Elizabeth

• Royal Progresses

  • Elizabeth would tour the countryside staying in the houses of her nobles
  • This happened during the summer months for 10 weeks and the whole court went on tour
  • Elizabeth never went as far as northern England, south west or Wales
  • Wherever the Queen went, people would flock to see her, and Elizabeth would often stop to talk with them
  • When they were told of an impending visit, the residents would clean up their streets, mend roads, fix bridges, and decorate their houses
• Elizabeth's coronation

  • A colourful and splendid show of power
  • The ritual itself was a clever compromise between the Catholic practices that existed and the Protestant ones that the Queen intended to introduce
  • Elizabeth was crowned in Latin by a Catholic bishop, but parts of the service that followed were read twice, in Latin and English
  • The Queen emerged from the ceremony to greet her adoring people wearing a big smile, her crown and carrying the orb and sceptre of her new office
  • When she came out of the abbey she was greeted by musical instruments and cheers from huge crowds
• Royal portraits

  • Queen Elizabeth I became a public icon
  • Her likeness appeared on a large number of objects - from the coins in purses to large-scale painted portraits
  • She also wore grand clothes and lots of jewellery in her portraits to look powerful
  • As she grew older the images became less and less accurate in showing what the queen actually looked like
  • After catching smallpox in 1562 the queen's face was left badly scarred which prompted her to pain her face with white powder
  • By 1590s her hair started to thin resulting in wearing a wig and her teeth turned black
• Elizabeth's character

  • She received a good education and was very intelligent especially for her time and gender
  • She learned to speak Latin, French, German, Hebrew, Greek, English, and Spanish
  • She also studied a variety of subjects that proved useful during her reign such as arithmetic (maths), philosophy, theology (religion), and rhetoric (persuasive speaking)
  • She was well read, particularly in the arts and literature
  • She loved dancing, riding and music and was keen on archery and needlework
  • Her quick temper was a characteristic she inherited from her father (Henry VIII)
  • Her unwillingness to spend money copied by her Grandfather (Henry VII)
  • Inheriting a nation in debt, Elizabeth had little choice but to control the spending wisely
• Patronage

  Getting people to do what you want by offering rewards
• Elizabeth avoided the mistakes her father made by leasing land rather than given it away so that she stayed in control of all of the land where possible
• Elizabeth was reluctant to be too liberal with her use of patronage so therefore she only created 18 purchases (land being given away) during her reign and there are fewer members of nobility at the end of her reign compared with the start of her reign
• Factions

  A small group within the Royal Court who broke away and disagreed with what the other courtiers wanted
• A main rivalry during Elizabeth's reign was between William Cecil and Robert Dudley, two of her key advisors
• The Privy Council

  A body of advisors and ministers that helped Elizabeth run the country
• Elizabeth significantly reducing number of courtiers and Mary had 50 members where the Elizabeth only had a smaller group of 19 men who would serve for longer periods on his council
• Over one half of Privy Councilors had been members of the Privy Council of Mary I
• The Council met 2-3 times a week at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign but more frequently when needed
• Elizabeth could choose not to listen and made all the final decisions
• Roles of the Privy Council

  • Offering advice to the monarch including foreign policy and marriage
  • Watch over day to day government
  • Consider petitions from individuals (normally nobility)
• Key Privy Councillors

  • Sir William Cecil, Protestant, close advisor to Elizabeth even before she was queen, Secretary of State in 1558 and Lord Treasurer in 1572
  • Earl Robert Dudley, Puritan, Lord High Admiral, rumours of an affair with Elizabeth, didn't get on with Cecil
  • Sir Christopher Hatton, Protestant, Vice Chamberlain, organised the royal progresses
  • Sir Francis Walsingham, Puritan, Secretary of State in 1573, in charge of Elizabeth's secret service and organised a spy network all over Europe
• Lord Lieutenant

  • Replaced the job of the Sheriff, highest position available, royal appointments, in charge of the local militia, supervised the work of justices of the peace (JPs), reported upon local events to the Privy Council
• Justices of the Peace (JPs)

  • 30-60 per county, unpaid usually wealthy country gentlemen, dealing with minor crimes in court, looking after the poor (poor law relief) fixing prices and wages, maintained the highways
• Parish Constables

  • Appointed by the JP for a year, unpaid, local tradesmen or farmers, expected to perform all of the main duties associated with local policing
• Night Watchmen


  • Patrolled the streets of the largest towns on a nightly basis, not paid, all men in a town were expected to volunteer for this duty
• Overseer of the poor

  • Administered poor relief such as money, food, and clothing as part of the Poor Law system, often reluctant appointees who were unpaid, working under the supervision of a justice of the peace
• Parliament

  • Elizabeth's parliament was much less powerful than it is today, only met when Elizabeth told them to, House of Lords and House of Commons, Elizabeth restricted freedom of speech, Elizabeth often needed to call parliament to raise money
• Rational agents will select the choice which presents the highest benefits
• Groups assumed to act rationally

  • Consumers
  • Producers
  • Workers
  • Governments
• Elizabeth often needed to call parliament to raise money as she had quite a lot of economic problems during her reign. She inherited a debt of £227,000 from her sister Mary. This is the equivalent to millions today. This is called the 'Marian Debt'. She managed to pay it off by raising taxes and making cuts and savings in the royal court.
• Elizabeth also raised taxes for Poor Relief and to maintain roads and bridges
• Social classes in Elizabethan England


  • Nobles and Lords - earn up to £6000 per year
  • Gentry - earn up to £200 per year
  • Wealthy merchants (successful business owners) and professionals (doctors, teachers, lawyers)
  • Yeomen (owned property) and tenant farmers (rented large areas of land)
  • Cottagers (gardens to farm and small industries such as spinning) and skilled artisans (craftsmen)
  • Landless unskilled labourers, the poor and unemployed. (20-30% of the population)
• Homes of the rich


  • Known as the 'great rebuilding' as a large number of nobles had their homes rebuilt
  • Fitted with the latest furniture and fashions, including huge paintings and tapestries that covered the walls
  • Designed to show a clear divide between owner and servant, being styled around the letters E or H
  • Landscaped gardens were also developed for pleasure purposes
• Clothing of the rich

  • Rich men wore a doublet (shirt) with a stiffened neck, stockings and leather shoes
  • Rich women wore a farthingale (petticoat), ruffs and lots of jewellery
  • Their clothes had fine thread made of silver and gold
• Education of the rich

  • Rich boys were taught languages such as Latin and Greek at home by tutors, as well as etiquette on how to behave in social situations
  • They also learnt hunting, hawking and dancing
  • Girls were taught practical skills such as how to run a large household of staff
• Homes of the gentry (middle class)

  • They could rent out large parts of their estates to farmers to make extra money
  • They copied the taste and fashion of the rich to modernise
  • They added upper floors to their home, fire places were built and dining halls
• Clothing of the gentry (middle class)

  • They liked the upper class fashion but couldn't afford the silver and gold threads and the expensive jewellery
• Education of the gentry (middle class)

  • Grammar schools increased during Elizabeth's reign to virtually one in every large town
  • They were designed to teach boys how to be the perfect gentleman
  • Main learning was on Greek and Latin
• Homes of the poor

  • Just one room which was shared with their animals
  • Had a thatched roof
  • If a poor man had a little money, he could add separate rooms, chimneys and glass windows
• Clothing of the poor

  • Poor men wore woollen stockings and a felt cap and leather shoes
  • Women wore a petticoat, a net on their hair and leather shoes
• Education of the poor

  • They received little or no education as their families could not afford to send them to school
• Daily life of the poor

  • They would work long hours with some breaks where they could have cheese, bread and ale
  • They would have vegetable strew in the evening because they couldn't afford meat
  • Many children died before the age of 5 because of a poor diet and disease
• Causes of poverty

  • Rising population
  • Inflation
  • Bad harvests
  • Rack rent
  • Rural depopulation
  • Changing in farming methods and enclosures
  • Costly wars and unemployed soldiers
• Deserving poor

  Those who physically couldn't work
• Able-bodied poor

  Those who could work but chose not to