|
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563 | <P>&nbsp; <FONT size=-1><A
|
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564 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html">to Tudor
|
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565 | Monarchs<BR></A><A
|
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566 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz1.html">back to Queen
|
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567 | Elizabeth I, part one</A></FONT></P>
|
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568 | </CENTER>
|
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569 | </blockquote>
|
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570 | </blockquote>
|
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571 | </blockquote>
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572 |
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573 |
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574 |
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575 | <!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082680" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
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577 | </Content>
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578 | </Section>
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579 | </Archive>
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