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00:00:001953, a coronation fit for a king, but it's a young queen who's about to be crowned, and the crowd roars its approval.
00:00:25The fact that she's a woman attracts no comment, and she will go on to reign over us for six decades.
00:00:35But England's queens haven't always been greeted with such adoration.
00:00:41The first woman who sought to be crowned queen in her own right here in Westminster 800 years earlier received a very different response.
00:00:50She wasn't met by cheering crowds. Instead, she was chased away from the capital by an angry mob.
00:01:01That's because throughout our history, women and power have made an uneasy combination.
00:01:07Never more so than in the Middle Ages, when monarchy was forged in the cut and thrust of battle.
00:01:16It was taken for granted that men would rule.
00:01:20So what if the king died, and there were no men to take the reins of power?
00:01:25In 1553, the only heirs to the Tudor throne were female.
00:01:32The next three monarchs of England would be women, but they would each discover that power did not rest easily in the hands of a queen.
00:01:41When they pursued power like kings, these royal women were criticized and condemned.
00:01:46Most graphically of all, they'd been vilified as she-wolves.
00:01:50These are the stories of the she-wolves of England, and to explore them is to realize just how far we've come, and how little has changed.
00:02:00This impressive building is the old Royal Naval College.
00:02:23500 years ago, another, even grander building stood on the same spot.
00:02:28It was one of the greatest residences of the Tudor kings.
00:02:36On the 6th of July, 1553, in the magnificent palace that once stood here at Greenwich, a 15-year-old boy lay dying.
00:02:46He was Edward VI, the only son of Henry VIII.
00:02:49Edward was the male heir for whom Henry had been so desperate that he'd divorced one wife and killed another.
00:03:00And Edward had been a golden boy, until he was reduced by a horrifying illness to a grotesque and lonely figure struggling for breath in a gilded bed.
00:03:11But this wasn't just a moment of unbearable pathos.
00:03:17It was also a moment of extraordinary political crisis.
00:03:22Because when Edward died, there was no-one left to claim the title of King of England.
00:03:27For the first time in English history, all the contenders for his crown were female.
00:03:32Hindsight makes it difficult to appreciate just how great a crisis this was.
00:03:45For the men who stood around Edward's deathbed, the prospect of being ruled by a woman was deeply troubling.
00:03:52What they thought they knew was that women were not equipped to rule, weaker than men, less rational, more sinful, unable to fight, unable to make law.
00:04:09Over the previous 400 years, the handful of women who had tried to take power had found themselves condemned as unnatural, even monstrous.
00:04:22And Edward's father, Henry VIII, had gone to extreme lengths to ensure that he would have a son to succeed him.
00:04:42This painting offers a revealing insight into Henry VIII's view of his dynasty.
00:04:53In the centre is Henry himself, flanked by his third wife Jane Seymour and their son Edward.
00:05:00On the left is Henry's older daughter Mary by his first wife Catherine of Aragon.
00:05:05On the right is his younger daughter Elizabeth by his second wife Anne Boleyn.
00:05:09The painting is a fabricated representation rather than a portrait from life.
00:05:16In fact, Jane Seymour had died just a fortnight after Edward's birth.
00:05:20But here she sits as the beloved mother of Henry's male heir.
00:05:25Henry's daughters, by contrast, are left on the sidelines.
00:05:28He even went as far as to declare that they were bastards after he'd disposed of their mothers.
00:05:39Daughters, for Henry, would not do.
00:05:42He was a king, and only a king could succeed him.
00:05:45All of Henry's hopes for England's future rested on his son's shoulders.
00:05:58And when Henry died in 1547, nine-year-old Edward became king of England.
00:06:03He knew it was his destiny to continue the glorious line of Tudor kings.
00:06:14But a few months after his 15th birthday, Edward fell seriously ill.
00:06:22Throughout the winter he was confined within the palace walls,
00:06:25and by the spring of 1553, it was clear he was dying.
00:06:33But the identity of his heir was far from clear,
00:06:37and that left England facing an alarmingly uncertain future.
00:06:43As well as his two half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth,
00:06:48Edward had seven cousins, but all of them were women.
00:06:51For the first time since the Norman Conquest,
00:06:58there were no male heirs to the throne.
00:07:01Whatever happened, England's next monarch would be a woman.
00:07:05And the question now was, which woman would it be?
00:07:11Mary and Elizabeth both knew that under the terms of their father's will,
00:07:16if Edward died, the crown should pass first to Mary,
00:07:20then to her younger sister.
00:07:23But they also knew there was a complicating factor,
00:07:27Edward's faith.
00:07:29He was an ardent Protestant,
00:07:32and Mary an equally committed Catholic.
00:07:36Mary's fear was that faith would usurp bloodline.
00:07:39Mary had watched her father, Henry VIII,
00:07:52break from the Church of Rome,
00:07:54and make himself head of the Church of England.
00:07:58But it was under Edward that England underwent
00:08:01a fully-fledged Protestant reformation.
00:08:05Edward was a precociously intelligent child.
00:08:08He'd been educated by Protestant tutors,
00:08:11and despite his young age,
00:08:14he was determined to make his people follow his faith.
00:08:18All that Mary held dear,
00:08:20the Latin Mass,
00:08:22sung in churches full of images and incense,
00:08:25was swept away to be replaced by an English prayer book
00:08:29and simpler forms of worship.
00:08:31For Edward,
00:08:37it was unthinkable that his own death
00:08:39should send his people back
00:08:41into the darkness of Catholicism.
00:08:48Housed in the Inner Temple Library in London
00:08:51is a document which shows
00:08:53just how far Edward was prepared to go
00:08:55to stop this happening.
00:08:59This extraordinary document
00:09:01is what Edward called
00:09:03my device for the succession.
00:09:05You can see that it's drafted
00:09:07and redrafted in his own hand.
00:09:10And what this is about, above all,
00:09:12is excluding his sister Mary
00:09:13from inheriting his crown.
00:09:15Mary anticipated that her father's will
00:09:20would prevail,
00:09:21but Edward found a loophole.
00:09:25Henry had declared in law
00:09:26that his daughters were illegitimate,
00:09:29and that gave Edward his chance.
00:09:33English monarchs, he decided,
00:09:35had to be legitimate,
00:09:37and they also had to be Protestant,
00:09:39which ruled out his Catholic cousin,
00:09:41Mary, Queen of Scots.
00:09:42That left his only remaining cousins,
00:09:45the descendants of Henry VIII's younger sister.
00:09:49There was Francis Grey
00:09:50and her three daughters,
00:09:52Jane, Catherine, and Mary.
00:09:55Jane Grey in particular
00:09:56shared Edward's fierce devotion
00:09:58to the Protestant faith.
00:10:00But Edward planned
00:10:01that all future English monarchs
00:10:03would be kings.
00:10:04He intended to cut women
00:10:05out of the succession altogether.
00:10:07So in his first draft,
00:10:09he left his crown
00:10:10not to the grey girls,
00:10:12but to the sons
00:10:13they might one day have,
00:10:15their heirs male.
00:10:18But there was no time
00:10:20for the grey girls to have a son.
00:10:23By the summer of 1553,
00:10:25Edward and his ministers
00:10:26knew he was dying.
00:10:30On his sickbed,
00:10:31Edward took up his pen once again.
00:10:34At the eleventh hour,
00:10:35and faced with no other choice,
00:10:37he accepted that he would
00:10:38have to name a female heir.
00:10:41His device said
00:10:42that the crown should pass
00:10:44to the Lady Jane's heirs male.
00:10:47But now the king altered it
00:10:48to read
00:10:48the Lady Jane
00:10:50and her heirs male.
00:10:53With the addition
00:10:54of two small words,
00:10:56Jane Grey became
00:10:57the chosen heir
00:10:57to Edward's throne.
00:10:59Mary was the rightful heir,
00:11:06but she had no inkling
00:11:07of these manoeuvres,
00:11:09and neither did Jane Grey.
00:11:11She was merely a pawn
00:11:13in a much larger
00:11:14political game.
00:11:17During Edward's reign,
00:11:19England had been ruled
00:11:20by a noble council,
00:11:21as they waited for Edward
00:11:23to reach adulthood.
00:11:24These men ran the country
00:11:28in the name
00:11:28of the young king.
00:11:30At their head
00:11:31was the Duke of Northumberland.
00:11:34For him,
00:11:3615-year-old Jane Grey
00:11:37was the perfect choice
00:11:39as Edward's heir.
00:11:41Not only was she a Protestant
00:11:43like Northumberland himself,
00:11:45but she had just been married
00:11:46to his son.
00:11:51June 1553
00:11:52was a month
00:11:54of mounting tension.
00:11:57Northumberland sent warships
00:11:58to patrol the Thames
00:11:59and did everything he could
00:12:01to ensure his coup
00:12:03would go according to plan.
00:12:09Meanwhile,
00:12:10Mary and Elizabeth
00:12:11were kept ignorant
00:12:12of their brother's
00:12:13weakening condition.
00:12:15As one by one,
00:12:16the king's lawyers
00:12:17and counsellors
00:12:18were called into
00:12:19his bedchamber
00:12:20to put their seals
00:12:22to the device
00:12:23for Lady Jane's succession.
00:12:30On the 6th of July,
00:12:32Edward died at Greenwich
00:12:33as a summer storm
00:12:34raged across the capital.
00:12:36But the would-be queens
00:12:38of England
00:12:38didn't yet know
00:12:39that their moment had come.
00:12:42The Duke of Northumberland
00:12:44wanted to ensure
00:12:45that the king's death
00:12:46was kept secret
00:12:47until the levers
00:12:48of power had been secured.
00:12:54Three days after Edward's death,
00:12:56Jane Grey was summoned
00:12:57to meet Northumberland
00:12:58and other members
00:12:59of the Privy Council.
00:13:01She watched in bewilderment
00:13:03as they knelt before her,
00:13:05offering their allegiance
00:13:06to the new Queen of England.
00:13:08Her first reaction
00:13:10was a storm of grief
00:13:11for her dead cousin.
00:13:13Her second was horror.
00:13:15The crown is not my right
00:13:17and pleases me not,
00:13:18she said.
00:13:19The Lady Mary
00:13:20is the rightful heir.
00:13:25Jane Grey was strong-willed
00:13:27and ferociously intelligent,
00:13:30but she was only 15
00:13:31and struggling
00:13:33with shock and grief.
00:13:35In the end,
00:13:37she couldn't hold out
00:13:38against her powerful
00:13:39and manipulative
00:13:40father-in-law,
00:13:41Northumberland.
00:13:42On the 10th of July,
00:13:47heralds at last
00:13:48appeared on the streets
00:13:49of London
00:13:50to tell Edward's subjects
00:13:52that their king was dead
00:13:53and to proclaim
00:13:55the accession
00:13:55of Queen Jane.
00:14:01The heralds' proclamation
00:14:02was a lengthy document,
00:14:04largely because of the need
00:14:05to explain to Jane's subjects
00:14:07exactly who
00:14:08their new queen was.
00:14:09If the idea
00:14:11that she might inherit
00:14:12the throne
00:14:12had come as a shock
00:14:13to Jane herself,
00:14:15it was a bolt from the blue
00:14:16for the people of England
00:14:17and beyond.
00:14:19The Emperor Charles V
00:14:20had to ask his envoys
00:14:22to send a family tree
00:14:23to explain Jane's claim
00:14:25to the crown.
00:14:26And on London streets,
00:14:28the news was met
00:14:29in puzzled
00:14:30and fearful silence.
00:14:32But Jane soon realised
00:14:41even more
00:14:42was expected of her.
00:14:45As she was taken
00:14:46to the royal apartments
00:14:48in the Tower of London
00:14:49to prepare
00:14:49for her coronation,
00:14:51it became clear
00:14:52that her father-in-law,
00:14:54Northumberland,
00:14:55expected his son
00:14:56to become king
00:14:57once she was queen.
00:14:58Jane later wrote
00:15:03that she was wrestling
00:15:04with a troubled mind,
00:15:06infinite grief
00:15:07and displeasure of heart
00:15:09as she struggled
00:15:10to cope with the shock
00:15:11of her situation.
00:15:12But all the same,
00:15:14she was prepared
00:15:14to flex her royal muscles.
00:15:17The question of the status
00:15:19of a reigning queen's husband
00:15:20was without precedent
00:15:22in English history.
00:15:24Jane's husband,
00:15:25Guildford,
00:15:25had assumed
00:15:26that he would become king
00:15:27when Jane became queen.
00:15:28But she was having none of it.
00:15:31She was worried
00:15:32that the crown
00:15:32might not rightfully be hers,
00:15:34but she was sure
00:15:35that it wasn't her husband's.
00:15:41Jane's stand precipitated
00:15:43a furious row
00:15:44with her father-in-law
00:15:45and her husband.
00:15:48When it was suggested
00:15:49that a crown be made
00:15:50for Guildford too,
00:15:52she said she would make him
00:15:53a duke,
00:15:54but not a king.
00:15:55Northumberland had expected
00:15:59a puppet.
00:16:00Now he was finding
00:16:01Jane wouldn't be
00:16:02so easily manipulated.
00:16:05But for the moment,
00:16:07this battle had to wait
00:16:08because another strong woman
00:16:10was preparing for a fight.
00:16:13Mary.
00:16:13It was Mary,
00:16:19Henry VIII's eldest daughter,
00:16:21who was popularly understood
00:16:22to stand next in line
00:16:24to her brother's throne.
00:16:26Mary's sex
00:16:27had compromised
00:16:28her standing as his heir
00:16:29in her father's eyes,
00:16:31but the fact
00:16:31that she was female
00:16:32could hardly be used
00:16:33against her
00:16:34by supporters
00:16:35of Queen Jane.
00:16:35Still,
00:16:37the fact remained
00:16:38that Northumberland
00:16:39controlled the formidable
00:16:40machinery of government
00:16:42and it wasn't clear
00:16:43what Mary could do
00:16:44to oust him.
00:16:52Sinister whispers
00:16:53had reached Mary
00:16:54that Northumberland
00:16:55was planning to arrest her
00:16:57and imprison her
00:16:58in the tower.
00:17:01Mary fled
00:17:02to her estates
00:17:03in East Anglia
00:17:04and then made her way
00:17:05to her castle
00:17:06of Framlingham
00:17:07in Suffolk
00:17:08with its moated defences.
00:17:15Mary was safe,
00:17:16but she was far
00:17:17from the centre
00:17:18of political action
00:17:19and her enemies
00:17:21controlled the capital.
00:17:23She seemed
00:17:24to be a woman alone
00:17:26and her chances
00:17:27of becoming queen
00:17:28were written off
00:17:29even by her allies.
00:17:32Her chief supporter
00:17:33overseas
00:17:34was her cousin
00:17:35Charles V.
00:17:37As the king of Spain
00:17:38and Holy Roman Emperor,
00:17:40he was one of the most
00:17:41powerful men in Europe.
00:17:44And his ambassador
00:17:45told him
00:17:46Mary stood no chance.
00:17:50All the forces
00:17:51of the country
00:17:51are in the duke's hands
00:17:53and my lady
00:17:54has no hope
00:17:55of raising enough men
00:17:57to face him.
00:17:57As a female heir
00:18:02to the throne,
00:18:03Mary found
00:18:04that her judgment
00:18:05was questioned
00:18:05and her claim dismissed
00:18:07because she couldn't
00:18:08lead her own troops
00:18:09to enforce it.
00:18:11But what they
00:18:11hadn't taken into account
00:18:12was Mary herself.
00:18:19And that was a misjudgment
00:18:21on a massive scale.
00:18:23Mary was determined
00:18:26she would be queen.
00:18:29She sent letters
00:18:30to noblemen
00:18:31and gentry
00:18:32around the country,
00:18:34summoning them
00:18:34to come to their
00:18:35rightful queen's defence.
00:18:39They answered
00:18:40Mary's call
00:18:41in their thousands.
00:18:43The men
00:18:43who mustered
00:18:44their troops here
00:18:45at her castle
00:18:45of Framlingham
00:18:46in Suffolk
00:18:47were loyal
00:18:48to the old religion
00:18:49or more simply
00:18:50to the lineage
00:18:50of Henry VIII
00:18:51and their confidence
00:18:53in the justice
00:18:54of their mission
00:18:55was palpable.
00:18:59The same wasn't true
00:19:00of Mary's opponents.
00:19:03Northumberland
00:19:03wasn't popular
00:19:04and he had misjudged
00:19:06his reach.
00:19:08Just because he
00:19:09had proclaimed
00:19:10Jane queen
00:19:10didn't mean
00:19:11the country
00:19:12would accept it.
00:19:15At Framlingham,
00:19:16Mary's forces
00:19:17now counted
00:19:1810,000
00:19:19and rising.
00:19:23Northumberland
00:19:24marched his men
00:19:25out of London
00:19:25to meet them
00:19:26but on the 18th
00:19:28of July
00:19:28Mary heard
00:19:30that he had
00:19:30stopped short
00:19:31at Cambridge
00:19:32in shock
00:19:33at the overwhelming
00:19:34strength
00:19:35of her position.
00:19:37And in his absence
00:19:38the other lords
00:19:39of the council
00:19:40collapsed
00:19:41into panic
00:19:42and recrimination
00:19:43claiming Northumberland
00:19:45had prevented them
00:19:46from declaring
00:19:46their loyalty.
00:19:47to Mary.
00:19:51On Wednesday
00:19:52the 19th of July
00:19:53Mary Tudor
00:19:54was proclaimed
00:19:55Queen of England.
00:19:57Jane's proclamation
00:19:58had been greeted
00:19:59with uneasy silence.
00:20:01Now London streets
00:20:03erupted
00:20:03in a wild explosion
00:20:05of joy
00:20:06and relief.
00:20:07In the tower
00:20:08the girl
00:20:09who'd been queen
00:20:09for just nine days
00:20:11relinquished a crown
00:20:12that she'd always believed
00:20:13was Mary's by right.
00:20:15Jane had reigned
00:20:17fleetingly
00:20:18and powerlessly
00:20:19but now Mary
00:20:20faced the reality
00:20:21of ruling England.
00:20:29In just nine days
00:20:31Mary had routed
00:20:33her enemies.
00:20:34She ordered
00:20:35a traitor's death
00:20:36for the Duke
00:20:37of Northumberland.
00:20:37and Jane Grey
00:20:41who had entered
00:20:42the Tower of London
00:20:43to prepare
00:20:44for her coronation
00:20:45now remained there
00:20:47as a prisoner.
00:20:49But Mary refused
00:20:50to order the execution
00:20:52of a girl
00:20:52she saw
00:20:53as a wronged innocent.
00:20:54Mary's own right
00:20:58to the throne
00:20:59had been vindicated
00:21:00with overwhelming
00:21:01popular recognition.
00:21:04But as a woman
00:21:05her right
00:21:06to exercise power
00:21:07as she saw fit
00:21:08was another matter.
00:21:13Mary's cousin
00:21:14the Emperor Charles V
00:21:15had no doubt
00:21:16of the constraints
00:21:17her sex would impose
00:21:18on her rule.
00:21:20Just three days
00:21:21into her reign
00:21:22he sent his ambassadors
00:21:23some advice
00:21:24to pass on
00:21:25to the new queen.
00:21:27Let her be
00:21:27in all things
00:21:28what she ought to be
00:21:29a good English woman
00:21:31and avoid giving
00:21:32the impression
00:21:33that she desires
00:21:34to act on her own authority.
00:21:36No king could have
00:21:37tolerated the prospect
00:21:38that he shouldn't
00:21:39act on his own authority
00:21:41but Mary was being told
00:21:43she couldn't do that
00:21:44and be a good English woman.
00:21:50For the time being
00:21:51however
00:21:51it seemed that Mary
00:21:53would play
00:21:54the good English woman
00:21:55to perfection.
00:21:58Three days before
00:21:59her coronation
00:22:00Mary made a remarkable
00:22:02appeal to the members
00:22:03of her council.
00:22:06Sinking to her knees
00:22:07before them
00:22:08she spoke at length
00:22:10about her responsibility
00:22:11to God and her people
00:22:13and then implored them
00:22:15to do their duty
00:22:16as her counsellors
00:22:17because she said
00:22:18she had entrusted
00:22:20her affairs
00:22:20and person
00:22:21and person
00:22:21to them.
00:22:24The Imperial Ambassador
00:22:25reported that
00:22:26these great men
00:22:28of the realm
00:22:28were moved to tears
00:22:30amazed as they all were
00:22:32by this humble
00:22:33and lowly discourse
00:22:34so unlike anything
00:22:36ever heard before
00:22:38in England.
00:22:38how much of this
00:22:43public performance
00:22:44was heartfelt
00:22:45and how much
00:22:46was strategy?
00:22:48Mary was conservative
00:22:49by temperament
00:22:50but she was also
00:22:51highly intelligent
00:22:52and like all the Tudors
00:22:54had a formidable will
00:22:55and whether or not
00:22:57she genuinely believed
00:22:58that as a woman
00:22:59she needed help
00:23:00in governing her kingdom
00:23:01it was certainly
00:23:02the case
00:23:03that this display
00:23:04of female frailty
00:23:05proved an effective way
00:23:07of uniting a fractious
00:23:09and divided council
00:23:10around her.
00:23:18And with the backing
00:23:20of her council
00:23:21Mary was about
00:23:22to achieve something
00:23:23no woman before her
00:23:25had ever managed.
00:23:27Jane may have been
00:23:28proclaimed England's queen
00:23:30for a fleeting moment
00:23:31but she was never crowned.
00:23:34on the 30th of September
00:23:361553
00:23:37Mary became the first
00:23:39queen of England
00:23:39to be crowned
00:23:40in her own right.
00:23:44At her coronation
00:23:46in Westminster Abbey
00:23:47like all previous kings
00:23:49she wore crimson robes
00:23:51to receive the orb
00:23:52scepter
00:23:53ring
00:23:54spurs
00:23:54and sword
00:23:55that represented
00:23:56the powers of kingship.
00:23:58and she was anointed
00:24:04with holy oil
00:24:06like a king
00:24:07before the crown
00:24:08of England
00:24:08was placed
00:24:09on her head.
00:24:20But the triumph
00:24:21of this ceremony
00:24:22was soon overshadowed
00:24:23by the prospect
00:24:24of another
00:24:24Mary's marriage.
00:24:26she might be
00:24:27a crown sovereign
00:24:28but she was still
00:24:29a woman
00:24:30and the consensus
00:24:31was that she needed
00:24:32a husband.
00:24:37At the age of 17
00:24:39Mary had been
00:24:40declared a bastard.
00:24:42This toxic status
00:24:44had made her
00:24:44unmarriageable
00:24:45but now
00:24:4720 years later
00:24:48she was the most
00:24:49eligible woman
00:24:50in Europe
00:24:51and the question
00:24:53of Mary's marriage
00:24:54would dominate
00:24:54the first year
00:24:55of her reign.
00:24:58It would bring
00:24:59into open discussion
00:25:00whether a woman
00:25:01could be both
00:25:02a ruler
00:25:03and a wife.
00:25:07Her cousin
00:25:08the Emperor
00:25:08Charles V
00:25:09had advised
00:25:10that she needed
00:25:11a husband
00:25:11so that she could
00:25:13be supported
00:25:14in the labour
00:25:15of governing
00:25:15and assisted
00:25:17in matters
00:25:17that are not
00:25:18of ladies' capacity.
00:25:21Mary remained calm
00:25:23in the face
00:25:23of such patronising
00:25:25advice
00:25:25because she agreed
00:25:27that she needed
00:25:28a husband
00:25:28and quickly
00:25:29but for a very
00:25:31different reason.
00:25:33Mary was 37
00:25:35and she wanted
00:25:36a Catholic heir.
00:25:37everyone agreed
00:25:42then
00:25:42that the Queen
00:25:43should marry
00:25:44without delay
00:25:44but it was
00:25:46much harder
00:25:46to decide
00:25:47which husband
00:25:48in particular
00:25:48she should take.
00:25:50At the heart
00:25:51of the problem
00:25:51was the unresolved
00:25:52question
00:25:53of the balance
00:25:54of authority
00:25:54between husband
00:25:55and wife
00:25:56when the wife
00:25:57wore a crown.
00:25:58If Queen Mary
00:25:59took her husband
00:26:00would England
00:26:01acquire a king?
00:26:02Many of Mary's
00:26:06subjects believed
00:26:07that she should
00:26:08marry an Englishman
00:26:09fearing that
00:26:10if she married
00:26:11a European prince
00:26:12or king
00:26:13England would be
00:26:14subjected
00:26:15to foreign rule.
00:26:18The leading candidate
00:26:20qualified by his
00:26:22Catholic faith
00:26:23and his royal descent
00:26:24was a nobleman
00:26:25named Edward Courtney
00:26:27Earl of Devon.
00:26:28Just a month
00:26:31after her coronation
00:26:33in November
00:26:341553
00:26:35a parliamentary
00:26:36delegation
00:26:37visited the Queen
00:26:38to tell her
00:26:39why Courtney
00:26:40should be her husband.
00:26:43They lectured
00:26:44Mary at length
00:26:45about all the
00:26:47disadvantages
00:26:47dangers
00:26:48and difficulties
00:26:49that could be
00:26:50imagined
00:26:50or dreamt of
00:26:51in the case
00:26:52of her choosing
00:26:53a foreign husband.
00:26:55Mary might kneel
00:26:57before her council
00:26:57when she chose
00:26:58but if they thought
00:27:00she would simply
00:27:00do what she was told
00:27:01they were very much
00:27:03mistaken.
00:27:04Parliament was not
00:27:05accustomed to use
00:27:06such language
00:27:07to the kings of England
00:27:08she blazed back
00:27:09nor was it suitable
00:27:11or respectful
00:27:12that they should do so
00:27:13and what angered her
00:27:15more than anything
00:27:15was the suggestion
00:27:17that she should marry
00:27:17one of her own subjects.
00:27:21The difficulty was
00:27:23that a good Christian wife
00:27:25as Mary said
00:27:26should wholly love
00:27:27and obey
00:27:28her husband
00:27:29but she was a queen
00:27:31so how could she
00:27:33obey a husband
00:27:34who was also
00:27:35her subject?
00:27:39Her authority
00:27:40as a female sovereign
00:27:41could only be
00:27:42safeguarded
00:27:43Mary believed
00:27:44if she married a man
00:27:45whose status
00:27:46was the equal
00:27:47of her own
00:27:47and that by definition
00:27:49meant that he
00:27:50couldn't be an Englishman
00:27:51and marrying a foreigner
00:27:53would also allow her
00:27:54to separate her
00:27:55private responsibilities
00:27:56as a wife
00:27:57from her public duties
00:27:59as England's queen.
00:28:01She would wholly love
00:28:03and obey her husband
00:28:04she said
00:28:04but if he wished
00:28:06to encroach
00:28:06in the government
00:28:07of the kingdom
00:28:08she would be unable
00:28:09to permit it.
00:28:10and Mary
00:28:16already had
00:28:17a suitable candidate
00:28:18in mind.
00:28:22Her first thought
00:28:23had been of her
00:28:24widowed cousin
00:28:25and her greatest supporter
00:28:26in Europe
00:28:27the Emperor Charles V
00:28:29but he was 53
00:28:31immobilised by gout
00:28:34catarrh and haemorrhoids
00:28:35and he had no appetite
00:28:37for another marriage.
00:28:40In his place
00:28:42he proposed his son
00:28:43Philip
00:28:44who was already
00:28:45ruling Spain
00:28:46on his behalf.
00:28:49While Mary's counsellors
00:28:50were arguing
00:28:51for an English husband
00:28:52she had already
00:28:54committed herself
00:28:55to this Spanish match.
00:28:59Mary's decision
00:29:01to marry Philip
00:29:01has been seen
00:29:02as the defining
00:29:03mistake of her reign
00:29:04and with hindsight
00:29:06it's certainly clear
00:29:07that it had profound
00:29:08and destructive drawbacks.
00:29:11But there are good
00:29:12grounds for thinking
00:29:12that he was the best
00:29:14of the very limited
00:29:15choices available to her
00:29:16as a female monarch
00:29:18in search of a husband
00:29:19who wouldn't compromise
00:29:20her power in her kingdom.
00:29:26By making an alliance
00:29:28with Spain
00:29:29one of the most
00:29:30powerful countries
00:29:31in Europe
00:29:31Mary was following
00:29:33in her own father's footsteps.
00:29:36Henry VIII
00:29:37had married Mary's mother
00:29:39Catherine of Aragon
00:29:40as a matter
00:29:41of political strategy.
00:29:44Mary applied
00:29:45the same hard-headed
00:29:46calculations
00:29:47to her own match
00:29:48but the reaction
00:29:50of the country
00:29:50to Mary's Spanish choice
00:29:52was very different.
00:29:54As soon as the news
00:30:02began to spread
00:30:03that the ruler of Spain
00:30:04was coming to England
00:30:05to marry the queen
00:30:06a plot was hatched
00:30:08to save England's autonomy
00:30:10by removing Mary
00:30:12from the throne.
00:30:12under the leadership
00:30:23of a Kentish gentleman
00:30:25named Sir Thomas Wyatt
00:30:263,000 men marched on London
00:30:29in February 1554
00:30:31intending to make a new
00:30:34and safely English queen
00:30:36out of Jane Grey
00:30:37or Mary's sister Elizabeth.
00:30:40But once again
00:30:43Mary showed
00:30:44that a female sovereign
00:30:45could lead her people
00:30:47in time of crisis
00:30:48not by fighting
00:30:50but by talking.
00:30:52She rode to the heart
00:30:54of the city of London
00:30:55to rally her subjects.
00:30:58It was at London's guild hall
00:31:01that Mary declared
00:31:02her dedication
00:31:02to her realm
00:31:03by playing on
00:31:04her double identity
00:31:06as a sovereign
00:31:06and a woman.
00:31:08She showed the people
00:31:10her coronation ring
00:31:11signifying her marriage
00:31:12to her kingdom
00:31:13which she told them
00:31:15never left her finger.
00:31:17And she wasn't only the wife
00:31:19but the mother of the nation.
00:31:21She said
00:31:22if a prince and governor
00:31:23may as naturally
00:31:25and earnestly
00:31:25love her subjects
00:31:27as the mother does love
00:31:28the child
00:31:29then assure yourselves
00:31:30that I
00:31:31being your lady and mistress
00:31:33do as earnestly
00:31:34and tenderly
00:31:35love and favour you.
00:31:39When the rebels
00:31:41finally arrived in London
00:31:42during the night
00:31:43of the 6th of February
00:31:44the Queen stayed
00:31:46at Westminster
00:31:47believing her capital
00:31:49would hold firm.
00:31:51And she was right.
00:31:53By morning
00:31:54the rebellion
00:31:55had collapsed.
00:31:59It was a triumph
00:32:00for Mary
00:32:01but a disaster
00:32:03for Jane Grey.
00:32:04Jane's very existence
00:32:06would always be a focus
00:32:08for Protestant opposition
00:32:09and Mary reluctantly
00:32:11agreed to her execution.
00:32:14Less than a week later
00:32:16Jane was led
00:32:17to the scaffold
00:32:17within the precincts
00:32:19of the tower.
00:32:20With extraordinary composure
00:32:22she admitted her fault
00:32:24in accepting the crown
00:32:26she had never wanted
00:32:27before her head
00:32:28was severed
00:32:29from her body.
00:32:30The events
00:32:34of February
00:32:341554
00:32:35were a dramatic
00:32:37demonstration
00:32:37of Mary's strengths
00:32:39and her vulnerabilities
00:32:40as Queen.
00:32:42She'd seen off
00:32:43the rebels
00:32:43with a bravura display
00:32:45of her queenly authority
00:32:46but the failure
00:32:48of the revolt
00:32:49didn't dispel fears
00:32:50that her idealised
00:32:52marriage to her kingdom
00:32:53might be compromised
00:32:54by her actual marriage
00:32:56to Philip of Spain.
00:32:57Fears or not
00:33:03Mary was determined
00:33:04that the wedding
00:33:05should go ahead.
00:33:07On the 25th of July
00:33:091554
00:33:10she and Philip
00:33:11were married
00:33:12with pomp and ceremony
00:33:13here at Winchester Cathedral.
00:33:15They appeared
00:33:20an odd couple.
00:33:21Philip was 27
00:33:23elegantly dressed
00:33:24lantern-jawed
00:33:26and utterly inscrutable.
00:33:28His bride
00:33:29was 11 years older
00:33:31short and thin
00:33:32her face lined
00:33:34with anxiety
00:33:35an ambassador
00:33:36ungallantly reported.
00:33:40Mary was delighted
00:33:41with her marriage
00:33:42but England
00:33:44now faced
00:33:45a double challenge
00:33:46a woman
00:33:47intent on ruling
00:33:48with a foreign king
00:33:50as her husband
00:33:51by her side.
00:33:54What would this mean
00:33:55for her kingdom?
00:33:59This great seal
00:34:01of 1554
00:34:02brilliantly illustrates
00:34:03the complicated
00:34:04sexual politics
00:34:05of this royal relationship.
00:34:07The couple
00:34:08are on horseback
00:34:09Mary riding ahead
00:34:11holding a scepter
00:34:12and looking back
00:34:13at Philip
00:34:14on her left
00:34:15the traditional position
00:34:16of a royal consort.
00:34:18So Mary
00:34:19is the dominant
00:34:20partner here
00:34:21but Philip
00:34:22has a sword
00:34:23unsheathed
00:34:24in his hand.
00:34:26The vital function
00:34:27of king
00:34:27as warrior
00:34:28is one that
00:34:29she can't fulfil
00:34:29so her husband
00:34:31is there
00:34:31to do it for her.
00:34:33But even this
00:34:34apparently neat
00:34:35division of labour
00:34:36was fraught
00:34:37with difficulties.
00:34:39If Philip
00:34:40were to lead
00:34:40his armies
00:34:41in England's defence
00:34:42would England
00:34:43be subjected
00:34:44to the military
00:34:44power of Spain?
00:34:48These difficulties
00:34:50and contradictions
00:34:51were so powerful
00:34:52that the treaty
00:34:53hammered out
00:34:54to set the terms
00:34:55of their marriage
00:34:56went to great lengths
00:34:57to prevent Philip
00:34:58from intervening
00:34:59in the government
00:35:00of England
00:35:00at all.
00:35:03England would take
00:35:04no part in his wars
00:35:06Mary would not
00:35:07leave the country
00:35:08and Philip would
00:35:10have no claim
00:35:11to the throne
00:35:11after her death.
00:35:14In effect
00:35:15Philip would have
00:35:16the title of king
00:35:18in England
00:35:18but none
00:35:19of the authority.
00:35:22Mary had got
00:35:23what she wanted.
00:35:25By marrying a foreigner
00:35:27she kept
00:35:28all her power
00:35:29in England
00:35:29intact
00:35:30and just four months
00:35:33later
00:35:33there was another
00:35:35reason for her
00:35:35to be jubilant.
00:35:38On the 28th
00:35:39of November
00:35:401554
00:35:41the news was made
00:35:42public
00:35:43that Mary
00:35:44was pregnant.
00:35:47By Easter
00:35:491555
00:35:50England waited
00:35:51expectantly
00:35:52for the arrival
00:35:53of an heir.
00:35:54The Queen
00:35:55retreated here
00:35:56to Hampton Court
00:35:57Palace
00:35:57for her confinement
00:35:58with an exquisitely
00:36:00carved cradle
00:36:01standing ready
00:36:02by her bed.
00:36:04On the 30th
00:36:05of April
00:36:06news reached
00:36:07London
00:36:07that Mary
00:36:08had given birth
00:36:09to a boy.
00:36:11The city
00:36:12erupted
00:36:12in celebration
00:36:13but it proved
00:36:15to be rumour
00:36:16running wilder
00:36:18than the bonfires
00:36:18in the streets
00:36:19and was quickly
00:36:20denied.
00:36:23May came
00:36:23and went
00:36:24and by July
00:36:26when the Queen
00:36:27re-emerged
00:36:28in public
00:36:28with no further
00:36:29comment
00:36:30it was clear
00:36:31that she was not
00:36:32after all
00:36:33pregnant.
00:36:35For Mary
00:36:39it was a personal
00:36:40tragedy.
00:36:42She'd been elated
00:36:43at the prospect
00:36:44of giving birth
00:36:44to an heir
00:36:45and though it wasn't
00:36:47easy for doctors
00:36:48then to confirm
00:36:48a pregnancy
00:36:49beyond question
00:36:50her growing belly
00:36:52had left her
00:36:52confident that she
00:36:53was about to
00:36:54become a mother
00:36:54but her symptoms
00:36:57turned out to be
00:36:58those of a phantom
00:36:59pregnancy
00:36:59not a real one.
00:37:02The consequences
00:37:02were not only
00:37:03grief
00:37:04and humiliation
00:37:05but a new
00:37:06political vulnerability.
00:37:10Mary knew
00:37:11that she needed
00:37:12an heir
00:37:12to put an end
00:37:13to the unsettling
00:37:14question of the
00:37:15succession
00:37:16but now her hopes
00:37:18of conceiving one
00:37:19were diminished
00:37:20by the fact
00:37:21that her husband
00:37:22couldn't stay
00:37:23indefinitely
00:37:23by her side.
00:37:28Philip had waited
00:37:29for the delivery
00:37:30that never was
00:37:31but in August
00:37:331555
00:37:34he left England
00:37:35to deal with his
00:37:36own royal duties
00:37:37on the continent.
00:37:4218 months later
00:37:43he returned to
00:37:45England for a
00:37:45short visit
00:37:46and in January
00:37:47and in January
00:37:47the following year
00:37:48Mary announced
00:37:50the good news
00:37:51that she was
00:37:51seven months
00:37:52pregnant.
00:37:55She had waited
00:37:56so long
00:37:57she said
00:37:57because this time
00:37:58she wanted to be
00:37:59certain of her condition
00:38:00but it was the same
00:38:03story again.
00:38:05Once again
00:38:06there was no baby
00:38:07and by May
00:38:08the subject
00:38:09was no longer
00:38:10mentioned.
00:38:11despite all
00:38:13Mary's hopes
00:38:14at 42
00:38:15she now faced
00:38:17the certainty
00:38:17that her marriage
00:38:18had not brought
00:38:19her the air
00:38:20she needed.
00:38:20for all
00:38:40monarchs
00:38:40the need
00:38:41to produce
00:38:41an heir
00:38:42and carry
00:38:42on the royal
00:38:43bloodline
00:38:43was of the
00:38:44utmost importance
00:38:46but for Mary
00:38:48there was the
00:38:48added weight
00:38:49of her
00:38:49Catholic faith.
00:38:54Her sister
00:38:55Elizabeth
00:38:55was next in line
00:38:56to the throne
00:38:57but Elizabeth
00:38:58was a Protestant.
00:39:01Now all Mary
00:39:02could do
00:39:03was to try
00:39:03in her own
00:39:04lifetime
00:39:05to make sure
00:39:06that Catholicism
00:39:07was firmly
00:39:08re-established
00:39:09in England.
00:39:16After Edward's
00:39:17Protestant regime
00:39:19many had welcomed
00:39:20Mary's commitment
00:39:21to the traditional
00:39:22forms of religious
00:39:24practice.
00:39:25Altars were restored
00:39:27and images retrieved
00:39:29from their hiding
00:39:30places.
00:39:31But Mary's religious
00:39:33reform went deeper.
00:39:36She wanted to stamp
00:39:37out all traces
00:39:38of Protestant belief
00:39:39as well as practice.
00:39:41in November 1554
00:39:44she had reinstated
00:39:46the old
00:39:46heresy laws
00:39:47and over the next
00:39:49four years
00:39:50almost 280
00:39:52English Protestants
00:39:53died
00:39:54in Catholic flames.
00:39:59And it was that
00:40:00ferocity
00:40:01on the part
00:40:02of England's
00:40:02first sovereign queen
00:40:04that gave rise
00:40:05to the most
00:40:06explicit condemnation
00:40:07yet formulated
00:40:08of the whole concept
00:40:10of female rule.
00:40:18From his exile
00:40:19in Geneva
00:40:20John Knox
00:40:21a Scotsman
00:40:23who had served
00:40:23as chaplain
00:40:24at Edward's
00:40:25Protestant court
00:40:26watched in horror
00:40:28as Mary undid
00:40:30Edward's
00:40:30Protestant reformation.
00:40:33Knox responded
00:40:35in 1558
00:40:36by publishing
00:40:36this book
00:40:37the gloriously
00:40:39titled
00:40:39First Blast
00:40:40of the Trumpet
00:40:41Against the Monstrous
00:40:42Regiment
00:40:43meaning regimen
00:40:44or rule
00:40:45of women.
00:40:46And it's clear
00:40:47from the first page
00:40:48that Knox was not
00:40:49about to mince
00:40:50his words.
00:40:51To promote a woman
00:40:53to bear rule
00:40:53superiority
00:40:54dominion
00:40:55or empire
00:40:56above any realm
00:40:57nation
00:40:58or city
00:40:58is repugnant
00:41:00to nature
00:41:00contumely
00:41:02to God
00:41:02a thing
00:41:03most contrarious
00:41:04to his revealed
00:41:05will
00:41:05and approved
00:41:06ordinance
00:41:06and finally
00:41:08it is the subversion
00:41:09of good order
00:41:10of all equity
00:41:11and justice.
00:41:13According to Knox
00:41:15women's rule
00:41:16was monstrous
00:41:17that is
00:41:17unnatural
00:41:18and abominable
00:41:19because women
00:41:20were subordinate
00:41:21to men
00:41:21by the laws
00:41:22of God
00:41:22and nature.
00:41:24For Knox
00:41:25Mary's spiritual
00:41:27fornication
00:41:27and whoredom
00:41:28made her
00:41:29the uttermost
00:41:30of God's plagues.
00:41:34This is a piece
00:41:35of thunderingly
00:41:36misogynist polemic.
00:41:38But behind Knox's
00:41:40ranting
00:41:40lay a much deeper
00:41:42and wider
00:41:43cultural unease
00:41:44about the very idea
00:41:46of women
00:41:46holding political power.
00:41:50And there was
00:41:51an intractable
00:41:52catch-22
00:41:53at work here.
00:41:55Women were soft
00:41:55and weak
00:41:56hence
00:41:57unfit to rule.
00:41:58But a woman
00:41:59who showed herself
00:42:00to be strong
00:42:01was not the equivalent
00:42:02of a man
00:42:02but a monster
00:42:03a crime against nature.
00:42:10This double bind
00:42:11stood at the heart
00:42:12of Knox's portrayal
00:42:14of Mary.
00:42:15He declared
00:42:16that she was
00:42:17unworthy
00:42:18by reason
00:42:19of her bloody
00:42:20tyranny
00:42:20of the name
00:42:21of woman.
00:42:23History would echo
00:42:24Knox's verdict
00:42:25by dubbing
00:42:26this Catholic queen
00:42:27Bloody Mary.
00:42:30Mary's desire
00:42:31to be both
00:42:32a female king
00:42:33and a wife
00:42:35proved just how difficult
00:42:37this combination
00:42:37could be.
00:42:40England had been drawn
00:42:41into Philip's war
00:42:42against the French
00:42:43and Calais
00:42:44and Calais,
00:42:44England's last territory
00:42:46in France
00:42:47had been lost.
00:42:50Mary was distraught.
00:42:53It was later said
00:42:54she'd declared
00:42:55that when she died
00:42:56the words
00:42:57Philip and Calais
00:42:59would be found
00:43:00inscribed
00:43:00on her heart.
00:43:03In the summer
00:43:04of 1558
00:43:06a lethal flu epidemic
00:43:08took hold
00:43:09of England.
00:43:09the fever
00:43:11laid thousands
00:43:12low
00:43:13and many
00:43:14did not rise
00:43:15again
00:43:15from their beds.
00:43:17That autumn
00:43:18Queen Mary
00:43:19was among them.
00:43:23In the first week
00:43:24of November
00:43:25knowing that she
00:43:26wasn't expected
00:43:27to survive
00:43:28Mary sent
00:43:29to acknowledge
00:43:29Elizabeth
00:43:30as her heir
00:43:31asking only
00:43:32hopelessly
00:43:33that her sister
00:43:34should maintain
00:43:35the old religion
00:43:36as the queen
00:43:37has restored it.
00:43:38she held on
00:43:40for ten more days
00:43:41slipping in
00:43:42and out
00:43:42of consciousness
00:43:43but on the
00:43:4417th of November
00:43:451558
00:43:46Mary died.
00:43:58This time
00:43:59there was no
00:44:00question
00:44:00who would succeed
00:44:01and no protest
00:44:03that she was a woman.
00:44:04on the 14th
00:44:07of January
00:44:071559
00:44:0925-year-old
00:44:10Elizabeth
00:44:11was carried
00:44:12in a litter
00:44:12draped with
00:44:13cloth of gold
00:44:14in a triumphant
00:44:16progress
00:44:16through the streets
00:44:17of London.
00:44:19The next day
00:44:20she was crowned
00:44:21Queen of England
00:44:22in Westminster Abbey.
00:44:25When she was
00:44:26presented to her
00:44:26people
00:44:27the new queen
00:44:28was greeted
00:44:29with roars
00:44:29of approval
00:44:30fanfares of trumpets
00:44:32and ringing
00:44:33of bells
00:44:33one eyewitness
00:44:35reported
00:44:36that it was
00:44:36as if the world
00:44:37were coming to an end
00:44:39the fresh young queen
00:44:46reveled
00:44:46in this tumultuous welcome
00:44:48and the contrast
00:44:50with her weary
00:44:51predecessor
00:44:51was stark
00:44:52but behind
00:45:00the pageants
00:45:01and the processions
00:45:02Elizabeth
00:45:03shared more
00:45:04with her sister
00:45:05than first
00:45:05meets the eye.
00:45:07Both
00:45:08faced the same
00:45:09challenge
00:45:09to be
00:45:10as Mary's
00:45:11funeral oration
00:45:12declared
00:45:12a queen
00:45:14and by the same
00:45:15title
00:45:15a king
00:45:16also.
00:45:18When Elizabeth
00:45:19came to the throne
00:45:19the two most
00:45:20urgent questions
00:45:21she faced
00:45:22were the very
00:45:22same ones
00:45:23that had confronted
00:45:24Mary
00:45:24her marriage
00:45:26and her country's
00:45:27religion
00:45:27her advisors
00:45:29in England
00:45:29and observers
00:45:30abroad
00:45:31assumed
00:45:31that the two
00:45:32questions
00:45:33were one
00:45:33and the same
00:45:34because what
00:45:35would determine
00:45:36England's religion
00:45:36they thought
00:45:37wasn't Elizabeth
00:45:38herself
00:45:39but the identity
00:45:40of her future
00:45:41husband
00:45:41the Spanish
00:45:46ambassador
00:45:46said as much
00:45:47to Philip
00:45:48of Spain
00:45:48just four days
00:45:49after Mary's
00:45:50death
00:45:51the more
00:45:52I think
00:45:53over this
00:45:53business
00:45:54he said
00:45:54the more
00:45:55certain I am
00:45:56that everything
00:45:56depends upon
00:45:57the husband
00:45:58this woman
00:45:59may take
00:45:59if he be a
00:46:02suitable one
00:46:03religious matters
00:46:04will go on
00:46:04well
00:46:05but if not
00:46:06all will be
00:46:07spoiled
00:46:08once again
00:46:11it was assumed
00:46:12that the queen
00:46:12would have to
00:46:13marry
00:46:13and that the men
00:46:15around her
00:46:15would play a
00:46:16decisive role
00:46:17in choosing
00:46:18her husband
00:46:18first among
00:46:22the Catholic
00:46:22candidates
00:46:23was Mary's
00:46:24widower
00:46:24Philip of Spain
00:46:25himself
00:46:26if she decides
00:46:28to marry
00:46:29out of the country
00:46:30his ambassador
00:46:31wrote confidently
00:46:32she will at once
00:46:34fix her eyes
00:46:35on your majesty
00:46:36meanwhile
00:46:38Elizabeth's
00:46:39Protestant
00:46:39councillors
00:46:40including her
00:46:41right hand man
00:46:42William Cecil
00:46:43who governs
00:46:44the queen
00:46:45the Spanish
00:46:46ambassador
00:46:46reported
00:46:47had other
00:46:48ideas
00:46:49the crown prince
00:46:52of Sweden
00:46:52who sent
00:46:53lavish gifts
00:46:54of gold
00:46:55and horses
00:46:55to press
00:46:56his suit
00:46:57or a small
00:46:59handful of hopefuls
00:47:00among the English
00:47:01nobility
00:47:02but within weeks
00:47:08the men
00:47:09around Elizabeth
00:47:10began to find
00:47:10themselves frustrated
00:47:11and confused
00:47:13the queen
00:47:14is a woman
00:47:15who is very
00:47:16fond of argument
00:47:16Philip's
00:47:17ambassador
00:47:18wrote
00:47:18everybody thinks
00:47:20that she will
00:47:20not marry a
00:47:21foreigner
00:47:21and they cannot
00:47:22make out
00:47:23whom she favours
00:47:24so that nearly
00:47:25every day
00:47:25some new cry
00:47:26is raised
00:47:27about a husband
00:47:28surely
00:47:29they thought
00:47:30the matter
00:47:30would be settled
00:47:31at her first
00:47:32parliament
00:47:33and so on the
00:47:386th of February
00:47:381559
00:47:40in the palace
00:47:41of Westminster
00:47:41a parliamentary
00:47:43delegation
00:47:44headed by the
00:47:45speaker of the
00:47:45house of commons
00:47:46presented Elizabeth
00:47:48with a petition
00:47:49that she should
00:47:50marry and give
00:47:51the kingdom
00:47:51an heir
00:47:52which was
00:47:53said the speaker
00:47:54the single
00:47:55the only
00:47:56the all
00:47:57comprehending
00:47:58prayer
00:47:58of all
00:47:59Englishmen
00:48:00Elizabeth's reply
00:48:02to her parliament
00:48:03was a masterpiece
00:48:04of oratory
00:48:05that demonstrated
00:48:06her determination
00:48:07to be both
00:48:08queen and ruler
00:48:10if she did
00:48:11ever marry
00:48:12she would only
00:48:13choose a husband
00:48:14who would be
00:48:14as careful
00:48:15of her realm
00:48:16as she was
00:48:16herself
00:48:17if she didn't
00:48:19then God
00:48:19she was sure
00:48:20would provide
00:48:21an heir
00:48:21to secure
00:48:22England's future
00:48:23and in the end
00:48:25she said
00:48:26this shall be
00:48:27for me sufficient
00:48:28that a marble
00:48:30stone shall
00:48:30declare that
00:48:31a queen
00:48:32having reigned
00:48:33such a time
00:48:33lived and
00:48:35died a virgin
00:48:36this was an
00:48:39extraordinary
00:48:40declaration
00:48:40no king
00:48:43would ever
00:48:43have suggested
00:48:44that he should
00:48:45remain unmarried
00:48:46and give up
00:48:47his chance
00:48:47to father
00:48:48and heir
00:48:49but none
00:48:50of her subjects
00:48:51believed she
00:48:52meant what
00:48:52she'd said
00:48:53and unlike
00:48:55Mary
00:48:55Elizabeth
00:48:56at 25
00:48:57had the luxury
00:48:59of time
00:48:59to put off
00:49:00her decision
00:49:01about who
00:49:02and when
00:49:02to marry
00:49:03her speech
00:49:06making didn't
00:49:07stop the suitors
00:49:08and their
00:49:09diplomatic overtures
00:49:10continued to be
00:49:11met with flirtatious
00:49:12prevarication
00:49:13her first suitor
00:49:18Philip of Spain
00:49:19was the first
00:49:20to lose patience
00:49:21when he married
00:49:22a French princess
00:49:23in April 1559
00:49:25Elizabeth said
00:49:26sharply that he
00:49:27couldn't have been
00:49:28as much in love
00:49:28with her as he'd
00:49:29claimed since he
00:49:30hadn't been prepared
00:49:31to wait four months
00:49:32for her
00:49:33but declarations of love
00:49:36had only ever been
00:49:37a political gain
00:49:38what had changed
00:49:39what had changed
00:49:39what had changed
00:49:39Philip's mind
00:49:40was the realisation
00:49:41that Elizabeth
00:49:42would never be
00:49:43a good catholic wife
00:49:45she had made it plain
00:49:47that she
00:49:47not any husband
00:49:49she might take
00:49:49would decide
00:49:50the vexed question
00:49:51of England's religion
00:49:53Elizabeth didn't share
00:49:58the dogmatic faith
00:50:00of either of her siblings
00:50:01and she had seen
00:50:03all too clearly
00:50:04how the sight
00:50:05of protestant flesh
00:50:06burning in catholic flames
00:50:08had discredited
00:50:09Mary's government
00:50:10instead
00:50:13the main business
00:50:14of her first parliament
00:50:15after the question
00:50:17of her marriage
00:50:18had been raised
00:50:18and dispatched
00:50:19was to establish
00:50:21a new religious settlement
00:50:22in England
00:50:23after weeks
00:50:26of bitter argument
00:50:27between catholics
00:50:28and hardline protestants
00:50:30Elizabeth adjourned
00:50:32the session
00:50:32and when
00:50:35on the 3rd of April
00:50:361559
00:50:37Elizabeth reassembled
00:50:39her parliament
00:50:40she had come
00:50:41to a decision
00:50:42that gave in
00:50:43to neither side
00:50:44Elizabeth formulated
00:50:50a very English brand
00:50:52of reformed religion
00:50:53as supreme governor
00:50:55of the church
00:50:56of England
00:50:56not supreme head
00:50:58which was too controversial
00:50:59a title for a woman
00:51:00she tried to unite
00:51:02as many of her people
00:51:03as possible
00:51:04around her own sovereignty
00:51:05she had no desire
00:51:08she said
00:51:08to make windows
00:51:09into men's souls
00:51:10for this queen
00:51:12outward obedience
00:51:13to a compromised church
00:51:15was enough
00:51:16no one believed
00:51:19for a moment
00:51:20that this was
00:51:20the last word
00:51:21on England's religion
00:51:22but Elizabeth's subjects
00:51:27were to find
00:51:27that this apparently
00:51:28open-ended approach
00:51:30to decision making
00:51:31was typical
00:51:32of their new queen
00:51:33they were discovering
00:51:36that their queen
00:51:36could be baffling
00:51:37as well as brilliant
00:51:38with a silver-tongued
00:51:40capacity to say
00:51:41everything and nothing
00:51:42at the same time
00:51:43but despite her capriciousness
00:51:47as the years went on
00:51:48they learned
00:51:49that it wasn't for nothing
00:51:50that Elizabeth's motto
00:51:51was
00:51:51semper eadem
00:51:53always the same
00:51:55the queen
00:51:58the queen may have dealt
00:51:58with the question
00:51:59of England's religion
00:52:00with a compromise
00:52:01but with the issue
00:52:03of marriage
00:52:03there was no such
00:52:05middle ground
00:52:05as weeks turned
00:52:08into months
00:52:09and months
00:52:09into years
00:52:10the proposals
00:52:11came and went
00:52:12and her chance
00:52:14of childbearing
00:52:14began to fade
00:52:15there's no way
00:52:19of telling
00:52:19whether Elizabeth
00:52:20ever really entertained
00:52:21the idea of marriage
00:52:22she dallied with suitors
00:52:25most famously
00:52:26her favourite
00:52:26Robert Dudley
00:52:27who extended the castle
00:52:29here at Kenilworth
00:52:29specially for her visit
00:52:31but in the end
00:52:33with characteristic insight
00:52:34she saw the potential
00:52:36of her status
00:52:36as a virgin queen
00:52:38and by putting off
00:52:40the decision to marry
00:52:41until a perpetual tomorrow
00:52:42she made herself
00:52:44the source of all security
00:52:45for her kingdom
00:52:46and in 1588
00:52:52Elizabeth's determination
00:52:54that she alone
00:52:55would protect her realm
00:52:57would be put
00:52:58to its greatest test
00:52:59that summer
00:53:02a vast Spanish fleet
00:53:04sent by Elizabeth's
00:53:06one time suitor
00:53:07Philip of Spain
00:53:08lay off the coast
00:53:09of England
00:53:10threatening to invade
00:53:11Philip had tried
00:53:15and failed
00:53:16and failed
00:53:16to keep England Catholic
00:53:17first by proposing
00:53:19to marry Elizabeth
00:53:20then by supporting
00:53:22any opposition
00:53:23to her rule
00:53:24now he intended
00:53:28to make England Catholic
00:53:30once and for all
00:53:31this time
00:53:33by conquest
00:53:34and confronted
00:53:38by Philip's forces
00:53:39with no husband
00:53:40to hold a sword
00:53:41for her
00:53:4254 year old
00:53:43Elizabeth
00:53:44faced the challenge
00:53:45alone
00:53:45could a female
00:53:48sovereign
00:53:49defend her kingdom
00:53:50against the might
00:53:52of the Spanish
00:53:52Armada
00:53:53an army was mustered
00:53:57at Tilbury
00:53:58in Essex
00:53:59to resist the Spanish
00:54:00if they dared
00:54:01to sail up the Thames
00:54:02on the morning
00:54:04of the 9th of August
00:54:061588
00:54:07Elizabeth rode out
00:54:08on a white horse
00:54:09with a silver breastplate
00:54:11over her white dress
00:54:12to rally her troops
00:54:14her courage
00:54:16and her extraordinary
00:54:17charisma
00:54:18had never been
00:54:19more apparent
00:54:19I know I have
00:54:22the body
00:54:22of a weak
00:54:23and feeble woman
00:54:24she said
00:54:25but I have
00:54:27the heart
00:54:27and stomach
00:54:28of a king
00:54:29and of a king
00:54:30of England too
00:54:31women might be weak
00:54:34but Elizabeth
00:54:35wanted her subjects
00:54:36to know
00:54:37that she
00:54:37was exceptional
00:54:38chosen by God
00:54:40to be king
00:54:41and queen
00:54:42in one
00:54:49and heaven
00:54:52clearly approved
00:54:54the armada
00:54:56was shipwrecked
00:54:57by storms
00:54:57in the Atlantic
00:54:58as Elizabeth
00:55:00declared
00:55:01God breathed
00:55:02and they were scattered
00:55:04even without
00:55:07a husband
00:55:07the virgin queen
00:55:09had seen off
00:55:10England's enemies
00:55:11this dramatic
00:55:13triumph
00:55:14won by a nation
00:55:16led by a woman
00:55:17served to feed
00:55:19the growing cult
00:55:20of Gloriana
00:55:21pictures such as
00:55:23this one
00:55:24in the National
00:55:25Portrait Gallery
00:55:26which was commissioned
00:55:27in 1592
00:55:28by one of her courtiers
00:55:30as an elaborate
00:55:31compliment to the queen
00:55:32show Elizabeth
00:55:34as a unique being
00:55:35armed with an array
00:55:37of images
00:55:38myths
00:55:39allegories
00:55:40and symbols
00:55:41here she stands
00:55:47in all her glory
00:55:48impassive
00:55:49imperious
00:55:51her elaborate dress
00:55:52hung with the pearls
00:55:53of virginity
00:55:54now a frame
00:55:55for an icon
00:55:56this queen
00:55:58represents
00:55:59the kingdom
00:55:59beneath her
00:56:00daintily slippered feet
00:56:01as completely
00:56:03as she dominates it
00:56:04she is king
00:56:05queen
00:56:06virgin
00:56:07wife
00:56:08mother
00:56:08and goddess
00:56:09with a man's heart
00:56:11in a woman's breast
00:56:12not simply a woman
00:56:14but a woman
00:56:15chosen by God
00:56:16to rise above
00:56:17the limitations
00:56:17of her sex
00:56:18but Elizabeth's power
00:56:22entailed a sacrifice
00:56:23it had to be exercised
00:56:26alone
00:56:26she could only be wife
00:56:29and mother to her kingdom
00:56:30if she were wife
00:56:31and mother
00:56:32to no one else
00:56:33the virgin queen
00:56:36could dominate
00:56:36her country's present
00:56:38but only by giving up
00:56:40any stake
00:56:41in its future
00:56:42it was a high price
00:56:45to pay
00:56:45in february 1603
00:56:48when elizabeth was 69
00:56:50her health
00:56:51began to fail
00:56:52at her palace
00:56:54of richmond
00:56:54restless with fever
00:56:55she couldn't eat
00:56:56or sleep
00:56:57but still
00:56:59she did everything
00:57:00she could
00:57:00to stave off
00:57:01the moment
00:57:01when her kingdom
00:57:02would go on
00:57:03without her
00:57:03refusing to make
00:57:05a will
00:57:05or to name an heir
00:57:07or even to move
00:57:08from the floor cushions
00:57:09on which she lay
00:57:10a courtier told her
00:57:12she must go to bed
00:57:13little man
00:57:15little man
00:57:16she said
00:57:16the word must
00:57:18is not to be used
00:57:19to princes
00:57:20but the flattering rhetoric
00:57:28and the ageless portraits
00:57:30couldn't save her
00:57:31even gloriana
00:57:33wasn't immortal
00:57:34on the 24th of march
00:57:381603
00:57:39elizabeth died
00:57:40and with her
00:57:42died the tudor dynasty
00:57:43the family line
00:57:45that her own father
00:57:46had gone to such lengths
00:57:48to continue
00:57:49the consequences
00:57:52were immediately clear
00:57:54as elizabeth breathed
00:57:56her last
00:57:57horsemen raced
00:57:58north to edinburgh
00:57:59to tell james the sixth
00:58:01the stewart king
00:58:02of scotland
00:58:03that he was now
00:58:04also king of england
00:58:06the first of a new dynasty
00:58:08of english kings
00:58:10elizabeth had ruled england
00:58:22for 45 years
00:58:23she had shown
00:58:25she had shown
00:58:25not just that female rule
00:58:26was possible
00:58:27but that it could be glorious
00:58:29but still
00:58:31she couldn't do
00:58:32what every king
00:58:33saw as his birthright
00:58:34to pass on the crown
00:58:36to an heir
00:58:37of his own bloodline
00:58:38it's a telling reminder
00:58:40that for a queen
00:58:41there was no neutral
00:58:42in the exercise
00:58:43of power
00:58:44power was male
00:58:46and a woman
00:58:47who sought to rule
00:58:48faced compromises
00:58:49causes and criticism
00:58:50of a kind
00:58:51that would never
00:58:52have applied
00:58:52to a man
00:58:53all the women
00:59:04who sought to rule
00:59:05medieval and tudor
00:59:06england
00:59:06from matilda
00:59:07to elizabeth the first
00:59:09found from bitter
00:59:10experience
00:59:11that power
00:59:12wasn't shaped
00:59:13for female hands
00:59:14when they did
00:59:18pursue power
00:59:19as a man might
00:59:20they were accused
00:59:21of being unfeminine
00:59:23and unnatural
00:59:23of being she-wolves
00:59:26now it seems
00:59:31straightforward
00:59:32even natural
00:59:33that great britain
00:59:35has a queen
00:59:36elizabeth the second
00:59:38has been able
00:59:38to wear her crown
00:59:40without facing
00:59:41the difficult choices
00:59:42that confronted
00:59:43her namesake
00:59:44four centuries ago
00:59:46but there's a reason
00:59:49for this
00:59:50unlike her medieval
00:59:52and tudor predecessors
00:59:53our queen
00:59:55reigns
00:59:56rather than rules
00:59:57when she comes here
01:00:00to the house of lords
01:00:01to open a parliament
01:00:03she speaks
01:00:04her government's words
01:00:05not her own
01:00:07my government's
01:00:08legislative program
01:00:10will be based
01:00:11upon the principles
01:00:12of freedom
01:00:13fairness
01:00:14and responsibility
01:00:15a woman with real power
01:00:20is still the exception
01:00:22to the rule
01:00:23if we examine
01:00:24our instincts
01:00:25and our institutions
01:00:26power still looks
01:00:28sounds
01:00:29and feels
01:00:30overwhelmingly male
01:00:31so in the end
01:00:33is the culture
01:00:34of power
01:00:35in the modern world
01:00:36less different
01:00:37from the medieval past
01:00:38than we'd care
01:00:39to admit
01:00:39we'll see you next
01:01:09you
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