In this first episode David Starkey examines Elizabeth I's life before her coronation. If her reign was full of glorious victories, her earlier life was a perilous journey. Her father would kill her mother and Elizabeth would be disinherited, sexually abused and imprisoned at the Tower under threat of execution
In this first episode David Starkey examines Elizabeth I's life before her coronation. If her reign was full of glorious victories, her earlier life was a perilous journey. Her father would kill her mother and Elizabeth would be disinherited, sexually abused and imprisoned at the Tower under threat of execution
David Starkey explores the tensions created by Elizabeth I's reluctance to marry, which strained the political and religious machinations of her reign. The self-styled 'Virgin Queen' - devoted only to her country - signified a new era of unorthodox behaviour on the throne. Though her dalliances with potential suitors such as Lord Dudley provoked much speculation, it was her refusal to choose a spouse from France or Spain - powers that were a threat to the then slight nation of England - that worried the Queen's advisors. The programme also measures the threat presented by Elizabeth's cousin, Mary Queen of Scots.