Elizabeths Government

Question 1

Court, privy council and ministers

Answer 1

-this was the most important part of Elizabeths central government
-she made it clear that she wasn’t going to have a large council like Mary
-an interesting feature of her council was the continuity, she kept a number Mary’s councilor
- the two most prominent members were:
-Sir William Cecil- Principal Secretary of State
-Robert Dudley- Earl of Leicester from 1564
-Cecil had served Edward VI so his addition to the council added a sense of continuity
-Elizabeths privy council was very successful, more successful than Mary’s

Question 2

Elizabeths parliament

Answer 2

• at this time, parliament was only an occasional part of the political system
  -only 13 sessions of the parliament during the more and 44 reign of Elizabeth
  -at this time, the House of Lords was more powerful than the House of Commons
  -MPs generally understand that religion, foreign policy and the succession were the queens remit
  -yet, some radical MPs did question the queen
  -(1566) Robert Bell petitioned for Elizabeth to marry
  -Elizabeth was reluctant to call parliament
  -MPs would discuss issues of religious reform and the succession
  -the speaker would ensure that the debate was not too critical of the queen

Question 3

Robert Dudley Elizabeth

Answer 3

-Dudley was the most significant fav of Elizabeth
-known each other since childhood
-he remained the fav until his death in 1588
-he took an active part in the gov
-come into regular contact with Cecil the queens chief minister

Question 4

William Cecil Elizabeth

Answer 4

-had a close working relationship
-was an outstanding minister who ran gov
-was ale to persuade the stubborn Elizabeth in policy decisions

Question 5

There were a number of other favs in gov for Elizabeth

Answer 5

-Sir Christopher Hatton
-Robert Devereux (Earl of Essex)
-Sir Walter Raleigh

Question 6

Factional Rivalries and the Essex Rebellion

Answer 6

-Dudley and Cecil became rivals in gov
-they both attracted powerful supporters, creating factions
-the two factions competed in court
-however, before the 1590s, faction fighting became serious between Essex and Cecil
-In 1601, Essex Rebelled
- Elizabeth banished Essex from the court and Essex thought the only way to get back was to get rid of Cecil
-However, the rebellion failed