Elizabeth I & Succession
English Lit: OCR A Level - Hamlet, topic 6.1.1
The Reign of Elizabeth I and the Issue of Succession
As Shakespeare wrote Hamlet sometime in the years 1599 and 1600, the reign of Queen Elizabeth I was coming to an end (she would die in 1603).
Elizbeth I: unmarried/childless
- Elizabeth was unmarried and childless, so there was no clear successor as King or Queen.
- This uncertainty over succession added to the atmosphere of political tension prevalent in England when Shakespeare was writing Hamlet.
Henry VIII's reign
- The issue of succession had caused political and social turmoil in England throughout the 16th century.
- Henry VIII had broken with the Roman Catholic Church to marry Ann Boleyn so that she could lawfully produce a male heir to the throne.
- Although Henry was unsuccessful in his quest for a male heir, England had become a Protestant country and now faced hostility from powerful Catholic nations such as Spain.
Persecution under Mary I
- The five-year reign of Queen Mary I (1553-8) was a time of religious persecution, with Mary (nicknamed ‘Bloody Mary’ by her Protestant enemies) burning 280 religious dissenters opposed to her plan to return England to Catholicism.
Succession after Elizabeth
- The accession of Queen Elizabeth I to the throne after Mary’s death eventually stabilised the country but, as her reign began to draw to an end, many feared future upheaval caused by a disputed succession.
Test yourself on Elizabeth I & Succession
Who was the ruling monarch when Shakespeare wrote Hamlet?
Why did Henry VIII break from the Catholic Church?