'God gave me here to sit, and placed me over you' -Contemporary evidence of Elizabeth I's belief in her Divine Right to rule

A detail of the Coronation Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. Image public domain through Creative Commons licensing, NPG, London.

While state papers, edicts, petitions, and other official and legal documents tell us a great deal about historical events and policies, it is the diaries, personal letters, and speeches left behind that inform our understanding of a historical individual. Queen Elizabeth I of England, like the other Tudor monarchs before her, did not employ a speech writer (Perry 1990) and managed her own personal correspondence. But, unlike the other Tudors, she was a prolific writer of letters, and she left behind a body of work that, upon close examination, demystifies many of the puzzling aspects of the woman who became known as the semi-divine Gloriana, the Virgin Queen. 

The copious documents authored by the last Tudor can be gleaned for valuable information that can be applied to a wide variety of studies. In this examination, The Tide Letter, The Tilbury Speech, and The Golden Speech will be considered. There are several central themes present throughout the entirety of Elizabeth’s body of work, spanning from her childhood until her death. These recurring themes include her gratitude and love for the English people, her acknowledgment of being preserved through danger by God himself, and her divine right to rule.

The belief held by 16^th century monarchs was that, due to their unique nature, they existed somewhere between the realms of the mortal and the divine. As such, they were not subject to the laws of the land or of one another, but were expected to answer only to God. This theory was known as the Divine Right of Kings, and it was invoked by monarchs to explain to their subjects why they were to be obeyed without question. Elizabeth Tudor’s belief that she had been pre-destined to rule England by God was exceptionally strong; why else would she, the last in line to inherit the throne, have survived being legally bastardized by her own father, only to be legitimized before his death, then subsequently slandered, imprisoned, interrogated and nearly executed during the reigns of her brother and her sister? After effectively ruling for many years, Elizabeth’s conviction that she had been preserved by God to rule was amplified after her triumphant defeat of the invading Spanish Armada in 1588 (Perry 1990).

The first of Henry VIII’s children to inherit the throne was Elizabeth’s half-brother, Edward VI. Still in his minority, Edward, a Protestant, reigned with the help of his equally Protestant council. However, Edward lived to be only 16, dying of what was probably tuberculosis. Henry VIII had clearly stated that, were his son to die without issue, his daughter Mary would succeed, and, in the event that she failed to produce an heir, would be followed by Elizabeth. However, Edward VI could not stomach the idea of his fervently Catholic older half-sister inheriting the throne, so he took action to strike his father’s wishes from the record. Edward’s ‘Devise for the Succession’, drafted as early as 1553, declared that his sisters Mary and Elizabeth were bastards, due to the fact that Henry VIII had divorced both of their mothers before their deaths. Therefore, they were unfit to inherit the throne of England. Edward selected Lady Jane Grey, a Protestant cousin of the Tudors, ‘and her heir(s) male’ as his successor. 

A posthumous portrait of Lady Jane Grey from the 1590s, after a now-lost original painted between 1550-55. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

While Edward’s exclusion of his sister Mary makes sense, his writing Elizabeth out of the line to inherit is much more puzzling. William Cecil, Secretary of State under Edward VI and later Elizabeth I, would one day tell Antiquarian William Camden, author of The Annals of Queen Elizabeth, why Edward had excluded Elizabeth along with Mary. According to Camden’s account of what Cecil told him, when Edward shared the original draft of his ‘Devise’ with Elizabeth, revealing his plan to disinherit their sister Mary, Elizabeth expressed her disgust that Edward sought to upset the natural order of succession. She told Edward that the existence of their father’s will gave her ‘no claim or title to reign as long as her sister lived (Perry 1990). If this story that Camden recorded is true, it suggests that, though Elizabeth was certainly perceptive enough to know what would happen when the Catholic Mary inherited the throne of Protestant England, divine right and the original line of succession was more important than the threat of a Marian Counter-Reformation. However, Elizabeth could not have even begun to imagine that Mary would one day have her imprisoned, interrogated, and even contemplated having her disposed of through execution (Perry 1990).

Edward VI's 'Devise for the Succession'. Image public domain.

Mary’s right to rule was supported not only by Elizabeth but by the English people, who helped Mary restore the natural order by usurping Lady Jane Grey and her husband, Guildford Dudley; both of whom were eventually executed. While Elizabeth had been bastardized and legitimized twice between 1533-1553, her real trials and tribulations were about to begin.

Once crowned, Mary I became intensely suspicion of her Protestant half-sister, and her persecution of her was almost immediate. In an effort to rehabilitate their strained relationship, and in order to preserve her own standing at court, Elizabeth wrote letters in an effort to gain Mary’s trust and remain in good favor, even when they were apart. However, in 1554, things for Elizabeth took a disastrous turn. Sir Thomas Wyatt’s rebellion sought to depose Mary I, who had become increasingly unpopular since her announcement that she would marry the foreign Catholic Prince, Philip II of Spain. Once Mary was removed, Wyatt and his supporters aimed to place Elizabeth on the throne. As the unwilling figurehead of Wyatt’s plot, Elizabeth was considered guilty by association, though Wyatt denied that she had ever been directly involved in the planning or execution of the attempted coup. Mary had long been looking for a way to rid herself of her defiantly Protestant sister; Elizabeth was the focus of all the hopes and dreams of those who opposed her Catholic reign. Much later, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots would become the focus of the plots of the English Catholic minority during the reign of Elizabeth I. But, unlike Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth was most likely innocent of the charges laid against her. Mary gave orders that she was to be arrested and brought to the Tower of London, but Elizabeth was determined to stall the journey as long as possible. She insisted on a meeting with her sister, believing that if she were able to speak to Mary, she would be able to convince her of her innocence (Perry 1990). Elizabeth requested materials in order to write to Mary before she was removed to the Tower. 

Princess Elizabeth pleading to Queen Mary. From a Woodcut in the British Library, via Tudorhistory.org.

In her letter, hastily and passionately penned, Elizabeth implored Mary to remember her promise to her that she would not be ‘condemned without answer and due proof’. She pointed out that the Tower was a place for a ‘false traitor’, not a loyal subject.  Elizabeth professed to Mary that God knew her truth, writing, ‘’And to this present hour I protest afore God (who shall Know my truth, whatsoever malice shall devise), that I never practiced, counselled, nor consented to anything that might be prejudicial to your person any way, or dangerous to the state by any means.’ (Tudor, 1554)

The letter she penned is now known as The Tide Letter, because in the time that it took Elizabeth to write it, the tide of the Thames River had changed so that she could not be brought to the Tower until the following day. Fearful that the messengers entrusted to bring the letter to Mary would add an incriminating post-script, Elizabeth added diagonal lines across the back of the letter to prevent additions (Tudor, 1554).

Princess Elizabeth in the Tower of London. From a woodcut in the British Library, via Tudorhistory.org.

Once released after imprisonment and interrogation, Elizabeth’s position remained precarious and she was kept under house arrest and constant surveillance. Elizabeth bided her time, keeping a low profile and living beyond reproach. She was only truly safe once her sister was dead, joyful news that she received in seclusion at her childhood residence of Hatfield House on November 17, 1558. Upon learning that she was now Queen, Elizabeth invoked the Lord, reciting Psalm 118 in Latin, saying, ‘This is the doing of the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’.

Elizabeth clearly stated that imprisonment in the Tower during the reign of her sister was the most traumatic experience of her life.  She told Parliament ‘I stood in danger of my life, my sister was so incensed against me’ (Perry 1990). The fact that, unlike her mother and her other relations before her, she was actually released from the Tower unharmed was, in her opinion, no less than a miracle. Her experiences at the mercy of her sister further ingrained her with a belief that God was preserving her for a purpose.  Elizabeth would thank God publicly on many occasions throughout her life for, as she said, ‘pulling me from the prison to the palace’. According to ancient tradition, Elizabeth stayed at the Tower on the eve of her coronation, and though it was a happy occasion, the location no doubt reminded her of how close she had come to death. During her coronation procession, she compared her escape from the Tower to that of the Biblical Daniel’s escape from the lion’s den, saying God had rescued her from the ‘mouths of the greedy and raging lions’.  The lions were, of course, her sister and her sister’s council, who had sought to destroy her. This allusion was particularly effective, given the fact that there were actual lions kept on display in the Tower of London’s zoo (Perry 1990).

A view of the apartments where Princess Elizabeth was kept while she was imprisoned in the Tower of London. As I learned upon my visit there several years ago, the apartments are only open to the public per request, due to the fact that they are now part of the head Beefeater's lodgings.

Throughout her life, Elizabeth Tudor remembered everything and everyone, and forgot no betrayal, no matter how small. After she became Queen, she was pressured to name her own successor, something she never actually did, even on her deathbed. She referenced Edward VI’s ‘Devise’ to her bishops, saying of the lawyers and clerics who supported the document, ‘…after my brother’s death they openly preached and set forth that my sister and I were bastards.’ Elizabeth never forgot that she had been, as she believed, delivered by God through many perils and near-death experiences. On one occasion during her reign, she publicly remarked, ‘I know no creature that breatheth whose life standeth hourly in more peril for it than mine own; who entered not into my state without sight of manifold dangers of life and crown, as one that had the mightiest and the greatest to wrestle with.’ (Perry 1990)

In the latter half of her reign, on the eve of the invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Queen Elizabeth I took her friend the Earl of Leicester’s advice and made up her mind to visit her troops at Tilbury Fort. Elizabeth insisted on having no armed guards to surround her; she saw no need to fear the men who were committed to die in her service if necessary. Besides, she had survived far greater perils. Elizabeth spent two days conversing and dining with the soldiers. It was at the end of the visit that she delivered her iconic Tilbury Speech. The speech was written by Elizabeth, and recorded, printed, and distributed throughout the realm. In the speech, she cited the two forces that had never forsaken her: God, and the English people, proclaiming, ‘I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects’ (Tudor, 1588). Elizabeth promised to, if necessary, lay down her life for her God, her people, and her kingdom in the ensuing conflict. Elizabeth was willing to give her life for her people if this was the purpose that God had preserved her for. Luckily for England, God had preserved her to crush the Spanish invaders.

A painting of Queen Elizabeth I at Tilbury, via Luminarium.org.

The men stationed at Tilbury never had to fight, as the Spanish were engaged and defeated entirely at sea. None of the English ships were damaged or lost, but most of the Armada was destroyed by a combination of cannon-fire and bad weather. This astounding, crushing defeat was so extraordinary that it was deemed by Elizabeth and by her people to be a victory owed to divine intervention. The winds that helped to scatter some of the Spanish ships became known as the “Protestant winds”, signifying that God, who the Elizabethans believed determined the weather, was on Elizabeth and England’s side. Elizabeth had the “Protestant winds” included on some of the commemorative medals given out to veterans of the war with Spain. 

One of the Armada Medals given by Queen Elizabeth I to the veterans of the war with Spain. The aforementioned "Protestant winds" are shown on the backside of the medal (right). Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Elizabeth I’s greatest speech is arguably The Golden Speech, delivered in 1601 to her final Parliament. Like The Tilbury Speech, the content was recorded and printed to be distributed throughout the kingdom. Once again, a sentimental Elizabeth expressed her belief that God had made her a queen over so thankful a people, and that she was  ‘the mean under God to conserve [them] in safety, and preserve [them] from danger,’ and ‘ to be the instrument to deliver [them] from dishonor, from shame, and from infamy; to keep [them] from out of servitude, and from slavery under [their] Enemies; and cruel tyranny, and wild oppression intended against [them]’.

The Tide Letter, The Tilbury Speech, and The Golden Speech are just three of many examples in Elizabeth Tudor’s own words that demonstrate her belief that God had preserved her because he intended for her to rule. The fact that Elizabeth chose to time and again recall in public how close she had come to death at the hands of her sister, and to reiterate that God had delivered her through great adversity to be Queen of England, shows us how important these beliefs were to her. This, along with her unquestionable love of her people, formed the very foundation of her celebrated reign, which has become known as The Golden Age.

Sources

Perry, Maria. The Word of a Prince: A Life of Elizabeth I. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1990.

Tudor, Princess Elizabeth to Queen Mary I, 16 March 1554. In The Word of a Prince: A Life of      Elizabeth I, Maria Perry. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1990.

Tudor, Queen Elizabeth I. “The Tilbury Speech,” in The Word of a Prince: A Life of Elizabeth I, Maria Perry, 208-209. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1990.

Tudor, Queen Elizabeth I. “The Golden Speech,” in The Word of a Prince: A Life of Elizabeth I, Maria Perry, 232-233. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1990.

Elizabethan Fact of the Day: William Camden's Priceless "Annals of Queen Elizabeth"

The frontispiece and title page from the 1675 edition of The Annals (History) of Queen Elizabeth. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

William Camden (1551-1623) was an Elizabethan/Stuart antiquarian and author. His Annals of Queen Elizabeth is widely considered to be the most accurate contemporary source account of Elizabeth I and her reign (Wagner, 12). The Annals full and proper title, it should be mentioned, is The Annals or the History of the Most Renowned and Victorious Princess Elizabeth, Late Queen of England. Containing All the Most Important and Remarkable Passages of State, Both at Home and Abroad (So Far as They Were Linked with English Affairs) during Her Long and Prosperous Reign. Phew!

The account was begun only five years after Queen Elizabeth I's death, in 1608, and Camden had experienced her reign personally. Unlike other "Annals" of the time, which had a distinct tabloid flavor, (example: Holinshed's Chronicles) Camden's work is based entirely on oral interviews and written sources, rather than hearsay and gossip (Wagner, 12).

Camden had personal access to the state papers of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and other members of the Elizabethan administration. Many of these members were still living, and they shared information with him personally (Wagner, 12).



My favorite portrait of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, riding a mule. Although Burghley was dead at the time of Camden's research and writing, Camden had access to the extensive records that Burghley kept. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.


Camden had a great regard for Elizabeth I, and he believed her memory, "...among Englishmen ought ever to be...sacred." Still, he sought to write the facts, rather than his opinion of her and the events that transpired during her reign. Though an Anglican, Camden's work was written in Latin, (ANNALES RERUM ANGLICARUM et HIBENNICARUM REGNANTE ELIZABETH). His Annals is also surprisingly void of the anti-Catholic sentiment which filled the writing of the early 17th century, under the reign of James I.



William Camden was depicted in the famous Funeral Procession of Queen Elizabeth illustration. He is the man wearing the hood in the middle, and the inscription above him describes his role, saying "The coat borne by William Cambden, Clarenceux King of Arms". The 'coat' is the tabbard he holds, bearing the royal heraldry of the House of Tudor. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.


The first volume was started in 1608, and published in 1615 (Wagner, 12). Needless to say, it was a huge success.Volume 1 covered the years 1558 (the years when Elizabeth took the throne) to 1588 (the year of the defeat of the Spanish Armada). The second volume was completed in 1617, but was unfortunately not published in London until 1627, four years after Camden's death.



A 1609 engraving of William Camden. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.


I encourage all admirer's and scholars of Queen Elizabeth I and her achievements to purchase, or at least read a translated copy of William Camden's Annals of Queen Elizabeth.

Sources:

The History of the Most Renowned and Victorious Princes Elizabeth, Late Queen of England edited by Wallace T. MacCaffrey, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970.

Wagner, John A. The Historic Dictionary of the Elizabethan World. Print.

(Page 12) 

Religious Policy Under Elizabeth I

Upon succeeding to the throne of England in 1558,  Queen Elizabeth immediately set to work devising the Church Settlement that progressed through Parliament to be passed in 1559. Of course, the religious policy saw opposition from the Marian bishops who remained in office, but it still passed. The Church Settlement allowed Elizabeth's subjects to honor their own religious convictions privately, provided that they demonstrate their loyalty to Queen and Country by outwardly conforming. This meant that subjects were required to attend an Elizabethan church service weekly, and those who refused to do so were fined 1 shilling per a week.



The Coronation Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, depicted at the age of 25. Thought to be a 17th century copy from a lost original. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.


Outward conformity from both sides, Protestant and Catholic, helped Elizabeth's subjects to see themselves for the first time unified as English, rather than divided into religious factions.  It certainly helped that the Church of England's services retained elements of the old Catholic faith, while adopting some of the reforms of the Protestant movement. One of the tools used to rectify the Queen's subjects of any Christian affiliation was the Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer was revised in 1559 in an attempt to appease as many English subjects as possible. For example, for the Service of Holy Communion, the Book of Prayer contains this phrasing to be spoken:

"The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life; Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart by faith with thanksgiving."

The first statement comes from the 1549 Prayer Book and would have been acceptable to Catholics who believe that the bread is transformed into the flesh of Christ by the miracle of transubstantiation. The second phrasing comes from the 1552 Prayer Book and would have been deemed acceptable to the English Protestants who believed that the taking of the bread is an act of memorial to the Last Supper, making the bread symbolically the flesh of Christ, rather than literally. The issue of transubstantiation was a central issue of the English Reformation, hearkening back to Henry VIII's break with Rome to form the Church of England. People lost their lives in the Henrician and Marian regimes upholding their beliefs pertaining to this matter. Queen Elizabeth wished to avoid this conflict altogether, and careful consideration was taken in reforming the Book of Common Prayer early in her reign.


King Henry VIII of England, by Hans Holbein c. 1537. Elizabeth's father Henry VIII broke from Rome so that he could grant himself his own divorce from Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

 Elizabethan bishops were required to subscribe to 3 Articles of Faith:

1. They must recognize the Queen as Supreme Governor of the Church.
2. They must subscribe to the Book of Common Prayer.
3. They must agree to the 39 Articles of Religion.

William Cecil, Lord Burghley, who was Queen Elizabeth's chief advisor and Lord Treasurer was well known by the Queen to have Puritan leanings. He took issue with the rigidness of belief to which Elizabeth's bishops were expected to subscribe, and in 1584 he wrote to Elizabeth I's 'model' bishop John Whitgift, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583-1603. Burghley did not wish to see the Puritan clergy compelled to leave the church due to the 3 Articles of Faith they were required to uphold.  In Burghley's letter to Archbishop Whitgift, he said,

"...But I conclude according to my simple judgement, this kind of proceeding is too much savouring of the Romish Inquisition, and is rather a device to seek for offenders than to reform any." (Quoted in Statutes and Constitutional Documents 1558-1625, G.W. Prothero, Oxford University Press 1894.)

Those with Puritan convictions like Burghley found it difficult to swear that the Book of Common Prayer contained nothing in contradiction to the actual Word of God. Whitgift responded to Burghley's concerns saying that  the Church previous to Elizabeth had been suffering from a "lack of discipline" and that the structure the Elizabethan Church Settlement was providing would hold clergy to a higher standard (Palmer, 32).


William Cecil, Lord Burghley (1520-1598), depicted in the robes of the Order of the Garter. Elizabeth made Cecil her chief Secretary of State in 1558. He was styled Lord Burghley in 1571, and in 1572 he was made Lord Treasurer, which was the position he held until his death. Elizabeth called this man who was her chief minister for 40 years her "spirit". Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

 At all costs, Elizabeth wished to keep the peace; she really had no interest in rocking the boat on either side; this disappointed the extremist Catholics who were looking for a clear offense that they could use as cause to rise up against her, but it also disappointed  the Puritans and Presbyterians who had hoped that she would be the figurehead for a stricter Protestant church.  

Elizabeth I's Bishop's Bible from 1568. In the collection of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Elizabeth professed that she "wished not to open window's into men's souls", and she expected the same courtesy that she extended to her own subjects to be afforded to her as well. This is perhaps why the details of her own religious convictions remain somewhat of a mystery. Still, no one should doubt that Elizabeth herself was indeed religious; she had studied the Bible and other ancient texts of religion for many years, and she often professed how she believed God had preserved and guided her through the many trials and tribulations of her life to be crowned Queen of England. 

The frontispiece of Queen Elizabeth's prayerbook, showing her kneeling in reverence and prayer. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

William Camden (1551-1623) lived through Queen Elizabeth's reign, and as her contemporary he had access to original material (Palmer, 29).  He published his Annals of Queen Elizabeth in Latin in 1615, and he made a point to comment on the Queen's religious habits,

"(Queen Elizabeth was)...truly religious, who every day, as soon as she arose, spent sometime in prayers to God and afterwards also at set times in her Private Chapel; every Sunday and Holy day she went into her chapel ; neither was there ever any other prince present at God's service with greater devotion. The sermons in Lent attentively she heard being all in black, after the manner of old although she many times said that she had rather talk with God devoutly by prayer than hear others speak eloquently of God."

The frontispiece and title page of the 1675 edition of William Camden's Annals of Queen Elizabeth. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

This observation from Camden, published in the reign of Elizabeth's successor James I, shows that while Elizabeth gave nods to the Catholic way of worship (Attending church during Lent season in all black) she still professed and practiced perhaps the most important concept of Protestantism: the ability to converse directly with God rather than rely on the interpretation or intercession of the clergy to communicate with and understand God and His will.

While Queen Elizabeth adopted an extremely moderate religious policy that brought stability to her realm, it should be emphasized that extremism on either side was considered politically dangerous. Zealous Catholics as well as Puritans and Presbyterians were monitored and sometimes severely punished if they threatened the safety of Queen Elizabeth and her realm, or if their prophesying caused civil unrest.

Puritans took issue with Elizabeth's policy not continuing the work of her late brother Edward VI's regime. The Puritan's has hoped that Elizabeth Tudor would completely reform the Church of England, and rid it of  all vestments, icons, Latin verses and other trappings of the Catholic faith. While services continued to include Latin hymns and incense, Queen Elizabeth did promote the Protestant reform of raising the qualifications of the clergy: Elizabeth's bishops were supposed to be well-educated and Bible-literate; still, Elizabeth always remained wary that any religious study group could develop into cells of Presbyterian doctrine.


Detail of the allegorical work Edward VI and the Pope. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Presbyterians, another Christian sect, were the biggest Protestant threat to the peace of Elizabeth's realm, since their rejection of the entire ecclesiastical hierarchy of bishops by implication took issue with the institution of royal supremacy (Palmer, 28).

Some ardent Catholics also gave Queen Elizabeth and her government reason to be cautious. A small number of Catholics in England welcomed militant Catholic priests and assassins from abroad who aimed to attack Queen Elizabeth with the blessing of the pope. When Elizabeth was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic faith (which she had never once been a part of), it was declared by the Bishop of Rome that anyone who saw the "English Jezebel" killed would not be committing murder but instead would be doing God's will, and would be welcomed into Paradise. Elizabeth's network of spy's and informants, led by her spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, monitored the lives of  individuals associated with this Catholic movement closely.

Detail of a portrait of Sir Franics Walsingham (1536-1589). Walsingham succeeded Burghley as Secretary of State in 1573. He acted as Ambassador to Scotland, France and the Netherlands, while acting as Queen Elizabeth I's "spymaster". It was Walsingham's network that uncovered the Mary, the so-called Queen of Scot's treachery and the Babington Plot. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Queen Elizabeth had watched from afar with great concern the religious wars which were tearing apart the kingdom's on the Continent. When she became Queen she wisely decided to occupy herself with healing the religious tension in England as best as she could in order to prevent her nation from befalling a similar fate. While some Protestants and some Catholics took issue with aspects of Elizabeth's religious policy, most found it to be remarkably tolerable. If we compare Elizabeth's decisions pertaining to religion to those of her predecessors, contemporaries, and even her successor, it is very clear that her policy was the least oppressive. Queen Elizabeth really did make a conscience effort to appease the majority of her subjects by permitting them their religious convictions, so long as they remained loyal subjects. The Elizabethan Church Settlement would be one of the many ways in which Queen Elizabeth would improve the lives of her people.

Queen Elizabeth captured the matter of Christianity best when she said, "There is but one God, one Jesus Christ; all else is dispute over trifles."

The Great Seal of Queen Elizabeth I, from 1586. Designed by Nicholas Hilliard. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Sources:

Palmer, Michael. Reputations: Elizabeth I. Bath Press, 1988. Print.

Prothero, G.W. Statutes and Constitutional Documents 1558-1625. Oxford University Press, 1894. Print.

Camden, William. The Annals of Queen Elizabeth. London, 1615. Electronic.