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England, 1509–1603: Authority, Nation and Religion

Faction at court and the succession issue

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 1

Overview

Recall questions on the rivalry of Essex and the Cecils, why patronage grew scarcer, the Essex rebellion, and why the succession could not be settled openly.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What unresolved political problem loomed over the reign's final years?

Who and when

Why did faction become more damaging in the 1590s?

Key term

Why could Elizabeth not settle the succession?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What unresolved political problem loomed over the reign's final years?

    Model answer

    The uncertain succession, as Elizabeth had no direct heir.

  2. 2

    What is meant by faction at the Elizabethan court?

    Model answer

    Competition between groups of courtiers for the queen's favour, offices and patronage, since access to the monarch was the only route to power and reward.

  3. 3

    Which rivalry dominated the court in the 1590s?

    Model answer

    That between the Earl of Essex and the Cecils, Lord Burghley and his son Robert, over military policy, patronage and the succession.

  4. 4

    Why did faction become more damaging in the 1590s?

    Model answer

    The deaths of Leicester, Walsingham and Hatton removed the balance Elizabeth had maintained, patronage was scarcer because of war costs, and an ageing queen made men look to the future.

  5. 5

    What was the Essex rebellion of 1601?

    Model answer

    Essex, disgraced after failure in Ireland and stripped of his revenues, tried to raise the City of London and seize the court. It collapsed within a day and he was executed.

  6. 6

    Why could Elizabeth not settle the succession?

    Model answer

    Naming an heir would have created a rival focus of loyalty, and every candidate was objectionable on grounds of religion, foreign birth or the terms of Henry VIII's will.

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