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| King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn |
When Elizabeth was two years and eight months old her mother was executed on 19 May 1536. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and deprived of the title of Princess. Eleven days after Anne Boleyn's death, Henry married Jane Seymour, but she died shortly after the birth of their son, Prince Edward, in 1537. Edward now became the undisputed heir to the throne. Elizabeth was placed in Edward's household and carried the chrisom, or baptismal cloth, at his christening. She received an excellent education, proving very good at languages.
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| Lady Elizabeth, 1546 |
King Henry VIII died in 1547; Elizabeth's half-brother, Edward VI became King at age 9. Edward VI's uncle became the Lord Protector. Lady Elizabeth at this stage was second in line to the throne. Before Edward died he declared his succession. Edward proclaimed Lady Jane Grey as his heiress. He excluded both of his sisters in his succession act. King Edward VI died on July 6th in 1553, aged 15. Lady Jane Grey had now ascended to the throne. Her reign would be brief. Lady Jane Grey would reign from the 10th of July to the 19th of July 1553. She would lose the throne and eventually her head to the new Queen of England, Mary I. Under Queen Mary I England returned to Catholicism. During this period Lady Elizabeth feered that her sister the Queen would have her put to death. Luckily for Elizabeth, Mary I did not seek her sisters death. Mary (who was married to King Philip II of Spain) failed to produce an heir. In 1558 Mary fell ill. With no heir Mary proclaimed her sister Elizabeth as her successor. On November 17th 1558 Queen Mary I died at St. James's Palace, aged 42. There was now a new Queen of England. News of Mary's death on November 17, 1558 reached Elizabeth at Hatfield, where she was said to be out in the park, sitting under an oak tree. Upon hearing that she was Queen, legend has it that Elizabeth quoted the 118th Psalm's twenty-third line, in Latin: "A Dominum factum est illud, et est mirabile in oculis notris" -- "It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."
On January 15, 1559, Elizabeth I was crowned Queen by Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle at Westminster Abbey, a little less than two months after the death of Mary I. The total cost of the celebrations, excluding the coronation banquet was £16,741, which according to one calculation would equal about £3.5 million today. Like her predecessors, Elizabeth knew the importance of a good show, especially for a new monarch who needed to re-affirm her right to her crown. For the procession, Elizabeth walked on a blue carpet that ran from the palace to the abbey, which was torn up by souvenir seekers after the Queen walked passed.
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| Elizabeth I's Coronation Portrait |
Elizabeth I has traditionally been seen as one of England's greatest monarchs - if not in fact the greatest.
Her reign witnessed widespread increase in literacy and great achievements in the arts (Shakespeare, Spenser, Marlowe, Ralegh) as well as expansion overseas (Drake, Ralegh, Frobisher) and military victory over threatened invasion.
Elizabeth herself was regarded as wise and just, able to choose good advisers yet not be dominated by them and to handle recalcitrant Parliaments without despotism; a ruler supremely skilled at compromise in both the religious and political spheres.
In recent years, however, interpretations of Elizabeth and her reign have been less favorable.
When Elizabeth nearly died from smallpox in 1562, many of her advisers thought that she should marry and produce an heir as soon as possible. In fact, although Elizabeth entered into marriage negotiations with various foreign Princes and flirted with some of her own subjects, she was never to marry. Elizabeth's early years saw other problems, in particular, the wars in Scotland and France inherited from Mary.
English support for the successful Scottish Protestant rebellion of 1560 led by John Knox, combined with the outbreak in 1562 of the French Wars of Religion diminished both threats. Unlike her bellicose father, Elizabeth made peace as soon as possible and tried to stay out of expensive wars; she even attempted to maintain peaceful relations with Spain (although she drew the line at marrying Philip as he proposed). Elizabeth adopted a moderate religious policy. The Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity (1559), the Prayer Book of 1559, and the Thirty-Nine Articles (1563) were all Protestant in doctrine, but preserved many traditionally Catholic ceremonies. Moreover, Elizabeth did not persecute Catholics - the penalties for recusancy were mild and often not enforced.
In Scotland there lied a real threat to Elizabeth. This was her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots (http://ahistoryblogger.blogspot.ie/2012/06/mary-queen-of-scots.html) Mary was a devout Catholic who believed that she should be the rightful Queen of England. It is believed that many English Catholics would have favoured Mary, Queen of Scots to rebel against Elizabeth and remove her cousin and proclaim herself Queen of England. But this did not happen. Elizabeth would later have the Queen of Scots arrested for treason and would eventually sign the death warrant for the execution of Mary. Mary's death was said to have remained on Elizabeth's conscience for the rest of her life.
The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the most famous events in English history. It was arguably Queen Elizabeth's finest hour. For years she had been hailed as the English Deborah, the saviour of the English people, and now it seemed that this is what she had really become. She was now Bellona, the goddess of war, and in triumph she had led her people to glory, defeating the greatest power in the 16th century world.
Spain was the most powerful country in the world. Philip II ruled vast territories of land, and had unparalleled wealth from the New World. England was a small country, with little wealth, few friends, and many enemies. If Queen Elizabeth ever felt nervous about challenging the greatest power in the known world, she never showed it, and appeared to believe completely in the devotion and loyalty of her people. By believing in them, they believed in her.
Although relations between Spain and England had began rather well, with Philip even proposing marriage to the English Queen, over the 30 years since the Queen's accession, relations had deteriorated. There were many reasons for this. To begin with, England was a Protestant country, and Spain was a Roman Catholic one. The Spanish made no secret of their hostility to the English Queen, who they believed was illegitimate and had no right to the English throne, and had been involved in plots to dethrone her. Elizabeth herself had encouraged the activities of the English pirates, who plundered Philip's ships as they made their way from the New World, seizing their treasures. This had angered Philip immensely, especially as the stolen treasure was used to help fund those people rebelling against his rule in the Netherlands.
As early as 1585, Philip had begun to prepare a great fleet that, under the Spanish commander Santa Cruz, would invade England. At first the aim of the Armada was to liberate the captive Queen of Scots, but when Mary was executed for conspiring Elizabeth's death in 1587, Philip planned to invade England in the name of his daughter, the Infanta Isabella. Philip believed he had a genuine claim to the English throne, both by descent from John of Gaunt, and as Queen Mary I's husband. The purpose of the mission was to depose Elizabeth, put Mary/Isabella on the throne, and make England Roman Catholic once again. Queen Elizabeth had heard mutterings of the intended invasion of England by Spain for some time. She was not, however, at first concerned about the rumors. She had heard such rumors for almost 30 years, and easily dismissed them. Her Councilors were not so dismissive. It eventually became clear to Elizabeth, however, that this time, the Spanish were really going to send a fleet against England. Although the Queen had spent considerable amounts of money funding the Netherlands campaign, she now employed all her efforts in raising funds to ensure that when the Spanish fleet came, England would be prepared.
The plans of the Spanish were meticulous. It was planned that the Spanish fleet, consisting of over 100 ships, would sail up from Spain along the English Channel and meet with the forces of the Duke of Parma, Philip's nephew, making their way from the Netherlands. Together they would sail towards England. It was believed that this force would overwhelm the English. The English would be conquered, and the heretical Queen would be captured.
But the English were waiting. On the cliffs of England and Wales, men watched the seas day and night, waiting for the first sighting of the great Armada. When at last the great ships appeared on the horizon, beacons were lit on the hillsides, which sent the message over the cliffs and throughout the country, that the Spanish were coming. The beacons sent the message quicker than any horseman could ever ride, and by morning, London and the Queen knew that the day of reckoning had come. As soon as the ships began to make their way up the channel, the fighting began.
While English soldiers and sailors fought for England's liberty, Queen Elizabeth made her way to Tilbury. She was not going to sit trembling inside a guarded Palace while her people fought, but was going to go to the coast of the battle and "live or die" with them. Like a true warrior Queen, Elizabeth, upon a White Horse, inspected her soldiers, and made what was possibly her most famous speech of all.
In her most powerful speech to the troops she said: "I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a King, and of a King of England too". These words inspired her troops to defeat the Spanish.
The Queen's confidence in God and her people was rewarded. In the English channel, the Spanish were suffering a humiliating defeat. The weather was dreadful, with the wind and rain against them, and they were not able to compete with the superior English ships and war tactics. They fled in terror when fire ships were aimed at them. The only way back to Spain was the perilous journey around the coast of Scotland, and many a Spaniard never saw his home country again. The battle was over, the English had won.
The Queen and her people were jubilant. No more were they a second rate sea power, for they had conquered the fleet of the mighty Spanish Empire. A thanksgiving service was held at St. Paul's Cathedral for the delivery of the country, and a medal was struck with the words "God blew and they were scattered" inscribed on it. They believed that the storm that had besieged the Spanish ships was no ordinary storm, but the work of a Protestant God.
But amongst the joy, there was considerable sorrow for the Queen. The Earl of Leicester, who had been her companion since her accession, and who she undoubtedly loved, had died unexpectedly not long after sharing with her the great victory. The Queen was devastated and secluded herself for a while. In the Armada portrait she reputedly wears the pearls he left her in his will. But her people needed her, and despite her grief, the Queen participated fully in the celebrations at St. Pauls. "God bless you my people" she called out, and her people called a thousand blessings on her.
Although King Philip sent other fleets against England in the 1590's, none was as significant, or as threatening as that of the great Armada of 1588, and none has captured the imagination of successive generations as much.
The Elizabethan age is celebrated for its literary and dramatic culture, its music and chivalry. The Elizabethan nobility loved to have a good time, and knew just how to have it. The wealthy of the land would entertain each other with great banquets of rich foods, wine, music and dancing. They would play games against each other, play sports such as tennis or bowls, and they would ride and hunt. Women too would participate in some of these sports, aswell as play musical instruments, draw, sew and embroider.
When Queen Elizabeth was not busy with matters of state, she too would enjoy some of these pleasures. Evenings at court were full of entertainments often dedicated to the Queen, and often there would be public performances conducted especially for her, but the Queen also enjoyed less public activities. Elizabeth loved to horse ride. She would spend many an hour riding fast through the Palace grounds. Her love for the sport terrified her Councilors, who feared that she would seriously injure, or even kill herself, from a fall. But Elizabeth was undaunted, and continued to ride long distances and at great speed until the end of her life. Even in her sixties she could ride a distance of ten miles, which she once proved to a courtier who advised the aging Queen to take the carriage.
Queen Elizabeth was a great follower of fashion. While in private she preferred to wear simple gowns, and would reputedly wear the same plain gown for two or three days, when she was in public, she dressed to impress. Clothes were an important status symbol to the Elizabethans, and a person had to dress in accordance with their social status. It was thus in keeping that the Queen dressed more magnificent than everyone else. No one was allowed to rival the Queen's appearance.
Queen Elizabeth as Gloriana may have seemed to many to be immortal, but by the turn of the seventeenth century, she was beginning to display very real human frailty. Life as a monarch may have been glorious at times, but it was a difficult, demanding, and often very lonely task, and Elizabeth was tired both physically and emotionally. She herself said :
“To be a king and wear a crown, is a thing more glorious to them that see it, than it is pleasant to them that bear it”
By the late winter of 1602/3 Elizabeth was feeling unwell. She had caught a chill after walking out in the cold winter air, and complained of a sore throat as well as aches and pains. She lay resignedly on her cushions in her private apartments, and could not be persuaded to leave them for the comfort of her bed. “I am not well” she declared, but refused the administrations of her doctors. It was the opinion of her contemporaries that she would have recovered from this illness if she had fought against it, but she was did not want to. She was old, she was tired, and she was lonely. She was ready to slip into the world where all those she had loved had gone before her. As her condition deteriorated, Archbishop Whitgift (her favourite of all her Archbishops of Canterbury) was called to her side, and the Queen clung tight to his hand. When he spoke to her of getting better, she made no response, but when he spoke to her of the joys of Heaven, she squeezed his hand contentedly. By this time she was beyond speech and could only communicate with gestures. It was clear to all of those around that the great Queen was dying. It was getting late, and those in vigilance around the Queen's bed left her to the care of her ladies. The Queen fell into a deep sleep, and died in the early hours of the 24th of March, 1603. It was a Thursday, the death day of her father, and her sister. It was the eve of the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, perhaps an apt day for the Virgin Queen to die. The Elizabethan calendar was also different to ours, as they still used the Julian calendar - the new year beginning on the 25th of March. Thus the last day of the year 1602 also saw the last hours of the last Tudor monarch. The new year would bring a new reign, that of King James I (James VI of Scotland), a new ruling dynasty (the Stuarts), and a new era in British history.
On the 28th of April 1603, the Queen was given a magnificent funeral. Her coffin, covered in purple velvet, was drawn by four horses draped in black. An effigy of the great Queen, dressed in the robes of state with a crown on her head and a sceptre in her hands, lay on the coffin beneath a mighty canopy held by six knights. Behind the Queen came her palfrey, led by her Master of Horse. The chief mourner, the Marchioness of Northampton, led the peeresses of the realm all dressed in black, and behind them came all the important men of the realm, as well as over two hundred poor folks. The streets were full of people, all come to pay their last respects to the Queen who had ruled them so wisely and for so long as she made her way to her final resting place at Westminster Abbey.
On the base of tomb writes "Partners in throne and grave, here we sleep, Elizabeth and Mary, sisters, in hope of the Resurrection."
The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the most famous events in English history. It was arguably Queen Elizabeth's finest hour. For years she had been hailed as the English Deborah, the saviour of the English people, and now it seemed that this is what she had really become. She was now Bellona, the goddess of war, and in triumph she had led her people to glory, defeating the greatest power in the 16th century world.
Spain was the most powerful country in the world. Philip II ruled vast territories of land, and had unparalleled wealth from the New World. England was a small country, with little wealth, few friends, and many enemies. If Queen Elizabeth ever felt nervous about challenging the greatest power in the known world, she never showed it, and appeared to believe completely in the devotion and loyalty of her people. By believing in them, they believed in her.
Although relations between Spain and England had began rather well, with Philip even proposing marriage to the English Queen, over the 30 years since the Queen's accession, relations had deteriorated. There were many reasons for this. To begin with, England was a Protestant country, and Spain was a Roman Catholic one. The Spanish made no secret of their hostility to the English Queen, who they believed was illegitimate and had no right to the English throne, and had been involved in plots to dethrone her. Elizabeth herself had encouraged the activities of the English pirates, who plundered Philip's ships as they made their way from the New World, seizing their treasures. This had angered Philip immensely, especially as the stolen treasure was used to help fund those people rebelling against his rule in the Netherlands.
As early as 1585, Philip had begun to prepare a great fleet that, under the Spanish commander Santa Cruz, would invade England. At first the aim of the Armada was to liberate the captive Queen of Scots, but when Mary was executed for conspiring Elizabeth's death in 1587, Philip planned to invade England in the name of his daughter, the Infanta Isabella. Philip believed he had a genuine claim to the English throne, both by descent from John of Gaunt, and as Queen Mary I's husband. The purpose of the mission was to depose Elizabeth, put Mary/Isabella on the throne, and make England Roman Catholic once again. Queen Elizabeth had heard mutterings of the intended invasion of England by Spain for some time. She was not, however, at first concerned about the rumors. She had heard such rumors for almost 30 years, and easily dismissed them. Her Councilors were not so dismissive. It eventually became clear to Elizabeth, however, that this time, the Spanish were really going to send a fleet against England. Although the Queen had spent considerable amounts of money funding the Netherlands campaign, she now employed all her efforts in raising funds to ensure that when the Spanish fleet came, England would be prepared.
The plans of the Spanish were meticulous. It was planned that the Spanish fleet, consisting of over 100 ships, would sail up from Spain along the English Channel and meet with the forces of the Duke of Parma, Philip's nephew, making their way from the Netherlands. Together they would sail towards England. It was believed that this force would overwhelm the English. The English would be conquered, and the heretical Queen would be captured.
But the English were waiting. On the cliffs of England and Wales, men watched the seas day and night, waiting for the first sighting of the great Armada. When at last the great ships appeared on the horizon, beacons were lit on the hillsides, which sent the message over the cliffs and throughout the country, that the Spanish were coming. The beacons sent the message quicker than any horseman could ever ride, and by morning, London and the Queen knew that the day of reckoning had come. As soon as the ships began to make their way up the channel, the fighting began.
While English soldiers and sailors fought for England's liberty, Queen Elizabeth made her way to Tilbury. She was not going to sit trembling inside a guarded Palace while her people fought, but was going to go to the coast of the battle and "live or die" with them. Like a true warrior Queen, Elizabeth, upon a White Horse, inspected her soldiers, and made what was possibly her most famous speech of all.
 |
| Elizabeth I inspects her troops |
In her most powerful speech to the troops she said: "I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a King, and of a King of England too". These words inspired her troops to defeat the Spanish.
The Queen's confidence in God and her people was rewarded. In the English channel, the Spanish were suffering a humiliating defeat. The weather was dreadful, with the wind and rain against them, and they were not able to compete with the superior English ships and war tactics. They fled in terror when fire ships were aimed at them. The only way back to Spain was the perilous journey around the coast of Scotland, and many a Spaniard never saw his home country again. The battle was over, the English had won.
The Queen and her people were jubilant. No more were they a second rate sea power, for they had conquered the fleet of the mighty Spanish Empire. A thanksgiving service was held at St. Paul's Cathedral for the delivery of the country, and a medal was struck with the words "God blew and they were scattered" inscribed on it. They believed that the storm that had besieged the Spanish ships was no ordinary storm, but the work of a Protestant God.
But amongst the joy, there was considerable sorrow for the Queen. The Earl of Leicester, who had been her companion since her accession, and who she undoubtedly loved, had died unexpectedly not long after sharing with her the great victory. The Queen was devastated and secluded herself for a while. In the Armada portrait she reputedly wears the pearls he left her in his will. But her people needed her, and despite her grief, the Queen participated fully in the celebrations at St. Pauls. "God bless you my people" she called out, and her people called a thousand blessings on her.
Although King Philip sent other fleets against England in the 1590's, none was as significant, or as threatening as that of the great Armada of 1588, and none has captured the imagination of successive generations as much.
 |
| Elizabeth I's Armada portrait |
The Elizabethan age is celebrated for its literary and dramatic culture, its music and chivalry. The Elizabethan nobility loved to have a good time, and knew just how to have it. The wealthy of the land would entertain each other with great banquets of rich foods, wine, music and dancing. They would play games against each other, play sports such as tennis or bowls, and they would ride and hunt. Women too would participate in some of these sports, aswell as play musical instruments, draw, sew and embroider.
When Queen Elizabeth was not busy with matters of state, she too would enjoy some of these pleasures. Evenings at court were full of entertainments often dedicated to the Queen, and often there would be public performances conducted especially for her, but the Queen also enjoyed less public activities. Elizabeth loved to horse ride. She would spend many an hour riding fast through the Palace grounds. Her love for the sport terrified her Councilors, who feared that she would seriously injure, or even kill herself, from a fall. But Elizabeth was undaunted, and continued to ride long distances and at great speed until the end of her life. Even in her sixties she could ride a distance of ten miles, which she once proved to a courtier who advised the aging Queen to take the carriage.
Queen Elizabeth was a great follower of fashion. While in private she preferred to wear simple gowns, and would reputedly wear the same plain gown for two or three days, when she was in public, she dressed to impress. Clothes were an important status symbol to the Elizabethans, and a person had to dress in accordance with their social status. It was thus in keeping that the Queen dressed more magnificent than everyone else. No one was allowed to rival the Queen's appearance.
Queen Elizabeth as Gloriana may have seemed to many to be immortal, but by the turn of the seventeenth century, she was beginning to display very real human frailty. Life as a monarch may have been glorious at times, but it was a difficult, demanding, and often very lonely task, and Elizabeth was tired both physically and emotionally. She herself said :
“To be a king and wear a crown, is a thing more glorious to them that see it, than it is pleasant to them that bear it”
By the late winter of 1602/3 Elizabeth was feeling unwell. She had caught a chill after walking out in the cold winter air, and complained of a sore throat as well as aches and pains. She lay resignedly on her cushions in her private apartments, and could not be persuaded to leave them for the comfort of her bed. “I am not well” she declared, but refused the administrations of her doctors. It was the opinion of her contemporaries that she would have recovered from this illness if she had fought against it, but she was did not want to. She was old, she was tired, and she was lonely. She was ready to slip into the world where all those she had loved had gone before her. As her condition deteriorated, Archbishop Whitgift (her favourite of all her Archbishops of Canterbury) was called to her side, and the Queen clung tight to his hand. When he spoke to her of getting better, she made no response, but when he spoke to her of the joys of Heaven, she squeezed his hand contentedly. By this time she was beyond speech and could only communicate with gestures. It was clear to all of those around that the great Queen was dying. It was getting late, and those in vigilance around the Queen's bed left her to the care of her ladies. The Queen fell into a deep sleep, and died in the early hours of the 24th of March, 1603. It was a Thursday, the death day of her father, and her sister. It was the eve of the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, perhaps an apt day for the Virgin Queen to die. The Elizabethan calendar was also different to ours, as they still used the Julian calendar - the new year beginning on the 25th of March. Thus the last day of the year 1602 also saw the last hours of the last Tudor monarch. The new year would bring a new reign, that of King James I (James VI of Scotland), a new ruling dynasty (the Stuarts), and a new era in British history.
On the 28th of April 1603, the Queen was given a magnificent funeral. Her coffin, covered in purple velvet, was drawn by four horses draped in black. An effigy of the great Queen, dressed in the robes of state with a crown on her head and a sceptre in her hands, lay on the coffin beneath a mighty canopy held by six knights. Behind the Queen came her palfrey, led by her Master of Horse. The chief mourner, the Marchioness of Northampton, led the peeresses of the realm all dressed in black, and behind them came all the important men of the realm, as well as over two hundred poor folks. The streets were full of people, all come to pay their last respects to the Queen who had ruled them so wisely and for so long as she made her way to her final resting place at Westminster Abbey.
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| Tomb of Elizabeth I in Westminster Abbey. The Queen is buried beside her half sister Mary I |
On the base of tomb writes "Partners in throne and grave, here we sleep, Elizabeth and Mary, sisters, in hope of the Resurrection."
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