William I – king of England and duke of Normandy, placed his Norman aristocracy on Anglo-Saxons, ruled for 20 years. Gave his nobles lands on condition that they promised him military service whenever requested. This was the basis of the so called “feudal system”. He introduced crashing taxes and made a “Doomsday book” ‘cause there was no appeal to it. There were advantages of it though – no other man dared to kill another one for any reason, so it gave the country an image of order. Was badly injured when his horse threw him against his saddle. He had 3 sons and each of them he gave a part of his kingdom:
Robert – dukedom of Normandy
William – kingdom of England
Henry – 5,000 ₤ silver
His sons were not with him when he died, he was surrounded by servants who undressed him and left lying naked in a chamber.
William II (Rufus) so called ‘cause of ruddy complexion and red hair, supported his father’s strong central policy. When his brother, Robert, who war rather good-natured, needed money for his crusade, William convinced him to pawn his dukedom for 10,000 marks. Perhaps the reason for his terrible reputation was his constant quarrel with the church. He got the archbishop vacant for 4 years. Soon his rare illness persuaded him he was dying & on the death bed he appointed Ancelm (abbot of Beck) to the office. Which re greatly regretted on his sudden recovery. Ancelm however had no desire of the place. William II ruled mercilessly for 13 years until he was mysteriously killed in a hunting accident by an arrow. That’s one of the greatest puzzles! Was it an accident? Was it a Saxon taking revenge? Or may be his brother Henry who conveniently was a member of the hunting party? All we know is when his body was brought to the city of Winchester (the 2nd capital), Henry seized the treasury & a day later was claimed king. William was mourned by very few…
Henry I was mean and cruel, however was the ablest of all 3 sons. He was the first king born in England, married the princess of Scotland descending from Saxon line and promised Saxons laws of old kings. He established ordered system of administration which became known as “the lion of justice”.
At this time his brother Robert came back from the crusade feeling he was a better claim to the throne and war broke between them first in England, then in Normandy. Henry accompanied by Saxon allies defeated Robert and his knights. Robert spent 28 years remaining of his life in his brother’s dungeons as a prisoner. By 1120 Henry was successful in diplomacy and war when the tragedy struck. He had a son who was his great joy in life, set sail from Normandy to England on a new vessel called “Whiteship” got into a storm and drowned. It is said that when Henry heard the news he never smiled again. So there was no male heir to the crown after Henry died on December 1, 1135 having eaten an eel. Though he is reputed to have over 30 bastards, his daughter Matilda was to become the next heir as Henry forced the barons swear to her.
However there was another claim – hi nephew, Stephen of Blois (his mother was the daughter of William the conqueror). The barons resented the female ruler, so Stephen, brave but easy-going, took the crown. Meanwhile, one of Henry’s bastards backed the claim of Matilda.
Now here we have one of the most severe Civil Wars that England has ever experienced. Without one strong king there was no law. It was called “the age of 19 long winters when Christ and his saints slept”. The country was in chaos.
Finally Stephen and then Matilda gained the upper hand. At last in 1153 a treaty was sealed: Stephen could rule up to the end of his life on condition that Matilda’s son Henry II Plantagenet (Matilda married Geoffrey Plantagenet, heir of Anjou) becomes king as Stephen’s son was killed during the war.
Plantagenets would rule for 3,5 centuries. Their name comes from the tradition of wearing a prick of broom in a helmet and Latin for broom is “plantagenista”. Legend has it that Plantagenets were sprained from the devil himself.
Henry II Plantagenet, heir of Anjou was the first to have Saxon blood. A great king: hard, brutal, brilliant. Stocky with freckled face, was restless and impetuous. Had terrible temper and boundless energy. Only a remarkable woman could marry such a man. Such a woman was Eleanor of Aquitaine – 11 years his senior, she divorced her husband to marry Henry. At those times Henry II was considered the most powerful of all kings in the Middle Ages. He was the ruler of England, Normandy, Anjou, Touraine, and Brittany – his empire stretched from Scotland to the Pyrenees. He devoted his energy and skill to holding his empire together. Henry II established trial by jury and common law, i.e. law common for everyone. Administration of justice was the only point of quarrel between him and the church. There were ecclesiastical laws and any person who could mumble a few words in Latin could get the benefit of the church and thus escape the Henry’s law.
Henry II made his best friend and adviser Thomas Beckett an archbishop to help him alleviate this and many other problems and govern church in royal interests, but Beckett became a great champion of the church and former best friends became enemies.
In 1170 Henry II in wild rage, during one of the aristocracy meetings in his palace, asked “Will anyone get me rid of this archbishop?!” and 4 of his knights taking him for his words came to Beckett and spilled his brains on the cold stone floor of the church he was in at that moment. That was an awful crime! Not only a murder, but sacrilege! Overnight Thomas became the martyr in people’s eyes and Henry II had to do public pennants whipped at Beckett’s tomb which became a very popular place.
In one of his palaces Henry II had a painting of an old eagle attacked by 4 young eaglets. That was to be his fate – all of his sons rebelled against him. When he was dying he shouted “shame, shame on a vanquished king!” and only his bastard son was with him at this moment. Henry II had 4 sons: Henry (who died during a rebellion), Richard, Geoffrey (died at tournament) and John (allied with the king of France against his father).
Richard I (Lionheart/Coeur de Lion) though born in Oxford, spent his life on battlefields in France and Holy Land. Though a lover of music and poetry, was a cruel man and a great warrior, but of no or little use as a king. As soon he became king, he began making money for his famous 3d Crusade. Everything at those times had a price and was for sale such as charters, i.e. corporal rights and responsibilities. He soon left and England was ruled by a Council, constantly plotted by John Landlacked named so as his father gave him no lands.
Richard was hot-tempered and had many friends and on his way home he was captured by Leopold of Austria and then was released at payment of 150,000 marks. He was later wounded by an arrow during the seizure of a castle which was of almost no importance.
John I Landlacked was at once with war with Brittany, Touraine, Anjou as they recognized Arthur (son of Geoffrey). John I wasn’t a bit of a soldier and diplomat as his father but inherited energy and was capable of swift and ruthless action. He captured Arthur and murdered him. Anyway, the Plantagenet lands were lost (1206), in England John quarrelled with the pope. Soon all churches were closed – no one could be married, buried or christened, John turned his country into the “wilderness of cruelty”. Perhaps Robin Hood did something to make things right, but we have no record or prove that he did.
In 1215 barons rebelled against him and made John sign the Magna Charta. Now one should keep in mind that these were NOT the right of people, but the rights of the barons. These laws gave the basis of the future human rights such as the basic freedoms: no imprisonment without trial, inheritance from rather to son and some others, but the most important was that the king was NOT above the law. John signed the document without any intention to keep it. So the barons suggested the crown to Louis of France, and he cane to England with an army. In a year John was crossing the Channel with a huge treasure on board his ship. During the storm the treasure was lost in the sea and John found himself in a church where he was given wine and fruit and treated well …there he died soon after.
Henry III (John’s son) was supported by the barons and had the longest reign ever. He was 9 at the time his father died, but as he grew older he became not a very good king. He had a great love of art – Salisbury cathedral and the great part of Westminster Abbey are the monuments to his reign. Also his adventures abroad and foreign favourites led to very high taxes and this forced Simon de Montfort (Henry’s brother-in-law) to suggest that the king’s reign had to be supervised by the elected council. In 1264 the baron’s war struck during which de Montfort was victorious and Henry III became his prisoner. This time the House of Commons was called for the first time. Henry’s III son, Edward, escaped Simon and found support among the barons and in 1265 Simon was defeated and killed. Henry III was to live for another 7 years, the actual power though was taken by his son.
Edward I Longshanks was an ideal medieval king in many ways: brilliant soldier, handsome, tall, got his nickname for his long legs. He gave his country stability and rise of national consciousness as 45 parliaments was called for 4 years, the basis of laws was founded and courts established.
Edward decided to stabilize the country’s borders. By 1282 Wales was dominated by Edward, in Scotland he earned the name “the hammer of Scots”, he captured the “Stone of Destiny” on which the kings of England were to be crowned from now all. However, William Wallace and Robert Bruce were to destroy Edward’s ambitions. In 1307 the king died and ordered his body to be boiled, his bones carried to the head of the army and thus carried till Scotland was subdued. An order which was never realized as England never conquered Scotland.
So, the first king to be crowned as the prince of Wales in the coronation chair was Edward’s I son, Edward II. Now, Edward II was VERY unlike his father and cherished artistic pleasures of life, disliked tournaments and adored theatre, music and sports and though married with a son, was a homosexual. He made his dear friend, Pierce Gavaston an earl of Cornwall. The barons were in rage! They were even in more rage when Gavaston dared to give then nicknames and humiliated them in public, mocking them openly. They then followed him to his castle, seized him and hatched off his head. In 1314 Edward, to justify the trust of the barons, led the army to Scotland to suffer one of the greatest defeats in the history of English army. For some time Edward ruled with the help of his new favourites in England, until in 1326 his wife, Isabella, “the she-wolf of France” as she was called in England, and her lover Roger Mortimer led a revolt against those favourites which led to their murder and Edward’s imprisonment. Edward was to suffer the most terrible betrayal and death an English monarch has ever suffered! He was forced to drink ditch waters, then was dragged tied to a horse from dungeon to dungeon when finally he was brought to the Barkley Castle where had red hot spit forced through his body. They say that his screams haunt the castle up to these days…
Edward III, a boy of 13, who was to become a great warrior, dominated by his father’s enemies, he waited until his manhood. Then, one night in 1330 he led faithful knights through the secret passages into the Nottingham Castle where he surprised his mother and her lover and revenged his father’s murder…
Having gained the power, Edward III followed the policy of his grandfather. In 1333 he defeated the Scots in one of many battles England and Scotland had. However, Scotland was allied to France, which threatened England’s wool trade with the Flounders. Wool – was a stable export trade of England in Middle Ages and brought very good profit to the crown. This reason and Edward’s claim to the French crown through his mother (Isabella) led to 100 Years War (1337-1453). Edward III began the war by writing a letter of challenge to the French king.
Edward III had a “longbow” (weapon designed by the Welsh, which could throw 50 arrows per minute at 250 yards. He used it at the battle at Crecy and won the battle. Soon after that the bubonic plague called “the Black Death” struck in England (1348-1349). Over 1/3 of the population died and the country was in social and economic chaos. But all Edward could think of was glory – that’s when he found is Order of Chivalry called “Knights of the Garter” (1348). According to the legend Edward III picked the garter dropped by one of the court ladies then put it on his leg under the knee and said “Honi soit qui mal y pense” – the phrase which from those times became the motto of the royal family. Another battle was won in 1356 when the Black Prince (Edward’s son) captured and brought the French king to the Tower with a HUGE treasure for the crown. Peace by a treaty at Bretingy in 1360 brought lands to England but not peace and prosperity as the king of France restarted the war.
Exhausted by the war, England was to suffer another struck of the Black Death in 1361. The Black Prince and his brother John Gaunt led the army to Spain to waste their power…and after plague and war, the population and the monarch were to survive the death of the Black Prince.
Black Prince’s son, Richard II of Bordeaux followed the death of Edward III. Richard II faced the country destroyed by war and decease, had neither a diplomatic gift of his grandfather, nor the popularity of his father and was 11 at the time. Those who ruled for him thus put the “poll tax” i.e. the tax on everybody which resulted in the peasants’ revolt in 1381 led by Wat Tyler who first called for fair treatment. The situation in the country led to the revolutionary rhyme: “When Adam delved, and Eve span,
Who was then the gentleman?”
meaning that when God created a man, he didn’t make one the master of another. After Wat Tyler was killed, Richard promised to do what revolters claimed, but in reality he hunted all the leaders and hung them all. During the Richard’s rule there appeared the so called “Lollardy” – these were people who, with the translation of the Bible into English, thought that each person should read and understand the Bible himself, without the leadership of the church. It will be not until Richard’s son, who was the first to introduce the idea of burning as an execution of Lollards.
Another “group” to be chased was “Lord’s Appellants”. The kings have always surrounded themselves by favourites, either local or foreign. Sometimes they were approved by the ruling nobles, sometimes not. Richard’s favourites were frivolous and greedy which led to appearance of Lord’s Appellants. They appealed to treason of king’s friends, they took over the government and executed them. Richard had been preparing his revenge for 8 years and eventually he haunted all of them and banished them all. For 2 years he was all-powerful.
However, one of these appellants, Henry Bolingbrook (Richard’s cousin, son of John of Gaunt) came back in 1399 whilst Richard was in Ireland. Within a few weeks Richard was deposed and Bolingbrook became the first of the Lancastrian kings, king Henry IV. Richard after trial was starved to death in one of his castles. Now, the right to the throne was questionable. There were also the second son Lionel and his heirs who many thought had a stronger claim to the crown.
Henry IV suffered continuous plots of Richard’s fans and the Parliament constantly threatened Henry’s financial support. Above all that he was extremely loyal to the church, though we know what he did to the Lollards. In 1413 Henry died in Westminster Abbey exhausted by state matters and leprosy. He passed the country to his son, peaceful and united.
Henry V, the soldier-son, was raised at the battlefield, he marched over all Wales with the army against the Welsh king, since he was 12 he was trained for war. Though he was brave and intelligent, had powers of leadership and just government, his smooth face looked more like a priest, than a king. May be because of that he became one of the most favourite kings. As soon as he gained power, he renewed the war with France, which was ruled at the time by a mad king Charles, who thought he was made of glass and let nobody touch him or hi will break into pieces. Henry marched to France and fought the army, he then won one of the most miraculous victories ever! Between 1417-1420 he managed to conquer most of Normandy and the nearby areas and made England one of the strongest countries in Europe. He then married Catherine of Valois – the daughter of the French king. But Henry V was too famous to live long – he died in 1422 at the age of 35. After his death he left a son who was only 9 months old, so his uncle, John, duke of Bedford, ruled for him and the success of England continued, but French nationalism began to stir up with the support of young peasant girl, Joan of Arc who raised it completely. Joan was captured by the Burgundians and was given to the English, who burnt her in 1431. In 1435 John of Bedford died and the confidence of English alliance was lost, plus French artillery and gunpowder gained supremacy over English longbow and the English were driven out of France. With the loss of Gascony 100 Years War was over. England got only the port of Calais.
Henry VI, though he didn’t inherited madness from his grandfather,was perhaps the most peaceful, simple-minded and book-loving of all kings of England devoting his time to prayer and building some of the most famous establishments – the university of Cambridge and Ethon. Henry VI married Margaret of Anjou who did very few to increase her husband’s popularity. In reality 60 noble families ruled the country and were at the same time divided between the loyalty to the king and loyalty to his enemy.
There was another candidate for the place of the king – Richard, duke of York – able soldier, admired by the people, he was descendant from Edward’s III second son Lionel. The country teared apart by the absence of an actual king, led to the beginning of the War of Roses (1455-1485) – a name given by Walter Scott. Those who supported the king were called “the Lancastrians” and wore a red rose on their armour, those who supported the duke of York were called “the Yorkists” and wore a white rose. The war lasted for 30 years with only 13 weeks of actual fighting, in the meantime no soldier or military men were seen in the streets of the city. During the battle the duke of York was killed and his head crowned by a paper crown was put above the York gates.
However, one of the Richard’s advisers persuaded his sons that they should take revenge on their father’s death and led them to victory. Henry VI was put into the Tower and later murdered there by the following king Edward IV.
Edward IV when not at war was lazy and good-natured and always with an eye for pretty women, became enchanted by a beautiful widow, Elizabeth Woodwill. She insisted that he married before he enjoyed her favours so without consulting the adviser (Warrick), as he knew he’ll object, Edward married her secretly. Meanwhile in desire to stabilize the York in the country made Warrick arranged a marriage between Edward and the French heir – the sister-in-law of the French king. He was in the middle of the negotiations when he discovered Edward had made a fool of him. Thus spoiled the relationships between the king maker and the king himself – they were even worse when Edward began to assert and favour his wife’s family – the Woodwills instead of the Warrick’s family, the Nevills. Warrick was too mighty to become a subject, so the greatest Yorkist became a Lancastrian. He overthrew Edward in 1417 and put Henry back on the throne. Though Edward’s second brother, George, deserted him to become Warrick’s son-in-law, his youngest brother, Richard, duke of Glouster, remained loyal to the Yorkist court. At the battle in 1471 Warrick, the last of the barons, was killed and Edward restored his place as a king and reunited with the brothers. A few day later after the battle Margaret of Anjou (Henry’s VI wife) and her son, Edward, came back from the French exile to check on the continuing War of Roses. She found out that her husband was killed in the Tower and saw the death of her son, prince of Wales, during the battle. The war was over with the death of the last Lancastrian king. With the war being over, Edward devoted himself to the life of pleasure with banquets, tournaments and 3 mistresses, whom he himself called “the wisest, the wittiest and the holiest women in England”, he also encouraged the trade, invested in it himself and thus made quite a fortune. The good life made him fat and lazy, and it was a good policy to accept the pension from France, rather to re-awaken the claim. He also encouraged the printing press in Westminster, the effect of which will have the biggest effect than anything during his reign. Edward had a large and healthy family and the House of York seemed secure in its position when he died suddenly at the age of 40 in 1483. Edward’s IV brother, who remained loyal to him was Richard – he was proclaimed the protector of Richard’s son, the boy king Edward V. Little is known about the boy. There was a strong feeling against the weak rule of another boy-king, especially when his relatives, the grasping Woodwills, had been showered by different honours. So Richard met with little opposition to liquidate the Woodwills and strengthen his authority. Rumours then became to spread that Edward IV had been precontracted to lady Eleanor Butler and according to the laws of the church his marriage to Elizabeth Woodwill was invalid and thus his children are bastards. This led to the questioning the crown and Richard became the king.
Richard III was described vividly by Sir Thomas Moore: “Richard had a deformed body, the one shoulder was higher than the other, he had a short face and a cruel look which did betook bile, malice and deceit. He was close and secret, arrogant of heart and outwardly companiable when he inwardly hated, not hesitating to kiss whom he thought to kill”.
For some people he was not the monster he had painted and one day, perhaps, would become a good king, being a just and able administrator. The main spot on his reputation though is the fate of his 2 young nephews – Edward V and Richard, duke of York. They were put in the Tower as soon Richard became the king, and Tower was a palace at that moment as well as the prison. They were even seen playing in the ground near it, but soon rumours began to spread that Richard had murdered them. If they were alive he would surely produce then to prove his innocence … perhaps Richard was innocent? Perhaps some other person arranged their murder? What happened of the little princes nobody knows. But for 191 years they vanished from the face of the earth. All that we do know is that in 1676 a workman was rebuilding a stairway in the White Tower of the Tower of London, and under the stairs they found the skeletons of a boy of 8 and a boy of 12. These bones now rest in the Westminster Abbey.
At this time Henry Tudor, the last claim of the Lancastrian line had the support of France, who was ever eager to spread discord in England. France throughout the war had supported Lancaster, while their rival, Burgundy, supported the York. In 1485 Henry Tudor landed in Wales with a small French army, rebel Welshmen joined him and at the climax of the battle Richard III was betrayed by the Stanley brothers who were related to Henry through marriage and Henry won the battle. The crown, which was found later in the nearby bushes passed to the Tudor. The body of Richard III, the last of the Plantagenets, naked and torn with hideous wounds, was carried to the nearby town of Leicester slung across the back of a cart. He was the 2nd king (after Harold) to die defending his crown in a battle. The Plantagenets era ended, and the era of the Tudors began.
Henry VII Tudor knew that his claim to the throne was weak so he married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and the sister of the vanished princes. Henry was no hero king as his predecessors, but he was the king that England needed. He was the cleverest and the most gifted businessman of all kings and thus made a FORTUNE. After crashing several plots against him, Henry took care of some alliances – he married his elder daughter, Margaret, to James IV of Scotland and his elder son, Arthur, to Catherine of Aragon. But Arthur died soon of consumption a few weeks after the ceremony, so the hand of Catherine and the inheritance of England passed to Arthur’s 11 year old brother, who had been destined for the church, but became the king in 1509 when Henry VII died leaving the country one of the most wealthiest ones in Europe.
Henry VIII inherited something perhaps the most unusual and precious of all the kings ever had – he had a safe throne, a full treasury, a prosperous land, solvent government and united government. The only link to the Middle Ages remained – the independent Catholic Church. The first part of his reign Henry enjoyed himself spending the money his father earned. Henry left the government of England to his great counsellor, Thomas Woolsey of whom it was said “no subject had ever been so powerful or so rich”. The fun in Henry’s reign began in 1527 when his wife, Catherine, 7 years his senior, had only give him a daughter (Mary) and as she was far past childbearing age, there was a very vague chance of a male heir. Above all that, Henry had met the bewitching Anne Boleyn. He wished to divorce Catherine on these grounds and it was Woolsey’s task to arrange it – a task Henry thought would be fast and easy as he had always been supportive to the church. The Pope himself had awarded Henry the title “defender of the faith” in 1521. However, Henry disregarded the fact that Catherine’s nephew was Charles V – the Holy Roman Emperor, the most powerful sovereign in Europe, whom the Pope himself dared not antagonize. The result was the fall of Woolsey, the break with Rome and the reformation of the English Church with Henry at its head. Henry married Anne Boleyn but, alas, didn’t give him the son he desired so strongly – she gave a birth to a daughter who was to become perhaps the greatest monarch England has ever had (Elizabeth). Henry was mortified – he risked his soul for yet another girl! His anger turned to Anne and after the second child was still born, Anne was imprisoned and executed on a charge of adultery. He then married Jane Seymour, who was Anne’s lady-in-waiting. Jane gave him a son at last – Prince Edward. But Jane, the only woman Henry ever really loved, died after the cessation birth. He was married 3 more times – Anne of Cleves, for reasons of diplomacy, Catherine Howard, for infatuation and Catherine Parr, for peace and quite. He didn’t have more children. Though a tyrant, Henry dragged England out of Middle Ages into the modern state: he gave the beginnings of religious reform, a useful navy, better government and a sense of nationhood. The immense power he wielded was his and his alone. In his middle age he grew grotesquely fat and sores on his legs caused him constant agony which made his temper even more intolerable, but no king since had ever been held in such awe. When HenryVIII died in 1547, royal authority died with him.
King Edward VI was fanatically religious, a boy of 9 was very intelligent being able to read Greek and write Latin verses, was dominated by his uncle, Edward Seymour. Henry VIII religion was Catholicism without the Pope, but Edward was strict Protestant. At the age of 15 he got tuberculosis and died at the age of 16. The next heir to the throne was his elder half-sister, a strong Catholic, Mary. Northumberland (the place where Edward’s second uncle lived) in an attempt to hold the power persuaded Edward to exclude both his sisters from the succession in favour of Lady Jane Grey, Edward’s cousin.
The death of Edward VI led to the short and tragic reign of Lady Jane Grey. Northumberland thought that mostly protestant England would prefer Henry’s VIII protestant niece than his catholic daughter. But the gamble was a complete failure and after 9 days Jane willingly gave up the crown. Jane, only 16 was sentenced to death for treason. When she was blind folded on the scaffold she fell on the block with her hands, it is reported she cried “Where is it? Where is it? What shall I do?” Nobody was men enough to answer her. But they put her head on the block.
Thus, in 1553 the 37 year old Mary I Tudor became queen. She had survived terrible experiences as a little girl – forbidden to see her mother, declared illegitimate by her own father and often having lived on a direct threat of execution. She had courage and learning like all the Tudors, but lacked the political judgment as her father and her sister, Elizabeth. As soon as she gained power, she tried to drag unwilling England back to Rome and sacrificed the undoubted popularity she had by marrying king Phillip II of Spain, 11 years her junior and one of the most power catholic monarchs in Europe. Some rebelled against her marriage. She got her title “Bloody Mary” as she made the air thick with the smoke of burning Protestants. She went to war with France on her husband’s behalf and lost the last English possession on the French lands. Everything went wrong with the marriage – Mary was hoping for love and children, but for Phillip, who found her unattractive, it was a purely political and economical deed. She died in 5 years. Later in her prayer book, which was found after her death, pages with “prayers for women in childbirth” were stained with tears… her death 1558 was greeted with ringing bells and bonfires, ringing for one of the greatest reigns in their history.
The reign of Elizabeth I was the age of poetry – Shakespeare, Spenser, Sydney. It was also the age of voyages and discovery, the navigation of the globe and of the seadogs (John Hawkins and Francis Drake). Elizabeth inherited a weak divided country, but had toleration and personal magnetism bound all Englishmen together. She tamed the Parliament, governed not with the army, but with able public servants and a force of her own personality. She put herself at the summit of society, a society which was beginning to show some concern towards the poor and charity to the sick. Elizabeth I was never married, her only affair was with the country she governed. Some say she couldn’t have children. Indeed she wasn’t some great beauty, but nevertheless was surrounded by brilliant men who served loyally to her and the country. As Phillip II proclaimed his enterprise against England that will force all Europe back to Rome, following months of persuasion by her ministers, Elizabeth reluctantly signed the death warrant of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots who had been in her custody for 16 years. The following year, 1588 was the triumph of Elizabeth’s reign – the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Her declining years were less brilliant as the bright stars of her court began dim with age. Her dying ages of an illness she spent in her “warm winter box”, as she affectionately called her palace in Richmond, she was lying on the cushions on the floor, not in bed because she was scared that she will not be able to stand up from it again. In her 70th year on the 24th of March, 1603 at 3 o’clock in the morning the last of the Tudors departed his life, in the words of her doctor “mildly like a lamb, easily, like a ripe apple from the tree”.
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