Page 98 - All About History - Issue 08-14

HISTORY HOLLYWOOD

VS

Fact versus f ction on the silver screen

WHAT THEY GOT WRONG…

Both English courtiers and Spanish
03 envoys wear swords when they meet
Elizabeth I, but in reality the constant threat of
assassination meant that only members of the
Royal Guard were allowed to carry weapons in
the queen’s presence.

In the film, Elizabeth is confronted on the
01 altar of Old St Paul’s Cathedral by Anthony
Babington wielding a pistol. While this near-
assassination is good for heart-in-mouth tension,
Anthony Babington’s plot was actually uncovered
during the planning stage and he was promptly
hung, drawn and quartered.

The film depicts the queen being
04 presented with aspiring suitors from
across Europe, including Erik of Sweden. In 1585
– the year of the Spanish Armada – the queen was
52, all the wooing had happened when she was
around 27 and Erik had actually died in 1577.
“We’re losing too many ships!”
02 screeches Charles Howard, Earl of
Nottingham as the Armada meets the English
fleet. This is another bit of drama for the sake
of story; no English ships were sunk during
the real battle and Howard – Elizabeth’s most
effective enforcer – wasn’t the screeching type.

Sir Walter Raleigh takes a lead role in
ELIZABETH: In the real event his input was limited to the
05 the on-screen defeat of the Armada.
less-than-blockbuster subject of naval reform,
while the daring defence of the realm was
co-ordinated by Sir Francis Drake, Robert
Dudley and various others.
THE GOLDEN AGE

What they got right
Elizabeth I’s finest hour against the The scene introducing Raleigh
is an accurate depiction (aside
Spanish Armada isn’t quite Hollywood’s from the distracting costumes)
as he presents tobacco,
potatoes and two Native
Americans as the duty free gifts
Director: Shekhar Kapur Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey of his Atlantic adventures. How
Rush, Clive Owen Country of origin: UK Year made: 2007 smitten Elizabeth is with him at © Alamy
this time is also accurate.
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