Chapter 2: The Man, Thomas Seymour
Elizabeth’s father, King Henry VIII, passed away in 1547, forcing Elizabeth’s half-brother, Edward, to become the King at the young age of 9 years old. Henry’s wife of the time, Catherine Parr, did not waste any time and married Thomas Seymour. Thomas Seymour was Edward VI’s uncle and the brother to the Lord Protector for Edward Seymour.
Catherine and Thomas moved Elizabeth into their household where Elizabeth was forced through an emotional crises that would accompany her for the rest of her life as any crises typically does.
Thomas was around 40 years old, and he was said to have had a powerful sexual appetite. Despite the fact that Elizabeth was a 14-year-old girl, Thomas typically engaged in horseplay with her. It went as far as going into Elizabeth’s room late at night and tickling her in her bed as well as slapping her on her butt.
Catherine did not try and stop Thomas from repeating these actions; instead, she got in on them. Catherine even went as far as to hold Elizabeth down while Thomas sliced her nightgown into a thousand pieces. It was not until Catherine caught Elizabeth and Thomas holding each other that she decided that it was time to end the marriage she had with Thomas and so sent Elizabeth away in 1548.
This did not stop Thomas from still trying to get his fingers into the royal family. Thomas tried to get himself appointed as the governor of the King’s person.
Catherine died giving birth the same year that Elizabeth was sent away and it was then that Thomas decided to turn his attention back to Elizabeth, now with the intent of marrying her. However, what he had done to Elizabeth before came out in the King's council, and this was the last thing that the council wanted to deal with.
In January of 1549, Thomas was arrested on the charges of trying to plot a marriage to Elizabeth in an effort to overpower the Lord Protector. Elizabeth, on the other hand, did not admit to anything that had happened in her past with Thomas and Catherine.
Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, who was trying to interrogate any details that he could out of Elizabeth, became frustrated with her silence and told others, “I do see in her face that she was guilty.”
Despite the fact that Elizabeth would not talk about Thomas, he was sentenced to be beheaded in March of 1549.
Chapter 3: Mary and Elizabeth
On July 6th of 1553, Edward VI died at the young age of 15. The will that Edward had written out excluded both Mary and Elizabeth from becoming rulers because of the succession to the Crown Act that was passed in 1543. Since there had to be a leader and neither Mary not Elizabeth was not it, Lady Jane Grey was made the Queen. However, those that supported her quickly fell away causing her to be taken off the throne just 9 days after taking it.
Mary and Elizabeth were close. However, it did not endure due to the fact that Mary wanted to get rid of the Protestant faith and Elizabeth was educated in this religion. Mary who was loyal to the Catholic Church soon was demanding that everyone had to attend the Catholic mass, and as to not cause any issues with her sister, Elizabeth did as Mary wanted even though she still remained faithful to the Protestant faith.
The popularity that Mary had gained fell away sometime around 1554 when the announcement of her marriage to Prince Philip of Spain came out to the public.
Discontent continued to spread throughout England over what Mary was doing, forcing people to look at Elizabeth to become the one who fought against Mary’s religious policies.
In the months of January and February of 1554, the rebellion known as Wyatt's rebellion broke out, but it did not last long. After this, Elizabeth was taken to court and questioned as to what her role was in the rebellion. It did not matter what Elizabeth said though; she was still imprisoned in the tower of London.
Even during her imprisonment, Elizabeth retained her innocence. Historians have found that it is highly unlikely that Elizabeth had anything to do with the rebellion. Some of the rebels approached her asking for her support thus making it seem as if she was in on their plans.
Simon Renard, an ambassador of Charles V, declared that no one who claimed the throne would be safe while Elizabeth was alive, which caused Stephen Gardiner to get to work on trying to put Elizabeth on trial so that they could get rid of her.
Those that supported Elizabeth inside of the government went to Mary, trying to get her to stop the investigation against Elizabeth due to the fact that no hard evidence could be found. Instead of doing this, Mary had Elizabeth moved to the tower of Woodstock where she was forced to spend around a year on house arrest with Sir Henry Bedingfield watching over her.
In April 17, 1555, Elizabeth was being taken back to court so that she could be in attendance at the last stages of what appeared to be Mary’s pregnancy. In the event that Mary and her child both died, Elizabeth would be the one who took over the throne. However, should the child be healthy and survive past infancy, Elizabeth would be pushed back in the line for taking the throne.
However, what everyone believed was Mary’s pregnancy turned out to be Mary pretending to be pregnant, and thus, people began to believe that she was not capable of becoming pregnant and bearing an heir to the throne. Because of this, Elizabeth seemed confident that she would eventually take over the throne.
The King of Spain took account of what was happening in the new world of politics and elected to go with it rather than to fight it. In his efforts, King Philip began to work with his sister-in-law, believing that she would be a better ally than the alternative, which was Mary, Queen of Scots.
When King Philip’s wife became ill, the Count of Feria was sent to talk to Elizabeth about what was going to happen next. This consultation was done in the Hatfield house where Elizabeth had been living since the fall of 1555. In that same month, Elizabeth was starting to make plans on how the government was going to be run under her rule.
Just a month later, Mary finally acknowledged that Elizabeth was heir to the throne, and a few weeks later, when Mary died in 1558, Elizabeth took the throne.
Chapter 4: Elizabeth as Queen
Elizabeth was only 25 years old when she became Queen, and it was after this that she decided to share what her intentions were for being Queen to her council and anyone else who had come to swear their allegiance to her at Hatfield.
Elizabeth’s speech holds the very first record of the adoption that Elizabeth came up with for the medieval political theology for the two bodies that a sovereign contains: the physical body and the political body.
“My Lords, the law of nature moves me to sorrow for my sister; the burden that is fallen upon me makes me amazed, and yet, considering I am God’s creature, ordained to obey His appointment, I will thereto yield, desiring from the bottom of my heart that I may have assistance of His grace to the minister of His heavenly will in this office now committed to me. And as I am but one body naturally considered, though by His permission a body politic to govern, so shall I desire you all… to be assistant to me, that I with my ruling and you with your service may make a good account to Almighty God and leave some comfort to our posterity on earth. I mean to direct all my actions by good advice and counsel.”
In the evening of her coronation, the progress that Elizabeth planned to make made its way through the city and Elizabeth was welcomed with open arms by the citizens that she was going to rule. Elizabeth was greeted by pageants and orations
everywhere she went, all leaning towards the Protestant faith.
Elizabeth was both open and gracious to the response that she was getting from those who welcomed her. On the following day, January 15, 1559, Elizabeth became the crowned Queen of England, being anointed by the Catholic bishop Owen Oglethorpe at Westminster Abbey.
After being given the crown, she was shown to the people for their acceptance, and she was greeted with the noise of several musical instruments. Even though she was welcomed as Queen, the people of England were still having some anxiety as they still saw threats coming from the Catholic church, both at home and overseas. In addition to that, they were worried about who Elizabeth would end up marrying and how that would affect their country.
The scholars of Elizabeth’s time spent many hours discussing her personal religion. Elizabeth was a practicing Protestant, but she also kept many Catholic symbols around all while downplaying how important sermons were as her way to defy the Catholic religion in place of her own Protestant beliefs.
When it came to the public policy, Elizabeth took a practical approach when dealing with matters that dealt with religion. Many people questioned her legitimacy due to the fact that she was considered to be illegitimate under both faiths. Even though she was declared to be illegitimate under the Catholic Church, it was never a problem because Elizabeth embraced the Protestant religion more than she did the Catholic faith.
Advisors to Elizabeth, and even Elizabeth herself, thought that there was a threat of Catholic crusades coming up against the heretical parts of England. This pushed Elizabeth into action so that she could try and find a solution in her Protestant faith that was not going to cause the Catholics to become too upset. She wanted to address those in England who wished to be Protestant, but at the same time, she was not going to put up with those that were radical Puritans trying to shove through and force people to conform to their religion. Because of this, parliament began a legislation for the church based on what Edward VI started. The monarch of the time was to be the head of the church, and there would be Catholic elements in the church such as priestly vestments.
The proposals brought up by Elizabeth were backed by the House of Commons; however, they were met with some opposition when it came to the House of Lords. Thankfully, Elizabeth was able to push through her proposal because many of the bishop spots were vacant during this time.
Those that supported Elizabeth in her proposal were able to overthrow the bishops’ vote; however, Elizabeth was still forced to take on the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England instead of a title that was more contentious. In the end, it did not matter what her title was because there were those who believed that women should not hold the title at.
Under the Act of Supremacy, which was established in May of 1559, public officials were forced to swear their loyalty to the monarch or else they would risk losing their place in office. Any laws that were hearsay ended up being repealed so that Elizabeth did not have to deal with what Mary had set in place when she was on the throne.
During this same time, there was a new act that made attendance of church more adaptive based on a new version of the Book of Common Prayer. If you did not attend church, the penalties were not as extreme as they had been.
Chapter 5: Elizabeth and the Big Question of Marriage
From the moment that Elizabeth took the throne, people were expecting that she was going to get married, the only question was to whom? Many prospective men came and asked if she would allow for them to take her hand in marriage. However, she refused them all. This left Elizabeth not only single but childless as well. No one is or was ever sure as to why Elizabeth made this decision.
Historians have looked at Elizabeth’s life and come to the conclusion that it was Thomas Seymour and his advances on her as a young girl that caused her to swear off any relationship that would lead to sexual relations. There is even the theory that she knew that she was infertile and did not want to put a man through not being able to give her children. Not to mention, she did not want to see what had happened to her father and the many women that he had married happen to her because she may never be able to give them a child, let alone a son.
Despite the fact that she was never married, Elizabeth did take on several suitors until she reached the age of 50 when she stopped dating the Duke of Anjou, Francis. Francis was 22 years younger than Elizabeth. Even while dating Francis, Elizabeth was risking the fact she could lose her power, much like her sister Mary did.
It was made clear in 1559 that Elizabeth was in love with one of her friends from her childhood by the name of Robert Dudley. Even though Robert was married, his wife was said to be dealing with a malady that had been located in one of her breast, which was making her ill. But, if Dudley's wife had passed on, it was known that Elizabeth would have married him.
When the fall of 1559 came around, some foreign suitors were trying to earn Elizabeth’s attention and hand in marriage. The talk that went on around these suitors caused even more scandalous talk to come up, which then caused reports to sprout that marriage to Elizabeth’s favorite suitor would result in upsetting the very country that she was ruling.
It is written: “There is not a man who does not cry out on him and her with indignation… she will marry none but the favored Robert.” When it came to talking about her relationship that she was holding with Robert, even though he was married, she had very little to say.
The following year, Robert's wife, Amy, died from a tumble she took down the stairs. Many people believed that Robert had conspired to have his wife killed or pushed down the very stairs that killed her in order to marry Queen Elizabeth, but the coroner who did her autopsy said that Amy’s death was nothing more than an accident.
After Robert’s wife’s death, Elizabeth took serious time to think about if she should marry Dudley or not, but there were some of her more conservative peers who told her not to marry
Dudley due to the rumors that were going to rise up if she followed through with her plans.
Several suitors were being considered for the Queen to marry, and despite the fact she had been advised against it, Robert continued to be a possible candidate.
Notwithstanding the fact that Elizabeth decided that she was not going to marry Robert, she was still jealous for his affections. Just to keep him close, Elizabeth appointed him to the position of Earl of Leicester in 1564. It was in 1578 that Robert remarried, which started a lifelong hatred from the Queen towards his new wife. Even though he was remarried, Robert was the center of Elizabeth’s life emotionally.
Robert passed away after the defeat of the armada, and it was not until after Elizabeth herself died that a note was found with her handwriting on it marked as his last letter.
Negotiations for marriage were part of the foreign policy that Elizabeth had put into place. However, in 1559, she had declined a marriage proposal from King Philip himself and instead entertained the suggestion that came from King Eric XIV who ruled over Sweden. It is believed that Elizabeth did not want to marry King Philip because she was ruling over a Protestant country while King Philip’s country was Roman Catholic. Not to mention, the Spanish nation made no secret as to the hostility that they held against the Queen because they knew that she was declared illegitimate after the death of her mother and, therefore, she had no real right to the English throne.
Along with Eric, she also considered marrying the Archduke Charles who was the King’s cousin. But, in 1569, any relations that Elizabeth had with the Habsburgs vanished, and Elizabeth turned her attention to two French princes who were vying for her attention.
The proposal from Francis, the Duke of Anjou, came with the alliance that Elizabeth needed against the Spanish, which would assist in the control of the southern part of the Netherlands. The courtship was taken seriously over a period of time, and she clearly considered it as she even wore the jewelry that Francis had sent her.
An imperial envoy was told by Elizabeth in 1563, “If I follow the inclination of my nature, it is this: beggar-woman and single, far rather than Queen and married.”
In the same year, Elizabeth fell ill with the smallpox virus, and people began to worry about who was going to take over the throne if she was to die from this illness. When she became ill, they urged her to marry or at least nominate someone that was going to take over the throne so that a civil war could be prevented in the event of her death. Elizabeth refused, however, to do either.
April of the same year, she prorogued parliament and did not reconvene until she needed them again to in 1566.
Due to the fact that Elizabeth had promised to marry, she spoke to the House stating:
“I will never break the word of a prince spoken in public place for my honor's sake. And therefore I say again; I will marry as soon as I can conveniently, if God take not him away with
whom I mind to marry, or myself, or else some other great let happen.”
It was in 1570 that some of the top members of the English government finally accepted that Elizabeth was never going to marry nor would she name someone to succeed her. But, Mr. William Cecil tried actively to find a solution to who was to take over once Elizabeth passed.
Due to the fact Elizabeth refused to marry, she was often accused of being irresponsible. But her silence only strengthened the political security that she currently held. If she had given in and named a successor, then she would become vulnerable to a coup being staged to get her off the throne.
With Elizabeth remaining unmarried, there was a cult that started based on her virginity. In this cult, they wrote poetry and painted pictures where Elizabeth was depicted as a goddess or even as a virgin. Sometimes they even depicted her as both, but she was never portrayed as an average woman.
It was only Elizabeth at first who was protecting her own virginity, but in 1559, she informed the House of Commons that she was fine with having been declared as the Virgin Queen.
In the end, Elizabeth said that she was married, but it was to no man. She was married to her Kingdom and the subjects of her Kingdom. Everything that Elizabeth did, she did with her people in mind. The people of her Kingdom were all of her good husbands, and she would not have done anything that would have caused them harm in any way.
Chapter 6: Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots
When it came to Scotland, Elizabeth put her first policy into place, which was to oppose the French that were residing there. Elizabeth was fearful that the French were planning some kind of invasion against England so that they could knock her off of the throne and put their own Queen in place as the heir to the English crown.
Elizabeth sent in forces to help assist the Protestant rebels, which ended up in the Treaty of Edinburgh, which was signed in July of 1560, therefore, forcing the French to retreat from northern Scotland.
Mary, Queen of Scots, returned to Scotland sometime in 1561 so that she could take over power of her country yet again as well as establish a Protestant church that was to be run by the Protestant nobles. Elizabeth was fully supportive of this. However, Mary did not want to ratify the treaty that was already in place.
It was in 1563 that Elizabeth decided to offer up her suitor Robert as a husband for Mary without the permission of either person. Neither party was enthusiastic about the attempt at being set up together, and 2 years later, Mary ended up marrying the Lord of Darnley who had his own claim to the throne in England.
Mary’s marriage to the Lord of Darnley was nothing but a series of bad judgments. Ultimately, the victory that Elizabeth needed was handed to her and the Protestants that resided in Scotland.
Mary’s husband, Darnley, grew unpopular in Scotland and ended up making his name when he oversaw the murder of the Italian secretary that Mary had put into place in her court.
Due to the fact that Darnley was not liked, his murder was carried out in 1567, and it is believed to have been led by James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell. Later in that year, Mary married Bothwell, which then caused the rumors to come out that Mary had something to do with the murder of her husband. When these rumors reached Elizabeth, she wrote to Mary.
“How could a worse choice be made for your honor than in such haste to marry such a subject, who besides other and notorious lacks, public fame has charged with the murder of your late husband, besides the touching of yourself also in some part, though we trust in that behalf falsely.”
Marrying Bothwell ended with Mary being overthrown, and ultimately, she was imprisoned in the Loch Leven Castle. During her imprisonment, she was forced to give up the throne and hand it over to her son, James.
Since James was still young, he was taken away to the Stirling Castle where he was to be raised as a Protestant.
In 1568, Mary managed to get out of Loch Leven and was defeated yet again. This was when she decided to flee to England where she had been promised that she could get help from Elizabeth.
When Mary made it to Elizabeth, her first instinct was to put Mary back on the throne; however, she consulted with her council, and they decided it was better if they all played it safe.
So, instead of taking Mary back to Scotland, she was held in England for the next 19 years, imprisoned as she had been in Scotland.
A rebellion was focused on Mary soon after she was imprisoned in England. The year 1569 brought a Catholic rise in northern England with but one goal in mind; free Mary from imprisonment and marry her off to Thomas Howard who was the fourth duke of Norfolk at the time. If she married Thomas, she would become the Queen of England.
However, the rebels did not achieve their goal and over 750 of them ended up being executed under orders that came from Queen Elizabeth. Not knowing that the revolution was unsuccessful, a bull was issued by Pope Pius V declaring that Elizabeth was not the authentic Queen of England, but rather an imposter. He thought that Elizabeth should be excommunicated so that all her subjects could be free from their allegiance to her.
Anyone who was Catholic at the time and was in allegiance with Elizabeth was threatened with being excommunicated by the church. This papal bull caused many legislative initiatives to come up against the Catholic Church created by parliament, but all were mitigated through an intervention by Elizabeth.
The Catholic Church did not stop there though. It was in 1581 that the Catholic Church continued to encourage people to break their allegiance to Elizabeth by trying to convert everyone back to the church by making it a treasonable offense that would be met with the death penalty.
Missionary priests came to England, trying to assist in the reconversion of England without Elizabeth ever knowing. Many of her subjects ended up being executed because they did not want to reconvert to the Catholic Church.
The Regnans in Excelsis bull was given out to the Catholics in England telling them that their true Queen was Mary Stuart. While Mary may not have put all of this plot to work herself, she was the cause of the Duke of Norfolk losing his head in 1586.
Francis Walsingham was the spymaster to Elizabeth, and he brought a case up against Mary to prove that she was behind what was going on in Elizabeth’s Kingdom. Out of loyalty to Mary, Elizabeth tried to resist putting Mary to death. But it was later in 1586 that she finally was convinced that she should put Mary to trial so that she could see the evidence that was held against her due to the fact that there were letters written out in her hand during the Babington Plot.
After Elizabeth had been shown these letters, she decided to put Mary to death by beheading on the 8th of February in 1587. Once Mary’s execution was carried out, Elizabeth withdrew any ties that she had to it but instead said she signed the death warrant but did not want it to be dispatched.
Her proclamations of having told Davison not to carry out the warrant have been questioned by many. It is still not known if Elizabeth actually said this or not.
Chapter 7: Wars and Trading During Elizabeth’s Rule
The foreign policy that Elizabeth had put into place was mostly on the defensive side. The only exception was the occupation of Le Havre during the period of October 1562 and June 1563. However, it ultimately failed because of the Elizabeth’s Huguenot allies that went over to support the Catholics so that they could try and retake the English port.
Elizabeth was trying to open up trade with Le Havre for those in Calais, but it ended up being lost to the French.
The activities of her fleets began to take on a more aggressive policy, which ended up playing in Elizabeth’s favor when it came to the war against Spain, which was mostly fought on the water.
Francis Drake ended up being knighted after he completed his circumnavigation of the entire world from 1577 to 1580 as well as the fame that he gained when he raided the Spanish ports and their fleets.
Because of the piracy that Drake had seemingly embraced, any seafarers that sailed under Elizabeth’s name reverted piracy and even self-enrichment, and the Queen did not have control of them.
The Expedition to the Netherlands
When Queen Elizabeth lost Le Havre, she attempted to avoid any expeditions that involved sending out her military until 1585, which was when she decided to send out her army in an effort to help the Dutch Protestants against King Philip II.
When December of 1584 came around, King Philip II and the French Catholic League joined forces in order to try and weaken all of the things that Henry III was trying to do to ensure the Spanish could not overtake the Netherlands. The Spanish were trying to expand their influence along the coast that followed the channel in France, which is not only where the Catholic league was strongest but also where they were able to expose England to an invasion.
The siege of Antwerp brought around the Treaty of Nonsuch, which was signed in August of 1585. It was in this treaty that Elizabeth said that her military support was going to go to the Dutch. While the agreement was good on some levels, it was what started the Anglo-Spanish war. This war continued until the Treaty of London sometime in 1604.
Robert Dudley was the leader of the expedition, and due to the fact that Elizabeth held feelings for Robert Dudley, she did not support him being the leader. Instead, she wanted to help the Dutch with her army on the surface to hold peace talks with Spain just a few days after the arrival of Leicester in Holland. Leicester fully expected that the Dutch were going to conduct an active campaign against him.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, did not want to hold an ongoing campaign. Instead, she wanted him to avoid any decisive action
that had to do with their enemies. When Leicester took on the post of Governor General, Elizabeth became enraged believing that the Dutch who had given him this title were trying to corner her so that she had to accept the sovereignty that she was to hold over the Netherlands.
In an attempt to talk to Leicester, she wrote him saying:
“We could never have imagined (had we not seen it fall out in experience) that a man raised up by ourself and extraordinarily favored by use, above any other subject of this land, would have in so contemptible a sort broken our commandment in a cause that so greatly touches us in honor… And therefore our express pleasure and commandment is that all delays and excuses laid apart, you do presently upon the duty of your allegiance obey and fulfill whatsoever the bearer hereof shall direct you to do in our name. whereof fail you do not, as you will answer the contrary at your utmost peril.”
The commandment that Elizabeth spoke of was that all of her letters were to be read to the public while having Leicester nearby to hear them. This was her way to punish the Lieutenant General in public while she continued to talk to Spain about peace, which ultimately undermined all standings that Leicester had with the Dutch.
Elizabeth continued to refuse to send funds to the soldiers that were starving, which stopped any military campaigns that were in place. Due to the fact that she kept refusing to fully commit herself to the cause that was to help her people, the shortcomings from Leicester and all of the chaos coming from the Dutch politics caused the campaign to fail. In the end, Leicester resigned in 1587.
During the 16th century, Spain was considered the most powerful country in the world. Under the command of King Philip II, Spain was ruling large amounts of territory and was enjoying wealth like no other nation had ever seen from the New World. England, on the other hand, was a country with a lot of enemies, not many allies, and just enough wealth to get by.
While it is certain that Elizabeth was nervous about going up against King Philip II and the significant amounts of power that he held, she never once showed that she was nervous to do what was best for her realm. Instead, Elizabeth had complete faith in her people, and she was going to demonstrate that she was loyal only to them, even if it was not a popular choice. She thought that if she could show them she believed in them, then they would continue to believe in her.
It was at the same time that Francis Drake began his voyage to go up against any Spanish port as well as any ship that he found in the Caribbean between the years of 1585 and 1587. While he was on his voyage, he made a successful raid destroying an entire fleet of Spanish warships that had been on their way to England. This is when King Philip II decided that he was going to go to war against England.
The Spanish armada planned to move an invasion force to the coast of England from the Netherlands around July 12, 1588. However, with a combination of misfortune and miscalculations, the attack on England from the Spanish armada caused the northeastern part of the fleet to be defeated. After this defeat, they made their way home with what was left of their fleet.
Not knowing what the fate of the armada was, the militia in England got together to try and defend their country under the command of Leicester. It was Leicester that invited the Queen to inspect the troops while they were stationed at Tilbury. In doing this, she wore a white velvet dress that was covered by a silver breastplate. It was here that Queen Elizabeth made one of her most famous speeches saying:
“My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourself to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but I assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people… 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 to, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of the realm.”
Thankfully, there was no invasion on England, and this caused the entire nation to rejoice. There was a procession for Elizabeth as she made her way to the thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the welcome that she received was better than that she got when she was attending her coronation.
With the armada defeated, there was a propaganda victory not only for Elizabeth but also for Protestant England as well. This success was taken as a symbol from God of his favor to the nation and how it was being run under Elizabeth, the virgin Queen.
Sadly, this victory did not bring about a turning point in the war that was currently going on. The war was still in favor of Spain winning due to the fact that they were still able to hold the control that they had over the southern part of the Netherlands, so there was still the threat of invasion.
It is said after Elizabeth passed that because she was cautious when it came to the war that she had impeded the war and the favor that it could have held for England. Sir Walter Raleigh is actually quoted saying:
“If the late Queen would have believed her men of war as she did her scribes, we had in her time beaten that great empire in pieces and made their Kings of figs and oranges as in the old days. But her Majesty did all by halves and by petty invasions taught the Spaniard how to defend himself and see his own weakness.”
Many historians have agreed with Raleigh and the words that he spoke about what Elizabeth did. However, what many do not realize is that Elizabeth had a good reason to not put all of her trust in her commanders because they tended “to be transported with a haviour of vainglory.”
The victory that Elizabeth held over the Spanish armada is one of the most famous events of her time and probably in the entire history of England. While Queen Elizabeth was quite often criticized for how she ran her military, this is one of her finest hours when it comes to how she dealt with her military and the campaigns that they had during this time.
Up until this point in time, Elizabeth was considered to be the savior of the people of England, even being called the English Deborah, and after she defeated the armada, she truly became the hero of the people that she ruled over. But, on top of that, Elizabeth became considered Bellona, which made her the goddess of war. Due to the experience that she was gaining, she was able to bring her people a victory in the war and against one of the strongest powers that was around at that time.
Giving support to King Henry IV of France
When King Henry IV came to sit on the throne in France, Elizabeth sent out military support as her first attempt to get into France ever since she had retreated in 1563. With Henry, however, came a strong opposition from King Philip II and the Catholic League. This opposition caused Elizabeth to be fearful of the ports being taken over by the Spanish. Because of this, all of the campaigns that the English had into France were ineffective due to the fact that they were highly disorganized.
Although Elizabeth was against it, Lord Willoughby ignored his Queen and continued to roam through the northern parts of France with his army of 4,000 men. When he lost half of his troops in 1589, Willoughby withdrew. After 2 years, there was a campaign led by John Norreys who ended up taking 3,000 men into Brittany, which proved to be worse than what Willoughby had been doing in ignoring Elizabeth’s orders.
Due to these two men, Elizabeth began to refuse to support the troops with any supplies or reinforcements that the commanders needed. Norreys thought that it would be best if he left to go to London and plead with the Queen in person for the support that they needed, and while he was away from his troops, the Catholic League tore through his army, almost destroying all of them while they were at Craon.
In July of 1591, Elizabeth finally decided that she was going to send out more troops, and they were to be under the command of Robert Devereux so that he could help Henry IV surround Rouen. As a result of her sending in Devereux, the results remained the same and nothing was accomplished. Devereux
returned home and Henry abandoned his siege in April of 1592. This did not do anything but prove that Elizabeth did not have any control over her military leaders when they were not at home.
Even though Ireland was technically part of Elizabeth’s Kingdom, she faced a great deal of hostility from the Irish population due to the fact that it was still an island that was dominated by the Catholic religion. Just to keep their faith, they were willing to go against what she wanted and align themselves with her enemies.
Elizabeth had a plan to give the land to those who were courting her so that she could try and prevent the rebels from getting into Spain and from there attacking England.
There were strings of uprisings that caused the crown forces to go to tactics such as scorched earth where they would burn the land all while killing anyone that they came across. In Munster, there was a revolt that was led by FitzGerald the 15th Earl of Desmond, which resulted in around 30,000 of the Irish people starving to death.
After finding out about this, Elizabeth told her commanders that were in Ireland that they were to treat the people of the barbarous nation well, but they were not to show remorse when having to use force if it was necessary.
It was in the years from 1594 to 1603 that Elizabeth faced the most severe test that she would face when it came to Ireland. Another revolt broke out during the height of the Nine Year's
War between Ireland and Spain, and it was backed by the Earl of Tyrone. It was in the spring of 1599 that Elizabeth finally decided to send in the Earl of Essex in an effort to put an end to the revolt.
Sadly, Essex made very little progress in his mission from the Queen and this frustrated her greatly, and despite the fact that he was told not to return to England, he did. This was when Elizabeth decided it was time to replace him with Charles Blount who stayed in Ireland for 3 years in an effort to defeat the rebels that had risen up. They finally surrendered in 1603, just a few days after Elizabeth died. It was not long after that that a peace treaty was signed.
Diplomatic relations continued to be made when it came to Elizabeth thanks to the Tsardom of Russia that her brother had established when he was alive. Ivan the Terrible often times got letters from Queen Elizabeth that were her terms that she believed would work for both sides of the agreement. However, the Tsardom of Russia were often annoyed with her and how she wanted to focus on commerce instead of making a military alliance.
In one letter, the Tsar even came up with the idea that the two of them could marry, but Elizabeth rejected it. It was later that the Tsar went to Elizabeth asking for asylum in the event that his rule became jeopardized.
When Ivan died, his son Feodor took over the throne, and the simple-minded man did not want to maintain any trading
rights that he had exclusively with England. Instead, Feodor opened up the borders of Russia and allowed all foreigners in, all while dismissing Sir Jerome Bowes who was the English ambassador who was only in Russia because he was tolerated by Ivan.
A new representative was sent to Russia to try and get the Tsar to reconsider going back to the agreements that Elizabeth had set up with his late father. However, all the negotiations failed mainly because the new ambassador never addressed Feodor with his titles that were given to him by the Queen.
Not the one to give up, Elizabeth continued to write letters to the Tsar of Russia hoping to build up an alliance with Feodor, which was something that she did not do with Ivan, Feodor’s father. But, this time, it was Feodor’s turn to refuse the alliance.
The trade and relations that Elizabeth had built up with the Barbary states lead to a trading relationship with Morocco. Ammunition, armor, timber, and metal were traded for the Moroccan sugar even though there was a Papal ban.
It was in 1600 that the principal secretary of the ruler for Morocco came to England to visit the Queen in order to create an alliance against Spain. During these negotiations, Elizabeth said that she would sell ammunition and supplies to Spain while talking to the Moroccan ruler about creating a joint operation to go against Spain. These discussions did not lead to any agreement, and both leaders ended up dying within 2 years after the discussions were started.
Diplomatic relations were created with the Ottoman Empire as well thanks to the Levant Company. The very first English ambassador was sent to the empire in 1578. When the first Treaty of Commerce was signed 2 years later, several envoys ended up being sent out to establish trade between Elizabeth’s empire and the empire that was ruled by Sultan Murad III.
One letter that was being sent between Elizabeth and the Sultan stated that the Protestant faith had a lot in common with the Islamic religion whereas neither of them had nothing in common with the Catholic religion due to the fact that they did not worship idols, as well as wanted an alliance between England and the Ottoman Empire.
Against the wishes of those that were under Catholic rule in Europe, England continued to make trades, and when they were trading with the Ottoman Empire, they sent out lead and ammunition. It was with the Sultan that Elizabeth considered making a military alliance when war broke out with Spain in 1585.
Chapter 8: The Later Years of Elizabeth’s Rule
During the last 15 years after the Spanish armada fell, Elizabeth found that she was being faced with new difficulties. Elizabeth still had to deal with the conflict of Spain being in Ireland as well as how the burden of taxes continued to grow due to the fact that the economy was being hit with poor harvests as well as the cost that came with keeping up with the war.
It was during this time that the prices continued to go up while the standard of living went down. During these hard times, the Catholics intensified their efforts to convert everyone back to the Catholic religion, which is when Elizabeth decided that it was time to create a commission that was meant to monitor and even interrogate the households of the Catholics.
While trying to make it seem like the country was at peace and had prosperity, Elizabeth consistently relied on spies who were inside her own courts as well as the propaganda that was being handed down to the public. During the last years that Elizabeth ruled, there was constant criticism that fell down on her which caused the public to lose their affections for her.
Because Elizabeth changed how she was ruling, it is often referred to as the second reign. Being that there was a new generation that had come into power, there was some strife that came about from those that were still alive and trying to hold on to how things were done before and those that were new to the government and wanted to change so that the
nation would benefit. A rivalry broke out between the Earl of Essex and the son of Lord Burghley Robert Cecil that caused them to go up against each other believing that their position was the most powerful one that there was in the government and that their view on politics was the best.
During this time, the authority that the Queen held continued to lessen, and the public was able to see it in 1594 during the affair of her personal physician Dr. Lopez. The Earl of Essex accused him of treason, and the Queen could not stop his execution, even though she protested and became angry that he had been arrested. She also did not believe that he was guilty of what he was charged with.
Even as Elizabeth changed how she governed her people, she also began to change how she dealt with politics such as granting monopolies for a cost-free system of patronage. She did not ask parliament for any subsidies when it was a time of war. This ended up leading to what is known as price fixing and even the enrichment of the courtiers all being paid for by the public. This did not sit well with the public and caused them to come to resent Elizabeth.
The House of Commons tried to do something about it in 1601 during parliament, but when Elizabeth made her golden speech, she spoke to about 140 people where she continued to state that she knew nothing about the abuse that was happening to her people. Due to how she was able to mold her words and use her emotions, she was able to get the members that heard her speech on her side. When speaking, Elizabeth said:
“Who keeps their sovereign from the lapse of error in which, by ignorance and not by intent they might have fallen, what thank
they deserve, we know, though you may guess. And as nothing is more dear to us than the loving conservation of our subjects’ hearts, what an undeserved doubt might we have incurred if the abusers of our liberality, the thrallers of our people, the wringers of the poor, had not told us!”
In the same time period, where there was still uncertainty in politics and the economy, there was a literary flowering that was unsurpassed by anytime in England. This literary flowering was first began around the second decade that Elizabeth held onto the throne. It all started with Euphues, which was written by John Lyly in 1578.
The 1590s produced some of the greatest names that the world knows in English literature such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. From this time period and on into the Jacobean era, the theater in England reached its peak.
The entirety of the Elizabethan era depended on those that were poets, musicians, builders, and dramatists, all of which were the most active while Elizabeth ruled. However, there was not much credit that could be given to the Queen because she was not one who typically attended the theater.
While Elizabeth got up there in years, her looks changed as well. Before the armada fell, she was portrayed as Astraea or Belphoebe, but afterward, she was commonly depicted as the Faerie Queen, Gloriana. The portraits that were painted of her moved on from being realistic to ones making her appear younger and were seen more as an enigmatic icon.
In reality, thanks to the smallpox that she had gotten, her skin was covered with scars, and she was half bald. Therefore she had to depend on cosmetics and wigs to make her appear “
normal.” It was not just the illness though; she also had a severe sweet tooth that caused her teeth to suffer from decay and even fall out to the point that she was hard to understand when talking to ambassadors.
It was a representative that came to her court from Henry IV who came back saying “her teeth are very yellow and unequal... and on the left side less than on the right. Many of them are missing, so that one cannot understand her easily when she speaks.” Not wanting to seem as if he only had bad to say about the Queen, the ambassador went on to say “her figure is fair and tall and graceful in whatever she does; so far as may be she keeps her dignity, yet humbly and graciously withal.”
It did not matter what happened to her appearance, even as her beauty faded, her courtiers continued to praise it so that they could stay in good standings with the Queen.
Elizabeth was always ready to play the part that she needed to play, knowing that it was nothing more than that, but when she got up in years, it became apparent that Elizabeth was starting to believe in the performance that she was putting on for everyone.
Still a woman, Elizabeth found herself to be taken with Leicester's stepson the Earl of Essex, and despite the fact that he regularly took liberties with her, she always forgave him. Elizabeth even went as far as to give the Earl of Essex his own military post even though he continually showed that he was irresponsible. After his actions in Ireland during the year of 1599, Elizabeth removed him from his position of power and he was placed under house arrest.
In the year of 1601, the Earl attempted to start a rebellion in
order to overthrow the Queen; however, he could not come up with the numbers to support what he was trying to do. Ultimately he ended up being beheaded on the 25th of February.
Elizabeth was not above taking blame for what had almost happened because of her misjudgments of the man. Despite this fact, it was still reported that “her delight is to sit in the dark, and sometimes with shedding tears to bewail Essex.” So, it was apparent that the Earl had earned the Queen’s affections and that she was upset about what had happened to him.
Chapter 9: A Reign Comes to an End as Queen Elizabeth Passes Away
It was easy to forget that the Queen was not superhuman because of the way that she presented herself. But, when the 17th century came around, it was apparent that the Queen was not superhuman, and she was living a human life that was finite. While the monarch of England had her moments of glory that she was able to share in with her great nation, she was also dealing with a job that was difficult, demanded a lot out of her, and being that she was not married, was lonely. Dealing with everything that she had to deal with in her reign as Queen was draining to Elizabeth not only physically, but also emotionally.
Throughout her reign, Elizabeth had been popular, at least more popular than her sister Mary. But, Elizabeth also understood that popularity came and went without a moment’s notice, and it could be for the simplest thing that the people around her stopped believing in her. She was not blind to the fact that her time was coming to an end, even if she may not have known that it was in more way than one.
Elizabeth knew that she was getting older and that her health was falling at a rapid pace. It became even more real when she went to visit one of her courtiers and was forced to use a walking stick just so that she could try and get up the stairs on her own. Not only that but also when Elizabeth was addressing parliament, she almost fell due to the weight of the robes that she had to wear.
Being sharp, Elizabeth was well aware of the fact that due to her age, she was not going to be able to keep commanding those that were under her due to the fact that they were a younger generation and they wanted their chance to bring in a new world as she had in her own time.
On top of it all, it is believed that the Queen was suffering from some sort of mental disorder, but what it was, nobody will ever really know due to lack of knowledge and inability to diagnose in that day and age. But, due to this disorder, the Queen was no longer the monarch that she once was. She was not witty, charming, or graceful. Instead, these traits fell away to her becoming bitter and paranoid, especially as her friends began to pass on before her.
The senior adviser to Elizabeth died on the 4th of August in the year 1598, causing his position of power to be passed on to his son. It did not take long for his son to become the top member of the government. The biggest task that Robert Cecil had to deal with was to make sure that there was a smooth transition between Elizabeth and whoever succeeded her. Being that Elizabeth still had not named someone to take the throne after her, Cecil had to do his work in secret so that the Queen did not find out and remove him from his position of power.
It was during this time that a coded negotiation was opened with James VI of Scotland who had the strongest claim for taking over the ruling position in England. While James was impatient with the Queen, he was taught by Cecil how to humor her so that he could try and secure her heart.
All the advice that James learned proved to be helpful because Elizabeth took to and became grateful that he was around. She may not have ever said it out loud but her affections were made
known through the veiled phrases that she spoke to him and to others when she was talking about him.
It wasn’t until the fall of 1602 that Queen Elizabeth’s health took a turn for the worse. She had been walking outside in the cold air of winter and then began to complain of symptoms such as aches, pains, and sore throats. Added to the fact that a vast majority of her friends passed at the same time, Elizabeth ended up slipping into a deep depression, and it was in 1603 that Catherine Howard passed as well as Catherine, Lady Knollys, that Elizabeth met her final blows with depression. Elizabeth wanted nothing more than to go to the next world so that she could be with those that she loved.
Later that year, Elizabeth fell very sick and could not be pulled from the depression that she was experiencing. Often times she was found sitting on a cushion having not moved for several hours. In an effort to try and take care of her, Robert urged the Queen to move to go to bed so that she could rest, to which she replied. “Must is not a word to use to princes, little man.”
While Elizabeth’s health continued to go downhill, Archbishop Whitgift came to her bedside, holding onto her hand. He made his attempts of talking to her about getting better so that she could continue to rule over England, but she did not respond to his pleas. This could be because Elizabeth knew that her time was at an end and she did not want to prolong it, or she simply did not want to get better because she did not see a reason to continue living when everyone that she knew was gone. So, Whitgift tried to talk to the Queen about the joys of heaven and how glorious it would be for her there. Since she could no longer speak, the Queen continuously squeezed the Archbishop's hand wanting him to continue talking to her about heaven. It was at this point that those around her had to
come to the realization that the Queen was dying and that there was nothing that they could do to keep her alive.
In that same month, Queen Elizabeth passed away at the Richmond Palace sometime in the early hours of the morning, being left in the care of her ladies in waiting who were vigilant and tended to all her needs. Elizabeth passed away on the death day of her sister Mary and her father Henry as well as it being the eve of the festival for the Virgin Mary. Due to the events that surrounded the Queen’s death, it seemed like it was the perfect time for her to pass on to be with her loved ones.
Not wanting to wait, Cecil put his plans into motion so that they could proclaim that Elizabeth had a successor, thus making James VI of Scotland James I of England.
It was normal for the death of the Queen to be recorded, and it was in 1603 that the calendar was reformed by England. Sometime in 1750, the new year occurred on the 25th of march, which is also known as Lady Day in honor of Queen Elizabeth, therefore making it to where Elizabeth died on the last day of the year in 1602 according to the calendar that was used in her time.
Sometime during the night, the casket that contained Elizabeth’s body was moved to Whitehall to await for her funeral, which occurred on the 28th of April. From here her coffin was transferred on to Westminster Abbey by a hearse. The coffin that Elizabeth was to be buried in had a purple velvet cover over it while she was dressed in her robes, her crown atop her head, and her scepter in her hands. The canopy that covered her was held by six of her knights. The horses that pulled her hearse were dressed in black to symbolize what was passing through the town at that time, although no one could
miss the fact that it was the funeral procession for the late Queen. Following her casket, her palfrey was there being led by the Master of Horse. Then came the chief mourner being led by all the peeresses from the realm. Each of them was adorned in black. Following the peeresses were the men who held positions of power in the Elizabethan Kingdom while, finally, around 200 ordinary people followed. This did not include all those that came to the streets in an effort to pay their respects to their beloved Queen.
One of the chroniclers who attended her funeral wrote:
“Westminster was surcharged with multitudes of all sorts of people in their streets, houses, windows, leads and gutters, that came out to see the obsequy and when they beheld her statue lying upon the coffin, there was such a general sighing, groaning, and weeping as the like hath not been seen or known in the memory of man.”
Elizabeth was buried inside of the tomb that was presently only housing the coffin of her half-sister Mary.
On Elizabeth and Mary's grave, you can find the Latin words “Regno consortes & urna, hic obdormimus Elizabeth a et Maria sorores, in spe resurrectionis.” These words can be translated to “Consorts in realm and tomb, here we sleep, Elizabeth and Mary, sisters, in the hope of resurrection.”
Chapter 10: The Legacy of the Great Virgin Queen
Many subjects of the late Queen Elizabeth were sad to see her pass, but there were others still who were glad to see that she had died. The expectations that were held on King James were high at first, but as his reign went on, they began to decline. It was in the 1620s that the cult of Queen Elizabeth got back together wishing that their late, great Queen was still alive.
Elizabeth, while not liked by all, was considered to be a hero to the Protestant cause as well as the ruler over what was known as a golden age.
James, on the other hand, ended up being seen as a sympathizer for the Catholic faith while holding court with people who were corrupt.
The exaltation of her reign came towards the end of her life and was put up against the background of all that she had to face while she was reigning as Queen. What she did was taken at face value, and the reputation that she had left behind grew in the eyes of her subjects.
The bishop of Gloucester said, “When we had experienced of a Scottish government, the Queen did seem to revive. Then was her memory much magnified.”
The memory of Queen Elizabeth that many kept with them was the fact that the church, the crown, and parliament all worked
to balance each other out, bringing great prosperity to the nation.
The admirers that Elizabeth had in the Protestant church created such an image of her that it brought life back to the nation when the Napoleonic wars started bringing the country to war once more. It was through the Victorian era that the legend Elizabeth left behind was adapted to the ideology of that time.
Sometime during the 20th century, Elizabeth became a symbol of resistance for a nation facing threats from foreign countries. Her reign was also considered to be the golden age of progress that came from England.
A few historians have come to the conclusion that Queen Elizabeth always did right, and so the traits that she had that other people did not find pleasant were ignored or just explained away as signs of stress due to the position that she was in.
Historians of recent times have looked back on the life of Elizabeth and have not just looked at the surface of the great virgin Queen. Instead, they began to take a more complex look at her and her reign. One of the most famous things that happened while she was ruler was defeating the armada as well as several successful raids on the Spanish.
But, not everyone can see the good in others; some historians take the rule of Queen Elizabeth and look at the failures that she had in her military strategies on both land and sea.
Despite the fact that she was able to succeed in her efforts to win over Ireland, the way that her military went about it will
forever be a spot on her record as a military failure. Instead of being seen as the defender of the Protestant faith, she is better known for how careful she was when it came to the foreign policies that she had put into place. Little to no aid was offered to those in foreign countries even though they were of the same faith as her. Not only that, but she also did not send in the necessary troops or supplies to her commanders when they were off fighting to defend England.
There was an English church that Elizabeth established in order to assist in shaping the identity of her great nation, and it is still in place today. Some people tend to forget that even though she was a Protestant and stood to protect the Protestant faith, Elizabeth did not cut all ties with the Catholic Church when it came to the church that she created.
While Elizabeth was alive, some Protestants were strict when it came to the Acts of Settlement and Uniformity, which were put into place in 1559 as a compromise between the Catholics and the Protestants. Elizabeth on the other hand thought that faith was a personal choice and she did not want to force anyone to be a part of a religion that they could not stand behind. Therefore, if someone wanted to be part of the Catholic Church, they were allowed to without any fear of being punished for choosing that as their faith over Protestantism. This is the exact opposite of what the Catholic Church tried to do in England when they attempted to dethrone Elizabeth and put Mary Queen of Scots in her place.
What foreign policy Elizabeth did have was more on the defensive side as she wanted to protect her nation and its people, but in doing this, she was able to raise the status of England on distant shores.
It is recorded that Pope Sixtus V said, “She is only a woman, only mistress of half an island, and yet she makes herself feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all.”
It was under Elizabeth that England experienced a newfound self-confidence and sovereignty despite the fact that Christendom was falling apart around them.
Interestingly enough, Elizabeth was the very first Tudor to be recognized as a monarch and the only one that ruled with a particular popularity when it came to her people. She was always working with parliament, and her advisers, whom she trusted, would tell her the truth at all times. It was this style of government that should have continued on, but all who succeeded her failed to do so.
Some people consider Elizabeth to be lucky, saying that God protected her as she went about her life claiming to be nothing more than English. Her faith in God, her honesty, and the love that she held for her nation and her subjects were the reasons that she was able to make such a success of her rule where those who came before her failed.
In a prayer that Elizabeth said, she gave all her thanks to God stating, “[At a time] when wars and seditions with grievous persecutions have vexed almost all Kings and countries around me, my reign hath been peaceable, and my realm a receptacle to thy afflicted church. The love of my people hath appeared firm and the devices of my enemies frustrated.”
Chapter 11: Pastimes of the Queen
As mentioned earlier, the time that Elizabeth ruled was a time when England was most celebrated for its literature and the dramatic culture that came along with it. This also included new music and acts of chivalry.
It is believed that, just like any other person, Elizabeth enjoyed having a fun time with the other nobles in her Kingdom and they knew exactly how to have the time of their lives. With the money that the nation had, the nobility would spend their time throwing banquets with music, dancing, wine, and many delicious foods that were prepared just for them. It was during these times that games were also played, such as tennis, or they would go out for hunts. Believe it or not, the women also participated in these activities along with sitting and sewing, drawing, or embroidering.
The Queen was not above enjoying herself either when she did not have to deal with matters of the state. The court was full of entertainment more often than not, and it was all in dedication to the Queen. It was during times like this that public performances were put on in her honor. However, the Queen preferred activities that did not put her out in public.
Of the things that Elizabeth is said to have loved, her horses were one of them. There were times that Elizabeth would take several hours out of her day just so that she could ride her horses around the palace grounds. Because of how dangerous this activity was, her council often were terrified that she would end up harming herself or even killing herself from an accidental fall.
However, Elizabeth was not phased, and she continued to ride even over great distances and at high speeds up until she no longer could get on a horse to ride. When Elizabeth was around 60 years old, she was still able to ride up to 10 miles at a time. Elizabeth had to prove to one of her courtiers who did not believe that she was able to do it. Advising against it, this courtier tried to tell the Queen that she should take her carriage due to her age.
It was not too uncommon for Elizabeth to tire her ladies in waiting out when she had first taken over the throne. Due to how hard Elizabeth rode her horses, new ones had to be brought over from Ireland by her Master of Horse.
Elizabeth and her love, Robert Dudley, would go riding together. It is rumored that Dudley was the only person who was able to match the speeds the Queen enjoyed riding at or how long she enjoyed riding.
When the summer of 1560 came around, Robert and Elizabeth rode together every day, and this caused the ministers that were advising Elizabeth to complain and worry that she was neglecting the matters that were important to the state.
Horse riding was not the only thing that Elizabeth enjoyed. She enjoyed hunting as well. Using a horse, she was often found hunting stags and deer with her courtiers. Many thought that it was unladylike, especially for the Queen. Elizabeth took it one step further and would cut the throat of the animal that she had caught. It was in 1575 that an ambassador from France once said that on a hunt Elizabeth had killed up to six does herself, all with her crossbow.
Hunting was not just a sport to Elizabeth, it was an event, and
due to the time that the Queen and those that went with her would spend out in the woods, it was not too uncommon that they would have a picnic when they were in the forest on a hunt.
Using a crossbow was not the only hunting that Elizabeth did though. She also participated in hawking, yet another sport that she did from the back of her horse. When the Queen went hawking, she and the courtiers that were with her would watch for the hawk to circle around its prey until it would dive in for the kill. It was at this point in time that Elizabeth would race into the woods after the hawk so that she could recover it and the prey that it had taken down.
Back in Elizabeth’s time, there was no such thing as animal cruelty, so it was not too uncommon for them to participate in animals sports that were violent and would be considered cruel nowadays. These games included things such as cock fighting, dog fighting, and bear baiting.
One of the animal sports that Elizabeth enjoyed most was bear baiting, which was when a bear would be chained up and taunted by several dogs until it either died or until the dogs were killed.
Animals were not always used for sport though, they were also kept as pets, and those that were kept as pets were taken care of extremely well. On top of the horses that Elizabeth kept for riding and hunting, she also kept a dog that she adored and took with her wherever she went.
Queen Elizabeth did not just participate in sports though. She also watched them. It was not too uncommon to find her at a tennis match, especially if one of her favorite courtiers were
playing on the court. It is reported that during one of the times that she went to watch, she dressed up as one of the ladies that accompanied her and secretly watched Robert Dudley in a shooting competition. No one knew that the Queen had been in attendance until after the match had ended when she approached Dudley and told him who she was.
From the year of 1572 up until she died, there was a grand tilt tournament that was held each year as a way to celebrate Elizabeth’s accession to the throne.
Obviously, Elizabeth had a fondness for the outdoors and not all of what she did outdoors was related to sports. She also could be found walking around her gardens or sitting on the terrace that she had built in order to give herself some privacy from those who were constantly looking in on her to see what she was doing.
Chapter 12: Interesting Facts About Queen Elizabeth the First
While we have discussed a lot about Queen Elizabeth and her exciting life, there are still more details that you may not have known about the virgin Queen.