elizabethan - chapter 1.3 Flashcards
what were peoples opinions to women at the time elizabeth became queen
people thought a woman was too weak and unintellectual to be queen
why were people fearful of a weak monarch
a weak monarch and powerful nobles had led to the War of the Roses that had torn England apart just a century before
how old was elizabeth when she succeeded
25
why were people concerned that elizabeth had no children
why no heir to the throne
she was the last of Henry VIII children, so if she didn’t have children, the tudor dynasty would die
pros of marriage for elizabeth
- a foreign marriage would make a powerful alliance
- she needed to provide an heir to the throne to carry on the Tudor line
cons of marriage for elizabeth
- having a husband would limit her personal freedom
- she would have to share power with her husband
- most of the suitable candidates were Catholic, but she was protestant
- a foreign marriage might make enemies of other countries who feel rejected
- her sister, Mary, marriage caused rebellion
- taking an english husband would unbalance the different groups at court and cause problems
- her fathers marriages had worked out badly; he killed 2 of his wives, including elizabeth’s mother
who did elizabeth receive early proposals from
Prince Eric of Sweden and King Philip of Spain
how did elizabeth handle the proposal from Prince Eric of Sweden
she negotiated with eh Swedes for years
how did elizabeth react to Philip’s proposal and why
she turned him down immediately
- he was the widower of Elizabeth’s sister, Mary
- he was keen to regain his title as king of england
- he was catholic
- elizabeth knew how badly he had treated Mary during their marriage
- elizabeth knew how unpopular mary’s choice of a spanish husband was among the english people
-> it had caused rebellion
what foreign proposals did elizabeth get
Prince eric of sweden
king philip of spain
son of the holy roman emperor, Charles of Austria
who were elizabeth’s english suitors
Earl of Arundel
Sir William Pickering
Robert Dudley
who was the most serious contender for marriag
elizabeth’s childhood friend and favourite, Robert Dudley, the earl of leicester
-> the two were close friends and historians agree that elizabeth genuinely loved him
why could elizabeth not marry dudley
- he desperately wanted to marry her, but he was already married
- when his wife, Amy, was found dead at the foot of a staircase, all hopes of marriage between elizabeth and dudley were gone
- an inquest was held and Amy’s death was ruled accidental, but it all seemed a little too convenient
- there were rumours that Amy was murdered, either by Dudley or on elizabeth’s orders
- this meant the marriage between the two would have been scandalous
- dudley waited for years for elizabeth to change her mind, and only got married in 1578 (much to elizabeth’s anger) to her cousin, the countess of essex
as elizabeth aged, who was her attention focused on as a suitor
the Duke of Alençon, a younger brother of the king of france
- although her was 20 years younger than her, physically deformed and catholic, he seemed a serious prospect and the two got along
-> elizabeth affectionately called him her ‘frog’
what was the privy councils reaction to the match between elizabeth and the Duke of Alençon
- they were divided by the match
- cecil was in favour, but Walsingham and Dudley were opposed
when did elizabeth and duke of alençon not get married
- after the St Batholomew’s day massacre in 1572. when thousands of protestants were murdered, the french were very unpopular in england
- propaganda leaflets were published against the queen marrying alençon
- despite considerable opposition from the council, elizabeth called off the marriage negotiations and was deeply regretful at his loss
when did elizabeth contract smallpox
october 1562
why was elizabeth contracting small pox such a serious problem
- the doctor told cecil she would not survive
- if she died, there was not an heir to the throne, and there would have been a serious crisis
- there was a three-way split in the privy council about what to do in the event of the queen’s death
- once she had recovered, parliament urged elizabeth to marry or nominate an heir
-> she did neither as she thought nominating a ‘second person’ would put her in danger
why was elizabeth not naming an heir an issue
there was a surplus of potential heirs
what were the two main claims to the throne and how was it made difficult
- the two main claims were the Stuart claim and the Suffolk claim
- various pamphlets were written promoting the different possibilities
- Henry VIII had confused matters
-> he said that if his three children should die without heirs, the throne would pass down to the descendants of his younger sister, Mary, the Duchess of Suffolk
-> he granddaughter, Lady Jane Grey, had already been executed for attempting to seize the throne in 1553, but there were still two younger girls, Lady Catherine and Lady Mary,who were both protestant and seen as potential heirs - technically, Elizabeth’s other cousin, Mary Stuart had a stronger claim to the english throne than the Greys, as she descended from Henry VIII older sister, who had married into the Scottish royal family
-> however, Mary was a controversial claimant, having been brought up in france and being a devout catholic
what did elizabeth consider as a way of bringing mary stuart under english influence and why did it not work
she considered having dudley marry mary
mary saw dudley as socially inferior and the plans came to nothing
what had mary done to strengthen her claim to the english throne
much to the anger of elizabeth, mary married elizabeth’s cousin, Lord Darnley
who was elizabeth warming to to name heir
although neither of the grey sisters were particularly inspiring candidates, in 1561, elizabeth appeared to be warming to the idea of making Catherine grey he official heir
why did elizabeth end up not naming catherine grey an heir
catherine had secretly married the Earl of Hertford without elizabeth’s permission and had fallen pregnant
-> elizabeth was furious and had her imprisoned in the tower of london for the rest of her life
it is possible that catherine starved herself to death in despair
catherine and hertford had 2 sons, both born in prison, but they were declared illegitimate and barred from the succession
catherine’s younger sister, mary, also married without elizabeth’s permission and she too was placed under house arrest, dying childless a little over a decade later
by the end of elizabeth’s reign how had the succession crisis basically solved itself
most of the eligible contenders had died
who was the obvious heir at the end of elizabeth’s reign
the Scottish King, James VI, son of Mary Stuart
-> James had a doubly strong claim as his mother and father were grandchildren of elizabeth’s aunt, Margaret tudor
although some suggested James’ cousin, Arabella Stuart, as an alternative, by the 1590s James’ superior claim was recognised by the Cecils and it was accepted that James would succeed
what was elizabeth’s reaction to James VI being accepted as heir
she refused to name him as her heir, but she sent teasing letters hinting that he might succeed her
what did cecil do as elizabeth’s life began to draw to an end
he began a secret correspondence with James from May 1601 onwards to prepare for life after elizabeth
when did elizabeth die
1603
what happened when elizabeth died to inform James VI of his new position
when she died a messenger left london and reached edinburgh three days later to tell the King of Scots that he was now also the King of England
the tudor dynasty gave way to the stuart’s smoothly and calmly, with the whole of the island of great britain, for the very first time in history, sharing a single monarch
