Elizabeth I: Court and Government

Elizabeth I became queen on 17 November 1558, when her half-sister Mary I died. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and was 25 years old at her accession.

The AQA depth study covers c1568–1603 — the second half of a reign that lasted 45 years. By 1568 Elizabeth had already settled England's religion (the 1559 settlement) and survived the dangerous early years of her rule.

Elizabeth inherited real problems. She was a Protestant ruling a country with many Catholics, she was unmarried with no heir, and she was a woman in an age that expected men to rule. How she managed her Court, her ministers and Parliament is the story of how she held on to power for so long.

Elizabeth had a strong classical education — she could read Latin and Greek and spoke several modern languages. Contemporaries described her as clever, cautious and quick-tempered, skilled at delaying decisions to keep her options open.

Power in Elizabethan England flowed downwards from the monarch. At the centre stood the Queen, surrounded by three key institutions.

Institution	Role	Who was involved
The Court	Projected royal power and image; the centre of favour and influence	Nobles, courtiers, servants around the Queen
The Privy Council	Ran day-to-day government and advised the Queen	~19 senior ministers
Parliament	Granted taxation and passed laws when summoned	Lords and elected Commons

Below national government, local government enforced royal policy in the counties:

• Lord Lieutenants — nobles responsible for a county, including raising the local militia.
• Justices of the Peace (JPs) — unpaid local landowners who kept order, judged minor crimes and, later, oversaw poor relief.

The Queen held final authority through the Royal prerogative — her special powers to declare war, choose ministers and summon or dismiss Parliament.

The Court was not a single place but the group of nobles, courtiers and servants who travelled with the Queen. It was the beating heart of Elizabethan politics because it was where you gained access to the monarch — and access meant power.

Elizabeth used the Court to project a carefully managed image of majesty:

• Portraiture — official portraits showed her as youthful, powerful and semi-divine. In 1596 the Privy Council ordered unflattering portraits of the Queen to be found and destroyed.
• Progresses — the Court travelled the country each summer, staying with leading nobles. This displayed royal power, saved money and kept Elizabeth popular, but caused problems for hosts, who bore huge costs.
• The cult of "Gloriana" — poets and artists presented Elizabeth as the "Virgin Queen", married to her country rather than to any man.

Access to the Queen was the currency of Elizabethan politics. Courtiers competed fiercely for her attention because a word in the Queen's ear could win a title, an office or a fortune.

Patronage was the granting of titles, land, offices and monopolies (exclusive rights to trade in a product). It was the glue that held the political system together.

By handing out rewards, Elizabeth could:

• Buy loyalty — nobles competed for her favour rather than plotting against her.
• Balance rival factions — she played leading courtiers off against each other so no single group grew too powerful.
• Govern cheaply — many offices were unpaid or funded by fees, so patronage cost the Crown little directly.

The danger was that patronage was a limited resource. If a courtier felt starved of rewards, resentment could build — as it did with the Earl of Essex at the end of the reign. Monopolies also became deeply unpopular because they raised prices, and Parliament clashed with Elizabeth over them in the 1590s.

Three men dominated Elizabeth's government. She valued loyalty and ability, and kept her best servants for decades.

Minister	Role	Significance
William Cecil (Lord Burghley)	Secretary of State from 1558, then Lord Treasurer from 1572	Her closest and most trusted adviser for 40 years; cautious and moderate
Robert Dudley (Earl of Leicester)	Master of the Horse; a leading courtier and Privy Councillor	Her personal favourite, once a possible husband; led forces in the Netherlands
Francis Walsingham	Secretary of State from 1573; the spymaster	Ran a network of spies and informers that uncovered Catholic plots

Cecil was created Baron Burghley in 1571 and remained at the centre of power until his death in 1598. Walsingham's intelligence network was crucial in exposing the plots against Elizabeth, including the Babington Plot that led to Mary, Queen of Scots' execution in 1587.

A GCSE answer on "government" is stronger when it names ministers precisely: Cecil for cautious administration, Walsingham for security and spying, Dudley for court influence.

The Court could reward loyalty, but it could also destroy those who lost the Queen's favour. The clearest example is Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex — the stepson of Robert Dudley, and a rising favourite in the 1590s.

Essex was a glamorous young favourite in the 1590s, but he was rash and demanded rewards Elizabeth would not give. After failing on a military command in Ireland (1599) and being stripped of a lucrative monopoly on sweet wines, he lost his income and influence.

In desperation he attempted a rebellion in February 1601, marching into London to force his way back into power. It collapsed within a day. Essex was tried and executed on 25 February 1601.

His fall showed two things:

• Elizabeth's authority remained strong even at the very end of her reign.
• The patronage system had a breaking point — a courtier denied rewards could turn dangerous.

(The full detail of Essex's rebellion is covered in the next lesson on Elizabeth as a female ruler and her relations with Parliament.)

1. Confusing the Court with the Privy Council

The Court was the wide circle of nobles and servants around the Queen. The Privy Council was the small inner group of about 19 advisers who ran government. Do not use the terms interchangeably.

2. Getting the accession date wrong

Elizabeth acceded in 1558, not 1568. The depth study begins around 1568, but her reign started ten years earlier. Muddling these dates weakens a chronology answer.

3. Treating patronage as a minor detail

Patronage is central to how Elizabeth governed. It explains both her control over the nobility and later problems such as Essex's rebellion and the monopolies quarrel with Parliament.

4. Forgetting local government

Answers often stop at the Court and Council. Strong responses also mention Lord Lieutenants and JPs, who actually enforced royal policy across the counties.

5. Naming ministers without their roles

Do not just list "Cecil, Dudley, Walsingham". State what each did — chief adviser and treasurer, court favourite, and spymaster — so the examiner sees genuine understanding.