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England 1558–1603

Elizabeth I's character, inheritance and the succession question

  • 3 things to know
  • A2 Unit 2

Overview

The experiences that formed her, the debts and the war she inherited, and the pressure to marry and name a successor.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

When did Elizabeth I become queen?

Evaluation

Why was Elizabeth I's birth a political weakness at her accession?

Key term

Why was Elizabeth imprisoned in 1554?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    When did Elizabeth I become queen?

    Model answer

    Elizabeth I succeeded on 17 November 1558 on the death of her half-sister Mary I.

  2. 2

    Why was Elizabeth I's birth a political weakness at her accession?

    Model answer

    Anne Boleyn had been executed for treason and her marriage declared void, so Catholics who still recognised Henry VIII's first marriage regarded Elizabeth as illegitimate and her title as defective.

  3. 3

    How did Elizabeth I's education shape her as a ruler?

    Model answer

    Elizabeth I received a humanist education under tutors including Roger Ascham and could read and speak Latin, French and Italian, so she could deal with foreign ambassadors without an interpreter and draft her own speeches.

  4. 4

    What did the Thomas Seymour affair of 1548–49 teach the young Elizabeth?

    Model answer

    The scandal taught Elizabeth to guard her reputation and to give nothing away under questioning, and her cool denials meant no charge could be fastened on her.

  5. 5

    Why was Elizabeth imprisoned in 1554?

    Model answer

    Elizabeth was suspected of complicity in Wyatt's rebellion and was held in the Tower and then under guard at Woodstock, although nothing was ever proved against her.

  6. 6

    State Elizabeth I's personal motto and explain what it advertised.

    Model answer

    Elizabeth I's motto was 'semper eadem', meaning always the same, which advertised constancy and stability after two decades of religious upheaval.

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