On this date, Elizabeth I was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey at age 25. Despite a precarious claim to the throne and deep religious divisions in England, her coronation ceremony brilliantly balanced Catholic tradition with Protestant innovation, setting the stage for a 44-year reign that would transform England into a global power and usher in a golden age of culture and exploration.
On a January morning at Westminster Abbey, a 25-year-old woman knelt to receive the crown of England. Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of the infamous Anne Boleyn and the notorious Henry VIII, had survived a childhood of disinheritance, a sister's suspicions, and even imprisonment in the Tower of London. Now, on this day chosen by her royal astrologer as the most auspicious moment, she would be anointed and crowned as England's queen. Her 44-year reign would transform England into a Protestant power, defeat the mighty Spanish Armada, and usher in a golden age of literature and exploration. But first, she had to navigate the delicate politics of a divided nation.
When Elizabeth's half-sister Mary I died on November 17, 1558, England was exhausted. Mary's reign had been marked by the burning of over 400 Protestants, earning her the nickname "Bloody Mary." The treasury was depleted, the nation divided by religious upheaval, and many questioned whether an unmarried woman could rule. Elizabeth herself had spent part of Mary's reign imprisoned in the Tower, suspected of plotting against her Catholic sister.
Yet when a messenger arrived at Hatfield House to inform Elizabeth of Mary's death, she reportedly dropped to her knees and recited from Psalm 118: "It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes." She was queen, but her position was far from secure. Two Succession Acts passed during her father's troubled marriages had declared both Elizabeth and Mary bastards. Though a third act had restored them to the line of succession, it had not restored their legitimacy. Elizabeth needed a coronation, and she needed it quickly.
Elizabeth's advisers immediately began planning the coronation. Her childhood friend Robert Dudley suggested consulting John Dee, the royal astrologer, mathematician, and scholar, to find the most propitious date. Dee studied the heavens and selected January 15, 1559, when the stars and planets would be favorably aligned. It was not a traditional holy day, but a date calculated to give England's new queen the best chance at a successful reign.
Time was of the essence. Elizabeth spent £16,000 of her own money on the coronation festivities, an enormous sum, but she understood that winning her people's hearts was worth every penny. She showed early signs of thrift by recycling two pieces from Mary's wardrobe, including crimson velvet Parliament robes. But for everything else, no expense was spared.
On January 14, the day before the coronation, Elizabeth departed the Tower of London at 3 p.m. for her procession through the city. She rode in a litter covered in cloth of gold, carried by two mules. As she passed the menagerie at the Tower, she prayed aloud, thanking God for her deliverance like Daniel from the lion's den. The symbolism was clear. She had survived, and now she would reign.
The streets were lined with cheering crowds. Five elaborate pageants punctuated the procession, each designed to communicate Elizabeth's vision for England. At Gracechurch Street, a pageant reminded the people that her grandmother, Elizabeth of York, had brought peace by marrying Henry Tudor and ending the Wars of the Roses. At Cornhill, another pageant depicted her government supported by the virtues of True Religion, Love of Subjects, Wisdom, and Justice. At Cheapside, a tableau attacked Mary's reign, contrasting "a decayed commonwealth" with "a flourishing commonwealth."
At one stop, a child presented Elizabeth with an English Bible, labeled the "Word of Truth." Elizabeth kissed it and held it to her heart, promising to read it diligently. The Protestant crowd roared with approval. One witness recorded that Elizabeth's "open and gracious responses endeared her to the spectators, who were wonderfully ravished."
Source: Royal Museums Greenwich
The coronation itself took place on Sunday, January 15, at Westminster Abbey. The religious ceremony presented Elizabeth with a delicate challenge. She wanted to be crowned according to Catholic rites to avoid alienating Catholics, yet she also intended to establish herself as Supreme Governor of the new Protestant Church of England. Who would perform the ceremony?
The Archbishop of Canterbury was dead. Thomas Cranmer, the Protestant reformer, had been burned at the stake by Mary. The Archbishop of York, a devout Catholic, refused to crown Elizabeth unless she renounced her claim to be head of the Church. One by one, Mary's bishops declined. Finally, at the last minute, Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle, agreed to perform the ceremony.
Elizabeth processed from Westminster Hall to the Abbey at 7 a.m., walking on a carpet of blue cloth that was later cut up and kept as souvenirs by those in attendance. Inside the Abbey, decorated with tapestries depicting the Acts of the Apostles, Oglethorpe led her to the stage and asked the people if they would have her as their queen. "Yea! Yea!" they shouted, as trumpets sounded.
The ceremony was a carefully calculated compromise. Elizabeth was crowned in Latin by a Catholic bishop, following traditional rites. But significant portions of the service were read twice, in both Latin and English. The Gospel and Epistle were read in English at Elizabeth's request. These changes were a portent of the religious settlement to come.
Elizabeth was anointed with holy oil, a sacred moment that conferred divine authority. She was then seated on St. Edward's Chair and invested with the symbols of monarchy: the sword, the armils (bracelets), the mantle, the ring, the scepter, and finally, the crown. She emerged from Westminster Abbey at noon wearing her crown, carrying the orb and scepter, and bearing a radiant smile for her adoring people.
A massive coronation banquet followed at Westminster Hall. Elizabeth celebrated with her nobles, drinking their healths and thanking them for their service. Each noble knelt before her and kissed her cheek in homage. The young queen had secured her throne through ceremony and spectacle.
Elizabeth's coronation set the tone for her reign. She had shown herself to be shrewd, pragmatic, and masterful at public relations. Over the next 44 years, she would prove to be one of England's greatest monarchs.
She established the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, a middle way between Catholicism and radical Protestantism that allowed England to avoid the religious wars tearing apart continental Europe. She presided over an era of unprecedented cultural flourishing, with William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, and Christopher Marlowe producing works that still define English literature. She sent explorers to the New World, with Virginia named for the "Virgin Queen." And in 1588, her navy defeated the Spanish Armada, securing England's independence and Protestant identity.
Before the Armada invasion, Elizabeth rode to Tilbury to address her troops. Dressed in armor and astride a white horse, she delivered one of history's great speeches: "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too."
Elizabeth never married, though she had many suitors and admirers. She used the possibility of marriage as a diplomatic tool but remained committed to her independence. "I will have here but one mistress and no master," she reportedly said.
She died on March 24, 1603, at Richmond Palace, having reigned for 44 years and 127 days. Her death was met with universal mourning. Thousands turned out for her funeral procession to Westminster Abbey, where "such a general sighing, groaning and weeping" was heard "as the like hath not been seen or known in the memory of man."
She was buried in Westminster Abbey in a tomb she shares with her half-sister Mary. The Latin inscription reads: "Partners in throne and grave, here we sleep Elizabeth and Mary, sisters in hope of the Resurrection."
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