Tudors and Stuarts 1558-1667Tudors and Stuarts 1558-1667Government and PoliticsGovernment and Politics

The CrownThe Crown

The CrownThe Crown• The monarchy was the oldest political institution in England• The monarch had authority from: religion, Roman Law and the Great

Chain of Being• It was an hereditary position (Edward, Mary, Elizabeth)• Elizabeth had great powers as monarch: head of government appointed state officers appoint and dismiss judges foreign policy was hers ability to make war and peace commander-in –chief of armed forces had great control over parliament supreme Governor head of the Church in England owned large estates could create knights and peers

The CrownThe CrownThe Royal Prerogative existed in two parts:1.The ordinary prerogative applied to all of the

functions in the previous slide and were established in law to enable the monarch to rule effectively

2.The emergency prerogative was not defined and was applied to emergencies as they arose

Elizabeth the Queen• Elizabeth turned the ideal of an adult male

monarch to her advantage• She encouraged the Cult of Gloriana and used

her single status as a political tool• She often took her court on progresses to

show her power and to defray the cost of the court onto her richer subjects

Elizabeth the Queen

• Elizabeth has well honed PR skills and knew when to make gracious and conciliatory remarks both to Parliament and to commoners.

Elizabeth the Queen

• Elizabeth was a good judge of character and appointed good advisors

• She did not allow factions to develop greatly

Elizabeth the Queen

• Elizabeth was a good administrator• She took an active interest in the detail• She was moderate in her religious outlook

and a conservative monarch

Elizabeth the Queen

However:• Elizabeth could be indecisive• She often took credit for others success• She often let others be blamed for her faults• She could be accused of being meddlesome in

the detail• Her failure to stop power accruing in the same

people led to the Essex Rebellion

BibliographyHistory volume 2, Britain 1558-1667, by Robin Silcock, Longman Paul, Auckland, 1990

www.schoolhistory.co.nz

REVISION:

• When you have completed the PowerPoints and related worksheets get students to mind-map the ‘Government and Politics’ topics covered:

• The Crown• The Privy Council• Courts of Law• Local Government• Parliament’• If you are unfamiliar with the basic concepts of mind-mapping

then check the ‘Mind mapping with Tony Buzan’ video found on the www.schoolhistory.co.nz site and show