1.1.5

Elizabeth I

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Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I's styled herself as a Protestant Queen, married to her country. Her motto 'semper eadem' (meaning 'always the same') reflects her aim to make England stable.

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Elizabeth I's personality

  • Similar to her father, Elizabeth I is said to have had a short temper.
  • Elizabeth received a thorough education. She particularly loved music and would become a patron of musicians when Queen.
  • Elizabeth studied theology and was a moderate Protestant.
Illustrative background for Elizabeth I's cautious ruleIllustrative background for Elizabeth I's cautious rule ?? "content

Elizabeth I's cautious rule

  • MacCaffrey (1993): "[Elizabeth] had developed a strategy of caution, of immobility, of playing as few cards as possible, waiting and hoping on events."
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Taking advantage of her gender

  • Ferriby, Anderson and Imperato (2017) "…hard edged… impatient with people who failed her…deliberately created a masculine personality to command…but the fact that she was a woman to charm [her courtiers]."
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Elizabeth I's approach to government

  • Elizabeth’s relations with parliament could be stormy. She made it quite clear where their boundaries were and that they should not overstep them.
  • Elizabeth used the Royal Prerogative to prevent discussion of issues such as the succession, her marriage and Mary, Queen of Scots.
  • Naunton in the 1630s: "She ruled much by faction and parties, which she herself both made, upheld and weakened, as her own great judgement advised."

Jump to other topics

1Monarch & Government

2Religious Changes

3State Control & Popular Resistance

4Economic, Social & Cultural Change

5Historical Interpretations

5.1Significance of Threats to National Security

5.2Court Politics

5.3Elizabeth & Parliament

5.4Social Distress in the 1590s

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