Bridget A.

Laas

Ms. Filman

English 10

18 May 2017

ELIZABETH I: POWER, POLICY, PEOPLE

And, in the end, this shall be for me sufficient, that a marble stone shall declare that a

Queen, having reigned such a time, lived and died a virgin" (Tudor, 1559 Parliament Speech).

Throughout nearly the entirety of her 44 year reign, the Virgin Queen was under constant

pressure from all sides to marry, and marry soon. Dozens of courtiers constantly vied for her

hand, yet she never took a husband. Notorious for playing one suitor off the other, Elizabeth

never answered decisively yes or no, always leaving the playing field open and her suitors

hopeful.

Throughout her youth, Elizabeth watched her family members, first her mother and

father, then her sister and cousin, and learned from their matrimonial mistakes. She used this

knowledge to her advantage when the time came for her to chose a husband.

Whether or not Elizabeth truly intended to marry any of her many suitors remains a hotly

contested topic to this day; yet, regardless of her intentions, as a consequence of remaining

single, Elizabeth was able to put her people first and thus retain her sovereignty, maximize her

foreign policy options and unify the populace.

1. SOVEREIGNTY

A. HENRY VIII

From her father, King Henry VIII, Elizabeth learned the consequences of a male

dominated society. When she was only three, King Henry VIII beheaded her mother, Queen

Anne Boleyn, on invented charges of adultery, simply because he was tired of her (Doran). She,
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like his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, had failed to produce a male heir, instead landing him

with yet another daughter, Elizabeth. In Henry VIIIs eyes, and in the eyes of most men of the

time, wives were dispensable tools for producing male heirs to continue the family line. If one

failed to provide an heir, she could be replaced. The system was patriarchal, meaning that men

were considered to be the leaders and women their inferiors (Sharnette). The man held all the

power and the woman was at the mercy of his every whim. While a woman had little to no

recourse against a tyrannical husband, the man with enough money and influence, like Henry

VIII, could escape the marriage. Henry's first five wives learned this lesson the hard way, but the

quiet, thoughtful, intellectual Elizabeth watched from a safe distance and learned never to trust a

man and to keep as much power as possible in her own hands.

B. POWER

As a female ruler, Elizabeth faced a unique dilemma when asserting her authority as a

sovereign. She needed the power of being a single ruler and the security of an heir to the throne.

Logically, she could not have both, so the question was: which was more important? Power or

security?

Marriage in the 1500s, unless one was Henry VIII, was a permanent matter. It had the

power to ally countries, unify rival factions, bring peace to the realm and cement the line of

succession; but it also had the power to start wars, ignite rebellions, and stir political unrest

within the nobility. The decision of who to marry was a delicate balance of pros and cons, which

if upset, could send a country into chaos.

When Elizabeth took the throne in 1558 at the age of 25, she had not yet taken a husband,

which was unusual in a time when courting began as early as ten or 12. It is speculated that she

had a strong psychological aversion to marriage, originating from her childhood experiences,
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which caused her to shun matrimony (Ridley 206). Whether or not this was the case, once

crowned Queen, Elizabeth would have married if she felt the benefits outweighed the costs. In an

address to Parliament in 1559 Elizabeth stated, with regards to her marriage, that she would ...

never in that matter conclude anything that [should] be prejudicial to the realm, for the weal,

good and safety whereof... (Tudor). That is to say, Elizabeth would refuse to marry if it

negatively affected the realm. She was dedicated to her country, and would always put her

people first.

However, in order to put her people first, she needed the power and authority to decide

what was best for them. By marrying, she would forfeit some of her power to her husband thus

compromising her authority. When Elizabeth ascended to the throne there was some uncertainty

about the extent to which [she] would exercise her power (Doran). Many noblemen expected

her to leave most of the governing up to the members of her Privy Council, Parliament and her

husband, when she inevitably married. In ...1558 no one could imagine that the Queen would

remain unmarried and childless all her life, that simply was not done. It was assumed that she

would marry, provide an heir to the throne and be governed by her husband (Jones).

Because most people did not expect her to play an active role in deciding the fate of her

country, when Elizabeth took the throne she had to make it absolutely clear that she intended to

rule in deed as well as in name (Doran). One of the ways she accomplished this was by not

immediately taking a husband. Had she taken a husband, it is likely that he would have

demanded a say in governing; so, instead of marrying and handing the job of governing to her

husband, she asserted her sovereignty and formed her own government (Sharnette). She formed

her own hand-picked trusted body of advisors and made sure she was named the head of the
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Church of England. She was deeply involved in nearly all of the important governing decisions

including the question of her marriage (Sharnette).

She refused to be bullied into marriage as some of her fathers wives had been

(Sharnette). If she were to marry it would be for the country not for her (Tudor, Speech to

Parliament 1559). She considered every suitor to see how he would benefit the country. One of

the many aspects she considered was how the marriage would affect her sovereignty. She and her

advisors agreed that, it was usually in her best interests to marry someone of suitable rank and

status, [who] was not a major European power (Sharnette). A King or a Prince would expect

more of a say in government than, say, a nobleman and therefore be less of a threat to hr power.

Marrying a nobleman, however, was no perfect solution. Marrying one nobleman over another

would create dissent within the nobility and provide the country with no foreign economic or

political benefit. In fact, the only thing that could be gained from such a union would be the

continuation of the Tudor line (Sharnette).

When considering the pros and cons of marrying with respect to power in government,

remaining single is the wiser option. Marriage could compromise her power and fuel unrest,

while providing her with little besides an heir. Nonetheless, Elizabeths marriage was considered

a certainty up until the last ten to fifteen years of her reign (Doran).

2. FOREIGN POLICY

A. MARY TUDOR

Through her five year reign of terror and disaster, Elizabeths half-sister Mary taught her

one of the most important lessons a for a female ruler, how not to conduct foreign policy. Mary I

of England, accurately nicknamed Bloody Mary, was the daughter of Henrys first wife,

Catherine of Aragon, and, like her mother, a devout Catholic. She seized the throne in 1553, after
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the death of her feeble, sickly brother, Edward VI, intent on cleansing England of its

Protestantism and returning it to its rightful Roman Catholic faith (Mary I).

Soon after her coronation, Mary made her first of many mistakes; she took the advice of

her cousin, Charles V of Spain and married his sole heir Philip without critical review of the

political costs at home (Guy 227). This lack of foresight and consideration doomed both her

domestic and foreign affairs.

Philip was highly unpopular in England, for two reasons: he was Catholic and King of

Spain. From the discovery of the new world in 1492 to the defeat of the Spanish Armada in

1588, Spain was the European superpower and they coveted England. To many, King Philips

union with the English Queen signified a Spanish conquest of England.

Mary and her new husband further alienated the people by imposing a Spanish

Inquisition-esque order of strict religious conformity. She revived the laws against heresy and

burned hundreds of Protestants at the stake (Mary I). She ruled through fear and violence,

which did not exactly inspire love and devotion from her subjects.

Understandably, Marys five year reign was marked with rebellion and unrest. Elizabeth,

a known Protestant, was the face of most rebellions whether she was involved or not. After Sir

Thomas Wyatts rebellion in 1554, Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower of London for

conspiracy although no evidence was ever found to support the claims of her treason (Mary I).

Besides religion, there was only one other thing Mary truly cared about: producing an

heir. She was under constant pressure from her husband and advisors to produce an heir for

Spain and an heir for England so that the Protestant Elizabeth could not take the throne and

reverse her reforms (Mary Tudor). When Mary failed to produce an heir Philip became

disinterested in his wife; and Mary, who by many accounts was very attached to her husband,
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became more and more determined to have a child. At one point Mary became so obsessed with

having a child that she actually convinced herself and most of the country that she was pregnant.

She began to gain weight and exhibit signs of pregnancy, only to be devastated when she failed

to produce a child. This was later called her phantom pregnancy (Mason).

But most importantly, by marrying Philip, Marys power was compromised. She had

committed herself to not just one person, but to an entire country, for life. She had forever tied

England to Spains whims and woes and England received little benefit from the union. Philip

did not care about England and used it and Mary as tools to further Spains interests. He spent

little time in England and provided no part of his vast New World trade network to the British

crown (Mary Tudor). It is speculated that her desperation to regain his affections played a large

role in her ready willingness to help France in its war against Spain. Whatever the reason, Mary

allowed Philip to drag England into a war it could not afford at the expense of essential British

trade relations with France (Mary I Queen of England). In the ensuing battles, England lost men,

money, and their last French possession, Calais, a humiliating blow to Marys and Englands

reputations. Upon her death on 17 November 1558, she was not missed and Elizabeths

ascendance to the throne was marked with a sense of jubilation and hope for a brighter future.

From Mary I, Elizabeth learned the power of marriage as the ace in the foreign policy

card game. Once you play your card you cannot take it back. Its a commitment that cannot be

undone. Philip played his card right and Mary lost horribly. Mary only focused on her need to

produce a Catholic heir and failed to see the bigger picture, while Philip played on her instability

and weakness. A more thoughtful, intelligent and experienced politician would have paid

attention to the anti-papal and anti-spanish xenophobia and the political ramifications of a
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permanent alliance with Spain (Guy 227). Elizabeth would never take a potential marriage

decision lightly; she always weighed which option would most benefit her country.

B. POLICY

Elizabeths ultimate foreign policy weapon was the prospect of marriage; it was her

winning card and being the conservative, thoughtful, and cunning ruler she was, she saved it,

keeping entire nations on their toes for decades (Guy 282). For instance, after the Massacre of St

Bartholomew, it was Elizabeths relationship with Francis duke of Anjou that ultimately saved

the French and English relationship. In 1572, when French Catholics massacred Protestants in

France it caused an estrangement in Anglo-French relations (Guy 282). The Protestant

England was appalled and angered by the massacre of their fellow Protestants and it had the

potential to deeply wounded French and English relations (Guy 282). However, directly

following the massacre, Elizabeth opened marriage negotiations with the then Francis duke of

Anjou, the youngest son of Catherine DeMedici, former Queen of France and brother to King

Henry III of France, helping to sooth the tension between the nations. Besides the immediate

help of pacifying the two nations, the negotiations provided Elizabeth with her winning card for

the decade; Elizabeth deployed [Anjou] whenever an English reaction was required

abroad(Guy 282). In other words, Elizabeth used him as her pawn to further Englands foreign

policy goals.

Elizabeth used Anjou to fight [her] battles in the Netherlands where she was supporting

the dutch against Spanish conquest (Guy 282). She manipulated [him] to curtail guise and

intrigue in France, Scotland and England and even used him to attempt to recover Calais from

the French (Guy 282). But most importantly, Elizabeth used him to form a tenuous alliance

protecting England from Spain (Ridley 206). In the early 1570s, relations with the Spanish were
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deteriorating quickly and war was beginning to seem like a real possibility. The Spanish, lead by

Philip II of Spain had always resented Elizabeths Protestant rule and wanted the Catholic Mary

Queen of Scots on the throne. An alliance with a close relation of the French King would protect

England from Spain (Schannette).

For over 10 years, Elizabeth kept marriage negotiations open and reaped almost all of the

benefits of an alliance with the added bonus of being able to walk away from it at any time.

Eventually she did walk away from the relationship when public opposition to the match became

outweighed its benefits (Ridley 207).

If she had married as her sister Mary had done, Elizabeth would have lost her greatest

foreign policy aset, the prospect of her marriage, along with the independence of her nation. Her

matrimonial negotiations, allowed her to make whatever alliance she thought would most benefit

her country and thus maximize her foreign policy.

3. UNIFY THE POPULACE

A. THE MISTAKE OF MARY STUART

The experience of Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland, Elizabeths cousin, also taught

Elizabeth an important lesson. She taught Elizabeth the power of public opinion.Two years after

Elizabeths coronation, young, sickly King Francis of France died, leaving Mary Stuart a widow.

Mary had been Queen of Scotland since she was just ten months old and many Catholics wanted

Mary on the throne of England. The only claim that was stronger than hers was Elizabeths.

However, Marys decisions for replacement spouses after Franciss death essentially doomed her

chances of ruling England or even ruling Scotland.

In 1564 Mary fell madly in love with the English Catholic nobleman, Lord Darnley and

allowed herself to be blinded by her love. He was widely unpopular, bad-tempered, and a
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drunkard. She was even warned several times that this marriage would arouse the fear and

fury among Scottish Protestants and would be a dangerous to the realm. According to Ridley,

Throckmorton, an important English Diplomat who helped facilitate communications between

Elizabeth and Mary, warned Mary that the marriage would be unmeet, unprofitable, and

perilous to the sincere amity between the two Queens and their realms (Ridley 140). However

Mary turned a blind eye to Darnleys bad behavior and vicious nature, even when it stared her in

the face. One day, when given bad news Darnley drew his dagger and threatening to stab a

member of Marys Privy Council and Mary did nothing (Ridley 140).

Mary payed a high price for her mistake. Only six months after their marriage, Darnley

and Mary had a falling out and Darnley retaliated by helping the Protestant rebels murder her

right hand man and secretary, Riccio (Ridley 145). Mary had to fend off both her violent and

treacherous husband, and the Protestant rebels, even more angry over her marriage.

Fortunately, Darnley was assassinated in 1567 by one of his many enemies, alleviating

Mary of that problem. Unfortunately, it seems Mary did not learn from her mistakes and married,

the alleged assassin, the unpopular alcoholic Lord Bothwell (Guy 147). This move completely

alienated the people and she lost the support of both Protestants and Catholics, sealing her fate

Ridley 148). With no popular support or respect Mary had no leg to stand on. The Scottish lords,

fed up with Mary and her bad husbands, rose up against her and Mary was forced to flee to

England where she was arrested and held until her threat to Elizabeths crown became to great

and Elizabeth was forced to execute her.

From her cousin Mary Stuart, Elizabeth learned the power of an unpopular marriage and

the importance of unifying the public. Marys choices for her second two husbands were so

widely unpopular, especially among the nobility, that they effectively cost her all power and
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authority in Scotland and her chance at the throne in England. Elizabeth learned that with people

united behind you, you are secure; but with the people united against you, your days are

numbered.

B. PEOPLE

Unlike Mary Stuart, Elizabeth was able to unify her people and prevent widespread

domestic unrest throughout nearly the entirety of her reign, in part, by remaining husbandless.

Elizabeth considered several factors when choosing a husband, the least of which was her

own personal happiness. During the first few decades of her reign, Elizabeth was faced with a

strikingly similar choice to Mary Stuart; however, unlike her cousin, Elizabeth chose to keep her

eyes open and put her crown and country first.

In the early years of her reign, Elizabeth fell passionately in love with Lord Robert

Dudley, her Master of Horse and Hunt (Sharnette). For years he was considered a serious

contender for her hand; however Elizabeth was not blinded by her love as Mary was and was

able to ultimately make the right choice for her kingdom.

Dudley, like Darnley was highly unpopular, especially among the nobles. To begin with,

he was the son of the treasonous Duke of Northumberland who was behind a rebellion during

Mary Is reign. Darnley was also imprisoned in the Tower of London along with his father for

suspected involvement in the plot and many still viewed him with suspicion (Sharnette). Besides,

a marriage to Darnley would likely offend the noblemen who were not chosen and stir dissent

among their ranks possibly [causing them to] withdraw their allegiance... and even plunge the

country into civil war (Sharnette).

But what really put the nail in the coffin was the death of Dudleys wife. Ten years prior,

Dudley had taken a wife, Amy Dudley. Since Elizabeth took the throne he spent most of his time
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at court and rarely saw his wife and consequently spent most of his time with Elizabeth. In those

early years, the Elizabeth and Darnley flirted excessively and rumors spread. People gossiped

that Dudley would poison his wife in order to marry the Queen, even William Cecil, Elizabeths

chief advisor worried (Ridley 109). When Amy Dudley actually died the rumors spread like

wildfire, especially considering the suspicious circumstances of her death (Ridley). One day

when Amy Dudley was home alone she was visited by a few of her husbands servants. Later,

she was found dead at the bottom of the stairs. The cause of her death: an accidental fall; but

Many people believed her husbands agents broke her neck (111).

If Elizabeth were to have married Dudley at that point, it would have been a significant

blow to her public image. Just like he had for Mary Stuart, Throckmorton advised Elizabeth

against the marriage. He wrote to Cecil saying the marriage would be a opprobrium hominum et

abjectio plebis [a disgrace to mankind and despised by the people] and Elizabeth, unlike Mary,

heeded his warning (112).

Despite what she personally felt, Elizabeth ended the relationship to preserve the public

support. This was not the only relationship she terminated in order to save her public image.

During her reign, the relations between the Catholics and Protestants were strained, one false

move and she could upset the tenuous peace. Had she married a Catholic she would have

angered the Protestants, and had she married a Protestant she would have angered the Catholics

(Sharnette).

Religious ties were especially important in her choice of a husband because most

contemporaries assumed [changes in religious worship] would be guided by Elizabeths

husband (Jones). This meant that the people felt that the religion of her future husband would

become in large part, the religion of the realm.

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Throughout her reign, Elizabeth turned down countless suitors because of their religion

including Philip II of Spain, Archduke Charles of Austria, Henry Fitzalan the Earl of Arundel,

and Francis Duke of Anjou, in large part because of their religion (Sharnette).

For instance, religious unrest at home prevented her marriage with the French Duke of

Anjou. On October 6th, 1579, William Cecil, wrote her a letter, urging her not to marry Anjou.

He writes, Monsieur [Anjou] is a Frenchman, the People of this Realme naturally hatyng [hate]

that Nation. Cecil expresses concern that the people will see Elizabeths marriage to Anjou as a

conquest of England by France, just as Mary Is marriage to Philip was viewed as a Spanish

conquest of England.The feeling of betrayal was heightened because Anjou was an established

Catholic which angered Protestants. Puritan preachers denounced the marriage as a step toward

the establishment of Popery in England and compared it to Queen Marys marriage to Philip of

Spain (Ridley 211). According to Ridley, John Stubbs, an English pamphleteer, wrote and

distributed a book entitled The Discovery of a Gaping Gulf whereinto England is like to be

swallowed in another French Marriage if the Lord forbid not the banns by letting Her Majesty

see the sin and punishment thereof, insulting Anjou and criticising the union (Ridley 208).

Although Stubbs was punished and the book condemned, the sentiment it expressed was not

quelled and the people continued to impugn the marriage until the negotiations were officially

abandoned in 1584.

As the years passed, and Elizabeth still remained unmarried, an aura of reverence, of

almost godly virtue began to manifest itself around the aging Queen. She was the Queen who

never married; the Queen who was entirely devoted to her people and put her own people before

her domestic happiness. Poets, bards, courtiers hailed her as the Virgin Queen and compared

her to the classical goddesses Diana, Cynthia and Astraea or to Petrarch's chaste maidens, Laura
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and Tuccia (Doran). People united around this image, this icon of the all-powerful Virgin

Queen.

Toward the end of her life, when her control was weakest because of her age and the

uncertainty of her successor, she appealed to this image more and more. During the last decade

of her reign, she used her image to appeal to her subjects sense of love, virtue, religion and hope.

She used more flowery or gilded language especially in her famous Golden Speech, her farewell

address to parliament in 1601. In this speech, she expressed her eternal love for her people

saying And, though God has raised me high, yet this I count the glory of my crown, that I have

reigned with your loves (Tudor, Golden Speech). Her death less than two years later on March

24th 1603 marked the end of the Tudor line and the throne was handed over to the Stuarts.

4. HER LEGACY

Some scholars claim that by not marrying, Elizabeth had a negative impact on her

country. She failed to produce an heir and thus failed to continue the Tudor line, instead

forfeiting the throne to James VI of Scotland, son of Mary Stuart. However, this is simply not the

right conclusion. By not marrying, Elizabeth was able to accomplish far more than she would

have as a married Queen. Elizabeth was able to cement her authority as a female monarch, more

effectively conduct foreign policy, and unify the populace. These three things allowed Elizabeth

to usher in what would be known as the Elizabethan Age, a time of relative political stability

that followed and preceded eras of extensive upheaval where England firmly established as a

leading military and commercial power in the Western world, and encouraged the arts (The

Elizabethan Age). After her reign was over, Elizabeth initiated a peaceful transfer of power to

the next monarch, willingly passing the power to a different family.

It comes down to this. What is more important: the monarch or the monarchy?
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If it is the monarch, then the continuation of the bloodline is the most important. If it is

the monarchy, then the country takes priority. This decision is up to the ruler. Henry VIII and

Mary I chose to prioritize their legacy, but Elizabeth chose to prioritize her country. She

sacrificed her family line and her own happiness for the good of the realm. As she says in the

final line of the Golden Speech, ...though you have had and may have many princes more

mighty and wise sitting in this seat, yet you never had nor shall have any that will be more

careful and loving...

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Works Cited

Cecil, William. "The Anjou Marriage. [Causes of misliking of the marriage, with answers thereto]."

1579. ProQuest. Accessed 19 May 2017. Letter.

Doran, Susan. "Elizabeth I Gender, Power & Politics." ["History Today"]. History Today, vol. 53, no. 5,

May 2003, p. 29. EBSCOhost.

"The Elizabethan Age." Shakespeare in American Communities, edited by Art Works et al., 2017,

www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org. Accessed 14 May 2017.

"The Golden Speech." 30 Nov. 1601. National Archives, 2017, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/. Accessed

14 May 2017. Speech.

Guy, John. Tudor England. Oxford University Press, 1988.

Jones, Norman. "Advice to Elizabeth." ["History Today"]. History Today, vol. 58, no. 11, Nov. 2008,

pp. 14-20. EBSCOhost.

"Mary I." BBC, 2014, www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/mary_i_queen.shtml. Accessed 19 May

2017.

"Mary I Queen of England." Tudor History, 6 Feb. 2012, Mary Is phantom pregnancy. Accessed 19

May 2017.

"Mary Tudor." Biography, 2017, www.biography.com/people/mary-tudor-9401296. Accessed 19 May

2017.

Mason, Emma. "Mary Is phantom pregnancy." History Extra, 12 May 2015, www.historyextra.com.

Accessed 19 May 2017.

Ridley, Jasper. Elizabeth I: The Shrewdness of Virtue. International Publishing Corporation, 1989.

Sharnette, Heather. "Marriage & Succession." Elizabeth R, 2017, www.elizabethi.org. Accessed 14 May

2017.
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Tudor, Elizabeth. "1559 Parliament Speech." 1559. The Elizabeth Files, 2017,
www.elizabethfiles.com. Accessed 14 May 2017. Speech.