Elizabeth I: Character, Aims & the Early Consolidation of Power (AQA A Level History: Component 1: Breadth study): Revision Note

Summary

• Elizabeth came to the throne on 17 November 1558, aged 25

  • She was England's second queen regnant

• Her early life was traumatic: her mother's execution, claims of illegitimacy, the Seymour episode and imprisonment in the Tower under Mary I

  • This shaped her into a cautious and politically intelligent ruler

• Her immediate aims were to consolidate her position, settle religion and end the war with France

• Elizabeth reduced the Privy Council to under 20 members

  • She appointed Sir William Cecil as Principal Secretary on the day of her accession

• She used her coronation in January 1559 as a calculated display of legitimacy and popular appeal

Elizabeth I: Character, Aims & the Challenge of a Female Monarch

Early life

• Elizabeth was born on 7 September 1533, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

• When Elizabeth was less than three, her mother was accused of adultery and treason and was executed

  • Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and excluded from the succession

• Elizabeth was restored to the succession by the Succession Act of 1544, named third after Edward and Mary

• She found stability in the household of Henry's final wife, Catherine Parr, who took her under her wing

  • It was here that she developed moderate Protestant beliefs within the Church of England created under Henry VIII

• She was educated by Roger Ascham and William Grindal in humanist and Protestant ideas

  • She was fluent in Latin, Greek, French and Italian by her early teens

The Thomas Seymour episode

• After Henry VIII's death, Catherine Parr married Thomas Seymour, younger brother of Lord Protector Somerset

  • Allegedly, Seymour paid the young Elizabeth inappropriate attention

    • Including visiting her bedchamber

  • When Catherine Parr died in childbirth, he encouraged rumours that he intended to marry Elizabeth

• Somerset arrested his own brother for treason

  • Seymour was executed in 1549

• Elizabeth feared for her own life but was cleared of any involvement

• Historians generally agree that this left a lasting impression on the young Elizabeth

  • She was emotionally cautious with men afterwards

    • Some argue it partly explains why she never married, though there is no direct evidence for this claim

Elizabeth under Mary I

• Mary's accession in 1553 made Elizabeth immediately vulnerable as the Protestant heir to the throne

• After Wyatt's Rebellion in 1554, Elizabeth was arrested and taken to the Tower of London, traditionally said to have entered through Traitor’s Gate

  • She expected execution

  • Mary refused to see her

  • She was released when no evidence of involvement could be found

• During Mary's reign, Elizabeth outwardly conformed to Catholicism while privately retaining Protestant sympathies

• These years taught her patience, caution and the value of political survival

Character

• Well educated and intellectually confident

  • Fluent in several languages

  • Schooled in humanist thought

  • Could engage directly with councillors, ambassadors and Parliament on equal terms

• Cautious and reluctant to make final decisions

  • Her years under Mary had made her careful

  • She delayed decisions on religion, marriage and succession to avoid creating enemies

    • This frustrated councillors but preserved her position

• Decisive when it mattered

  • She acted quickly on key appointments

  • She managed the coronation with confidence

  • She performed royal authority with skill from the beginning

• Moderate Protestant

  • Genuinely Protestant but conservative in matters of ceremony

    • This made a middle-ground religious settlement both possible and necessary

• Image-conscious

  • She understood the power of pageantry and public display from the outset

  • The cult of Elizabeth began early

Aims at accession

• Short-term aims:

  • Consolidate her position

  • Settle the religious question

  • End the war with France

• Long-term aims:

  • Maintain royal authority

  • Preserve England's independence from France and Spain

  • Manage the marriage and succession questions on her own terms

The challenge of female monarchy

• Elizabeth was England's second queen regnant

  • The challenges she faced as a woman were different from Mary's

  • Mary’s troubled reign and contemporary criticism of female rule (such as John Knox’s First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, 1558) reinforced doubts about women as rulers

• Mary had tried to solve the problem by marrying

  • Elizabeth refused to let any husband share her power

• Elizabeth was fully aware that men in authority would expect her to defer to them

  • Her strategy was to appear to consult widely while maintaining ultimate control

• She took the title of Supreme Governor of the Church, rather than Supreme Head

  • This sidestepped objections to a woman holding the title “Supreme Head” of the Church, without reducing her practical authority

• Her central challenge was to ensure her own voice remained dominant among the many men clamouring to advise her

Elizabeth’s Inheritance: The Condition of England in 1558

• It is a common myth that the whole nation greeted Elizabeth's accession with unreserved joy

  • In reality, there were genuine fears about how the young queen would cope

Problems

Consolidation of Power: Elizabeth’s Privy Council & First Ministers

• Elizabeth moved cautiously but decisively in her first weeks as queen

  • Her early decisions set the tone for the whole reign

The coronation

• Elizabeth I was crowned on 15 January 1559 at Westminster Abbey

• The coronation was carried out by Owen Oglethorpe

  • Most senior bishops, who remained Catholic after the reign of Mary I, refused to officiate

    • This reflects wider uncertainty and unease about Elizabeth’s religious position

• A grand procession through London took place the day before the coronation

  • It was highly popular and carefully staged to engage the public

  • Pageantry and symbolism were used to reinforce Elizabeth’s legitimacy and authority

• The coronation was more elaborate and more carefully staged for popular appeal than Mary I’s

  • It formed part of a deliberate strategy to secure popular support at the start of the reign

Restructuring the Privy Council

• Mary I's Privy Council had around 40 members

  • It was too large, factional and slow

• Elizabeth reduced her Privy Council to under 20 members, with around ten attending regularly

  • This made the Council more manageable

  • It also reduced the influence of the traditional nobility

• Of Mary’s councillors, 11 were reappointed to Elizabeth’s Council

  • This provided continuity of administrative experience

  • The most notable 'carry-over' was the Marquess of Winchester, Lord Treasurer since 1550, who had served under three monarchs

Key appointments