What was Elizabeth's concept of sovereignty and monarchy?
She was queen at 25 years old
Well educated and Protestant
Had been put into the Tower of London by her sister Mary I when she was implicated in a plot against Mary by Thomas Wyatt
Elizabeth learnt to be careful and calculating watching the actions of her father and her brother and sister
Elizabeth believed in the divine right of kings and used this to her advantage
She called and dissolved parliament , made decisions about wether to go to war or not, dismissed and appointed ministers, decided wether to get married and named her successor
There was no full time army to keep peace and law and order
Elizabeth had to rely on the system of patronage
She was more feared and obeyed than even her father had ever been
One of the most popular monarchs in British history
Elizabeth held carefully planned parades on dates such as Accession day
Her coronation was a sign of things to come with grand parades and parents
In almost every year of her reign, she went on progresses - travelling to spend summer in her richest nobles houses
She would travel a route that would allow large numbers of people to see her and she would find out about what she was going so that she could talk knowledgeably abut the area she was in. She would also give out aims
She never went north of Stafford or Bristol but each progress was given maximum publicity. She wanted to be mother, sister, daughter and godmother of her people
Images of Elizabeth were also important and tended to be more symbolic rather than true representations
From 1575 all portraits were based o the template for the Darnley portrait and after 1594 only pictures that made the Queen look youthful were allowed