Elizabeth I
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Descended from a giant: the Worsleys of Hovingham
The recent death of HRH the Duchess of Kent, who was married to the late queen’s cousin at York Minister in 1961, reminds us of her family’s long association with Yorkshire. This has included two brothers who served as archbishop…
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When tinsel was only for the rich: dressing to impress in early modern England
Wondering what to wear to a Christmas or New Year party? Deciding how to look one’s best can be a dilemma – but at least our fashion choices aren’t dictated by Acts of Parliament. In Tudor and Jacobean times it…
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Richard Bancroft and the English mission to Emden, 1600
Richard Bancroft is well known to students of late Elizabethan and Jacobean England. A relentless enemy to nonconformist puritans, Bancroft served first as bishop of London (1597-1604) and then as archbishop of Canterbury (1604-1610). However, towards the end of Elizabeth’s…
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Elizabeth I’s Swedish lady of the privy chamber: Helena Ulfsdotter née Snakenborg, marchioness of Northampton
As we mark Women’s History Month throughout March, here Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Lords 1558-1603 project, looks into the life of Helena Snakenborg. How did this Swedish native become key figure in the court of Elizabeth I? One…
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The man who would be king (-consort): Henry Fitzalan, earl of Arundel
Many of the leading figures at the Elizabethan court, like the queen’s chief minister, William Cecil, Lord Burghley and the royal favourite Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, need no introduction. However, there were many other prominent men at the Elizabethan…
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What if Elizabeth I had Died in 1562?
It is easy to take the long reign of Elizabeth I for granted. But less than four years after Elizabeth ascended the throne, her life was nearly cut short, threatening to bring down the curtain on the Tudor dynasty. What…
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The First Accession Council
In modern Britain, the death of a monarch has little political impact; the work of government continues uninterrupted, apart from a period of official mourning. But four centuries ago, when the king or queen actually ran the government, the situation…
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The ‘Answer Answerless’ and Elizabeth I’s attitude towards the Parliament of 1586-7
In the latest blog from our First Elizabethan Age series Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Lords 1558-1603 section, discusses the words- or lack of- given by Elizabeth I on this day 1586, and some of the more unusual features…
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Execution or murder? Elizabeth I and the problem of how to kill Mary Queen of Scots
Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Lords 1558-1603 section, discusses the thorny issue that faced Elizabeth I in the wake of the discovery of Mary Queen of Scots’ role in the Babington Plot of 1586… On 1 February 1587 Sir…
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Elizabeth I, Parliament and the creation of new peers, 1558-1603
Ahead of next Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Andrew Thrush of the History of Parliament. On 7 June 2022, between 5.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., Andrew will be responding to your questions about his pre-circulated paper…
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The execution of Thomas Howard, 4th duke of Norfolk
As the 450th anniversary of the execution of the Elizabethan duke of Norfolk approaches, Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Lords 1558-1603 section, considers both the background to his trial for treason and the queen’s reluctance to carry out the…
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Prorogation Tide: Elizabeth I and the Parliament of 1572-81
In the sixteenth century, parliaments were not only summoned but also prorogued at the behest of the monarch. In this blog, Dr Andrew Thrush, editor of our Lords 1558-1603 project, discusses an exceptionally large but often overlooked number of prorogations…