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Queen, government and religion, 1558 to 69
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Elizabeth inherited a divided, indebted kingdom. Her religious settlement tried to find a middle way.
Elizabeth's accession
Elizabeth became queen in 1558, aged 25.
Problems: many Catholics saw her as illegitimate; people doubted a woman could rule alone and expected her to marry; the Crown was in debt; religion was divided; and France was a threat, allied with Scotland.
Government: the Privy Council, Parliament, and locally Justices of the Peace and Lord Lieutenants.
Problems: many Catholics saw her as illegitimate; people doubted a woman could rule alone and expected her to marry; the Crown was in debt; religion was divided; and France was a threat, allied with Scotland.
Government: the Privy Council, Parliament, and locally Justices of the Peace and Lord Lieutenants.
The religious settlement, 1559
Act of Supremacy: Elizabeth became Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Act of Uniformity: a set form of church service and the Book of Common Prayer; people had to attend church or pay a fine (recusants).
Royal Injunctions gave instructions to the clergy.
It was a 'middle way': Protestant beliefs, with some Catholic features like vestments.
Act of Uniformity: a set form of church service and the Book of Common Prayer; people had to attend church or pay a fine (recusants).
Royal Injunctions gave instructions to the clergy.
It was a 'middle way': Protestant beliefs, with some Catholic features like vestments.
Challenges and Mary, Queen of Scots
Puritans wanted a purer Protestant Church. The vestment controversy of the 1560s was a clash over clergy clothing.
Catholics were strong in the north, among some nobles, and backed by the Papacy and foreign powers.
Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic, had a strong claim to the English throne. She fled to England in 1568 and was kept a prisoner.
Catholics were strong in the north, among some nobles, and backed by the Papacy and foreign powers.
Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic, had a strong claim to the English throne. She fled to England in 1568 and was kept a prisoner.
Explain why Mary, Queen of Scots was a problem for Elizabeth after 1568.
- She had a strong claim to the English throne.
- She was Catholic, so she could be a focus for Catholic plots.
- Keeping her prisoner risked anger from Scotland and Catholic Europe, but freeing her was dangerous.
Answer: A Catholic rival claimant who could attract plots.
Elizabeth queen 1558: legitimacy, gender, marriage, debt, religion, France. Settlement 1559: Supremacy (Supreme Governor), Uniformity (Prayer Book, attendance), Injunctions. Puritan and Catholic challenges. Mary, Queen of Scots in England from 1568.
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