Elizabeth

by Philippa Jones

  Philip himself later acknowledged that while his wife waited to give birth, he flirted with her younger, more attractive sister, and that Elizabeth did nothing to stop him. Thomas Cecil, William Cecil’s eldest son, reported that he heard Philip say ‘whatever he suffered from Queen Elizabeth was the just judgement of God, because, being married to Queen Mary, whom he thought a most virtuous and good lady, yet in the fancy of love he could not affect her; but as for the Lady Elizabeth, he was enamoured of her, being a fair and beautiful woman.’41

  Mary’s anguish and the desperate need of her Catholic supporters for her to have a son led to a strange rumour surfacing. It is recorded in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs in the section ‘Concerning the Child-bed of Queen Mary’:

  There came to me whom I did both hear and see, one Isabel Malt, a woman dwelling in Aldersgate street in Horn Alley … who before witness made this declaration unto us, that she being delivered of a man-child upon Whitsunday in the morning, which was the 11th day of June 1555, there came to her the Lord North [Edward North, Baron North of Kirtling, a member of Mary’s Council], and another lord of her unknown, dwelling then about Old fifthstreet, demanding of her if she would part with her child, and would swear that she ne’er knew nor had any such child. Which, if she would, her son (they said) would be well provided for, she should take no care for it, with many fair offers if she would part with the child. After that came other women also … but she in no wise would let go her son, who at the writing hereof being alive and called Timothy Malt, was of the age of thirteen years and upward. Thus much I say, I heard from the woman herself.42

  On 3 August, after the fiasco of the false pregnancy had died down, Mary, Philip and the Court moved to Oatlands in Surrey. Elizabeth was not with them. Despite Mary’s pleas, on 29 August, Philip left her and returned to Spain. The despairing Queen went to Greenwich where she stayed with Cardinal Reginald Pole, an old friend. Elizabeth joined her and attended Mass at her side. There, she was reunited with an old friend, Ascham, who had also ‘embraced’ Catholicism and had been allowed to return to Court as the Queen’s Latin Secretary. He and Elizabeth took pleasure in reading Greek texts together.

  In October, the sisters separated, Mary going to St James and Elizabeth to her beloved Hatfield. Kat Ashley was allowed to return to Elizabeth’s service, as was Sir Thomas Parry, while Ascham found time to drop in every now and then. Life resumed a gentler pace, this time with Philip as Elizabeth’s friend rather than her enemy. It had become clear that Mary was as unlikely to have a child as she was to enjoy a long life; Philip was covering his bets, making sure he was on good terms with the next Queen of England. Now when Mary railed against Elizabeth, her Spanish advisers tried to calm her down. Renard was replaced as Ambassador, and in November 1555, Bishop Gardiner, Elizabeth’s greatest opponent, died.

  In March 1556, there was a minor uprising, referred to as Dudley’s Rebellion, led by Henry Dudley, a distant relation of John Dudley. The plotters gave their aim as ‘to send the Queen’s Highness over to the King [to Spain] and to make the Lady Elizabeth Queen and to marry the Earl of Devonshire to the said Lady.’43 The rebellion was betrayed early on and came to nothing. Elizabeth was never convincingly implicated.44

  Plans to marry off Elizabeth and send her out of England were still raised from time to time and after the rebellion in April 1556, the question arose again. In the previous year Mary’s husband, Philip, (Philip II, 1556–98) had suggested that 23-year-old Elizabeth marry his 10-year-old son and heir, Prince Carlos (Philip's first wife, before Mary, was Princess Maria of Portugal, who had died giving birth to Carlos). There was an attempt to resurrect this plan. The Venetian Ambassador was less sure, recording that Elizabeth had openly said she did not want to marry.

  Elizabeth’s efforts to stay out of trouble could not always protect her. When a random search was carried out at Somerset House, a quantity of anti-Catholic literature was found. Kat Ashley admitted that it was hers; she spent three months in the Fleet Prison for ‘having writings and scandalous books against the [Catholic] religion and against the King and Queen’45 and on her release she was removed as Elizabeth’s Lady Mistress and told to stay away from the princess. She was replaced by ‘a widowed gentlewoman’, and a new Governor was appointed, Sir Thomas Pope (founder of Trinity College, Oxford, in 1556), ‘a rich and grave gentleman of good name both for conduct and religion.’ Elizabeth knew and liked Pope, so found her new Governor a pleasure to have in her household. They frequently talked about the new University College he was founding and general issues relating to education.

  Pope told Elizabeth when, in July 1556, there was a ridiculous uprising in Suffolk led by a local teacher named Mr Cleobury, who pretended to be Courtenay. His rallying cry was ‘the Lady Elizabeth Queen and her beloved bedfellow, Courtenay, King.’46 This caused Elizabeth to write to Mary on 2 August, not so much pleading her loyalty, but rather wondering how such evil people could exist.47

  In late November, Elizabeth arrived to stay at Somerset House in London to spend Christmas at Court. Her first meeting with Mary, accompanied by Cardinal Pole, was amicable. The next was less so. On 2 December, Mary summoned her sister to tell her that Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, had renewed his offer of marriage and that she and Philip wanted her to accept. Elizabeth broke down in tears, swearing that she had no wish to marry anyone and would be happy to spend her life single.

  According to the Venetian Ambassador, Elizabeth told Mary that ‘the afflictions suffered by her were such that they had … ridded her of any wish for a husband.’48 Mary accused her of treachery and lies, shouting that Elizabeth was just waiting for Mary to die so she could seize the Crown. Mary ordered her to leave the Court. On the following day, Elizabeth returned to Hatfield.

  Philip, who was still in Spain, was determined that Elizabeth marry Emmanuel Philibert to get her out of the way. The plan had the additional benefit that if she did inherit the throne, his cousin would rule as her husband and King of England. In March 1557, Philip returned to Mary for four months, primarily to win the support of England in Spain’s war with France.

  As a secondary concern, he was accompanied by his sister Margaret, Duchess of Parma, and his cousin Louise, Duchess of Lorraine, who were to befriend Elizabeth with the aim of taking her back to Spanish territory to marry Emmanuel Philibert. The French Ambassador de Noailles warned Elizabeth of a plot to trick her into visiting Flanders where she would be married, sending a message to her via Elizabeth Parr, Marchioness of Northampton. Elizabeth replied to the Ambassador to thank him for the warning and reaffirmed that she would never marry. In this instance, her resolve was not tested. Jealous of the attention Philip paid to the two duchesses, Mary made it clear she did not like them and they never actually got to meet Elizabeth. Philip then tried to order Mary to force Elizabeth into the marriage.

  With Spain at war with France and Mary, Queen of Scots, the Dauphine of France and a possible heir to the English throne, it was imperative for Spanish foreign policy that England remain firmly under Spanish influence, but Mary refused. This time Mary again raised her belief that Elizabeth was not the child of Henry VIII. A second husband was offered, Alexander Farnese, son of Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma, and Margaret, the illegitimate daughter of Charles V (Philip’s half-sister).49 As with the others, these marriage plans failed to materialize, but Philip did win support for the war with France, and in July, he went back to Spain, never to return.

  With Philip gone, Mary dedicated herself to her religion and the possibility of his return. His last visit had not left her pregnant, so even the hope of a child had disappeared. England was now locked into war with France, and in January 1558, Mary received notice that Calais, England’s last foothold in France, the relic of what had once been vast English holdings, had been lost. The blow to English pride was severe, and Mary never fully came to terms with it. She is supposed to have said that when she died, they would find the word ‘Calais’ engraved on her heart, so terrible had been he
r loss. Certainly the failure of the English troops did serious damage to England’s reputation in Europe, and to Mary’s own reputation with the English people.

  Elizabeth did her best to live quietly, knowing the Queen would do anything she legally could to deny her the throne. In April 1558, with an eye to the future, Gustav I (King of Sweden 1523–60), proposed that Elizabeth should marry his son and heir Prince Eric. However, the King wrote directly to Elizabeth, not to Mary I as he should have. Mary, worried that Philip would not approve and would blame her if the marriage took place, contacted Elizabeth to find out how she felt.

  Pope, Elizabeth’s Governor, asked her directly, and she reiterated that she had no desire to marry and certainly would not consider the Swedish prince. He asked if she might agree if some suitable match were identified, and Elizabeth replied, ‘What I shall do hereafter I know not, but I assure you, upon my truth and fidelity, and as God be merciful unto me, I am not at this time otherwise minded than I have declared unto you. No, though I were offered the greatest prince in all Europe.’50 Even before becoming Queen, it seems her mind was made up against marrying.

  In 1557, we have a rare contemporary description of Elizabeth, written by the Venetian Ambassador Michiel:

  She is at present of the age of twenty-three, and is esteemed to be no less fair in mind than she is in body. Albeit, in face she is pleasing rather than beautiful; but her figure is tall and well proportioned. She has a good complexion, though of a somewhat olive tint, beautiful eyes, and above all a beautiful hand, which she likes to show. She is of admirable talent and intelligence, of which she has given proof by her behaviour in the dangers and suspicions to which she has been exposed. She has great knowledge of languages, especially Italian, and for display talks nothing else with Italians. She is proud and haughty; for in spite of her mother, she holds herself as high as the Queen and equally legitimate, alleging in her own behalf that her mother would not cohabit with the King save as his wife, and that with the authority of the Church … so that even if she were deceived having acted in good faith, she contracted a valid marriage and bore her child in lawful wedlock. Even supposing she be a bastard, she bears herself proudly and boastfully through her father, whom she is said to resemble more than does the Queen … She lives on what her father bequeathed her, and is always in debt; she would be more so but that she keeps down her household not to awaken the Queen’s jealousy. For there is no lord, nor knight in the kingdom who would not enter her service, to send there his son or brother; such is the affection and love which is felt towards her. She is always pleading her poverty, in such a dexterous way as to awaken silent compassion and therefore greater affection. For every one thinks it hard that a King’s daughter should be so miserably treated. Since Wyatt’s rebellion she has never been free; for though she is allowed to live in her house, some twelve miles distant from London, still she has many guards and spies about her, who observe all comers and goers; and she never says or does anything that is not at once reported to the Queen.51

  Mary was alone in denying that Henry VIII was Elizabeth’s father. She would have denied the throne to Elizabeth if she could, but her Council would not allow her to change the succession, and her absent but still adored husband would never accept the alternative represented by Mary, Queen of Scots. Philip put pressure on his wife to name her sister as her successor, which she finally agreed to, just 11 days before her death.

  In 1558, Mary fell ill. She died just before dawn on 17 November at the age of 42. Her courtiers left in droves to go to Elizabeth at Hatfield. When William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel, both Catholic ministers in Mary’s Council, came to bring Elizabeth the official news of Mary’s death at 8 a.m., she praised God for bringing her to such a position.

  On the road from London, crowds flocked to her, abandoning the dead Mary I to offer their services to the new Queen. The sight was to make a lasting impression on Elizabeth, one that would affect her policy in naming her own successor for decades to come. At the age of 25, Elizabeth was finally Queen.

  Elizabeth

  the Queen

  5

  The New Queen 1558–59

  When Elizabeth became Queen, she inherited a country with a range of serious internal and external problems. The reigns of Edward VI, followed by Mary I, had both been short, but had been marked by economic difficulties, war, and religious and social unrest. A contemporary memorandum summed up the situation:

  The Queen poor; the realm exhausted; the nobles poor and decayed; good captains and soldiers wanting; the people out of order; justice not executed; the justices unmeet for their offices; all things dear; division among ourselves; war with France and Scotland; the French King bestriding the realm, having one foot in Calais and the other in Scotland; steadfast enmity, but no steadfast friendship abroad.1

  At her accession, Elizabeth must have recalled the initial joy with which her half-sister’s succession had been met, only to end, a scant five years later, in disappointment, disillusion and bitterness. Now it was Elizabeth’s turn – and she had no intention of failing.

  One strong card that Elizabeth held in her favour was the matter of her parentage. As she was proud to remind everyone, Elizabeth was ‘mere English’, unlike the half-Spanish Mary I. The official record of her accession further states that Elizabeth was ‘of no mingled blood of Spaniard, or stranger, but born mere English here among us, and therefore most natural unto us.’2

  Elizabeth’s youth, grace and charm, and her undoubted resemblance to Henry VIII, also stood her in good stead with both her subjects and her court. Politician and writer Sir Robert Naunton describes the 25-year-old Queen as ‘tall, of hair and complexion fair, and therewithal well favoured, but high nosed; of limb and feature neat, and, which added to the lustre of these external graces, of a stately and majestic comportment, participating more of her father than of her mother.’3

  Elizabeth was also renowned for her ability to engage with all her subjects, from the highest to the lowest: ‘If ever any person had either the gift or the style to win the hearts of the people, it was this Queen … Some she pitied; some she commended; some she thanked; at others she pleasantly and wittily jested, condemning no person, neglecting no office …’4

  Her succession was met favourably and was announced swiftly. Less than half an hour after the official announcement of Mary I’s death at 8 a.m. on 17 November 1558, Parliament had confirmed Elizabeth as Mary’s successor. On 19 November, heralds proclaimed the Queen at the gates of Hatfield, and it was there that on the following day Elizabeth I held her first Council meeting, one that would prove vital to the successful transfer of power.

  It would have been tempting for any new monarch to make a clean sweep of his or her predecessor’s Councillors, but even at 25, Elizabeth recognized that their experience, influence and skill were essential to how successful she would be as Queen – in the early days at least. Similarly, as Renard, the Imperial Ambassador, also recognized in his missives home, not all of the Council were hostile to the new Queen.

  Displaying the caution that was to mark her reign, Elizabeth strove to achieve a workable compromise. While she removed Councillors who had worked against her during Mary’s reign – such as Sir Henry Bedingfield and William Paget (Nicholas Heath, the Catholic Archbishop of York, refused to continue as Lord Chancellor and retired in December 1558), she also retained several. Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel; William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke; William Paulet, 1st Marquis of Winchester; Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury; Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby; Sir William Howard, Baron Howard of Effingham; Lord Edward Fiennes Clinton; Sir John Mason; Sir William Petre and Dr Nicholas Wotton (the only remaining churchman) all remained. To those men, she added her own personal supporters: Sir William Cecil as the new Principal Secretary; Sir Thomas Parry; Sir Edward Rogers; Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford; William Parr, 1st Marquis of Northampton; Sir Richard Sackville; Sir Francis Knollys; Si
r Ambrose Cave and Sir Nicholas Bacon.

  The new Queen’s priority was to seek good, experienced counsel and the Council now had 20 members, all of whom, except for Sir Ambrose Cave, had served at least one of the preceding monarchs, either as a Councillor or a household officer (Cave had been Elizabeth’s Controller of the Household at Hatfield when she was a princess and was now a country neighbour of the Cecils). William Cecil, 13 years Elizabeth’s senior, was the youngest member of the Council. Most were older; some considerably so, such as the 83-year-old William Paulet. Several of the Councillors were also related to Elizabeth through her mother, Anne Boleyn, including William Howard, Henry Fitzalan, Sir Francis Knollys and Sir Richard Sackville.

  Elizabeth also rewarded those who had remained faithful to her throughout her early years. Roger Ascham, her old tutor, became her Latin Secretary; Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was made Chief Butler and Chamberlain of the Exchequer; and Lord Cobham, who had been implicated in Wyatt’s rebellion and imprisoned in the Tower, became Warden of the Cinque Ports.

  Others arrested during Wyatt’s rebellion were also rewarded: Sir William St Loe was created Captain of the Guard, and Sir James Crofts became Captain of Berwick. Elizabeth’s dear friend William Parr was restored as the Marquis of Northampton. Henry Carey, her cousin, was created Baron Hunsdon and made Captain of the Gentleman Pensioners, the Queen’s bodyguard. His sister, Catherine Carey, now married to the new Councillor Sir Francis Knollys, was made a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber, with Elizabeth Norwich, wife of Sir Gawen Carew (another of Elizabeth’s supporters who was exiled after Wyatt’s rebellion). Sir John Ashley, who was related by marriage to Anne Boleyn and who had tried to warn his wife, Kat Ashley, of the perils of permitting Thomas Seymour to grow too familiar with the princess, was rewarded with the posts of Master of the Jewel House, Treasurer of Her Majesty’s Jewels and Plate, and Groom of the Chamber.