Elizabeth's court and parliament Part 1

Part 1

Who was Elizabeth’s mother and what happened to her?

Mother- Anne Boleyn- executed by her father King Henry VIII

Why was Elizabeth herself close to being executed for treason?

She was accused of being involved in plots against her brother Edwards and sister Mary

What was Elizabeth’s character?

Self-reliant, determined, cautious, and very educated

Why did people question her legitimacy (her right to rule)?

She was a woman- they thought ruling a country should be a man’s role

How long did Elizabeth rule for?

45 years (coronated at 25)

1558-1603

How many people are in the Royal Court?

4000

How many courtiers did Elizabeth have and what did they do?

4000

They lived with her and competed for power and influence because the monarch was powerful

What is it called when Elizabeth gave courtiers duties to encourage loyalty?

Patronage

How did Elizabeth prevent a courtier from becoming too powerful?

Used divide and rule, gave courtiers equally powerful jobs which created competition but also loyalty

Who were the Privy Council?

A group of trusted ministers who helped Elizabeth govern England

How many were in the Privy Council and why?

19 members

Elizabeth thought having less people would be more efficient

Why was creating the council a good compromise?

* It showed Elizabeth’s skill as a politician
* Had people from Mary’s men as well as her own loyal advisors

Who was William Cecil (Lord Burghley)?

**Chief Minister**

* Moderate and cautious
* Intelligent and Hard-working
* Most powerful minister- correspondence passed through him

Who was Robert Dudley(Earl of Leicester)?

**Elizabeth’s favourite**

* Master of the horse- responsible for Queen’s safety
* Committed Puritan
* Often disagreed with Cecil about religion and foreign affairs
* Ambitious and radical

Who was Sir Francis Walsingham?

**Elizabeth’s spymaster**

* Keen puritan
* Secretary of State in foreign affairs
* In charge of Elizabeth’s Secret service
* Often clashed with Cecil

What is a Royal Progress?

When the Queen and her Court (2000 people) went to stay with powerful nobles

Why did rich nobles like it even though it was very expensive to entertain the Queen and her Court?

They had access to the Queen

How was progress also a propaganda opportunity?

Allowed her to impress her leading nobles with her power and in exchange received banquets and masques to impress her

What was another way to show your loyalty to the Queen?

Have a portrait of her

Her image was strictly controlled, only approved portraits can be used

What powers did Elizabeth have over Parliament?

She had the power to call, dissolve and prorogue (postpone)

Why did Elizabeth see Parliament as a “necessary evil”?

Necessary - she had to get its permission to raise money

Evil- Thought some MPs were troublesome

What was Parliament’s role?

* Pass laws
* Approve subsidies (grants of money to the Queen)

How many times did Parliament meet during Elizabeth’s 45 year reign?

13

What did the MPs try to do overtime?

Influence her decisions

How did Elizabeth control MPs during her reign?

* Reminded them of her royal prerogative- she gets the final say on marriage, religion etc
* Sent Wentworth to prison when he said MPs should be allowed to talk freely in the House of Commons about religion
* in 1601, granted concessions to MPs on the issue of monopolies(the right to sell a product) this made them raise taxes or give her funding of activities in Ireland

Who were Elizabeth’s potential suitors?

* Robert Dudley
* King Phillip of Spain
* Francis Duke of Anjou

Why was Robert Dudley a good potential successor but why didn’t it happen?

* Close friends since childhood
* His wife died in 1560 and he wanted to marry Elizabeth

\

It would have been scandalous as his wife died in suspicious circumstances

Problems with authority in England

Why was King Phillip of Spain a good potential successor but why didn’t it happen?

* Phillip had been married to Elizabeth’s sister, Mary
* Spain was the most powerful country at the time

\

Elizabeth rejected him as he was Catholic and she had different religious beliefs

Problems with authority in England

Why was Francis Duke of Anjou a good potential successor but why didn’t it happen?

* Younger brother to the king of France


* Could create good relations with Catholic France

\
After the massacre of French Protestants in 1572, strong anti-French feelings in England

Problems with authority in England

How did Elizabeth use her single status of her never marrying to her advantage?

Propaganda portrayed her as a Virgin Queen who was married to her people and country

Why was the 1590s a difficult decade for Elizabeth?

* Bad harvests which lead to food shortages
* England fighting an expensive war with Spain
* Her closest advisors died, Dudley(1588), Walsingham(1590) and Cecil(1598)
* No successors to the Throne which made England fear a civil war

Who were the most powerful people after Elizabeth when her closest advisors died?

* Robert Devereux-Earl of Essex (Dudley’s Step-son)
* Robert Cecil (Cecil’s son)

What happened to the Earl of Essex in 1601?

1. Elizabeth sent him to Ireland to defeat a rebellion but he made a truce instead- 1599
2. Elizabeth was furious with him and banned him from Court and removed his monopoly on sweet wine and put him under arrest
3. He rebelled and marched to London with 300 other disgruntled courtiers and wanted to take Elizabeth, prisoner
4. However, his route was blocked and then he was arrested and executed for treason later in February 1601- rebellion only lasted 12 hours

What did the failure of the Essex rebellion show?

Despite Elizabeth’s problems she still had loyalty and power

What disease and when did Elizabeth almost die from which made England fear a civil war due to no successors?

1562

Small pox