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14	<Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
15	<Metadata name="Content">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
16	<Metadata name="Page_topic">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
17	<Metadata name="Title">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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21	<Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period\|Monarchs</Metadata>
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33	<Content>
34
35	<table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
36	<tr>
37	<td width="25%" height="29"></td>
38	<td valign="top" width="50%" height="29"><p align="center">&nbsp;</td>
39	<td width="25%" height="29"></td>
40	</tr>
41	<tr>
42	<td width="25%" height="3"></td>
43	<td width="50%" height="3">
44	<p align="center">
45	<IMG height=98 alt="Queen Elizabeth I"
46	src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1-queenuse.gif" width=422></td>
47	<td width="25%" height="3"></td>
48	</tr>
49	<tr>
50	<td width="25%" height="610"></td>
51	<td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
52	<p align="center">
53	<IMG height=427 alt="crop from the famous 'Armada Portrait' of Elizabeth I"
54	src="_httpdocimg_/eliz5-mainpic.jpg" width=325 border=2><blockquote>
55	<p align="left">
56	&nbsp;</blockquote>
57	<DIV align=left>Visit
58	<a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html">Elizabethan
59	Images</a> to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with
60	commentary.<BR>Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at <A
61	href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html">Primary
62	Sources</A>.</DIV>
63	<DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
64	<DIV align=left>Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen
65	Elizabeth I at <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html">
66	Secondary Sources</a>.<BR><BR>Visit <A
67	href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html">the Anne
68	Boleyn website</A> to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.<BR>Visit <A
69	href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html">the Mary,
70	queen of Scots website</A> to learn more about Elizabeth's
71	cousin.<BR><BR>Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at <A
72	href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html">Tudor
73	Quizzes</A>.</DIV>
74	<DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
75	<DIV align=left>Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
76	<a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.alassea.net%2ffl%2felizabeth">The Virgin Queen
77	fanlisting</a>.</DIV>
78	<DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
79	</td>
80	<td width="25%" height="610"></td>
81	</tr>
82	</table>
83
84	<blockquote>
85	<blockquote>
86	<blockquote>
87	<hr>
88	</blockquote>
89	</blockquote>
90	<p><font size="4">'She is certainly a great Queen and were she only a Catholic
91	she would be our dearly beloved.&nbsp; Just look how well she governs!&nbsp;
92	She is only a woman, only mistress of half an island, and yet she makes
93	herself feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all....&nbsp; Our
94	children would have ruled the whole world.'&nbsp;&nbsp; </font><I><FONT size=-1>
95	Pope Sixtus V describes Elizabeth, c1588</FONT></I><font size="2"> </font></p>
96	<blockquote>
97	<blockquote>
98	<hr>
99	<p>When news of the execution of Mary, queen of Scots reached Europe, it
100	gave Philip II of Spain yet another reason to look askance at his former
101	sister-in-law.&nbsp; English harassment of Spanish shipping and their
102	support of rebellions against his rule had long angered him.&nbsp; He had
103	tried diplomacy; it had been successful enough until Elizabeth's
104	Protestant councilors grew suspicious of his motives and angry over his
105	treatment of continental Protestants.&nbsp; After diplomacy came a gradual
106	cooling between the countries; Philip even tried his hand at encouraging
107	Irish rebellions against Elizabeth.&nbsp; And Philip grew increasingly
108	pious as the years passed, and thus more inclined to take the
109	excommunication of 1570 more seriously.</p>
110	<p>
111	<img border="2" src="_httpdocimg_/philipos-crop.jpg" lowsrc="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/Philip%20II%20of%20Spain" width="155" height="282" align="left">Serious consequences were avoided for the first thirty years of
112	Elizabeth's rule due to her own prevarication and Philip's more pressing
113	problems.&nbsp; But as the 1580s began, it was clear that something must
114	give.&nbsp; Philip could no longer afford the blatant piracy of the English,
115	publicly disavowed but privately approved by Elizabeth (who always received
116	the largest share of profits.)&nbsp; She had even gone so far as to knight
117	her greatest pirate, Sir Francis Drake, in 1581.&nbsp; Four years later, the
118	English openly supported the Netherlands when it revolted against Philip, a
119	dangerous but popular policy for Elizabeth.&nbsp; Furthermore, Philip had
120	long claimed the throne of Portugal but had only recently seized it by force
121	of arms.&nbsp; If he wished to maintain control, he needed to defend the
122	rich and wide-ranging Portuguese colonies.</p>
123	<p>Philip also needed to end the Protestant menace to Europe.&nbsp; He
124	supported plans to free Mary, queen of Scots and place her on the English
125	throne.&nbsp; His ambassador Mendoza had been peripherally involved in the
126	Babington Plot and was expelled from England as a result.&nbsp; Many of
127	Elizabeth's councilors, most importantly the influential Robert Dudley, had
128	advocated a tougher approach to Spanish meddling.&nbsp; But always the
129	queen, mindful of her treasury and always desiring peace, had held back.&nbsp;
130	She would send a few troops and some money, but little else.&nbsp; Philip,
131	however, had less love of peace and a more pressing piety.&nbsp; England
132	would be brought back into the Catholic fold, as the pope had commanded in
133	1570.&nbsp; The execution of Mary, queen of Scots in early 1587 gave him
134	added impetus to act.&nbsp; The English had sought to publicize Mary's
135	various crimes, but most Europeans, even the Scots who had applauded her
136	overthrow years ago, preferred the more tragic image of an innocent queen
137	trapped by Elizabeth's wily councilors.&nbsp; </p>
138	<p>Philip spent much of 1587 finally preparing his long-rumored 'Armada'
139	against England.&nbsp; While Elizabeth's council had long warned her of this
140	possibility, Philip's own advisors believed he could ill afford this new
141	battle.&nbsp; The Spanish fleet and army had fought too long and hard over
142	the years.&nbsp; They comprised the largest and best-prepared army and navy
143	in the world; they had been successful against the Turks, had watched their
144	traditional enemy, France, succumb to internal religious turmoil, had seized
145	Portugal, and fought throughout the Low Countries.&nbsp; But victories could
146	be as tiresome and expensive as defeats.&nbsp; Morale was low and leadership
147	was lacking.</p>
148	<p>Philip's advisors consistently stressed the expense of the proposed
149	battle.&nbsp; But for the king, expenses were driving him to fight.&nbsp; He
150	needed to stop the English from seizing Spanish ships filled with precious
151	coin and goods.&nbsp; Each loss was a further blow to a nearly empty
152	treasury.&nbsp; There was no better time to fight than now, he declared, for
153	the murder of Mary Stuart had at last united European opinion against
154	Elizabeth.&nbsp; In July 1587, he received official approval from the pope
155	for the invasion, provided England returned to Catholicism.&nbsp; The pope
156	even agreed to allow Philip to choose the next English ruler.&nbsp; It would
157	in all likelihood be the Spanish king himself for he claimed descent from
158	the famous Edward III.</p>
159	<p>As further impetus to Philip, even as he negotiated approval of the
160	invasion with the pope, Drake led an expedition into Spain itself, seizing
161	and destroying many vessels.&nbsp; Elizabeth protested that Drake had acted
162	without her knowledge; this may have been true.&nbsp; Certainly the queen
163	had no desire for war.&nbsp; But her protestations did not matter.&nbsp; It
164	was an audacious act which could not go unpunished.&nbsp; </p>
165	<p>Elizabeth, of course, knew of the Spanish army lodged in the Low
166	Countries, so close to English shores and able to intercept English
167	shipping.&nbsp; When word came that these forces were being steadily
168	increased and an armada of Spanish ships was being prepared for battle, she
169	could no longer debate and hesitate.&nbsp; The impending threat was too
170	obvious to ignore.</p>
171	<p>Yet what could England do against the great Spanish fleet?&nbsp; All of
172	Europe, and many Englishmen, believed England could not withstand the
173	overwhelming Spanish force.</p>
174	<hr>
175	</blockquote>
176	</blockquote>
177	<p><font size="4">'Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved
178	myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in
179	the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects... I know I have the body but of
180	a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a
181	king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince
182	of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm...'&nbsp;&nbsp;
183	</font> <i>
184	<font size="2">from Elizabeth I's speech to the troops at Tilbury, 1588</font></i></p>
185	<blockquote>
186	<blockquote>
187	<hr>
188	<p>The Armada which sailed against England is sometimes called 'The
189	Invincible Armada', but its correct name is La Armada Grande.&nbsp; Its
190	supreme commander was the duke of Medina Sidonia, a nobleman who had done
191	all he could to avoid this appointment.&nbsp; He spent hours urging Philip,
192	in the most polite and obsequious way possible,
193	to find someone else, pointing out his own lack of experience in naval
194	matters.&nbsp; But the king would not listen.&nbsp; Spain's greatest naval
195	commander Don Alvaro de Bazan the elder, the marquess of Santa Cruz, had
196	died and there had been a long, fruitless search for a suitable replacement.&nbsp;
197	The conscientious Medina Sidonia was Philip's choice, much to the duke's
198	everlasting regret.</p>
199	<p>The Armada sailed from Lisbon on 20 May 1588, a grand procession of 130
200	ships and over 30,000 men.&nbsp; However, half of the vessels were transport
201	ships and the majority of men were soldiers, not sailors.&nbsp; Medina
202	Sidonia was to sail to Flanders, where he would join the prince of Parma who
203	waited with more soldiers and transports.&nbsp; But the Armada stopped first
204	in Corunna for some repair work and Medina Sidonia wrote to Philip, asking
205	for the invasion to be postponed indefinitely.&nbsp; The king was adamant,
206	however, and the fleet sailed to Flanders.&nbsp; </p>
207	<p>Their arrival was expected and observed by the English.&nbsp; Under the
208	command of Lord Howard, they set out from Plymouth, under cover of night.&nbsp;
209	They managed to destroy some of the chief Spanish ships so that, with
210	reinforcements, their numbers roughly equaled the Spanish.&nbsp; More
211	importantly, in terms of command and gunnery, the English had a far superior
212	advantage.&nbsp; By the time of the great battle off Gravelines, each fleet
213	had roughly sixty warships.&nbsp; The Spaniards fought heroically, but
214	Howard was relentless.&nbsp; The English ships were more agile and their
215	commanders more inventive.&nbsp; They did not allow the Spanish time to regroup
216	and refit.&nbsp; Only one Spanish ship was captured but several sank or ran
217	ashore.&nbsp; Medina Sidonia decided to lead the remaining fleet home,
218	sailing along the north of Scotland and Ireland.&nbsp; They met constant
219	storms and rough seas, and not one pilot remained in the whole fleet.&nbsp;
220	Each passing storm destroyed more ships until, when the Armada finally
221	limped home in the mid-September, half the fleet and most of its men were
222	gone.</p>
223	<p>The defeat of the Armada was justly celebrated in Elizabeth's time.&nbsp;
224	It continues to be one of the most famous naval victories in history.&nbsp;
225	There is an engaging aspect to the whole story - the English fleet taking on
226	the greatest naval power in the world and, against all odds, winning a
227	stunning victory.&nbsp; The psychological effect upon both nations was
228	enormous.&nbsp; </p>
229	<p>Yet, upon closer inspection, the victory was neither as unexpected or
230	immediately successful as is often believed.&nbsp; The English navy had
231	always been superior in tactics and gunnery than the Spanish, but had
232	suffered from Elizabeth's penny-pinching support.&nbsp; They simply never
233	had enough money to build the ships and pay the sailors needed to become a
234	world-class naval power.&nbsp; The Spanish took so long to rebuild their
235	navy that England finally had their opportunity, and they seized it with
236	enthusiasm.&nbsp; England would become the undisputed master of the seas.</p>
237	<p>But Spain was not nearly finished as a world power.&nbsp; Barely two
238	years after the Armada, they were virtually omnipotent in European affairs.&nbsp;
239	The religious turmoil in France had weakened their traditional enemy to such
240	an extent that Spain stood unchallenged until 1598, when Henri of Navarre
241	converted to Catholicism.&nbsp; The balance of power in Europe was thus
242	restored.&nbsp; But Spain's army continued to grow until their dominance of
243	land warfare equaled England's naval power.&nbsp; </p>
244	<p>For Elizabeth, of course, the most important development was the most
245	immediate - a brilliant victory over her greatest enemy, whose threats to
246	invade had haunted most years of her reign.&nbsp; She could breathe a
247	much-deserved sigh of relief.&nbsp; And she deserved no small credit for the
248	success.&nbsp; Her speech to the troops at Tilbury, rallying them to fight,
249	remains justly famous; it is among her most stirring:</p>
250	<blockquote>
251	<p>My loving people,
252	We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed
253	how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I
254	assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving
255	people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I
256	have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and
257	good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see,
258	at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the
259	midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down
260	for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even
261	in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I
262	have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and
263	think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare
264	to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall
265	grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general,
266	judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know
267	already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We
268	do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the
269	mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never
270	prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your
271	obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the
272	field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God,
273	of my kingdom, and of my people. <br>
274	&nbsp;</p>
275	</blockquote>
276	<p>She enjoyed a renaissance of sorts among her people after the Armada.&nbsp;
277	She had already ruled for thirty years.&nbsp; Those years of peace and
278	general prosperity had led to an inevitable resentment amongst her subjects,
279	particularly the young noblemen who now dominated her court.&nbsp; They
280	wanted adventure, glory, grand military exploits; they were fervent
281	nationalists who wanted England to finally challenge the great powers of
282	Europe; they believed themselves capable of anything.&nbsp; And Elizabeth,
283	nearing sixty, would regard them with either amusement or anger.&nbsp; They
284	did not know the price of war, she would complain; they did not understand
285	how difficult it had been to bring peace and security to England.&nbsp; They
286	had not lived through the tumultuous reigns of her father and siblings.&nbsp;
287	They did not remember the bitter religious divide, which even now she only
288	bridged with her inestimable charm and intellect.&nbsp; England was at peace
289	and her young courtiers chafed at peace.&nbsp; But for the queen, peace was
290	her greatest gift to her 'loving people.'&nbsp; She knew its importance, the
291	dear price it had cost her.&nbsp; 'To be a King and wear a crown is a thing
292	more pleasant to them that see it, than it is pleasant to them that bear
293	it,' she remarked in her Golden Speech of 1601.</p>
294	<p>But she also knew those young courtiers disagreed, however much they
295	fawned over her, pretending she was still the young queen of thirty.&nbsp;
296	Elizabeth was content to play the game for her vanity would not allow
297	otherwise.&nbsp; To grow old was a curse to her, she remarked; 'I am not
298	sick, I feel no pain, yet I pine away.'&nbsp; To have a young mind in an old
299	body was another common lament.&nbsp; She felt the loss of her youth keenly
300	and did what she could to create a timeless role for herself.&nbsp; She wore
301	wigs and heavy make-up and still dressed in the opulent gowns of a maid, a
302	fetching style when she was younger but now merely a reminder of her lack of
303	marriage and family.&nbsp; Her older subjects understood her melancholy; of
304	the younger ones, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Bacon were clever
305	enough to guess its cause.&nbsp; But most did not.</p>
306	<p>And the queen no longer had the comfort of loyal Cecil and her beloved
307	Dudley.&nbsp; Though Dudley had commanded the troops at Tilbury, he had died
308	barely a month afterwards.&nbsp; Cecil was now very old and had ceded much
309	of his influence to his ambitious son Robert and Sir Francis Walsingham, who
310	died in 1590.&nbsp; The queen thus turned to another favorite, a young man
311	who was a last link to Dudley.&nbsp; His name was Robert Devereux, earl of
312	Essex; he was Dudley's stepson and his mother was Elizabeth's cousin,
313	Lettice Knollys.&nbsp; </p>
314	<p>Essex remains one of the more interesting courtiers of Elizabeth's later
315	years.&nbsp; He was the mortal enemy of Raleigh (who found him arrogant and
316	overbearing) and close friends with Bacon.&nbsp; He became the great
317	favorite of Elizabeth's later years because, for a while, he was the ablest
318	flirt and wit at court.&nbsp; But his ambitions went far beyond being the
319	queen's 'wild-horse'.&nbsp; In this, he was encouraged by his flighty mother
320	and sycophantic admirers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
321	<p>Essex believed in the primacy of the nobility at Elizabeth's court and
322	disliked the influence of Cecil and his son, Robert, and other 'upstarts'
323	such as Raleigh.&nbsp; He was too proud, which the queen - depending upon
324	her mood - found endearing or infuriating.&nbsp; And he dreamed of military
325	glory, badgering the queen to send him to Ireland to quell rebellions or
326	with the navy to harass Spanish ships.&nbsp; Elizabeth often refused; she
327	genuinely enjoyed his company and would not risk his life.&nbsp; And when
328	she did succumb, Essex performed disastrously.&nbsp; Though a daring and
329	brave soldier, he was a terrible commander and his exploits cost the frugal
330	queen dearly.&nbsp; </p>
331	<p>His worst offense, however, was a slip of the tongue.&nbsp; Elizabeth
332	would respond to Essex's tantrums by banishing him to the country until he
333	begged forgiveness.&nbsp; Once, he decided to pretend illness instead.&nbsp;
334	When news of his condition reached Elizabeth, she sent a letter asking after
335	his health - but nothing more.&nbsp; Someone mentioned the queen's
336	conditions for letting him return.&nbsp; Infuriated, Essex cried out, 'Her
337	conditions!&nbsp; Her conditions are as crooked as her carcase.'&nbsp; Those
338	words reached the queen and she never forgot them.</p>
339	<p>Essex did return to court.&nbsp; But his subsequent behavior was
340	outlandish and insulting; he even dared to turn his back on Elizabeth during
341	a council meeting.&nbsp; The final blow came when he led a rebellion against
342	the queen.&nbsp; With his friend, the earl of Southampton, he planned to
343	gather a small army and seize the queen and throne.&nbsp; When captured, as
344	inevitably he was, for his supporters were few and even those deserted him,
345	Essex declared he only meant to save the queen from evil counsel.&nbsp; But
346	Elizabeth, who had so often vacillated over executions, only hesitated once
347	with Essex.&nbsp; He was executed on 25 February 1601.</p>
348	<p>Despite scurrilous gossip, Elizabeth's affection for Essex was more
349	maternal than romantic.&nbsp; She had no choice but to sign his
350	death-warrant but it broke her heart.&nbsp; When her godson, Sir John
351	Harington, visited in the winter of 1602, he found her taste for old
352	pleasures gone.&nbsp; Harington read some of his rhymes and Elizabeth, with
353	a little smile, remarked, 'When thou dost feel creeping time at thy gate,
354	these fooleries will please thee less; I am past my relish for such
355	matters.'&nbsp; To the earl of Nottingham, mourning the loss of his wife,
356	she said, ' I am tied with a chain of iron about my neck.&nbsp; I am tied,
357	I am tied, and the case is altered with me.'</p>
358	<p>She mentioned Essex at times, but this was merely a symptom of her
359	awareness that all of the work and struggle of her reign had ended in
360	solitude.&nbsp; She had often remarked on the essential loneliness of the
361	crown but she felt it most deeply now.&nbsp; </p>
362	<p>Her council, led by Robert Cecil, whose father had died in 1601, watched
363	her slow decline while preparing<img border="0" src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1-oldercrop.jpg" lowsrc="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/portrait%20of%20Elizabeth%20I%20in%20old%20age" alt="portrait of Elizabeth I in old age" width="165" height="171" align="right"> for the future.&nbsp; Elizabeth still had
364	not named a successor.&nbsp; She had always understood its dangerous
365	implications.&nbsp; Yet there was no real doubt that she meant for James VI
366	of Scotland, son of Mary queen of Scots, to succeed her.&nbsp; He had
367	married a Protestant princess and was already a father.&nbsp; And he had
368	long since made his peace with Elizabeth, exchanging frequent letters and
369	accepting her political advice.</p>
370	<p>Elizabeth retired to Richmond Palace, her 'warm, snug box' in March 1603.&nbsp;
371	Her death was preceded by physical weakness and mental depression, but there
372	were no overt causes.&nbsp; She was almost seventy years old, ancient for
373	her time.&nbsp; She rested in a low chair by the fire, refusing to let
374	doctors examine her.&nbsp; As the days passed, her condition slowly
375	worsened.&nbsp; She stood for hours on end until, finally, she was persuaded
376	to lay upon cushions on the floor.&nbsp; She rested there for two days, not
377	speaking.&nbsp; A doctor ventured close and asked how she could bear the
378	endless silence.&nbsp; She replied simply, 'I meditate.'&nbsp; For the third
379	and fourth day, she continued to rest in silence, with a finger often in her
380	mouth.&nbsp; Her attendants were terrified; they must move her but she
381	refused.&nbsp; The younger Cecil visited and said, 'Your Majesty, to content
382	the people, you must go to bed.'&nbsp; Elizabeth replied, with some of her
383	old spirit, 'Little man, little man, the word <i>must</i> is not used to
384	princes.'</p>
385	<p>Finally, she grew so weak that they could carry her to bed.&nbsp; She
386	asked for music and, for a time, it brought some comfort.&nbsp; Her
387	councilors assembled; did she have any instructions regarding the
388	succession?&nbsp; She made a sign when Cecil mentioned the king of Scotland.&nbsp;
389	It was enough.&nbsp; He returned to his office to begin the paperwork for a
390	new ruler.</p>
391	<p>Meanwhile, Archbishop Whitgift, whom she once called her 'little black
392	husband', arrived to pray.&nbsp; He was old and his knees ached terribly,
393	but he knelt at the royal bedside until she finally slept.&nbsp; She slept on into
394	the early hours of 24 March until, at last, as the courtiers watched and
395	waited, the steady breathing stopped.&nbsp; 'Her Majesty departed this life,
396	mildly like a lamb, easily like a ripe apple from the tree,' John Manningham
397	was told.</p>
398	<p>That same morning, the chief councilors rode to Whitehall where Cecil
399	drafted the proclamation of the queen's death and James's succession.&nbsp;
400	He read it aloud first at Whitehall and then at St Paul's and finally
401	Cheapside cross.&nbsp; The councilors then formally demanded entrance to the
402	Tower of London in the name of King James I of England.&nbsp; Elizabeth's
403	maids and ladies were still waiting in the Coffer Room at Richmond Palace.&nbsp;
404	When news of the peaceful transition of power came, they began to prepare
405	for Elizabeth's funeral.&nbsp; </p>
406	<p>The new king received the news of his accession on 27 March, for the
407	ambitious Robert Carey had ridden at top speed to Edinburgh; his journey was
408	so quick that its speed would not be matched until 1832.&nbsp; But while
409	James was initially welcomed peacefully and happily, his reign would quickly
410	turn sour.&nbsp; It was not long before even Robert Cecil, who became the
411	most powerful statesman of James's reign, wrote to Harington:</p>
412	<blockquote>
413	<p>You know all my former steps: good knight, rest content, and give heed to
414	one that hath sorrowed in the bright lustre of a court, and gone heavily
415	even on the best-seeming fair ground.&nbsp; Tis a great task to prove one's
416	honesty, and yet not spoil one's fortune.&nbsp; You have tasted a little
417	hereof in our blessed Queen's time, who was more than a man and, in troth,
418	sometimes less than a woman.&nbsp; I wish I waited now in her Presence
419	Chamber, with ease at my foot, and rest in my bed.&nbsp; I am pushed from
420	the shore of comfort, and know not where the winds and waves of a court may
421	bear me.</p>
422	</blockquote>
423	<p>And the common people realized their loss as well, as Godfrey Goodman,
424	bishop of Gloucester wrote:</p>
425	<blockquote>
426	<p>After a few years, when we had experience of a Scottish government, the
427	Queen did seem to revive; then was her memory much magnified: such ringing
428	of bells, such public joy and sermons in commemoration of her, the picture
429	of her tomb painted in many churches, and in effect more solemnity and joy
430	in memory of her coronation than was for the coming-in of King James.</p>
431	</blockquote>
432	<p>Elizabeth's funeral procession, composed of more than a thousand
433	mourners, began on 28 April.&nbsp; It was a stirring tribute to the queen,
434	never forgotten by those who witnessed its passing.&nbsp; But her tomb, paid
435	for by the new king, was less impressive than that provided to his disgraced
436	mother, and cost far less.&nbsp; It can still be visited in Westminster
437	Abbey, where Elizabeth rests alongside her half-sister Queen Mary I.&nbsp; </p>
438	<hr>
439	</blockquote>
440	</blockquote>
441	</blockquote>
442
443	<p align="center"><font size="4">'My good mistress is gone, I shall not
444	hastily put forth for a new master.'<br></font><i><font size="2">Sir John Harington, Nugae Antiquae</font></i></p>
445	<blockquote>
446	<blockquote>
447	<blockquote>
448	<hr>
449	<P align="center"><FONT size=-1><A
450	href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html">to Tudor
451	Monarchs</A><BR>
452	<a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz4.html">back to
453	Queen Elizabeth I, part four</a></FONT><B><BR></B></P>
454	<P align="left"><font size="-1"><b>Note:</b> The complicated story of Robert
455	Devereux, earl of Essex, is most beautifully told in Lytton Strachey's
456	'Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History'.&nbsp; Strachey often wanders far
457	off course, and his psychological portrait of Elizabeth is flawed, but he
458	writes like a dream.&nbsp; As for conventional biographies of Elizabeth I,
459	my favorite is by Lacey Baldwin Smith.<br>Thanks for
460	exploring / reading my Queen Elizabeth I website.&nbsp; <i>-Marilee</i></font></P>
461	</blockquote>
462	</blockquote>
463	</blockquote>
464
465	<P align="center"><i><font size="2">last
466	revised 8 March 2004</font></i></P>
467
468
469
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472	</Content>
473	</Section>
474	</Archive>

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