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Overview
Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, the childless Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Her parents were Henry Vlll & Anne Boleyn; she was succeeded by James VI of Scotland as James I of England,
The Elizabethan Court
The 'court' referred both to the various royal palaces, mostly in and around London, and to the body of people who surrounded the monarch. The Elizabethan court was made up of the collection of privileged people serving the Queen – the members of the Privy Chamber, Royal Household and the Privy Council. One estimate suggests that Elizabeth’s court included some 1250 people.
The Privy Council
The Privy Council was a smaller, more defined body, whose main functions were to advise Elizabeth and to act as the administrative centre for her government. Much like a cabinet or a board of directors, they were involved in matters of economy, defence, foreign policy and law and order.
The Royal Household
The Royal Household was made up of Elizabeth's servants. While some members of the Royal Household also held government positions, many did not. The access to her that membership of her household provided made these positions highly esteemed and those in them very influential. Most of the positions were filled by her favourites and those who had demonstrated loyalty to her in the past.
The Privy Chamber
The Privy Chamber included the closest body servants of the monarch. They lived in close quarters with the Queen, kept her company and represented the threshold between the Queen's public and private lives. Because of Elizabeth's gender, the Privy Chamber was female dominated and these prestigious positions were filled with the wives and daughters of powerful men.
Government
Politicians, Statesmen and Advisors
- Dr. John Dee, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, and consultant to Elizabeth
- Sir Francis Walsingham, Secretary of State
- Sir William Cecil - Lord Burghley, Lord Treasurer. He was Elizabeth's chief adviser and supervised the whole of English administration.
- Sir Robert Cecil, Lord Privy seal, Secretary of State
- Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury
Favourites
- Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, army general
- Sir Christopher Hatton,Lord Chancellor
- Sir Walter Ralegh
- Sir Henry Lee, Master of the Leash, Master of the Armoury and the Queen's Champion
Bureaucrats
- Sir Nicholas Bacon, Keeper of the Privy Seal
- Sir Nicholas Bacon, (son of the 1st), Lord Chancellor
- Sir Francis Knollys, Privy Councillor, spokesman to Parliament
- Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Spies, Informers & Agents Provocateurs
- Sir Francis Walsingham, "C," chief spymaster
- Richard Topcliffe, torturer and interrogator
- Thomas Phelippes, linguist, mathematician and expert cryptographer
- Anthony Munday, writer
- Robert Poley, 26 missions for the Queen's "special affairs"
- Gilbert Gifford, "the most notable double treble villain that ever lived"
- William Parry, spy for Elizabeth's Treasurer Lord Burghley
Explorers, Privateers and Pirates
- Sir Thomas Cavendish
- Sir Robert Dudley
- Sir Francis Drake
- Sir Humphrey Gilbert
- Sir Richard Grenville
- Sir John Hawkins
- Sir Martin Frobisher
- Sir Richard Hawkins
Household
- John Astley, master of the jewel house and treasurer of the Queen’s jewels and plate
Ladies of the Bedchamber
- Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys
- Katherine Champernowne, Lady Astley
- Elizabeth Norwich, Lady Carew
- Blanche Parry
Ladies in Waiting & Maids of Honor
- Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury, Lady in Waiting
- Lettice Knollys, Lady in Waiting
- Elizabeth Brydges - Maid of Honor
- Margaret Cavendish (probably) Maid of Honor
- Margaret Radcliffe, Lady in Waiting & Maid of Honor
- Anne Russell - Lady in Waiting & Maid of Honor
- Margaret Russell, Maid of Honor
- Elizabeth Southwell - Maid of Honor
- Elizabeth Throckmorton Lady in Waiting & Maid of Honour
- Lady Elizabeth Tyrrwhit - Chief Lady in Waiting
- Anne Vavasour - Lady in Waiting
- Frances Vavasour Maid of Honor
- Frances Walsingham - Lady in Waiting
Suitors
- 1534 Duke of Angoulme (third son of Francis I)
- 1544 Prince Philip of Spain (King Philip II)
- 1547 Sir Thomas Seymour
- 1553 Edward Courtenay
- 1554 Emanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
- 1554 Prince Frederick of Denmark
- 1556 Prince Eric of Sweden
- 1556 Don Carlos (son of King Philip II)
- 1559 King Philip II
- 1559 Sir William Pickering
- 1559 James Hamilton, Earl of Arran
- 1559 Henry Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel
- 1559 Lord Robert Dudley
- 1560 King Eric XVI of Sweden
- 1560 Duke of Holstein
- 1560 King Charles IX of France
- 1560 Henry de Valois, Duke of Anjou
- 1563 Lord Darnley
- 1568 Archduke Charles of Austria
- 1570 Henry Duke of Anjou
- 1572 Francois, Duke of Alencon later Anjou
Godchildren
- Queen Elizabeth's Godchildren related project
Enemies
- Mary I, Queen of Scots
- Pope Pius V
- Philip II of Spain
- Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
resources
- The British Monarchy - Elizabeth l, Elizabethan Court Life, Wikipedia, Entertainment and ritual - The Elizabethan court, Elizabeth's Household, Elizabeth's Ladies, Lady in Waiting, Suitors of Elizabeth l, Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature, Elizabethan Government, The Watchers: A Secret History of the Reign of Elizabeth I, Lists of Women at the Tudor Court