sister, Princess Mary. Roman Catholics, indeed, always considered her

illegitimate and she only narrowly escaped execution in the wake of a

failed rebellion against Queen Mary in 1554.

Elizabeth succeeded to the throne on her half-sister's death in November

1558. She was very well-educated (fluent in six languages), and had

inherited intelligence, determination and shrewdness from both parents. Her

45-year reign is generally considered one of the most glorious in English

history. During it a secure Church of England was established. Its

doctrines were laid down in the 39 Articles of 1563, a compromise between

Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Elizabeth herself refused to 'make

windows into men's souls ... there is only one Jesus Christ and all the

rest is a dispute over trifles'; she asked for outward uniformity. Most of

her subjects accepted the compromise as the basis of their faith, and her

church settlement probably saved England from religious wars like those

which France suffered in the second half of the 16th century.

Although autocratic and capricious, Elizabeth had astute political

judgement and chose her ministers well; these included Burghley (Secretary

of State), Hatton (Lord Chancellor) and Walsingham (in charge of

intelligence and also a Secretary of State). Overall, Elizabeth's

administration consisted of some 600 officials administering the great

offices of state, and a similar number dealing with the Crown lands (which

funded the administrative costs). Social and economic regulation and law

and order remained in the hands of the sheriffs at local level, supported

by unpaid justices of the peace.

Elizabeth's reign also saw many brave voyages of discovery, including

those of Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh and Humphrey Gilbert, particularly

to the Americas. These expeditions prepared England for an age of

colonisation and trade expansion, which Elizabeth herself recognised by

establishing the East India Company in 1600.

The arts flourished during Elizabeth's reign. Country houses such as

Longleat and Hardwick Hall were built, miniature painting reached its high

point, theatres thrived - the Queen attended the first performance of

Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The image of Elizabeth's reign is

one of triumph and success. The Queen herself was often called 'Gloriana',

'Good Queen Bess' and 'The Virgin Queen'. Investing in expensive clothes

and jewellery (to look the part, like all contemporary sovereigns), she

cultivated this image by touring the country in regional visits known as

'progresses', often riding on horseback rather than by carriage. Elizabeth

made at least 25 progresses during her reign.

However, Elizabeth's reign was one of considerable danger and difficulty

for many, with threats of invasion from Spain through Ireland, and from

France through Scotland. Much of northern England was in rebellion in 1569-

70. A papal bull of 1570 specifically released Elizabeth's subjects from

their allegiance, and she passed harsh laws against Roman Catholics after

plots against her life were discovered. One such plot involved Mary, Queen

of Scots, who had fled to England in 1568 after her second husband's murder

and her subsequent marriage to a man believed to have been involved in his

murder. As a likely successor to Elizabeth, Mary spent 19 years as

Elizabeth's prisoner because Mary was the focus for rebellion and possible

assassination plots, such as the Babington Plot of 1586. Mary was also a

temptation for potential invaders such as Philip II. In a letter of 1586 to

Mary, Elizabeth wrote, 'You have planned ... to take my life and ruin my

kingdom ... I never proceeded so harshly against you.' Despite Elizabeth's

reluctance to take drastic action, on the insistence of Parliament and her

advisers, Mary was tried, found guilty and executed in 1587.

In 1588, aided by bad weather, the English navy scored a great victory

over the Spanish invasion fleet of around 130 ships - the 'Armada'. The

Armada was intended to overthrow the Queen and re-establish Roman

Catholicism by conquest, as Philip II believed he had a claim to the

English throne through his marriage to Mary.

During Elizabeth's long reign, the nation also suffered from high prices

and severe economic depression, especially in the countryside, during the

1590s. The war against Spain was not very successful after the Armada had

been beaten and, together with other campaigns, it was very costly. Though

she kept a tight rein on government expenditure, Elizabeth left large debts

to her successor. Wars during Elizabeth's reign are estimated to have cost

over Ј5 million (at the prices of the time) which Crown revenues could not

match - in 1588, for example, Elizabeth's total annual revenue amounted to

some Ј392,000. Despite the combination of financial strains and prolonged

war after 1588, Parliament was not summoned more often. There were only 16

sittings of the Commons during Elizabeth's reign, five of which were in the

period 1588-1601. Although Elizabeth freely used her power to veto

legislation, she avoided confrontation and did not attempt to define

Parliament's constitutional position and rights.

Elizabeth chose never to marry. If she had chosen a foreign prince, he

would have drawn England into foreign policies for his own advantages (as

in her sister Mary's marriage to Philip of Spain); marrying a fellow

countryman could have drawn the Queen into factional infighting. Elizabeth

used her marriage prospects as a political tool in foreign and domestic

policies. However, the 'Virgin Queen' was presented as a selfless woman who

sacrificed personal happiness for the good of the nation, to which she was,

in essence, 'married'. Late in her reign, she addressed Parliament in the

so-called 'Golden Speech' of 1601 when she told MPs: 'There is no jewel, be

it of never so high a price, which I set before this jewel; I mean your

love.' She seems to have been very popular with the vast majority of her

subjects.

Overall, Elizabeth's always shrewd and, when necessary, decisive

leadership brought successes during a period of great danger both at home

and abroad. She died at Richmond Palace on 24 March 1603, having become a

legend in her lifetime. The date of her accession was a national holiday

for two hundred years.

THE STUARTS

The Stuarts were the first kings of the United Kingdom. King James I of

England who began the period was also King James VI of Scotland, thus

combining the two thrones for the first time.

The Stuart dynasty reigned in England and Scotland from 1603 to 1714, a

period which saw a flourishing Court culture but also much upheaval and

instability, of plague, fire and war. It was an age of intense religious

debate and radical politics. Both contributed to a bloody civil war in the

mid-seventeenth century between Crown and Parliament (the Cavaliers and the

Roundheads), resulting in a parliamentary victory for Oliver Cromwell and

the dramatic execution of King Charles I. There was a short-lived republic,

the first time that the country had experienced such an event. The

Restoration of the Crown was soon followed by another 'Glorious'

Revolution. William and Mary of Orange ascended the throne as joint

monarchs and defenders of Protestantism, followed by Queen Anne, the second

of James II's daughters.

The end of the Stuart line with the death of Queen Anne led to the

drawing up of the Act of Settlement in 1701, which provided that only

Protestants could hold the throne. The next in line according to the

provisions of this act was George of Hanover, yet Stuart princes remained

in the wings. The Stuart legacy was to linger on in the form of claimants

to the Crown for another century.

JAMES I (1603-25 AD)

James I was born in 1566 to Mary Queen of Scots and her second husband,

Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. He descended from the Tudors through Margaret,

daughter of Henry VII : both Mary Queen of Scots and Henry Stewart were

grandchildren of Margaret Tudor. James ascended the Scottish throne upon

the abdication of his mother in 1567, but Scotland was ruled by regent

untilJames reached his majority. He married Anne of Denmark in 1589, who

bore him three sons and four daughters: Henry, Elizabeth, Margaret,

Charles, Robert, Mary and Sophia. He was named successor to the English

throne by his cousin, Elizabeth I and ascended that throne in 1603. James

died of a stroke in 1625 after ruling Scotland for 58 years and England for

22 years.

James was profoundly affected by his years as a boy in Scottish court.

Murder and intrigue had plagued the Scottish throne throughout the reigns

of his mother and grandfather (James V) and had no less bearing during

James's rule. His father had been butchered mere months after James' birth

by enemies of Mary and Mary, because of her indiscretions and Catholic

faith, was forced to abdicate the throne. Thus, James developed a guarded

manner. He was thrilled to take the English crown and leave the strictures

and poverty of the Scottish court.

James' twenty-nine years of Scottish kingship did little to prepare him

for the English monarchy: England and Scotland, rivals for superiority on

the island since the first emigration of the Anglo-Saxon races, virtually

hated each other. This inherent mistrust, combined with Catholic-Protestant

and Episcopal-Puritan tensions, severely limited James' prospects of a

truly successful reign. His personality also caused problems: he was witty

and well-read, fiercely believed in the divine right of kingship and his

own importance, but found great difficulty in gaining acceptance from an

English society that found his rough-hewn manners and natural paranoia

quite unbecoming. James saw little use for Parliament. His extravagant

spending habits and nonchalant ignoring of the nobility's grievances kept

king and Parliament constantly at odds. He came to the thrown at the zenith

of monarchical power, but never truly grasped the depth and scope of that

power.

Religious dissension was the basis of an event that confirmed and fueled

James' paranoia: the Gunpowder Plot of November 5, 1605. Guy Fawkes and

four other Catholic dissenters were caught attempting to blow up the House

of Lords on a day in which the king was to open the session. The

conspirators were executed, but a fresh wave of anti-Catholic sentiments

washed across England. James also disliked the Puritans who became

excessive in their demands on the king, resulting in the first wave of

English immigrants to North America. James, however, did manage to

commission an Authorized Version of the Bible, printed in English in 1611.

The relationship between king and Parliament steadily eroded. Extravagant

spending (particularly on James' favorites), inflation and bungled foreign

policies discredited James in the eyes of Parliament. Parliament flatly

refused to disburse funds to a king who ignored their concerns and were

annoyed by rewards lavished on favorites and great amounts spent on

decoration. James awarded over 200 peerages (landed titles) as,

essentially, bribes designed to win loyalty, the most controversial of

which was his creation of George Villiers (his closest advisor and

homosexual partner) as Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham was highly

influential in foreign policy, which failed miserably. James tried to

kindle Spanish relations by seeking a marriage between his son Charles and

the Spanish Infanta (who was less than receptive to the clumsy overtures of

Charles and Buckingham), and by executing Sir Walter Raleigh at the behest

of Spain.

James was not wholly unsuccessful as king, but his Scottish background

failed to translate well into a changing English society. He is described,

albeit humorously, in 1066 and All That, as such: "James I slobbered at the

mouth and had favourites; he was thus a bad king"; Sir Anthony Weldon made

a more somber observation: "He was very crafty and cunning in petty things,

as the circumventing any great man, the change of a Favourite, &c. inasmuch

as a very wise man was wont to say, he believed him the very wisest fool in

Christendom."

CHARLES I (1625-49)

Charles I was born in Fife on 19 November 1600, the second son of James

VI of Scotland (from 1603 also James I of England) and Anne of Denmark. He

became heir to the throne on the death of his brother, Prince Henry, in

1612. He succeeded, as the second Stuart King of England, in 1625.

Controversy and disputes dogged Charles throughout his reign. They

eventually led to civil wars, first with the Scots from 1637 and later in

England (1642-46 and 1648). The Civil Wars deeply divided people at the

time, and historians still disagree about the real causes of the conflict,

but it is clear that Charles was not a successful ruler.

Charles was reserved (he had a residual stammer), self-righteous and had

a high concept of royal authority, believing in the divine right of kings.

He was a good linguist and a sensitive man of refined tastes. He spent a

lot on the arts, inviting the artists Van Dyck and Rubens to work in

England, and buying a great collection of paintings by Raphael and Titian

(this collection was later dispersed under Cromwell). His expenditure on

his court and his picture collection greatly increased the crown's debts.

Indeed, crippling lack of money was a key problem for both the early Stuart

monarchs.

Charles was also deeply religious. He favoured the high Anglican form of

worship, with much ritual, while many of his subjects, particularly in

Scotland, wanted plainer forms. Charles found himself ever more in

disagreement on religious and financial matters with many leading citizens.

Having broken an engagement to the Spanish infanta, he had married a Roman

Catholic, Henrietta Maria of France, and this only made matters worse.

Although Charles had promised Parliament in 1624 that there would be no

advantages for recusants (people refusing to attend Church of England

services), were he to marry a Roman Catholic bride, the French insisted on

a commitment to remove all disabilities upon Roman Catholic subjects.

Charles's lack of scruple was shown by the fact that this commitment was

secretly added to the marriage treaty, despite his promise to Parliament.

Charles had inherited disagreements with Parliament from his father, but

his own actions (particularly engaging in ill-fated wars with France and

Spain at the same time) eventually brought about a crisis in 1628-29. Two

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