Queen Elizabeth Tudor ascended the throne of England on November 17th, 1558 at age 25 after the death of her half-sister, Mary Tudor. Elizabeth’s reign brought both hope and uncertainty to a country full of political and religious turmoil. Her Protestant values brought optimism to many for the return of the Protestant religion introduced by Elizabeth’s father, King Henry VIII, along with weariness from devout Catholics about the new religion of the country. Uncertainty also surrounded Elizabeth’s unmarried status, which would continue for the rest of her life. Marriage would have formed alliances and produced an heir to the throne, but it would also have meant the loss of some of her authority as monarch. Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne is now viewed as the birth of a new era for England.
The coronation was preceded by Elizabeth’s procession through the streets between the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey with stops for five elaborate pageants sponsored by the City of London along the way. The pageants featured many allegorical characters such as Wisdom, Justice, Pure Religion, and Love of Subjects or vices such as Insolence, Ignorance, and Superstition. In one pageant, eight children enacted the eight blessings of God. At one point, it was reported that Elizabeth spoke directly to the people:
Her Grace, by holding up her hands and merry countenance to such as stood far off, and most tender and gentle language to those that stood nigh to her Grace, did declare herself no less thankfully to receive her people’s good will, than they lovingly opened it unto her.
The procession was a tradition to ensure that the citizens of England, specifically those in the city of London, were familiar with and respected their new monarch. It also offered a chance for the City of London officials and the members of the powerful trade guilds and livery companies to communicate to the new queen the values they wanted her to emulate.
At one point, the City presented the Queen with a thousand gold marks in a crimson satin purse. She spoke in thanks,
I thank my Lord Mayor, his brethren and you all. And whereas your request is that I should continue your good Lady and Queen, be ye ensured that I will be as good unto you as ever queen was unto her people. No will in me can lack, neither, do I trust, shall there lack any power. And persuade yourselves that for the safety and quietness of you all, I will not spare, if need be to spend my blood. God thank you all.
Elizabeth I’s coronation took place on January 15th, 1559 almost two months after her ascension to the throne. The astronomer and mathematician John Dee chose the date of the coronation. The coronation was presented in the traditional Latin, and the crowning and anointing was performed by Owen Oglethorpe, a Catholic bishop. Although the coronation was performed by a Catholic bishop, documentation exists that Queen Elizabeth was not present for the Catholic mass served at the coronation.
Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne also meant the nation would refocus on the Protestant religion introduced by King Henry VIII in 1536 and practiced by most of the commoners in London. Although Elizabeth claimed the religion of her father rather than Catholicism, her actions at the beginning of her reign were viewed as more moderate in approach. She kept Catholic symbols such as the cross and minimized the importance of sermons, something very important to the Protestant religion. This moderation helped ease the transition of the new queen and set up her reign as a beloved monarch of the people.
