On This Day:
17th of November
Elizabeth 1 ascended the throne of England
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| Elizabeth in her coronation robes patterned with Tudor roses and trimmed in ermine, a symbol of purity. Her hair is worn loose, as is traditional for the coronation of a queen, often symbolising virginity. Unknown artist, The National Portrait Gallery. |
On this day in 1558 Elizabeth the 1st ascended to the throne of England at the age of 25. Daughter to notorious tyrant King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth reigned for 45 years and was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.
The Tudors were not known for their moderation, and Elizabeth was certainly no exception to that but perhaps she managed it better. When people think of the reign of Elizabeth it is often referred to as a Golden Age; a time of extravagance and luxury. We can see that reflected through the works of Shakespeare and Marlowe as English drama flourished, and through explorers like Drake and Raleigh who were seeking riches and new territories in far off lands in order to bolster England. And when we think of Elizabeth herself we imagine her dressed in all her finery; sumptuous costumes, expensive jewellery and embellishments, with lavish court balls and theatre productions.
Elizabeth was a great follower of fashion and when in public would make a great show of her appearance.
Clothing was an important status symbol of the Elizabethan era and no one was allowed to rival the Queen's appearance but they were expected to compliment her. Typically she would wear a chemise, a corset stiffened with wood or iron, a petticoat, a fathingale, stockings, a gown, sleeves, and neck and wrist ruffs. Accessories were common such as a fan, a pomander to ward off bad smells, as well as copious amounts of jewellery from earrings, necklaces, to brooches and watches, as well as a miniature prayer book attached to a girdle. Interesting romantic fact: Robert Dudley, Elizabeth's favourite, is said to have given her a watch encased in a bracelet, often known as the first wrist watch in England.
For outside Elizabeth would wear rich velvet cloaks, gloves of cloth or leather in the cold weather, hats in the warm and there were specific riding outfits for easier movement as well.
The Renaissance ideal of beauty was fair hair, a pallid complexion, bright eyes and red lips and Elizabeth was the embodiment of this when she was young.
Make up became an important part of her public costume towards the later years of her reign. She particularly wanted to cover up the scaring from smallpox and lines from ageing. To do this she would wear a fair amount of white lead and vinegar which acted as a kind of foundation known as ceruse, she would rouge her lips and paint her cheeks with red dye and white egg. Lead of course was an incredibly unsafe substance, and would slowly be entering her through her skin and poisoning her.
Other Elizabethan's were hot on the Queen's trail and were constantly trying to emulate that perfect Renaissance look.
As a result all sorts of odd and dangerous concoctions were used to bleach freckles and treat blemishes, with sulphur, turpentine and mercury. These are of course toxic in nature and soon caused the skin to become grey and shrivelled. In order to rectify this they then tried to glaze the skin with raw egg white to produce a marble-like surface. False veins were often painted onto skin in order to emulate the transparency of paler skin types, vermilion [mercuric sulphide] was used to colour lips and eyes were brightened with drops of poisonous belladonna juice and then lined with kohl [powdered antimony]. Eyebrows were to be high, narrow and arched and the hair line high too so a lot of plucking was in order.
Elizabeth did try to take good care of her teeth, knowing that to keep them clean was important but of course dental care back then was not very good and rotting was inevitable, her teeth soon becoming blackened. Interesting and weird fact: Other Elizabethan women wanted to emulate the queen so badly that they would colour their own teeth black in solidarity. Wigs were also becoming increasingly popular in order to copy the Queen's signature red curls. Another odd yet notable beauty method: Elizabeth would stuff her mouth with rags in order to stop her cheeks looking so hollow as she grew older.
Elizabeth 1546 The Rainbow Portrait, ageless 1600 Attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts 1595
Elizabeth was fairly tolerant in terms of religion, moderate in governance and tried hard not to persecute others unlike in the reigns of her father and siblings. However her reign was fraught with struggles against her legitimacy and her capability at being able to rule as a woman. The Pope declared her illegitimate and as a result numerous conspiracies threatened her life. She was generally cautious in foreign affairs, carefully manoeuvring around the bigger players, France and Spain, until war with the latter was eventually inevitable. Though England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 linked Elizabeth to one of the greatest military victories in English history.
From day one of her reign it was strongly expected that Elizabeth would marry.
There was much speculation as to whom it might be, and there was never any shortage of suitors. Interestingly she never did. It became evident that she was in love with a childhood friend, Robert Dudley, in around 1559 and scandalous talk abounded as Elizabeth consistently denied those of more noble and suitable birth who vied for her hand in favour of her ‘favourite'.
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| Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Waddesdon, The Rothschild Collection. |
However it quickly became clear that she could never marry Dudley, even when his wife died in what some presumed to be dubious circumstances. She fell down some stairs... yes you read right.
Her peers made their disapproval strongly known and she began to realise that she would not be able to rely upon them for support if she did take Dudley as her husband. She continued to ‘consider’ suitors until she was about fifty years old, more than likely in order to abate senior figures of state but with no real intention of marriage, whether that be because she had no interest in doing so because she could not have the one she loved, or because she did not want to share power with someone else, or perhaps because she was still affected by the execution of her mother by the hand of her father is still up for debate today, but it is known that she used herself and the potential of her hand in marriage as a powerful political tool in foreign and domestic policies.
Her peers made their disapproval strongly known and she began to realise that she would not be able to rely upon them for support if she did take Dudley as her husband. She continued to ‘consider’ suitors until she was about fifty years old, more than likely in order to abate senior figures of state but with no real intention of marriage, whether that be because she had no interest in doing so because she could not have the one she loved, or because she did not want to share power with someone else, or perhaps because she was still affected by the execution of her mother by the hand of her father is still up for debate today, but it is known that she used herself and the potential of her hand in marriage as a powerful political tool in foreign and domestic policies.
Her unmarried status and the fact that she began to insist that she was married to her kingdom and her subjects under divine protection earned her the nickname The Virgin Queen, and this popular view of Elizabeth is reflected in the poetry and portraiture of the time and is carried on as a popular theme in portrayals of her today.
Elizabeth is generally regarded as one of the country’s most successful and popular monarchs; she was strong, quick-witted and intelligent, as well as being just as ruthless and calculating as any previous monarch had been before her. Of course the Tudors are famous for propaganda, and Elizabeth and her reign have become idealised over time, for example she made sure all her portraits never showed any real signs of ageing or imperfections although we know that she suffered from and was marked by the pox and then there's the inevitability of ageing itself, as well as this she projected a virginal persona despite the fact that she was linked to several romantic suitors throughout her reign including her ‘great love’ Dudley.
Her establishment of an English church helped to shape national identity today and her belief that faith was personal is an important message to all. She was mostly defensive in her foreign policies but certainly raised England’s status, she was always shrewd and when ultimately necessary decisive in leadership, causing her to be much feared by many abroad. And most importantly she was the only Tudor that came to realise that a monarch ruled by popular consent.
I always think it sad and ironic that Henry VIII was so madly obsessed with having a male heir in order to continue his legacy that when he finally got that wish with Edward [who died at the age of 15 and was king for only a few turbulent years] he was not aware that it was Elizabeth who was going to be the most successful and loved of his children.
From the moment she was born she was not the strong and healthy son and heir that he so desperately wanted. He subsequently executed her mother, ill-fated Anne Boleyn, orchestrating her downfall and tarnishing her memory with false charges of incest and adultery before Elizabeth was but 3 years old. She was then palmed off into the care of others and effectively neglected for sometime; the head of young Elizabeth’s household for example had to beg the king for new clothes for the child, her having outgrown them.
From the moment she was born she was not the strong and healthy son and heir that he so desperately wanted. He subsequently executed her mother, ill-fated Anne Boleyn, orchestrating her downfall and tarnishing her memory with false charges of incest and adultery before Elizabeth was but 3 years old. She was then palmed off into the care of others and effectively neglected for sometime; the head of young Elizabeth’s household for example had to beg the king for new clothes for the child, her having outgrown them.
And she only returned to court properly when Henry married his sixth wife Catherine Parr close to the end of his reign and only upon Parr's suggestion.
Notably it is said that Elizabeth actually adored her father, regardless of all of this, and it can be said that during her own reign she was not only trying to rule and survive as a woman on the throne in the eyes of her subjects and the kingdom, but also in the eyes of her father that had gone before her. Elizabeth called upon her potentially idealised version of her parent-king and used it to strengthen herself as Queen. She went so far as to say that she had inherited so-called ‘masculine’ characteristics of authority, courage and shrewdness and saw herself not as a Queen but as a Prince. It is safe to say however that she was a much more tolerant female version of the father she emulated.
I like to think that Elizabeth had a strong dose of Anne in her veins too despite the projected embodiment of her father. A delightful piece of evidence to this lies in a Tudor propaganda portrait commissioned by Henry VIII in 1544, The Family of Henry VIII, Whitehall. It was intended to portray Henry’s ideal nuclear family, and to re-iterate his Act of Succession. The young Elizabeth is shown wearing a pendant in the shape of an “A”. Initial pendants were popular in Tudor times, and her mother Anne Boleyn had at least three; the “A” that Elizabeth is wearing in this portrait, the famous “B” that we associate with Anne and an “AB.” The pendant Elizabeth is wearing here probably belonged to her mother, and more than likely reflects a quiet act of defiance despite Henry having passed a royal edict that meant no one could ever speak of Anne Boleyn in the young princesses presence.
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| The Family of Henry VIII, c.1545. Unknown. Elizabeth is on the far right. The Royal Collection on display at Hampton Court Palace. |
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| Closeup of Elizabeth and her "A" necklace. |
Beautifully 30 years after in 1575 she commissioned a gold locket ring covered in mother-of-pearl, rubies, diamonds and a giant pearl on the side. Upon opening the secret compartment it reveals the painted miniature reliefs of her mother and herself side by side. She never took the ring off her finger after it was made, wearing it until she died in 1603 when it was then taken off and handed to her successor James VI of Scotland as proof of her death.
This ring is a beautiful and powerful object of unmistakable emotional value, providing controversy to an otherwise widely documented concept that Elizabeth was indifferent to the passing of her mother at the hands of her father at a very young age.
Perhaps as her youth passed her by and her continuing persistence at projecting this firey-red-headed unstoppable leader was taking it's toll on the ageing queen and she required a quiet, personal comfort that only a mother could provide? It is interesting that Elizabeth continued to keep the silence about her mother even after all the years of silence from those around her on the subject and long after her father's death. Of course she was acutely aware that she needed to be seen as legitimate and any mention of her mother, Anne Boleyn, might rake up old, even though false, wounds given the taboo now associated with the name. Not to mention that she had every right to keep something secret and personal for herself alone.
Today marks the 457th anniversary of her ascension to the throne of England.
Perhaps as her youth passed her by and her continuing persistence at projecting this firey-red-headed unstoppable leader was taking it's toll on the ageing queen and she required a quiet, personal comfort that only a mother could provide? It is interesting that Elizabeth continued to keep the silence about her mother even after all the years of silence from those around her on the subject and long after her father's death. Of course she was acutely aware that she needed to be seen as legitimate and any mention of her mother, Anne Boleyn, might rake up old, even though false, wounds given the taboo now associated with the name. Not to mention that she had every right to keep something secret and personal for herself alone.
Today marks the 457th anniversary of her ascension to the throne of England.
- VM
Know anything interesting about Elizabeth that you'd like to share with us?
What are your thoughts on her character, and reign? Lets us know below!
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