Sunday, January 08, 2012

Question from Jenni - Influencers on Elizabeth

I am a A Level student doing my EPQ on who influcened Elizabeth I the most to be the Queen she was.

I was wondering what other people's opinions were on who they think influenced Elizabeth the most before she became Queen.

I writing about most people from her tutors who are not as well known, to her sister Mary and to her step-father Thomas Seymour.

10 comments:

Donna Maguire said...

Hi, I believe that one of the most influential people for Elizabeth would be William Cecil, Baron Burghley. He was the chief advisor of Elizabeth for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. He assisted her before she came to the throne and stayed with her throughout her reign, their relationship was not always smooth but I believe she often listened to his opinion above others.

tudor princess said...

I would suggest both her governess, Kat Ashley (or Astley) and her stepmother, Katherine Parr.

Tracey Boorman's book,"Elizabeth's Women", outlines the influence of various women on Elizabeth. Finally, her father, Henry VIII, was a huge influence on Elizabeth. For example, Elizabeth realised how important it was to project an image (just as Henry used Holbein) and she always gloried in the fact she was his daughter.

tudor princess said...

I would also suggest Kat Ashley (her governess) and her stepmother, Katherine Parr.

Tracey Boorman has written a book called, "Elizabeth's Women" which outlines the influence various women had on Elizabeth, throughout her life.

Finally, do not forget her father. Henry VIII had an enormous influence on Elizabeth (not only his marital escapades but also his kingship) and she always gloried in being his daughter.

Anonymous said...

Elizabeth's sister, Mary, must have influenced her. There are hints of Tilbury in Mary's speech at th Guildhall. Also, according to David Starkey, Elizabeth was very careful to avoid her sister's misktakes. Starkey also notes that Katherine Parr would have been a huge influence ... her regency was the first time Elizabeth saw a woman exercising power. Elizabeth also saw both Katherine Parr and Mary exercising power as long as there was no husband in the picture ... but losing power when there was a husband present.

Mary R said...

You might also want to consider Lady Margaret Bryan (Elizabeth's first governess) and Blanche Parry, a woman who served Elizabeth, and was both friend and confidante to her.

Some sources also say that Blanche Parry was related to Dr. John Dee (the noted astrologer)and that it was she who first introduced him to Elizabeth.

Katherine said...

If you are looking for good influences, then definetly william cecil and Blanch Parry, and of course Kat the governness and Katherine Parr

Other ones are definetly her father, but more then that, her mother, definetly. She was still a big part of Elizabeths life for 2 short years. Her death was one of the main causes of her issues with sex and marriage!

Laura said...

It was not just the death of her mother that influenced her, it was the death of Katherine Howard, which was far more memorable to her than her mother's death. Certainly, she knew what had happened to her mother, but she was little more than a baby when her mother died, but she was old enough to understand and remember what happened to Katherine Howard.

I find it ironic that she idolized her father the way she did, when her father's actions were the cause of her fear and hatred of marriage. She was somehow able to dissociate his monstrous act from her father himself.

Those events were not positive influences, but without doubt they were the most dramatic.

Mary R said...

There is a book out on the subject by historian Tracy Borman called "Elizabeth's Women: Friends, Rivals and Foes who Shaped the Virgin Queen". I haven't read it yet; but the reviews sound promising:)

kb said...

I would also suggest ladies-in-waiting who were of her own generation or even younger. For example, Katherine Carey Howard, Countess of Nottingham who was sworn to the chamber as a maid of honour on 3 January 1559 (age 12) at the start of Elizabeth's reign, was promoted through the ranks to a senior lady of the bed-chamber and who died 25 February 1603. Some observers surmised that it was Katherine Carey Howard's death (age 56) that helped bring on the queen's final illness. The queen went into a major depression on Katherine's death and died the following month.

Anonymous said...

Mary Sidney, the sister of Robert Dudley, may be someone you'd want to look at, as well. Elizabeth's treatment of Mary shows Elizabeth at her best.

When Elizabeth came down with smallpox, Mary Sidney nursed her and contracted the disease, too.
When she, Mary, recovered, her face was hideously scarred and she removed herself from the court. Elizabeth never forgot what Mary had done for her, and visited her frequently throughout her life.