English Heritage

Ruling and religion

When Elizabeth’s brother Edward VI was king, England’s official religion was Protestantism, following the new Church of England set up by Henry VIII. Elizabeth’s sister Mary I became queen after Edward died, and she changed it to Catholicism. During her reign, many people were executed for refusing to change their religion to match the queen’s.

Elizabeth I was a protestant like her brother, so when she inherited the throne after the death of her sister Mary, she changed the religion back to the Church of England. All of these changes were very stressful for people, who could be executed for following the wrong religion. While Elizabeth I was queen, Catholic priests were thought to be dangerous to the queen’s rule, so they were arrested and put into prison. Some people who followed the Catholic religion helped priests to hide in their homes using very small secret rooms hidden behind walls and under floors, called priest holes. You can see two examples of these at Boscobel House, in Shropshire.

Great exploration

Travel and trade by sea was increasing and during Elizabeth’s rule, England became extremely wealthy and important around the world. Explorers including Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh discovered new lands and brought home treasure and new foods to try – including potatoes, which were brand new to Europe! At the same time, William Shakespeare (pictured) was creating the plays that would make him the most well-known playwright in history.

However, there were other countries who also wanted to make money from new goods and trade, so defending the country’s shores was an important task that Elizabeth needed to do well.

Elizabeth and Dudley

On 9 July 1575, a huge party was held at Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire for Queen Elizabeth I. She was visiting her close friend Robert Dudley, who owned the castle. He tried to dazzle her with the best of everything in an attempt to convince her to marry him.

The queen had given the castle and its lands to Robert 12 years earlier. Since then, he had converted the old castle into a palace, with a huge new tower containing rooms just for Elizabeth. The castle and its entertainments were impressive and expensive. Robert wanted Elizabeth to enjoy herself and forget her many duties as the queen. He ordered that the clock on the highest tower be stopped at 2 o’clock – the time when she first arrived.

After 19 days, Elizabeth left the castle. Her visit was a great success – it was the longest and most expensive party she had ever attended. Although she and Robert remained good friends, they never married, and she never returned to Kenilworth.