elizabeth

• GCSE History Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
• Paper 2, Section B
• Exam details: 1 hr 45 minutes for Paper 1, Spend 50 minutes on Section B, Questions: 8 mark "how far do you agree with this statement?", 8 mark "explain", 8 mark "write an account", 16 mark- Essay Q linked to a specific site/ historic environment (4 marks for SPaG)
• Tudor Dynasty

  1. In 1485, a civil war called the War of the Roses came to an end with the defeat of Richard III to Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth

  2. This war had raged for over 30 years and split England apart

  3. Henry Tudor was crowned King Henry VII and he married Richard's niece, Elizabeth of York to cement control of the country
• Henry's Great Matter

  1. Henry VII was followed by his son, Henry VIII

  2. He married Catherine of Aragon but in 20 years only produced a daughter, Mary

  3. Henry believed he was being punished by God AND had become obsessed with a lady at court called Anne Boleyn, who became his mistress

  4. He wanted a divorce, but years and years of diplomatic pressure and bullying failed and the Pope refused his request

  5. When Anne fell pregnant, Henry broke from Rome and made himself Head of the English Church

  6. It was vital that he married Anne before the birth of the child because so the child would be a legitimate heir to the throne

  7. Much to Henry's anger, another girl was born called Elizabeth on 7 September 1533 at the Palace of Greenwich

  8. An Act of Succession was passed which confirmed the new child as the heir to the throne, which also declared Mary (his eldest child) illegitimate
• Elizabeth's early life

  1. Exiled from court, Elizabeth rarely saw her father

  2. She was taught by governess Kat Ashley and later Roger Ascham. She was taught to use the modern italic style of handwriting, developed in Italy during the Renaissance

  3. By 14, Elizabeth could speak French, Italian, Spanish and Latin fluently and was able to read Greek

  4. She was not just intellectual, but athletic- being an accomplished horsewoman and dancer

  5. HVIII 6th wife, Protestant reformer, Catherin Parr, influenced
• Elizabeth's Protestant religion

  A Third Act of Succession restored Elizabeth as an heir to the throne, but stated she could only succeed after her brother Edward and Mary
• Elizabeth's early life continued

  1. Jan 1547 - HVIII dies and is succeeded by 9yr old son Edward

  2. 1549 - Thomas Seymour, now married to Catherine Parr, began a flirtation with Elizabeth. Seymour was accused of treason and executed. Elizabeth was question on the ground that Seymour was plotting to overthrow Edward and marry Seymour. Elizabeth escaped, but learned not to trust anyone

  3. Summer 1553 - Edward VI dies and following the failure of Lady Jane Grey, Mary is proclaimed Queen

  4. 1554 - Mary's marriage to Phillip of Spain provokes the Wyatt rebellion. Elizabeth was suspected of working with the rebels and was imprisoned in the Tower of London for 2 months and then released and placed on house arrest

  5. Nov 1558 - Mary dies

  6. Jan 1559 - Elizabeth's coronation ceremony
• The Royal Court


  • Run by the Lord Chamberlain, the Court was located wherever the Queen was
  • It consisted of the Queen's household, made up of 500 nobles, advisors, officials, and servants and they were called courtiers
  • Access to the queen was crucial to an politician
  • Court=centre of political power
• Progresses

  1. Elizabeth would travel with her Court on tours called progresses, visiting the homes of nobility

  2. Her journey covered the South East, Midlands and East Anglia

  3. It allowed Elizabeth to be seen by her subjects regularly, to build relations with her people and to flatter the nobles she stayed with

  4. Progresses allowed Elizabeth to live in luxury at the expense of her subjects, as the nobility worker hard to impress her

  5. The journeys also removed the Court from the capital at times when plague was rife allowing the Royal palaces to be fumigated
• Performance

  • The Court had a number of function: social hub; entertainment; and the political centre
  • Subtle propaganda, glorifying the Queen's image
• Patronage

  • Patronage involved the favouritism of individuals, by giving men important jobs
  • It caused intense competition and rivalries between people
  • This made everyone loyal to Elizabeth
  • It also ensured Elizabeth remained at the heart of whole political system
• Privy Council


  • The PC co-ordinated the financial departments
  • Members were generally from the nobility, gentry and the church
  • Elizabeth could choose and dismiss members of her PC
  • PC met more often during Elizabeth's reign
  • They would advise and direct policy to her, but she was not obliged to take their advice
  • PC could issue proclamations and command arrest and imprisonment
• Elizabeth's Privy Council

  1. After Elizabeth became Queen, Mary's Catholic Council could act as a barrier to re-establishing Protestantism.

  2. Elizabeth's first Privy Council had 19 members (far more manageable and efficient than Mary's 40-member Council).

  3. Half were drawn from Mary's Council to maintain experience and avoid alienating important individuals.

  4. The other half were brand new, allowing Elizabeth to reward loyal followers and to promote men of ability. She was careful not to appoint any strong Catholics.

  5. Over time the nobility were gradually moved out and by the second half of her reign the PC was a small, highly efficient group of educated, professional, full-time politicians, largely from the gentry.
• William Cecil/ Lord Burghley


  • The most important appointment Elizabeth made was one of her first – William Cecil.
  • Elizabeth came to rely heavily on him. Their successful working relationship lasted until his death 40 years later. He was in continual contact with the Queen.
  • All her correspondence passed through him.
  • Cecil was loyal, but also knew how to manage the Queen. He threatened to resign to make her co-operate and carefully used Parliament to manipulate the Queen into taking the position he wanted.
  • Elizabeth respected him for speaking his mind, but knew that he would carry out her wishes even if he personally disagreed. He also helped the Queen to manage the political patronage system and had his own patronage secretary – Sir Michael Hickes – who was responsible for dealing with the requests people made for various positions.
  • Cecil had a difficult relationship with another key member of the Privy Council – the more radical and PURITAN Robert Dudley, a favourite of Elizabeth.
• Divide and Rule


  • Elizabeth knew how to control the PC- often showing affection and rewarding them
  • Elizabeth deliberately appointed men who were hostile towards each other- by forcing rival factions to work together, led to men competing each other for her affection- divide and rule
  • They would give contrasting advice, which would then allow her to make a measured decision
• The Role of Parliament

  • The monarch decided when Parliament was called and for how long. The Monarch needed Parliament's permission for any new laws or taxes and in return the Monarch would listen to Parliament's concerns.
  • Elizabeth considered Parliament as an inconvenient necessity.
  • Elizabeth's very first Parliament in 1559 created a new Protestant church by restoring royal supremacy over the Church of England. Since her father, Henry VIII had secured the Break from Rome with Parliament's help and laws which they had passed; Parliament's importance had increased significantly.
  • The myth was that it was a political partnership between the monarch and Parliament but in fact it was not Parliament's role to govern but simply to turn Elizabeth's policies into laws.
  • Elizabeth 's financial issues meant that she had to rely on subsidies (taxes) from the MPs – she asked for these in all but 2 of the 13 times she called Parliament together in her reign.
• Changes within Parliament

  1. MPs became more confident in arguing against the Queen= better educated (over ½ had a university education)

  2. MPs made complaints about Elizabeth's marital status, trading monopolies and religious grievances – Elizabeth losing control?

  3. Elizabeth did limit Parliament's influence- attending Parliament in person, using speeches to charm and bully, she had the right to appoint the speaker who was able to control what topics were discussed and the Queen could block measures proposed by MPs through using the royal veto.

  4. She also imprisoned MPs such as Peter Wentworth in 1576 for arguing for freedom of speech

  5. Members of the PC sat in both the Houses of Commons and Lords

  6. Many MPs owed their seats to the patronage of the Queen or her councillors
• Years of Decline

  1. By the 1590s, Elizabeth's government was in crisis – damaged by war, plague, increased poverty and repeated harvest failures

  2. The patronage system which had served Elizabeth so well began to fall apart as one by one, her trusted advisors died: Dudley (1588), Walsingham (1590) and Hatton (1591)

  3. Finally William Cecil died in 1598 and afterwards Elizabeth became increasingly angry, depressed, bad tempered and lost popularity – she was seen as in the way of progression by a new wave of younger courtiers – 1601 Essex rebellion showed this!
• Essex's Rebellion, 1601


  1. Causes: A new generation of ambitious politicians emerged which caused unrest in Court and Council led by Cecil's son, Robert Cecil and Dudley's step-son, the Earl of Essex

  2. Cecil took on an increasingly heavy workload as his father aged, this angered Essex

  3. Essex's action had often angered the Queen, for example when he married without her permission and when she refused to promote one of his supporters and he lost his temper shouting, 'her conditions are as crooked as her carcass', Elizabeth then punched him and he was banished from Court

  4. He was given another chance to redeem himself when he was told defeat the rebellion in Ireland

  5. Essex ended up making peace against Elizabeth's orders

  6. When Essex returned to Court he had learned that Cecil had been promoted and so he burst into Elizabeth's chambers before she was wigged or gowned

  7. This was disrespectful and he was placed on house arrest and lost all his jobs

  8. Events: Essex gathered 300 supporters

  9. He began to fortify his mansion

  10. Rumours of treason and rebellion began to spread

  11. 4 PC went to his house to question him and he held them as hostages and proceeded to march to the centre of London in an effort to capture the Queen

  12. Consequences: The Government responded quickly

  13. Londoners were unimpressed and most of his supporters deserted him when they were offered a pardon

  14. Essex found his route blocked as he returned home and he surrendered

  15. The rebellion lasted only 12 hours

  16. Accused of being a traitor Essex was executed in the Tower of London in 1601

  17. However, it showed how a royal favourite fell from grace and signalled Elizabeth's fading powers
• The marriage question

  1. Elizabeth was 25 when she became Queen and this was old by Tudor standards to be unmarried

  2. She had not married because of her awkward position during her fathers' and siblings' reign

  3. She was the last of HVIII children, so without an heir, the Tudor dynasty would die too

  4. The marriage of Elizabeth became an issue for her PC and Parliament and E lost her temper with Parliament in 1566 that after this they were not allowed to discuss her marriage ever again
• Foreign suitors

  • Prince Eric of Sweden
  • King Phillip of Spain
  • Charles of Austria
• English suitors

  • Earl of Arundel
  • Sir William Pickering
  • Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester
• The last suitor

  1. Duke of Alencon, a younger brother of the King of France

  2. PC were divided on this proposal
• Foreign suitors for Elizabeth I

  • Prince Eric of Sweden
  • King Phillip of Spain
  • Charles of Austria
• Elizabeth I turned down proposals from Prince Eric of Sweden and King Phillip of Spain, as she had married her sister and been unpopular in England
• Negotiations with Charles of Austria failed when he seemed unwilling to move to England in 1567
• English suitors for Elizabeth I

  • Earl of Arundel
  • Sir William Pickering
  • Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester
• Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, was close friends with Elizabeth I and she genuinely loved him
• Dudley wanted to marry Elizabeth I but was already married
• Dudley's wife, Amy, mysteriously died with her body found at the bottom of the stairs
• An inquest was held and Amy's death was ruled as accidental, but there were rumours it was either by Dudley's or Elizabeth's orders, meaning a marriage between them would be scandalous
• Dudley waited for years but eventually married Elizabeth's cousin in 1578, much to the Queen's fury
• The last suitor for Elizabeth I

  • Duke of Alencon, a younger brother of the King of France
• The Privy Council were divided on the match between Elizabeth I and the Duke of Alencon, with Cecil in favour and Walsingham and Dudley against
• Negotiations failed when Protestants were killed in France in 1572
• Historians have debated whether Elizabeth I truly wanted to marry any of her suitors, as it may have been a diplomatic game or historical accident
• By this point, the cult was that Elizabeth I, the 'Virgin Queen', was married to England
• Possible heirs to Elizabeth I

  • Suffolk Claim
  • Stuart Claim
• Descendants of Henry VIII's youngest sister, Mary, the Duchess of Suffolk


  • Lady Jane Grey (already executed)
  • Lady Catherine
  • Lady Mary