Elizabeth I is remembered as one of the greatest monarchs that England ever had.
During her reign, there was a golden age across her country, with huge developments in literature
and culture.
She was even the Queen who against all odds managed to see off the Spanish Armada, which
won over her critics.
She was seen as a Queen who was married to her country, and who was not afraid to make
tough decisions.
However because of her commitment to England, the Queen never married.
This caused an issue in the final years of Elizabeth’s life, as there was uncertainty
as to who would become the next ruler of England.
She had ordered and given permission for the woman many deemed to be her rightful successor,
Mary Queen of Scots to be executed following many plots to Elizabeth’s life.
Today we look at the Painful death of Queen Elizabeth I, Remember to support our channel,
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During the Tudor Period, medical knowledge and treatments were not amazing.
There was a reliance still on apothecaries, and also medieval remedies such as bleeding
and purging.
Many blamed serious pestilences and outbreaks of disease on God, as there was a link drawn
between ill health and religion, as it was believed the victim had been sinning.
During Elizabeth’s reign, she was ill a number of times in particular she suffered
from smallpox which in itself was a deadly and painful disease that caused the Queen
to have scars on her face.
These were a great worry to the Queen, as once she recovered she worried about her beauty,
and even ordered painters to ensure that their portraits of the Queen were free from these.
As she aged her image changed over time, and as she was previously described as eternally
youthful this did change.
Portraits were painted to make her look younger, and ambassadors noted how ‘her teeth are
very yellow and unequal, many of them are missing, so that one cannot understand her
easily when she speaks quickly.’
Elizabeth reigned for almost 45 years, and was the final Tudor Monarch.
But during her final years, her health over time deteriorated and many of her close friends
and allies passed away too.
She began to suffer from bouts of what we would call today depression, and in 1590 one
of her closest ladies in waiting, Blanche Parry died.
She was the Chief Gentlewoman of the Queen’s Privy Chamber, and Keeper of the Queen’s
jewels.
Elizabeth had known her since she was just a child, and was one of her best attendants.
Blanche Parry was treated as a baroness, and was given land for her service and her death
hit Elizabeth hard.
In 1598, another one of her closest advisors and friends, Sir William Cecil died.
He had been by Elizabeth’s side during the tough times and remained a staunch supporter
of her, even since her youth.
These deaths hit Elizabeth hard, and she was devastated after them.
She began to become more reclusive, but in her final years she still acted as a figure
of power.
She had overseen the execution of her former favourite, Robert Devereux the Earl of Essex.
At one time many believed that he could possibly marry the Queen despite the age gap, but Devereux
had been convicted of high treason and was deemed a traitor for planning a rebellion
that would have resulted in Elizabeth I being seized.
In January 1603, Elizabeth was noted to have been unwell and in poor mood, and she retired
to Richmond Palace one of her favourite residences.
Richmond was chosen as it was where the Queen felt most comfortable, and during her final
months here she surrounded herself with her most loyal ladies and attendants.
During this time, Elizabeth began to shun food and drink, and she lost a significant
degree of weight, not eating what she needed to.
This led to her ladies becoming very worried about her, and they tried to get doctors to
see her, but Elizabeth refused to be seen.
Another death of another close lady, Katherine Howard plunged Elizabeth’s depression deeper,
as Howard had served her for 45 years and died very suddenly.
It’s thought that this was the straw that broke the camels back with regards to her
mental health, and Elizabeth it was said ‘loved the countess well and hath much lamented her
death, remaining ever since in a deep melancholy that she must seemeth to be overtaken.’
By February 1603, Elizabeth remained in a deep depression, and she was a shadow of her
former self.
There was a sharp departure from her days in which she rallied and inspired sailors
and soldiers at Tilbury Dock, looking like the goddess Athena when she issued her war
cry to defend England against the Spanish Armada.
The Queen who was a sign of virtue and strength at that point was no longer, and Elizabeth
almost 70 years old was frail and depressed.
She remained being stubborn, and refused to rest during her time at court.
The Queen’s ladies in waiting worried so much about her frailty that they put pillows
all over the floor of her bedchamber, incase she fell over and injured herself.
Further deaths of Catherine Carey the Countess of Nottingham and her close friend Lady Knollys
hit her also hard.
In her final days the Queen was rather upset and became distressed, and in March she fell
sick and remained in a settled and unremovable melancholy.’
She was known to just sit on cushions for hours on end, motionless in deep thought.
It’s believed that in these episodes she may have been debating her life and the mistakes
she had made, and also what she had done with regards to executions she ordered.
She may have even been contemplating her regret over ordering the execution of her cousin
Mary Queen of Scots, whom it’s believed could have succeeded her at one point.
The Queen never wanted to really execute Mary but was convinced to do so by her councillors,
and she regretted it greatly.
It was said that, ‘The Queen Sheds many tears and sighs, maintaining her innocence
that she never gave consent to the death of that queen.’
Elizabeth it’s said began to become visited by ghostly episodes of people she had known
including Mary, and other’s who had passed away.
It was clear though that Elizabeth was dying.
Coupled with her depressed state of mind and her delirium, her health began to fail.
She made the decision to retire to bed in March, and the Archbishop of Canterbury was
summoned to come to her bedside and to pray for her soul.
He informed the Queen that she would go to heaven, and that she would be looked after.
On the 24th March 1603, Elizabeth I passed away at Richmond Palace.
Her body was then taken to Whitehall, where it was held in state before her funeral was
to occur.
She made it clear before death that she did not wish to be disembollwed, but this was
not adhered to as Robert Cecil left it up to the doctors to do so, and the Queen was
embalmed with her body encased in a lead lined wooden coffin.
Every night 6 ladies watched over the coffin, but during this period it was said that there
was a loud crack from Elizabeth’s coffin, as her body and head broke open from the various
gases released as her corpse rotted.
The explosion of her body it was said was so big that it splintered some of the wood
on the coffin, and it was said it would have been worse if she hadn’t been disembowelled
after death.
Elizabeth’s funeral took placer on the 28th April 1603, and she was buried inside of Westminster
Abbey.
There was a huge number who were involved in the procession, and there were thousands
of members of the public who came to witness her body making its final journey.
It was said, ‘there was such a general sighing, groaning and weeping as the like has not been
seen or known in the memory of man.’
It was clear that the people of her country greatly loved her queen, and she was held
in high regard.
She was a monarch who had seen a huge amount of change in her time, and had aimed to restore
normality and calm some of the turmoil and turbulence of the previous Kings and Queens.
She tried her best to unite Catholics and Protestants under her religious settlements,
but in her final days she became incredibly distressed and depressed with the loss of
some of her closest friends.
She lamented her reign and some of the decisions she took, and these stayed with her until
her final moments.
Elizabeth I is considered today to have been one of the greatest Queens in History.
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