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On 17 November 1558, Elizabeth Tudor was woken at Hatfield House with news that her half-sister Mary I was dead. At 25, she became Queen of England. This lesson looks at what she inherited, who she was, and how she governed in the critical first decade of her reign — the foundation for everything the 1HI0 Paper 2 British Depth Study will test.
The specification treats 1558–69 as the period in which Elizabeth established her authority. Examiners expect precise knowledge of the problems she faced, her government structure, and the key personalities who advised her.
Elizabeth inherited a kingdom in difficulty on almost every front. Understanding these problems is essential because nearly every 12-mark "Explain why" question about 1558–69 comes back to them.
| Problem area | Detail |
|---|---|
| Religion | Mary I had restored Catholicism (1553–58); around 280 Protestants had been executed. The country was religiously divided. |
| Finance | Crown debt stood at roughly £300,000. Tax income was limited and the coinage had been debased. |
| Foreign threats | England had lost Calais to France in January 1558. France, under the Guise family, was closely linked with Mary Queen of Scots. |
| Succession | Elizabeth was unmarried and had no heir. Her own legitimacy was disputed in Catholic Europe. |
| Gender | A female ruler was still considered unusual. John Knox's First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women (1558) had been published months earlier. |
These problems were interlinked. Debt limited military options; the lack of an heir made the French-Scottish threat sharper; religious division meant Catholic foreign powers could claim to "liberate" English Catholics.
Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Her mother was executed in 1536 when Elizabeth was two, and Elizabeth herself was declared illegitimate. She was later restored to the succession by the Act of Succession 1544.
Her upbringing shaped her approach to ruling:
These traits — cautious, clever, rhetorically gifted, suspicious — are worth learning as three or four adjectives. They explain the choices she made in government and religion.
Elizabethan government is a favourite topic for Q4(a) "describe two features" questions. A clean mental map of the institutions is essential.
flowchart TD
Queen["Elizabeth I<br/>(sovereign authority)"]
PC["Privy Council<br/>(senior advisers)"]
Parl["Parliament<br/>(Lords and Commons)"]
Court["Royal Court<br/>(household and patronage)"]
JP["Justices of the Peace<br/>(local law and order)"]
LL["Lord Lieutenants<br/>(county military)"]
Queen --> PC
Queen --> Parl
Queen --> Court
PC --> JP
PC --> LL
style Queen fill:#8e44ad,color:#fff
style PC fill:#3498db,color:#fff
style Parl fill:#3498db,color:#fff
style Court fill:#3498db,color:#fff
style JP fill:#27ae60,color:#fff
style LL fill:#27ae60,color:#fff
The Privy Council was the inner circle of advisers. Under Elizabeth it had around 19 members, which she later reduced. It:
Elizabeth did not have to take its advice, but ignoring united Privy Council opinion was politically costly.
Parliament was not a permanent body. It met when Elizabeth called it — usually to grant taxation or to pass laws that required statute (such as the religious settlement). Its three main functions were:
Elizabeth called thirteen parliaments in 45 years. She controlled the agenda tightly and dissolved them when they pressed her on topics she refused to discuss.
Local government ran on unpaid gentry service:
| Role | Function |
|---|---|
| Justices of the Peace (JPs) | Enforced law in their county — tried minor crimes, oversaw poor relief, supervised markets and wages. Unpaid, but the office carried status. |
| Lord Lieutenants | Introduced more systematically from the 1580s; headed county militia, reported to the Privy Council. |
| Sheriffs | Older office; enforced court writs and organised elections. Less important by Elizabeth's reign. |
This system was cheap — JPs worked for prestige, not pay — but it meant the Crown depended on the cooperation of the gentry.
Three men dominate the first decade and appear repeatedly on Paper 2 questions.
The tension between Cecil's caution and Dudley's activism ran through the reign. Elizabeth used both voices — a classic "divide and consult" style.
Mini-example 1 (Q4a, 4 marks): "Describe two features of Elizabethan government."
Feature 1: The Privy Council was the Queen's senior advisory body, made up of around 19 men who advised on policy and administered the country.
Feature 2: Justices of the Peace enforced law in each county. They were unpaid gentry who tried minor crimes, oversaw poor relief and reported to the Privy Council.
Each feature is identified (point) and developed (detail) — two sentences each is enough for 4 marks.
Mini-example 2 (Q4b stem): "Explain why Elizabeth faced serious problems at her accession in 1558."
The three strongest reasons are religion (Mary I's Catholic restoration left Protestants persecuted and the country divided), finance (a debt of around £300,000 and debased coinage limited what the Crown could do), and foreign threats (Calais had been lost to France in January 1558, and France was linked to Mary Queen of Scots through the Guise family). Each of these three paragraphs would develop the detail into consequences for her rule.
Mini-example 3 (Q4c/d stem): "The Queen's character was the most important reason she was able to establish her authority by 1569." How far do you agree?
A Level 4 answer would argue Elizabeth's education, caution and political skill were important — but would also weigh the role of Cecil's administrative competence and the Privy Council system, before reaching a sustained judgement. A narrative that simply lists her achievements reaches Level 2 at best.
In 1558, Elizabeth inherited a country in debt, religiously divided, and under external threat. She was young, female and her legitimacy was disputed abroad — but she was also highly educated, politically cautious and served by exceptional advisers. Her government combined a central Privy Council and a controlled Parliament with a cheap local system of JPs and Lord Lieutenants. The first decade, 1558–69, was spent establishing authority through the religious settlement and through the personalities of Cecil, Walsingham and Dudley — the foundations that the later crises of the reign would test.
This content is aligned with the Edexcel GCSE History (1HI0) Paper 2 British Depth Study specification.