Charlie Fenton’s Reviews > Elizabeth > Status Update

‘Crucial was the issue of penalties. Her sister’s religious settlement had been enforced by the terrible penalties of heresy; her father’s by the different but equally horrible tortures of treason. Elizabeth’s acts of supremacy and uniformity, on the other hand, prescribed a sliding scale of fines, imprisonment and deprivation of office for their breach. Heresy was narrowly defined and rarely employed’

‘Far from delaying appointments to office or the council, she made both as rapidly as possible. And far from pretending that Mary’s council was still in existence, she announced its dissolution in the most public fashion possible... When Elizabeth thought it was time for clarity, no one could be blunter. And when she was persuaded that she should be decisive, no one could act faster or more ruthlessly.’

‘She owed, he now explained at length, the acknowledgement of her right to the throne neither to the dying Queen nor to the council, but solely to the King of Spain. It was the worst thing he could have said. It was fear of seeming to ‘owe’ the English throne to Spain which had made Elizabeth reject the Savoy marriage so vigorously. She was equally vehement in repudiating Philip’s patronage now.’

‘First there was the protracted humiliation of Mary’s bogus pregnancy. Then came her husband’s desertion, which was soon compounded by rumours of Philip’s promiscuous womanising... There was, in short, a paradox. A woman could take power. But the greatest risks to her holding it would come from the fulfilment of her ordinary, womanly functions of wife and mother.‘

‘We can (and should) imagine the Queen’s dismissive pity as she thought of her sister. Elizabeth was doubtfully legitimate, unreliable in her faith, unmarried, and likely to remain so. She was the sterile issue of an abortive union, while she, Mary, was heavy with destiny and the child who would guarantee the Catholic future of England.’

‘But, despite the shadow of treason, Elizabeth remained royal and whenever Bedingfield spoke with her indoors, even to reprove her or deny her wishes, he did so kneeling. Kneeling is not a strong negotiating position. Elizabeth exploited her advantage shamelessly and vindictively.’

‘But Wyatt’s public testimony against Elizabeth - innocent though it was - provided the pretext for a sudden escalation in the pressure on her. On Friday, 16 March, the day after Wyatt’s trial, the council came in a body to Elizabeth and formally charged her with involvement in both Wyatt’s and the Carews’ conspiracies. Elizabeth vehemently denied the charges.‘

‘Protestant and she was ‘the second inheritor of the crown’. But she was also passionately loyal to her father’s memory and wishes. And she had an unshakeable sense of dynastic legitimacy. Probably without asking - which would anyway have been dangerous - the King knew that she would refuse to have any share in his scheme. Elizabeth would not agree to be the usurper of Mary’s claim. So Elizabeth had to go as well.‘

‘But then Thomas Seymour had no mean opinion of himself. He was not unintelligent. But his heart ruled his head and his ambition ruled his heart. And his ambition was insatiable. He was physically impressive, too... Inevitably, Elizabeth fell for him. She did not quite sacrifice her prudence. But her prudishness and protestations of virtue were exposed as a sham.’

‘the sort of thing which an alert three-year-old would notice and question. It also had a practical impact as the child quickly outgrew her now static wardrobe. Within a few weeks, she had literally nothing to wear. We can imagine her bitter, childish humiliation; we can also speculate that it was to avoid its repetition that the adult queen was to fill her wardrobes to overflowing with hundreds of dresses.’