Queen Elizabeth I's Fashions

In theory what one may wear is governed by “Acts of Apparel”, detailed regulations with the force of law. Thus only Knights of the garter and persons of the rank of Earl and above, for example, are supposed to wear cloth of gold or silver or purple silk. There are exemptions for gentlemen actually in attendance on the Queen or serving on a foreign embassy or having a disposable income of at least 200 pounds a year. In practice, outside a royal court, these rules are widely ignored.

The Reluctant Bathing

French king Henri IV sent an emissary to the Paris home of his superintendent of finances, the Duc de Sully, in 1610 to request his presence at a meeting. On the arrival the messenger was shocked to find Sully taking a bath. The Duc prepared to leave his bath and attend the king but the messenger stalled him, alarmed. "Monsieur, do not quit your bath," he said. "I fear that the king cares so much for your health,and so depends on it, that if he had known you were in such a situation, he would have come here himself." With that emissary returned to Henri who, after taking medical advice, decided to reschedule the meeting at Sully's house. The Duc received a note telling him to greet the king the following day" in your nightshirt, your leggings, your slippers and your nightcap, so that you come to no harm as a result of your recent bath."

Medieval child bath

Elizabethan England

Many must have predicted a bleak future for England when the 22 year old princess Elizabeth succeeded her half sister Mary Tudor to the throne. The government was a disarray, and the treasury was empty. The circumstances of Elizabeth's birth to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn had placed her in the centre of controversy between Catholics and protestants who threatened at any moment to take up arms in the defense of their beliefs.

Elizabeth I (r.1558 - 1603)

Much of the credit for England's success during the last half of the century must go directly to her queen. Elizabeth was a handsome woman with a humanist education, a quick mind, and a strong will. Her approach to politics was decidedly Machiavellian. Although she ruled with a firm hand, she was known as Good Queen Bess to her subjects. Elizabeth never married. Her failure to provide an heir posed a serious threat for an England only two generations removed from civil war. On the other hand, her maidenhood was a valuable asset in diplomacy. What England could not gain by force or persuasion it often gained from men who sought Elizabeth's hand and her dowry of the English realm.

Queen Elizabeth I of England