Elizabeth I: a woman in a man’s world

Summary

HistoryExtra Podcast Summary
Episode: Elizabeth I: a woman in a man's world
Date: March 15, 2026
Host: Rachel Dinning
Guest: Dr. Nicola Tallis

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Episode Overview

This episode, the second in a four-part Sunday series on Elizabeth I, explores how the young queen navigated her rise to power, consolidated authority in a divided realm, and redefined the very meaning of female rule in Tudor England. Host Rachel Dinning speaks with historian Dr. Nicola Tallis, author of "Young Elizabeth," to delve into Elizabeth's coronation, the political and personal challenges she faced as a female monarch, her inner circle of advisers, her relationships with close women, and the political minefield of courtship and marriage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Elizabeth’s Coronation: A New Beginning

• Astrological Advice and Festivities ([03:14]–[04:26]):
  • Elizabeth consulted Dr. John Dee to choose an auspicious coronation day.
  • The city celebrated with elaborate pageants, gold and silver displays, and massive crowds.
  • Amusing anecdote: Crowds souvenired pieces of the carpet laid outside Westminster Abbey, causing the Duchess of Norfolk to trip on the holes left behind.

    "Souvenir hunters were out in their thousands trying to cut out pieces of the carpet... the Duchess of Norfolk, who was walking behind the Queen, kept tripping up in the holes." – Dr. Nicola Tallis [03:55]

• Symbolic Importance and Legitimacy:
  • The coronation marked a life-changing moment for Elizabeth: "From this moment...for her, her queenship really began, because she was now seen as God's anointed on Earth." – Dr. Nicola Tallis [04:13]

Immediate Challenges Upon Accession

• Religious and Political Tensions ([05:20]–[06:13]):

  • Public relief after Mary I’s unpopular reign, but anxiety due to religious conflict (Protestant vs. Catholic) and national weakness.
  • Many doubted Elizabeth’s ability to unite and stabilize England.

• Obstacles Facing Elizabeth ([06:13]–[07:52]):

  • Lingering doubts about her legitimacy (“a permanent blot” due to Henry VIII never fully legitimating her).
  • Her gender in a male-dominated society, following the unsuccessful female rule of her sister, Mary.
  • Ongoing religious and economic troubles.

Early Reforms & Religious Settlement

• Stabilizing Authority ([08:03]–[09:47]):
  • Assembled loyal supporters, promoted economic confidence.
  • Passed the 1559 Religious Settlement—Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity—to appease both Protestants and Catholics.

    "Protestantism is the official religion in England, but Catholics are still allowed to worship in their own way...It is Elizabeth trying to sort of keep everybody happy and to really unite both sides." – Dr. Nicola Tallis [09:10]

  • Recognized risk: pleasing no one by seeking a middle way.

Gender and Rule: A Woman Among Kings

• Elizabeth's Gender Strategy ([09:55]–[11:52]):

  • Learned from Mary’s missteps, positioned herself as “the exception to the rule.”
  • Carefully crafted a dual persona—emphasizing both feminine (mother of her people) and masculine (using terms like “prince”) attributes, visible in her portraiture and rhetoric.

    “She sort of blends the feminine with the masculine...she often refers to herself as being a prince...that famous speech at Tilbury where she refers to herself as having the heart and sound of a king.” – Dr. Nicola Tallis [11:08]

• Lessons from Queen Mary I:

  • Elizabeth learned to avoid unpopular foreign marriages and asserted her autonomy more strongly than Mary had.

Governing Style & Circle of Advisors

• Hand-On Monarchy ([12:36]–[13:44]):

  • Actively involved in governance, valued counsel but always made her own decisions.

    “She wants to be the one who is making the decisions...it was important for her that that decision was hers alone.” – Dr. Nicola Tallis [13:07]

• Popular and Elite Expectations ([13:50]–[14:56]):

  • Public’s confidence in female rule was low; many hoped Elizabeth would marry a strong man to stabilize her rule.

• The Inner Circle ([15:07]–[17:07]):

  • Retained some of Mary’s counselors (Earls of Shrewsbury, Pembroke, Arundel), but William Cecil became her chief adviser and confidant ("her spirit").
  • Robert Dudley, her Master of Horse and close friend, played a significant, if controversial, role.

Female Support System & Influence

• Women Behind the Throne ([17:15]–[18:45]):

  • Kat Ashley (governess and Chief Lady of the Bedchamber) and Catherine Carey (cousin, close confidant) provided lifelong personal support.

    “They are probably the few people who know the real Elizabeth.” – Rachel Dinning [18:39]

• Their Influence and Limitations ([18:56]–[20:30]):

  • Provided crucial emotional support.
  • Occasionally had political influence (e.g., Kat Ashley advocating for a marriage with Eric of Sweden), but Elizabeth insisted their role remain personal, not political.

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Marriage Politics and the “Virgin Queen” Persona

Managing Suitors and Matrimonial Politics

• Robert Dudley: The Queen’s Favorite ([23:06]–[25:02]):

  • Shared a unique bond due to their background and mutual understanding of imprisonment and threat.

    “I think it is true to say that Elizabeth probably did love Dudley. I think he probably was the love of her life.” – Dr. Nicola Tallis [24:18]

  • Dudley’s married status (and his wife’s suspicious death) tainted his suitability—Elizabeth put reason above emotion.

• Foreign Suitors and Diplomatic Maneuvering ([27:13]–[29:04]):

  • Suitors included Philip of Spain (immediately rejected), Eric of Sweden (persistent, but rebuffed), and Archduke Charles of Austria (ultimately foiled by religious differences).
  • Elizabeth skillfully used the prospect of marriage as a diplomatic tool.

    “She knew her worth...and any man who wanted to marry her should recognize that.” – Dr. Nicola Tallis [29:17]

• Refusal to Marry: Policy or Personal Choice? ([29:17]–[30:24]):

  • Dr. Tallis’s view: No serious intention to marry—playing the marriage game was political (“She played the game, but...recognized that it would be very difficult to find a suitor who ticked all of the boxes and who pleased everybody.”).

Courtship with the Duke of Anjou and the Birth of the “Virgin Queen”

• Anjou Proposal ([30:28]–[33:12]):

  • Elizabeth favored, but ultimately rejected, the French Duke; council and country divided due to religious and political concerns.
  • The policy of independence: “She didn’t want to share [the crown] with anybody.”

    “Her vulnerability as a single female ruler also becomes her greatest strength...a very deliberate way of branding herself.” – Dr. Nicola Tallis [33:48]

• The “Virgin Queen” as Myth and Necessity:

  • Persona was both strategic mythmaking and a reflection of political necessity—her single status became foundational to her political power and public image.

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Memorable Quotes

• "This is a huge turning point in terms of Elizabeth's life."
  – Dr. Nicola Tallis [04:13]

• "Elizabeth does really try to keep a middle ground."
  – Dr. Nicola Tallis [09:47]

• "She presents herself as being the exception to the rule...She cultivates this really unique persona by blending feminine and masculine."
  – Dr. Nicola Tallis [11:00]

• "It was important for her that that decision was hers alone."
  – Dr. Nicola Tallis [13:07]

• "I think that Elizabeth ultimately always let her head rule her heart."
  – Dr. Nicola Tallis [26:54]

• "She was the Queen and she didn’t want a consortium."
  – Dr. Nicola Tallis [32:20]

• "Her vulnerability as a single female ruler also becomes her greatest strength."
  – Dr. Nicola Tallis [33:48]

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Key Timestamps

• [03:14]: Coronation and superstitions, public celebrations, and legitimacy.
• [06:20]: Pressing challenges—legitimacy, gender, religious division.
• [08:03]: Early reforms, the settlement of religion.
• [10:20]: Elizabeth’s approach to feminine monarchy.
• [15:07]: Key advisers—William Cecil, Robert Dudley.
• [17:15]: The women closest to Elizabeth—Kat Ashley, Catherine Carey.
• [23:06]: Relationship with Dudley.
• [27:13]: Foreign suitors, diplomatic marriage negotiations.
• [30:28]: The Anjou courtship and the crafting of the “Virgin Queen”.
• [33:48]: Persona as policy and self-preservation.

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Episode Tone & Style

This discussion is lively, insightful, and rich in story and character—combining rigorous historical detail with vivid anecdotes and commentary on gender and power. Dr. Tallis’s language is both affectionate and analytical regarding Elizabeth, emphasizing her strategy and singularity as a queen. Rachel Dinning prompts with curiosity and keeps the conversation accessible and personable.

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Conclusion

The episode paints a nuanced picture of Elizabeth I’s early reign: a queen uniquely equipped to walk a knife-edge of tradition and innovation, power and vulnerability, femininity and strength. The story of the “Virgin Queen” is revealed as both a deliberate myth and an ingenious political solution to a world that doubted a woman’s right to rule. This episode provides listeners with fresh, illuminating perspectives on how Elizabeth stabilized her kingdom and left an indelible mark as an exceptional female leader in a man’s world.

Transcript

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

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[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

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[History Extra Podcast Host]

Welcome to the History Extra Podcast. Today we've got the second episode of our Sunday series on Elizabeth I. As Nicola Tallis tells Rachel Dinning about the Queen's efforts to stabilize a divided kingdom.

[Rachel Dinning]

Welcome back to this four part History Extra podcast series exploring the life of Elizabeth I. I'm Rachel Dinning and today I'm joined by Dr. Nicola Tallis whose latest book is Young Elizabet. In the last episode we followed Elizabeth's precarious path to the throne. But today we'll be meeting a very different figure, a young queen stepping into what had traditionally been a man's world and redefining what female rule could look like. So, Nicola, for today's episode, we're going to start with Elizabeth's coronation. So this is a moment of celebration. It also marks the start of a very big challenge for Elizabeth. How does she consolidate her power? How does she unite a kingdom somewhat divided by religious tension, but focusing first on the Coronation Day? What happened on the 15th of January, 1559?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Well, this was a really momentous day in Elizabeth's life. And she was so determined to make a good impression that she'd actually consulted an astrologer, Dr. John Dee, in order to help choose the most propitious day for the coronation, which I always find quite extraordinary. And on this day, this was a real celebration of the love that Elizabeth's people had for her. So no expense had been spared. There were pageants that were staged throughout the city. There was gold and silver to be seen all around. This was a real moment. And the crowds were out in full force. And something that I find quite funny is that there had been a new carpet laid down just outside Westminster Abbey for the Queen. And no sooner had she walked on a piece than souvenir hunters were out in their thousands trying to cut out pieces of the carpet. And it meant that the Duchess of Norfolk, who was walking behind the Queen, kept tripping up in the holes. So I always find that quite a comical moment.

[Rachel Dinning]

That feels very modern as well. You can imagine someone doing that today with a celebrity or even the modern royal family. I'm gonna sell that on ebay later as a memorabilia.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah, exact. I imagine that's exactly what happened. But when Elizabeth entered Westminster Abbey, it was a very serious moment. It was a very poignant moment. This is the moment that she could never possibly have envisaged for much of her early life. And she is anointed. She is crowned with the iconic St. Edward's crown. And I think, really, it's from this moment that for her, her queenship really began, because she was now seen as God's anointed on Earth. So this is a huge turning point in terms of Elizabeth's life and what

[Rachel Dinning]

was the public response to her becoming Queen? We obviously still have this religious tension bubbling in the country, Protestant versus Catholic. That's all going on still. So what was public response to her coronation and crowning?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah, so this is a moment of huge joy and celebration because Mary had not been popular towards the end of her reign. So there was great hope and expectation when Elizabeth became queen. But this is also a time of great anxiety because you've mentioned there there is religious conflict. The country is also very weak at this point. So people are looking towards Elizabeth in the hope that she can make some positive. But in reality, there were very few people who believed that she would be able to achieve that.

[Rachel Dinning]

What would you say were the most pressing concerns for her facing Elizabeth from the moment she was crowned?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

I think that there are quite a few, actually. I think first and foremost for her, she has to face the skepticism about her own legitimacy. So we have spoken about in the previous episode, the fact that her father, Henry viii, had restored her to the line of success, but he never legally legitimated her. And this is something that really causes a permanent blot on Elizabeth's reputation and would cause problems for her throughout her reign, really. She was plagued with criticism of the fact that she was illegitimate, that she was descended from Anne Boleyn. And there's many who will question her right to rule, and that becomes apparent later on. Also there is her gender, the fact that she is a woman in what has very much been a male dominated society. Her half sister, Mary is the one who has set the precedent for female rule, and that hasn't really been successful. Elizabeth is able to use that to her advantage because she has been able to watch and learn and see where Mary has gone wrong. But there are still many who are fearful of female rule and what that might encompass. And there is also religious conflict going on and there's also economic troubles. So Elizabeth is faced with a huge mountain to climb.

[Rachel Dinning]

So Elizabeth has all of these problems, not least her very gender and the perception that people have of her. How does she move to consolidate power in the first year of her reign?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Well, first and foremost, she takes care to surround herself with a network of loyal supporters, and I'm sure we'll talk about some of those. And she begins trying to stabilize the currency to encourage more confidence. And perhaps crucially, she looks towards trying to calm fears in terms of religion. And we see her make a religious settlement in 1559, which is really an attempt to appease everybody. So we see that she tries to sort of calm the divide between Protestants and Catholics. So the act of Supremacy is passed, which makes Elizabeth Supreme Governor of the Church of England rather than Supreme Head like her father had been. And we also see the act of Uniformity, which establishes Protestant worship as the official form of worship in England. But it also allows for some Catholic practices to.

[Rachel Dinning]

So she's trying to find a tiny bit of middle ground.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah, exactly. So Protestantism is the official religion in England, but Catholics are still allowed to worship in their own way as well. So it is Elizabeth trying to sort of keep everybody happy and to really unite both sides.

[Rachel Dinning]

That's quite a savvy political move. She's trying to get her own way, but also not cause too much contention.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah, I think that's Elizabeth all over in many respects, actually, is that she does try to keep everybody happy. Eventually that means that she pleases nobody. But I think that that is.

[Rachel Dinning]

That's the danger.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah, exactly. But I think that that is Elizabeth's policy in many respects, is that she does really try to keep a middle ground.

[Rachel Dinning]

So I want to talk about her greatest challenge, which you've mentioned already, when she came to the throne. How did Elizabeth approach being a female ruler in this deeply patriarchal society that only really known male kings for centuries? We've had Mary not very long reign briefly, Lady Jane Grey. We know what happened to her. How does Elizabeth approach the topic of her gender as a female queen?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Well, it's quite interesting because Elizabeth does have that example of her half sister Mary ahead of her. So she is able to learn from Mary's mistakes and she capitalizes on them in a lot of respects. And what she also does is she really sort of presents herself as being the exception to the rule. And this is something that I really sort of admire about Elizabeth. So she presents herself as a queen who God has ordained will rule, and she begins cultivating this really unique Persona of herself whereby she sort of blends the feminine with the masculine. So she presents herself as being the mother of her people. This is something that we see her doing throughout her reign and in numerous ways, through her portraiture, for example. And she also uses some very masculine terms. So she often refers to herself as being a prince. And let's not forget that famous speech at Tilbury that she later makes where she refers to herself as having the heart and sound of a king. So there are very, very deliberate choices in her language being made. And there's a very deliberate strategy being employed by Elizabeth, whereby, on the one hand, she capitalizes on being a woman, she is the mother, but on the other hand, she very carefully ensures that she is identifying herself in male terms.

[Rachel Dinning]

What were some of the mistakes Mary made that you think she tried to avoid?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Well, I think that one of them was the act of marrying an unpopular foreign consort. I think that Elizabeth learned some very important lessons from Mary about marriage and Again, I'm sure we will talk about those, but I think that that is definitely key. And I think also she recognized that Mary had been very happy to take advice from her counsellors, which is not a bad thing. But in so doing, Mary hadn't necessarily always asserted herself and her own authority. And I think that that was something that Elizabeth was very keen to ensure that she did.

[Rachel Dinning]

Well, that brings me quite neatly onto my next question, which is how hands on was Elizabeth as a monarch and how much did she rely on the counsel of those around her?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Elizabeth is incredibly hands on as a monarch. Again, this is the moment that she had never envisaged as a possibility. And I think, particularly because of her gender, she was very, very keen to assert and maintain her authority. So we see that she plays a very close and active role in council meetings, in the governance of her realm. She wants to be the one who is making the decisions. But she did also recognise the importance of listening to the advice of her counsellors. And what she does is she quite often used their advice as a way of sort of ascertaining opinions before ultimately making her own decision. So it was important for her that that decision was hers alone.

[Rachel Dinning]

But she would use people as a sounding board.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah.

[Rachel Dinning]

To see how things might go down.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Absolutely.

[Rachel Dinning]

We've sort of touched on this already, but I'm gonna bring it up again. What do you think ordinary people thought about having a female ruler?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Well, there was definitely concern, particularly because England was quite weak at this point, and particularly because they people would have been aware of the strength of foreign powers like Spain and like France, which were being ruled by kings. England is definitely the weakest link. And certainly a lot of people thought that Mary was to blame for this, which she was. And as I say, the reign of Mary before hadn't been successful. So there isn't a great deal of confidence in Elizabeth. There isn't a great deal of confidence in female rule in general as a concept. But Elizabeth is very popular and they expect her to marry and therefore they expect her reign potentially to be a success because she will hopefully have a strong and powerful husband behind her. So there is this sort of expectation, there is this hope that she will be able to better things, but people don't think that she will be able to better things by herself.

[Rachel Dinning]

Now, we've discussed the pressures of being a sole female ruler, but Elizabeth, she was never alone. She had her counsellors, who were some of her most trusted advisors. Who did she go to?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Well, what is quite interesting is that When Elizabeth succeeds to the throne, she retains about 10 of Mary's counsellors, so we see, you know, the Earls of Shrewsbury, Pembroke, Arundel. But she also chiefly employs the services of William Cecil, who becomes her principal secretary. And her relationship with Cecil, I think, is one of probably the most successful partnerships in English history. She had known Cecil before, possibly since the reign of her father, definitely since the reign of her half brother. And Cecil was very, very capable, very, very intelligent. And it's clear that Elizabeth puts a huge amount of trust in him and he doesn't disappoint her. And their relationship is successful, not only in working terms but also in personal terms. Elizabeth is very fond of him. She gives him the nickname of her spirit, which she always does to people who she is very fond of. So Cecil is really first and foremost among Elizabeth's counsellors and will continue to be until he dies and then he is replaced by his son, Robert Cecil. But we also see another very interesting personality come to the fore at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, and that is her Master of horse, Robert Dudley, who she's known for a long time and who isn't necessarily popular amongst his fellow councillors, but he does have an important role to play. And the fact that he is master of Elizabeth's horse puts him in close and frequent contact with the Queen as well. So these are people who Elizabeth trusts and these are people who really do symbolize what Elizabeth's government looked like at the beginning of her reign.

[Rachel Dinning]

And crucially, and this is something I know you've written extensively about, who were the women in Elizabeth's life at this time?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

I think one of the key personalities that we have to talk about is Kate Astley, or sometimes she's known as Kat Ashley, and she was Elizabeth's governess. She had been with Elizabeth probably since shortly after the execution of Anne Boleyn. So she's someone who'd known Elizabeth pretty much all of her life. And she was appointed as the Queen's Chief lady of the Bedchamber. So she was one of the few people who came to know Elizabeth the woman as well as Elizabeth the Queen. And she remained close by Elizabeth's side until her death in the 1560s, which left Elizabeth devastated. And then we also have Catherine Carey, Lady Knowles, who was Elizabeth's cousin. She was the daughter of Mary Boleyn, Elizabeth's aunt, and again, they'd had a very close relationship since childhood. She was also admitted to join the Queen's Bedchamber when Elizabeth became Queen. And we know that Elizabeth really treated her like a sister. She also admitted a couple of Catherine's daughters to her bedchamber staff. So, again, all of these women are the people who are seeing Elizabeth behind that mask of queenship, Elizabeth behind closed

[Rachel Dinning]

doors, but she's not putting on her queenly sort of front.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah, exactly. They are probably the few people who know the real Elizabeth.

[Rachel Dinning]

How vital was their personal support to Elizabeth? Did their influence ever influence her politics or anything like that, or do you think it was more sort of personal?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

I think that these women were hugely important to Elizabeth, most definitely in personal and emotional terms. So we have to remember that most of these women had been with Elizabeth throughout those days when she had gone from being a princess to illegitimate to in fear for her life. So they had supported Elizabeth during her most vulnerable moments and were now with her during her times of triumph. So that was really their key role, was to offer that kind of support. But definitely there were people who believed that they had influence with the Queen. And we see that there were a number of courtiers, number of ambassadors who were giving gifts to these women to try and get them to put in a good word for the Queen with them. And definitely we see on one occasion that Kate Astley becomes too involved in Elizabeth's marital arrangements. She becomes a very strong advocate for Elizabeth's marriage to Eric of Sweden, to the point where Elizabeth has to tell her to butt out and not to become embroiled in politics. Again, like, that's absolutely none of her business. So it's made very clear to her that her remit is to serve Elizabeth in a personal capacity. And for everything else, the women are expected to lie low and butt out of affairs.

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[Rachel Dinning]

the topic of Elizabeth's marriage, or lack of marriage, brings me on to the next section of this podcast. So I want to spend some time talking about Elizabeth's many suitors. So we've spoken already about how Elizabeth, when she comes to the throne, there's a huge expectation on her that she should marry. She needs someone, a man by her side, and the sort of drama of all these courtships and potential suitors becomes this European soap opera. But Elizabeth, she never takes anyone's hand. So I want to go into some of the men who tried to win her heart. So I want to start with Robert Dudley, her Master of Horse, the Earl of Leicester. She once remarked that she could find no person with better qualities. He was her favourite. So tell our listeners about Robert Dudley.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Robert Dudley was the son of the Duke of Northumberland and he had been known to Elizabeth since childhood. And he had actually been imprisoned in the Tower in the aftermath of the coup to make Lady Jane Grey Queen, because Jane's husband, Guildford, was Robert's brother and he'd actually been tried and condemned for treason, and he was in the Tower at the same time as Elizabeth. And despite these sort of romantic tales that they may have met and shared conversations during this time in the Tower, I think that that's probably quite unlikely. I think that certainly perhaps they may have seen one another during this time, but I think it's unlikely that they were, you know, popping in and out of one another's prison cells. But what is clear, I think from this is that this sense of shared experience really bonded them. I think that there were very few who would have been able to understand Elizabeth's position in terms of being imprisoned under fear of death. And one of those who could understand that was Robert Dudley. So I think that that really serves to bond them. And I think that it is true to say that Elizabeth probably did love Dudley. I think that he probably. Yeah, I think so. I think he probably was the love of her life. And I think that had she been a different person living a different life, perhaps that story would have played out differently. But I think he was one of the very few people who truly understood Elizabeth and what she'd been through. And I think that that was something that made him even more attractive to her.

[Rachel Dinning]

And he wanted to marry Elizabeth, didn't he? He staged this elaborate proposal which she ultimately turned down. Why wouldn't she marry him? Seems like a no brainer. She has feelings for him, he understands her. Why wouldn't she marry Dudley?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Well, I mean, to begin with, there's a very, very massive obstacle in the way, in the fact that Dudley is already married. He had been married since the 1550s to Amy Robsart in what was probably a love match as well. And so, yeah, that was a huge sticking point to begin with. But Amy died in mysterious circumstances in 1560. She was found at the bottom of a staircase with a broken neck. And to begin with, there were rumours circulating that Robert had actually ordered her murder in order to clear the path for him to marry Elizabeth. I think that that's hugely unlikely. I don't think Robert was stupid enough or cruel enough to do that. But what is clear is really that put a stop to any thoughts of Elizabeth marrying Dudley, even if she had most definitely intended to, because that really tarnished Dudley's reputation permanently. And had Elizabeth ended up marrying him, I don't know, who knows, we could have seen the same damage to her reputation that we later see to that of Mary Queen of Scots, when she marries Bothwell in the aftermath of Darnley's murder. So I think that Elizabeth ultimately was somebody who throughout her life, really, but most definitely when she became queen, she always let her head rule her heart. And that's something that we definitely see in Dudley's instance.

[Rachel Dinning]

And moving beyond Dudley, there was always this consideration that perhaps Elizabeth might marry someone abroad. It would bring together two countries, create an alliance. That's how many royal matches have been forged throughout history. Can you introduce as to some of the foreign suitors that she entertained?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah, there were many. As soon as Elizabeth became queen, she was the most eligible bride in Europe and everybody wanted to stake a claim to her hand. And this began with her brother in law, Philip of Spain. So he immediately presented himself as a suitor and he was immediately rejected. There was no way that Elizabeth was going to marry him. And then we also see Eric of Sweden, Eric, who becomes Eric the 14th of Sweden. And he was a very, very ardent suitor. I think that Elizabeth probably quite enjoyed the attention where he was concerned, because he sent her gifts, he sent her love letters, his brother was sent over to try and woo the Queen on his behalf, and he even attempted to come to England himself, but he was thwarted by bad weather. And eventually Elizabeth had to sort of put Page to his advances. She had to tell him that that wasn't going to happen. And eventually he goes on to have a very unhappy life and marries his mistress. So there is the eager Swede, and there is also the Archduke Charles of Austria, and that match comes about in 1567, and he's the son of the Emperor Ferdinand. But there are religious difficulties with this match because Charles is an ardent Catholic, so this causes a huge problem. But that doesn't stop Elizabeth from dangling the carrot of marriage beneath his nose for quite a while, really. And she does sort of act as though she is interested in Charles mainly to appease those who are putting pressure on her to marry.

[Rachel Dinning]

She does seem to do that a lot. She seems to. With many of the men who attempt to court her or win her over, she seems to give them a little bit of maybe I will consider that. And the dance goes on for a while until she eventually says no.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Absolutely. Yeah. She knows her worth. I think that's what we can say about Elizabeth and she. She thinks that any man who wants to marry her should recognise that as well. So, yeah, she's happy to pay them a bit of attention, in my opinion. I think that Elizabeth never had any intention of marrying anybody.

[Rachel Dinning]

It was always the policy, I think.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

So, yeah. There will be others who have different views on that, but I think that that was very much a matter of policy. I think she played the game, but ultimately I think she recognised that it would be very difficult to find a suitor who ticked all of the boxes and who pleased everybod. And that role of being mother of her people was too important to her. And that's why we see she eventually does say, you know, I will have but one mistress and no master.

[Rachel Dinning]

It was safer for her to be just herself.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah, yeah. In so many respects, both within her realm, you know, within her circle of courtiers and counselors, and also in terms of the broader European picture, I think it was safer for her to be a single queen.

[Rachel Dinning]

You said it earlier, head before heart.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah.

[Rachel Dinning]

We haven't talked about Elizabeth's last great courtship. France was Duke of Anjou, so he's the younger brother of the King of France. Elizabeth highly favoured him. She even presented him with a ring, you know, doing the Elizabeth game of teasing and then ultimately saying no. Why did she ultimately turn him down?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Yeah. And she also gives him the nickname of her frog as a term of affection. So, yeah, she is very sort of fond of him, but I think she was very aware that her council were very divided in terms of their opinions on this French marriage. So Sir Francis Walsingham, who was a key member of Elizabeth's council during her later reign, was very much against it. We know that Elizabeth did heed Walsingham's advice on a lot of things, and there was also a pamphlet written in the realm against it. So there were whispers within her own country, country and, you know, gossip that the Queen shouldn't marry this French duke, that he wasn't a suitable candidate for her, he was a Catholic. So, again, there are these religious differences between them. So there is very much a fear of foreign influence coming into play here. And I think that that is part of the reason why Elizabeth ultimately rejected him. But ultimately, I think it comes down to this issue of her not wanting to cede her own authority. She has, as we said, very carefully crafted this image. It's something that she has spent the entirety of her reign developing and ultimately she didn't want to share that with anybody. She was the Queen and she didn't want a consortium. It's also quite a risk as well, if you think about it, because, you know, we've said the expectation was very much that she would marry, and there was this idea that women weren't strong enough to rule by themselves, that a man was needed. And Elizabeth is breaking all kinds of molds at this point, because she's already been quite successful up until the 1570s, so she has already started to show that it is possible for a woman to rule without a man's authority. In reality, by the time that the Duke of Anjou comes onto the scene, I think that there were very few who seriously thought that Elizabeth would marry by this point. This is almost like the final throw of the dice. And I think that she had proven the model by this point. She didn't really need a husband by now. She'd done it alone and she was happy to continue to do it alone.

[Rachel Dinning]

And, of course, her decision not to marry means that she doesn't have a direct heir, and we will get onto that in the final episode of this series. So, people at home, you need to come back for episode four. Nicola. The result of Elizabeth's choice to remain unmarried gives birth this name, the Virgin Queen, which lots of people will know, and you've already touched on this already. But was this Persona a piece of deliberate, sophisticated myth making, or was it a political necessity? Was this the only way that she could maintain her power in 16th century England?

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

It's a bit of both, because it's basically this kind of strategy whereby Elizabeth's vulnerability as a single female ruler also becomes her greatest strength. And she obviously dangles this prospect of marriage as a possibility in front of pretty much every foreign. But as I say, I really don't think that she ever had any genuine intention of marrying anybody. So it's definitely a very deliberate way of branding herself, I suppose, and it's one that ultimately inspires people. But she also uses it as a way of being able to maintain her power as well.

[Rachel Dinning]

Thank you, Nicola. So in our next episode, we'll be following Elizabeth into the storms of rebellion, deadly plots and the threat of Spain to see how she defended her throne against enemies at home and abroad. If you enjoyed today's episode and you want to know more about Elizabeth I and how she consolidated her power, or you want to know more about her suitors, including Robert Dudley, head to the description where I collated a load of articles from the History Extra archive for you to explore.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

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[Rachel Dinning]

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[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

I don't have time to shop for clothes. I have to buy everything in three sizes to find one that fits.

[Rachel Dinning]

They know me at the post office.

[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Workout wear is my only wear.

[Rachel Dinning]

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[Dr. Nicola Tallis]

Oh, wow.

[Rachel Dinning]

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