Elizabeth I: From Prison to Palace (Episode 1)

you in January 1559 Elizabeth the first was crowned queen of England she was the last of the great Tudor dynasty a bright star who dazzled both the nation and the world the achievement of most stars fades quickly but Elizabeth has lasted for nearly four centuries and it's easy to see why she reigned for 45 tumultuously ears her ships defeated the Spanish Armada and sailed around the globe in her time Shakespeare wrote plays and Spencer wrote poems English noblemen and foreign princes wooed her but she the Virgin Queen made love to that loyalist of audiences the English people Elizabeth was one of the daughters of King Henry the eighth but the right of women to succeed to the throne was still in doubt and her pather would be perilous her father would kill her mother and she will be disinherited her sister would imprison her in the tower and threatened her with execution men would love her for her royal status and not for herself she will be sexually abused by her own stepfather most monarchs are handed their crowns on a plate Elizabeth got hers by coming and courage Elizabeth sex was a disappointment to Henri astrologers the shirred him that the baby to be born in September 15 33 would be a boy he already had one daughter the 17 year old Mary what he wanted was a son and heir but although Elizabeth was a girl the Magnificent christening plan for the longed-for Prince went ahead Monsieur know every detail had been seeped down to the brazier to warm the water in the font she was even proclaimed princess the title of the heir to the throne Elizabeth a goat a bachelor nomine Patris at fee its aunty according to the French ambassador the whole occasion was so perfect that nothing was lacking actually things were far from perfect at Elizabeth's baptism because Elizabeth was the child of the second marriage and Henry's second marriage like many second managers today arouse very strong feelings for instance the Imperial ambassador refused point-blank to attend the baptism he even refused to recognize and the Lin Elizabeth mother as Henry's wife instead he sneeringly referred to her as the and as for little Elizabeth she was the bastard even one of the officiating clergy when he was asked had the baby been baptized in hot water or in cold replied hot but not hot enough Henry divorced his first wife Catherine of Aragon because she had not given him a son but now her replacement ambolyn was having her own gynecological problems after two miscarriages she finally had a baby boy but it was stillborn alan failed in her principal duty as royal breeding machine meanwhile Henry had fallen in love with another woman Jane Seymour an the end came with terrifying swiftness she was accused of multiple adultery with four of the gentlemen the King's Chamber and have incest with our own brother all of the cues were found guilty and Anne herself was executed here on tower green on the 19th of May 1536 Henry showed a single gesture of mercy towards a woman that he once loved so much and her head was removed at a single stroke with a sword rather than being hacked off with the axe Elizabeth was only three and her mother was executed as a traitor and a for many children this would have been a lifelong trauma but Elizabeth seems to have airbrushed her mother from her memory it was to be Henry who filled her world Hamblin's fall marked a major step down in the world for the young elizabeth her parents marriage was declared null and void she was now illegitimate and unable to inherit the throne so instead of the right high and mighty princess the Lady Elizabeth inherit tricks of the crown of England she became the Lady Elizabeth the King second bastard daughter Elizabeth sudden loss of status through the little court where she had been brought up into confusion even her governess lady Bryan didn't know what to do and wrote to the Kings Minister Thomas Cromwell for guidance how should the little girl be treated by the way could she please have some more clothes she'd outgrown absolutely everything she had but above all where should she eat more shield enough to eat here in the Great Hall served on the DES or should she continue to eat in her chamber where it'll be easier to keep her away from the rich foods that were so bad for her teeth and her digestion whatever her status no one could forget that Elizabeth was amber Lynn's daughter and it was in order to Mary Ann that Henry had broken away from Rome and made himself head of the church in England it was a revolution and one of its victims was the monasteries they were amongst the greatest English landowners the assets were seized and their buildings dismantle one of them was Glastonbury Abbey then the largest church in England when I look out from my church across the other side of the road from these ruins I'm filled with a feeling or sense of sadness a sense of loss sense of disbelief to a degree that such destruction could have taken place in a country that was supposedly very religious son Catholic this Abbey here was a place of pilgrimage the abbey contained a statue of Our Lady witches with Catholic school st. Mary and people would have come from far and wide to pay their respects to say their prayers to make their offerings and ask for various helps within the space of nine years from the Reformation dissolution of the monasteries this went from being one of the grandest Catholic churches in this country - pretty well what we see around us today hardly one stone on top of another the damage to the Catholic Church wasn't just physical it was spiritual - out of these ruins would grow a new Protestant faith Henry's religious revolution would divide his country and his family Henry had now embarked on his third marriage to Jane Seymour in just over a year she gave him the son that he craved Edward legitimate and the boy was now undoubted heir Eduardo read Pettis a bit lazier day Elizabeth his half-sister was no more than a minor royal she had once been princess herself now she was an attendant that had baby brother's christening Sarah and she also lost her governess to Edward as lady Brown was transferred to look after the young prince a replacement was cat Ashley a well-educated and devout woman who became very close to Elizabeth her father on the other hand scarcely saw her for royal children like Elizabeth who were brought up in the country away from the royal court there Henry communicated with her by messenger in December 15:39 he sent Sir Thomas Risley to convey his Christmas greetings she gave humble thanks inquiring again of His Majesty's welfare and that with us greater gravity as if she'd been 40 years old children in the sixteenth century had to join the starched and corseted adult world as quickly as possible they're expected to look like their parents and to behave like them even slight misdemeanors were severely punished one royal tutor advised never have the rod offer boys back and the daughter especially should be handled without cherishing but Elizabeth was lucky the tutors belong to the new school which thought that kindness was a better teacher than the came but then the young princess was a model pupil and she studied languages from the age of four she became fluent in French Italian Latin and Greek sir in chivay tofu am ia tickler the me on the floor amenities predestined Tokyo V de Paz wasn't power less type to retort a my Orem could eat a seat here too but he was how she learned languages that mattered as well she was taught by the method of double translation this means that the little girl had to translate a passage from Latin into English and then back again into Latin getting it absolutely right word for word now for most children this kind of thing would have been an absolute torment but Elizabeth seems to have reveled in it she must have had the mind of a computer programmer or an expert solver of crossword puzzles because she continued to do translations for the whole of the rest of her life she did them fun for relaxation but she also did them as a kind of mental to keep her emotions under control just as nowadays some people might practice yoga or meditation Elizabeth was the kind of daughter of whom any father would be proud and this painting shows Henry's confidence in her it commemorates his decision in 1544 to reinstate both his daughters in the succession no woman ever sat on the English throne before now if Edward died without an heir first Mary and then Elizabeth would become Queen Henry then sailed for France to fight a war leaving his wife catherine parr as regent in charge of the kingdom Elizabeth now witnessed firsthand that an intelligent well-educated woman could rule effectively at about this time Elizabeth acquired a new tutor Roger Ascham he worked with the brightest minds at Cambridge but he found Elizabeth more than their equal the Lady Elizabeth shines like a star the constitution of her mind is exempt from female weakness no apprehension can be quicker than hers she demonstrated her abilities in an extraordinary New Year's gift for her father it's a work of prose but it shows the twelve-year-old girl to a beam in her way just as much of a child prodigy as the young Mozart is bound in red cloth of gold heavily embroidered with Henry's initials top and bottom and but you can actually see it more clearly on the back in the middle a cipher that's the interlaced initials for Henry and Catherine spelt with a K Catherine Parr the covers of work of a professional embroidery but inside it's all Elizabeth's own work and what work page after page are perfect beautiful rhythmic metallic handwriting it shows just how far she'd come on in a year her New Year's present of the year before that her stepmother is filled with mistakes correction second thoughts but here nothing first the Latin then the French then the Italian not a mistake not a mistranslation not a lot just perfection but it's the introductory letter that really takes us into Elizabeth's own mind she addresses her father a very striking phrase matchless and most kind father she even has our own views on the importance of the state of kingship the state of kingship which philosophers say is equivalent to that of a God upon earth in love with her father perhaps even more in love with the idea of monarchy Elisabet have never been more secure in her royal status she basked in Henry's attention in 1546 she had this portrait painted for him and it shows her as she wished to be seen by her father so she studious one finger marking a page in a book she's pious the book open on the left and beside her is certainly the Bible she is the virtuous Renaissance princess but this tranquility could not last Henry her father was dying at 13 Elizabeth was about to lose the giant of a father whom she revered next decade would be the most threatening period her life Christmas 1546 was a gloomy wall at court a long time the King had suffered from an old jousting injury to his leg which had turned into a chronic ulcer pus would build up causing the leg to swell the pain was intense on the 30th of December Henry completed his will and then the descent was Swift as henry lay dying in his bedchamber outside in the long gallery Edward Seymour Prince Edward's uncle was pacing up and down with his advisors they were plotting the takeover of power in the new reign towards two o'clock in the morning Henry died clutching the hands of Archbishop Cranmer Elizabeth's Godfather to make sure that there was a smooth transfer of power and his death was kept secret for three full days finally all was ready and Seymour brought together Edward now Edward the sixth and his favorite sister Elizabeth and told them that their father was dead one account describes how the two children threw themselves into each others arms weeping uncontrollably little King Edward the sixth had stepped into his father's shoes but there were several sizes too big for him he was just nine years old and to begin with he was the pawn of his powerful royal palace and so was Elizabeth her father's will have left her rich and her place in the line of the succession made her a tempting target one man in particular Thomas Seymour had his eyes on her the SEMA brothers as uncle's to the young king were the most powerful family in the land Thomas the younger brother was bitterly jealous of his elder brother Edward because Edward had made himself Duke of Somerset and Lord protect a druid built very Pomeroy Castle in Devon it's still owned by his descendant John Seymour Thomas I think was a a wonderfully flamboyant and colorful character like his brother he was very ambitious and he took the most of the opportunities that were presented to him he was headstrong I think he probably didn't think a great deal about what was going to happen as a result of his actions but he was undoubtedly out to favor himself and make the most of his opportunities in his life which he did Thomas plotted his advancement to power from his base Sudeley castle in Gloucestershire his first idea was to marry one of Henry the eighth's daughters either marry or Elizabeth would have done but the council vetoed that idea so Seymour went for the next best thing and proposed to Henry's Widow Catherine Parr Catherine had already been passionately in love with him even before she married Henry so she accepted him like a shot Elizabeth was living with Catherine so this meant that Seymour wasn't only her stepfather he was also her guardian as a position of trust which he abused shocking but first Catherine Parrs involvement made Seymour's games seem innocent enough elizabeth fal'cie more intriguing plain he was 40 she is just 14 but Seymour saw a relationship with Elizabeth as a means of drawing closer to the throne his game who darker catherine parr was deceived by these antics but cat Ashley was worried he romped with her in the garden and cut her gown into a hundred pieces Seymour now got hold of the key to Elizabeth's bedroom he would come into her room partly dressed early in the morning sometimes he would tickle her and slap her buttocks Elizabeth was confused by Seymour's behavior and by her reaction to it Seymour was a handsome sexually charged man and she was flattered by his attentions but she was also scared by them so sometimes she behaved as though it was all again and play hide and seek behind the curtains of the bed on other occasions though Elizabeth would react as though her maidenly modesty had been outraged she get up early and makes sure that she was dressed so as to avoid Seymour's attentions on the other hand cat Ashley Elizabeth's governess knew exactly what was going on but when she reproved Seymour for risking Elizabeth's reputation he brazen dit out he no intention of stopping his behavior he said because he meant no harm by it but when Catherine Parr became pregnant seamos flirtation with Elizabeth grew more serious but first Catherine could not believe what was happening finally she was left in no doubt your grace following a painful interview during which Elizabeth hardly spoke a stepmother sent her away it was the last time Elizabeth saw Catherine when she moved to sued Lee to have the baby Elizabeth route to her wishing her luck but Catherine died shortly after the birth of her child and she was buried here that sued Lee in her final delirium all her fears and jealousies about Seymour's behavior had revived with very good reason because Seymour soon renewed his suit to marry Elizabeth and this time he had the powerful backing of cat Ashley Elizabeth herself too was enthusiastic but she the good sense to say firmly that she wouldn't consider the marriage without the backing of the council see more for his part hot-headed and impetuous as usual was too impatient to wait Thomas was becoming more and more keen to attain some personal power and to further his career and one way of doing this was to get Edward the king the young King completely on his side and I think he decided that he was going to actually abduct the King and as he lived in the neighboring apartment it was very easy for him to have conversations and meetings with the young king and how it happened I don't think it's really clear but we do know that he was found in the Kings apartment with a sword in his hand the spaniel one of the many spaniels I think that the young King had started to bark and I suppose in desperation Thomas ran it through with his sword and it was a great cover for the noise and people burst in and Thomas was arrested Seymour was charged with treason his relationship with Elizabeth made suspect to a team of interrogators descended on Hatfield to discover whether she'd been plotting with him a clues his confident half Ashley was arrested and taken to the tower under threat of torture she described the scandalous events of the previous summer her evidence was now used word for word against Elizabeth another time at hand 'with he romped with her in the garden romped and cut her gown being black cloth into a hundred pieces and when I came and chid Lady Elizabeth she assured me she could not strive with all for the Queen held her while the Lord Admiral cut the dress the Queen suspecting the often access of the Admiral to the Lady Elizabeth came suddenly upon them where they were all alone he having her in his arms despite the evidence Elizabeth refused to admit any wrongdoing then a rumor began that she was pregnant by Seymour she complained bitterly to Somerset master tur wit and others have told me that they'd go with rumours abroad that I am in the tower and with child by my lord Admiral these are shameful slanders I shall most heartily desire your lordship that I may come to the court that I may show myself as I am tear would tell Somerset he was sure she was guilty but he could prove nothing Elizabeth had survived the crisis but Seymour's guilt was clear in March 1549 Somerset signed his brother's death warrant and Seymour was beheaded on Tower Hill Elizabeth brush with Thomas Seymour marked a turning point in her young life it was a blue clinician into the world of adult politics and adult sexuality she learned the hard way that a sexual relationship even a close friendship might mean danger perhaps death she knew now that when a man approached her he got his eyes on the throne as much as on her from this point onwards she trusted almost nobody she kept her own counsel and she concealed her two thoughts it was her defense against the hostile world Elizabeth was left alone in the peaceful solitude of Hatfield here she continued her studies she also indulged passion for riding and hunting the cleaner on exercise were welcome antidote to the headaches and sickness that have plagued her during the investigation would recur throughout her life during moments of stress and about this time Elizabeth's French cooter John bel main gave us a present his translation as some puzzles epistle dicent Gregory on the virtues of the single life the Saints argument was that marriage distracted the soul from the worship of God bearing in mind her recent experiences with Thomas Seymour Elizabeth was well aware of the practical political advantages of celibacy - it was the same with the rest of the Saints arguments about the need for temperance and sobriety of dress Elizabeth created a sensation of court by turning up with her hair straight her face unmade up and virtually no jewelry she was rehabilitating herself after the disaster the seymour affair by playing the Quaker maid there was more to it than just image Elizabeth was caught up in the new Protestant mood in England the crosses and candles of the Catholic faith were being stripped from altars everywhere new faith had the enthusiastic backing the villas of us brother the young King Edward but by 1553 the 15 year old King was dying of tuberculosis he was desperate to stop the religious reforms being undone by his Catholic sister Mary who would succeed under the terms of their father's will so he excluded her from the succession because she was a bastard but him Mary was a bastard so too was Elizabeth instead Edward chose a Protestant cousin to succeed him the fifteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey anxiously Elizabeth waited with her armed followers at Hatfield to see what would happen next in July 1553 Edward died Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen and Elizabeth and Mary were denounced as bastards but Mary was Henry's elder daughter in the eyes of the people she was rightful queen she was supported by many of England's leading families so henry Bedingfield a substantial norfolk landowner was one of the first to rally to Mary's banner his descendant still lives at ox / Hall so Henry at oxberg gathered together 160 men armed as they say kappa PA that is to say with certain amount of armor leather Jerkins sword certainly and I'm sure a few horses his role was to then take this small group people - first of all kenning hall where other units such as his word joining up to make him an army and then from there to framlingham where the army swelled and they marched from there to London with Queen Mary Princess Elizabeth joined them on route and as custom dictated at the gates of the - City of London they left the army behind and Elizabeth and Mary rode into the city of London - wild for joy seeing in chairs from the crowd in the face of this overwhelming support for Mary the opposition collapsed Lady Jane Grey was later beheaded at the tower on July the 19th 15:53 Mary was proclaimed Queen her vision was to lead England back to the true Catholic faith Elizabeth's Protestantism marked her out as a potential enemy for the first two months of Mary's reign Elizabeth contrived to avoid going to Mass finally Mary issued an ultimatum Elizabeth was to attend Mass on the 8th of September the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin corner last Elizabeth sought a personal interview with Mary at Richmond she threw herself on her knees before the Queen tears streaming down her face she explained that she'd never been taught the old faith and please could you have priests to instruct her oh yes and she would go to Mass but on the morning she developed a diplomatic chill and rather spoil the solemnity of the occasion by complaining loudly have a bad stomachache now that Mary not anyone else was deceived well Mary and Elizabeth had quite different attitudes to their respective religions Mary of the old religion would have had a slightly mechanistic expression of her religion not that she wasn't devout and spiritual and prayerful I'm sure she was all those things but her religion involved doing things pilgrimages saying the Rosary going places making signs of the Cross and so on for Elizabeth those things didn't take didn't feature at all in her faith people of a new religion would have been much more Bible based and would have interpreted the Bible in the light of their own reason and understanding rather than relying on an authority from Rome telling them what the Bible actually meant Mary now tried to guarantee the Catholic future of England by marrying King Philip of Spain but Mary's passionate love for foreign prince was deeply unpopular and Philips envoy's were pelted with snowballs Mary brushed aside the protests Elizabeth now became a figurehead for Mary's opponents early in 1554 she received a letter from a gentleman called Sir Thomas Wyatt he told her that he intended to rebell to prevent the Spanish marriage you Elizabeth didn't reply in writing instead she told Wyatt's messenger with careful ambiguity that she would do as God would direct her within days wired had raised an army of 7,000 men in the southeast and marched on London as Wyatt's army drew closer to the capital there was panic in Mary's Court Mary ordered Elizabeth to come to Whitehall where she could be kept under control but Elizabeth claimed that she was ill Mary's doctors confirmed the illness said nevertheless that she was well enough to travel it took her 11 days to cover the 23 miles to London by the time she arrived Wyatt's rebellion had collapsed he had overestimated support for his calls Wyatt was beheaded and quartered on Tower Hill at first Elizabeth was detained and interrogated at Whitehall then it was decided to send her to the tower the night before the journey Elizabeth wrote to Mary she was writing for her life I most humbly beseech Your Majesty that I be not condemned without answer and do proof which it seems that I now am but without cause proved I am commanded to go to the tower place more wanted for a false traitor than a true subject this is the letter that Elizabeth writes this most desperate moment of her life she begins with a fine firm clear hand but gradually as the pressure of circumstances gets to her remember she thought that she'd only days perhaps even hours before she was executed the handwriting becomes looser and more irregular she makes mistakes and then she corrects them but finally she's run out of things to say and time to save me and still she's only a quarter of the way down the second page then as a primitive security device to stop anybody forging her handwriting and making incriminating additions to the letter she draws long diagonal strokes that almost fill up the page they leave just space at the very bottom for PostScript I humbly crave but only one word with yourself summarizes the entire letter and then at the right she signs off your Highnesses most faithful subject from the beginning and shall be to my end Elizabeth's letter was a long one deliberately so because by the time she had finished the tide was too high for boot to be able to make the journey safely to the tower she bought herself a few precious hours but to no avail Mary didn't even deign to reply and early the next morning Elizabeth was rode up the river for the tower the rain was falling in a steady drizzle Elizabeth knew that most of those who made this voyage would never make another winners are the flam did the river was very high and the steps were very slippery she found it difficult to keep her feet she found that even more difficult to control her terror I never thought to come here a prisoner I beseech you all my friends and fellows bear witness that I come here no traitor but as true a subject to the Queen's Majesty as any now alive at the top of the steps stood the soldiers they were there to guard her instead they fell on their knees crying god save your grace you this is the room in the belt are where Elizabeth is supposed to have been imprisoned the eight weeks of her captivity in the tower were the darkest days of her entire life this often happened at moments of psychological crisis she fell ill she thought constantly of death after all she was only a few yards from the spot where her mother had been executed she prayed to be delivered from the same fate two months dragged by still there was no word from Mary Elizabeth could only expect the worst on the morning of the 19th of May 15:54 Sir Henry Bedingfield Mary's staunch supporter arrived at the tower with a hundred men Elizabeth believed that she was about to die and for Mary's point of view she deserved to Mary knew that she had been involved in the Wyatt plot but Elizabeth had cleverly covered her tracks without positive proof Mary couldn't risk executing the heir to the throne benningfield took Elizabeth to Woodstock palace near Oxford the relationship that Elizabeth had with Henry was from sir Henry's point of view a very professional one and from her point of view I think thoroughly frustrating because he was there with a bunch of keys he kept her locked in garden gates were locked if she wanted to go for a walk there was someone had to accompany an armed guard she couldn't receive anything in case there are messages involved and she in fact called him my jailer Elizabeth was locked up for almost a year before Mary summoned her to court the Queen believed that she was pregnant and she wanted Elizabeth to play a walk on part in the christening but it was a phantom pregnancy and as his wife sickened Philips attitude to Elizabeth changed he thought that he could use her to keep control of England by marrying her to a friend in the autumn of 1555 Elizabeth got Mehra's permission to leave Court and to come here to the peace and security of her country estate at Hatfield she wanted to escape the court with its poisonous atmosphere of intrigue and surveillance but you also wish to put a metaphorical distance between herself and the actions of Mary's government because that summer the burning of Protestants that really got underway more than 300 people met this horrible death during Mary's reign the few were lucky kind executioner's would tie bags of gunpowder to their legs to finish them off quickly most roosted alive every death created the martyr for the Protestant cause making England Catholic wasn't going to be easy sensing that her time was near Elizabeth fiercely resisted Philips plans to marry her off to a Catholic prince the Duke of Savoy she would be no one's puppet Mary was dying but still she resisted naming Elizabeth as her successor ten days before her death she finally relented under pressure from her Council it was the 17th of November 1558 towards noon messengers arrived at Hatfield to inform Elizabeth that her sister Mary was dead as she was now Queen the story goes that they found her walking in the park underneath the great oak tree as they fell on their knees before her she too knelt uttering the words of 118 psalm abdominal factum essed at me rebellion oculis nostris this is the Lord's doing but his marvelous in our eyes the Spanish ambassador de faria told Elizabeth she owed her throne not to the Lord but to King Philip Elizabeth would have none of it she is a very vain and clever woman she puts great store by all the people who put her in her present position and she will not acknowledge that your majesty or the nobility of the realm had any part in it she is determined to be governed by no one on Wednesday the 23rd of November Elizabeth rode through these great gates of the charter house in London to take possession of her capital a journey from Hatfield had turned into a triumphal progress she was accompanied with a great train of a thousand lords ladies and gentlemen vast cheering crowds greeted her arrival Elizabeth consulted the astrologer dr. John Dean before choosing Sunday the 15th of January 1559 for her coronation the Queen walked along lengths of blue cloth for Westminster Hall to the entrance to Westminster Abbey the crowds behind her fell on the cloth cutting off pieces of souvenirs today Elizabeth would play the part that she understudied so long and in water setting a christening at Greenwich have been high theater but her coronation in Westminster Abbey will be a performance on the grandest scale first Elizabeth was acclaimed by the people and swarthy F next her outer robes are removed when she knelt solemnly for the anointing Bishop Oglethorpe anointed her in the seven traditional places on the shoulder blades or the breasts on the palms of the hand finally on the crown of the head then she was n through successively three different crowns were put on the head and on her fourth finger a ring as a symbol of the mystical marriage between Elizabeth and her kingdom tradition mystery and symbolism had made her Queen of England was fully and completely as any of her predecessors of being King Elizabeth at last war of a crown now came the difficult bit she'd to show that she could grasp the reality of power and govern a divided country and to do that she did is prove to widespread assumptions that no monarch could ever match the achievement of her father and that no woman could ever make an effective ruler

Channel: MrsTudor1

Views: 841,001

Keywords: David Starkey (Author), Elizabeth I Of England (Monarch), Tudor Dynasty (Royal Line)

Id: VQbvaGl4jrg

Length: 49min 28sec (2968 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 23 2014