Throughout History, there have been many iconic Kings and Queens who’s lives have been celebrated.
Arguably the greatest monarch during the Tudor period was Elizabeth I, who faced a huge amount
of criticism and enemies during her time of the throne.
Elizabeth was questioned for her gender throughout, and many believed that she would not have
been strong enough to stand up the the Spanish Armada, but each time she encountered problems,
along with her advisors she managed to solve them but also defeat them.
Elizabeth is remembered as the Tudor Queen that Henry VIII her father would have been
proud of, and she did have a brutal side including when she executed her cousin Mary Queen of
Scots.
But following her death in 1603, she was buried inside of Westminster Abbey.
She was moved into an ornate and beautiful tomb, however in the century after the monarchy
decided to commemorate Elizabeth I in a remarkable way which offered her final acceptance as
a brilliant monarch, however part of the way they did this is missing, and today the body
of Elizabeth I in effigy form is missing.
One of the world’s oldest exhibitions which can be seen inside of the Tower of London,
the place where Elizabeth I’s mother lost her head is the Line of Kings.
This is a remarkable and brilliant collection of the armour which belonged to different
monarchs throughout the century.
The Line of Kings also features the Horse Armoury, and displays suits of armour placed
upon wooden horses.
On the 25th March 1652, a Dutch visitor to the Tower of London noted the remarkable collection,
and he said their guide, ‘‘took us first to the armouries where armour, mostly new
and tested, for 10,000 men was stored.
After this, we entered a room where horse armour used in former times was stored on
wooden horses with armed men on them.
There were two suits of armour worn by Henry VII and two worn by Henry VIII themselves;
they were not very costly though.
Another remarkable suit of armour here belonged to John of Gaunt, a renowned warrior of a
few hundred years ago, who had been more than a head taller than any person of our time…’
Today these same suits of armour can be seen.
But what does this have to do with Elizabeth I?
When walking around what is clear is that there are not many pieces of armour or artefacts
linked to Queens or women, but you would expect a number of ceremonial items perhaps, but
they are not.
But it was decided in the 1700s to commemorate Elizabeth I with her own display on the Line
of the Kings.
She was to sit on top of a horse, and was to have a wooden effigy created showing her
sitting proud and strong.
Elizabeth was herself a warrior queen, she had seen off the Spanish Armada and had rallied
troops and soldiers at Tilbury Docks in a remarkable speech in which she was likened
to Athena the goddess of war.
But Queens had been excluded from the line of Kings, for example her half sister Mary
I never had or probably never will be commemorated on this.
The only way she would have been would have been if somehow armour was found belonging
to her, but at the time it was believed that Queens did not have a place on the battlefield,
and they would leave their generals to take the fight to their enemies.
But Queen Elizabeth I was to be put on the line of Kings.
A horse was sourced from the Horse Armoury which was deemed suitable for her to sit ontop
of, and the Tower’s officials must have wanted to choose a large and strong wooden
horse in their possession for the display.
But they needed to then had an effigy of Elizabeth I made too.
This was to have a frame made from wood, and the most intricate and ornate part of the
effigy was the face of the effigy.
This was carved, and today can be seen at the Tower.
It shows Elizabeth I looking rather pensive, with her bright eyes open and her small mouth
clasped shut.
It has also had a ginger wig place on top it, showing short curls on the top of her
head.
Her face is pale which shows the Queen in her famous white makeup, but also she has
rosey red cheeks.
The head is finished off with a small and modest ruff which is around her neck, and
it shows the queen looking rather alive.
It’s likely that the carpenters who made this effigy did this from paintings of her.
With the head finished, the body of the Queen was then made also.
The body of the Queen was made to make her look imposing and larger than life, but also
it would have been fitted with clothes showing the riches of the Queen and also her power.
Some of the finest sculptors of the time were involved in creating this effigy of Elizabeth
I, however what is shocking is that today only the head of Elizabeth I survives in this
manner.
We do not know for certain what the clothes were like that were fitted to the body, but
Elizabeth sat proudly amongst the Line of the Kings and was one of very few women if
any who ever made it onto the display.
For example, William III who dual ruled England with his wife Mary made it onto the Line of
Kings, but Mary did not.
However the only part of Elizabeth I’s display that has survived is the head of the former
Queen.
Her body which was on display had gone missing, and it is still not known what happened to
this.
During the Second World War, a number of direct hits landed near or within the walls of the
Tower.
Many of the artefacts were moved to secret locations, including a number of the horses
who were destroyed when they were stored beneath Whitehall, and a bomb hit them and encased
them in rubble.
It’s not known whether the body of the effigy of Elizabeth I was destroyed in this attack,
or in an attack similar during the war, but it is possible that it was destroyed in this
bombing.
This means that strangely within the walls of the Tower of London, the place where Elizabeth
I’s mother lost her head, there is a head of Anne Boleyn’s daughter that remains separated
from its body.
But what is remarkable is that Elizabeth I made it on the the Line of Kings, showing
that in the century after her death her reputation proceeded her, and that she was seen as almost
a legendary figure in English history.
Her effigy head is a remarkable item inside the collection of the Royal Armouries, but
it is missing it’s body.
It would have been a brilliant tribute to the Tudor Monarch, seeing her alongside her
father, the man who looked down upon her because she was a daughter, sitting proudly atop a
horse in the remarkable display of the former armour of the monarchs.
But she isn’t the only one who is missing her body, as there are dozens of effigy heads
of the Kings who used to be on display, including that of her father, but the location of their
bodies is also not known.
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