Page 55 - All About History - Issue 08-14

The deathbed
of Queen Elizabeth
in 1603
power over her and refused to go to bed as she
realised that the end was coming soon. Elizabeth
finally died on 23 March 1603.
Although she had struggled to change with the
times in the face of younger advisors, she had been
a formidable political operator. She had still shown
the cunning and cleverness to understand her
situation, and had never lost the image of a queen
loved by her people.
“That image was not created for her,” explains
de Lisle. “Elizabeth never forgot the events of 1553
when the ordinary people had backed the Tudor
sisters, while the political elite had supported
Jane Grey. Nor did she forget how in 1554, Mary
had made a speech at the Guildhall that roused
London in her defence against the Wyatt rebellion.
Mary had spoken of her marriage to her kingdom,
describing her coronation ring as a wedding band,
and her love of her subjects as that of a mother
for her children. These were the phrases and
motifs Elizabeth would use repeatedly and would
become absolutely central to her reign. In addition,
Elizabeth also had an instinct for the crowd’s
demands. Even her enemies would admit she had
‘the power of enchantment’. She wooed her people
with smiles, words of love and great showmanship,
and so won their hearts. Elizabeth’s people would
never forget her. When she died and James I
become king, people hugely missed the Tudor
theatre of reciprocal love, of which Elizabeth had
been the last and brightest star.”
Elizabeth’s reign was not the golden age that
legend so often depicts; she faced serious uprisings,
both internal and external, during her reign. She
was capable of heartlessness and ruthlessness,
and could be indecisive and impetuous. During
the course of her rule, England saw famine,
rebellion and war. However, there’s no
mistaking her dedication to her country and her
determination to listen to what the people wanted
from her – and then give it to them. She walked a
political tightrope for most of her life, and the fact
that she died peacefully in her bed as queen was a
major triumph in itself. The English people loved
her, and she, in turn, loved them. In the hearts and
minds of many of her subjects, she was – and will
always be – Britain’s golden monarch.
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