Shop for gifts inspired by an iconic Queen Understand the context, creation and significance of the Armada Portrait in our concise guide. Indulge in gifts inspired by its Elizabethan symbolism Shop. Icons: The Armada Portrait. Buy Now. Armillary Sphere. A wondrous decorative ornament inspired by the armillary sphere astronomical instrument. This small scale armillary sphere is just the right size for a desk or shelf Discover the rich royal history of the area where Henry VIII built his first tournament ground, Elizabeth I took daily walks in the Park, and where Charles II raced early royal yachts against his brother Visit Us.
Search Want to search our collection? Her finest hour came in when she defeated the Spanish Armada , catapulting her to legendary status. Although Elizabeth is now hailed as one of our greatest monarchs, she should never have got anywhere near the throne. She was not only a girl at a time when the laws of succession favoured boys, but she had an elder sister, Mary.
It is one of the greatest ironies of history that Henry VIII had been so obsessed with having a son, yet his cherished boy only reigned for six years , dying of tuberculosis at the age of just The second in line, Mary, did not fare much better. Her brief, catastrophic reign ended after just five years. Reigned: queen of England and Ireland for 44 years, from 17 November until her death in She was the last monarch of the Tudor period.
Cause of death: Hotly debated — possible causes include blood poisoning; pneumonia; streptococcus infected tonsils ; or cancer. There is a common misconception that Elizabeth thought little of her ill-fated mother, Anne Boleyn. The fact that she hardly spoke of her and saved all of her praise for her adored father, Henry VIII, has often led to the conclusion that Elizabeth was ashamed of Anne.
On the contrary: all this proved was what a great pragmatist Elizabeth was. Instead, Elizabeth chose more subtle ways to demonstrate her affection. Elizabeth was as famous a flirt as her mother, Anne Boleyn.
She started by refusing to marry — a deeply shocking concept in an age when it was universally accepted that a woman let alone a queen could not make her way in the world without the guidance of a husband. Although she encountered fierce resistance to this at first, over time her single state became one of the cornerstones of her success: it secured her place as the Virgin Queen of legend. But she also knew exactly when to flaunt her femininity.
She created a court based upon the principles of chivalric love, with herself at the centre — at turns delighting, frustrating and enslaving the male courtiers who flocked to pay her homage. This implies that she triumphed in spite of being a woman, whereas in fact she triumphed because of this. Her feminine traits enabled her to stand out in a world dominated by men — and to dominate these men in turn.
She always put the interests of her country ahead of her own private hopes and fears — including the love she bore for her long-standing favourite, Robert Dudley. Her long reign witnessed a number of notable achievements: a new, moderate religious settlement, overseas expansion, great military victories like the Armada and a flowering of cultural life epitomised by Shakespeare.
But there was another side to the story too. Seen by most of Catholic Europe as a heretical and thanks to her infamous mother Anne Boleyn illegitimate usurper, from the very beginning of her reign Elizabeth was beset by rival claimants.
Although Elizabeth disputed any involvement in the conspiracy, her sister was not wholly convinced. Although she was soon released, Elizabeth's life was firmly in her sister's hands. Wyatt was executed, but he maintained that Elizabeth was not aware of the rebellion. Elizabeth eventually returned to Hatfield and continued with her studies. Elizabeth I inherited a number of problems stirred up by her half-sister Mary. The country was at war with France, which proved to be a tremendous drain on the royal coffers.
There was also great tension between different religious factions after Mary worked to restore England to Roman Catholicism by any means necessary. Mary had earned herself the nickname Bloody Mary for ordering the execution of Protestants as heretics.
Elizabeth acted swiftly to address these two pressing issues. During her first session of Parliament in , she called for the passage of the Act of Supremacy, which re-established the Church of England, and the Act of Uniformity, which created a common prayer book.
Elizabeth took a moderate approach to the divisive religious conflict in her country. She was able to avoid clashing with the other superpower of the age, Spain, for much of her reign.
In , however, Elizabeth entered the fray to support the Protestant rebellion against Spain in the Netherlands. Spain then set its sights on England, but the English navy was able to defeat the infamous Spanish Armada in According to several reports, the weather proved to be a deciding factor in England's victory.
While she worked hard at court, Elizabeth took time for leisurely pursuits. She loved music and could play the lute. Thomas Tallis and William Byrd were among her court musicians. Elizabeth also enjoyed dancing and watching plays. Elizabeth's reign supported the creation of works by such greats as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. Writers paid tribute to the queen in many literary forms. The poet Edmund Spenser based his character of Gloriana in The Faerie Queen on Elizabeth, and she was sometimes referred to by this name.
Portraiture was the reigning form of painting at the time, and artists honored Elizabeth by painting her portrait. These images reveal that Elizabeth was an early fashionista in many ways.
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