Elizabeth I

D. Glootnoot ducks out of the way of a joker on stilts, as she follows the man through the fair. He looks uncomfortable in his strange costume, and Glootnoot has trouble believing that people ever wore clothes like this... why would anyone want to wear a pair of shorts that looked like a puffy skirt in the first place? And why would they wear tights under it as well? And feathers? And pointy shoes? It was puzzling to be sure.

The man – a Mr. Marlowe – is still going… obviously he hasn't heard Glootnoot at all. She finds this slightly depressing – it seems to happen too often for her comfort.

Finally the man stops at the History Stall and Glootnoot is able to catch up.

"Mr. Marlowe, my name is D.Gloonoot and I'm a reporter for the Funday Times."

"O, hello, what can I do for you?"

"Well, we're doing an article for International Women's Day; and since Elizabeth was among the most powerful women in history, I wanted to find out more about her. I was told you were the best person to ask."

"Of course I'm the right person to ask. No one alive knows more than I do about her," said Mr. Marlowe who was obviously a very humble sort.

M: It'll be easier if I simply take you around the exhibition. Come, come.

Glootnoot obediently follows. The exhibition begins with a portrait of a good looking young woman, all dressed up.

M: Meet Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth's mother. Elizabeth's father, King Henry, had Queen Anne beheaded on the charge of treason in 1534 – four months before Elizabeth's third birthday.

G: Ugh. But he didn't do anything to his daughter obviously?

M: Well, he just had her brought up somewhere else. You see, she was his heir. In fact, Elizabeth would be the last of the Tudor House which began with her grandfather, King Henry VII.

G: So when her father died, Elizabeth came to the throne?

M: Actually, she didn't. Her half sister, Mary I became queen. But Mary wasn't very popular. In fact, she had so many people killed that the English nicknamed her "Bloody Mary."

G: They must've been happy to have Elizabeth take the thrown.
M: They were… they practically danced in the streets. Elizabeth was very young, only 25 years old when she came to the throne in 1558.

G: That must've been really tough.

M: More than you can even imagine.

Marlow explains to Glootnoot that when Elizabeth first came to the throne, the country was in a difficult position. Calais, England's last French possession had fallen; the country was in religious turmoil with the Protestants and Catholics attacking each other, and to make matters worse, the crown had very little money left.

G: But she turned it all around? How?

M: Through sheer determination and resourcefulness. You see, Elizabeth was exceedingly intelligent. She was fluent in six languages. One of her tutors, Roger Ascham actually said, "When she writes Greek and Latin, nothing is more beautiful than her handwriting."

Glootnoot couldn't imagine anyone saying the same for her.

G: She must've have been pretty influential to have a whole age named after her.

M: She was. By the end of Elizabeth's reign, England had become a superpower.

‘Marlowe describes the Elizabethan Age,’ as having been filled with expansion, and growing wealth for England. Great explorers like Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh toured the globe in the name of Queen Elizabeth I.

Meanwhile the Elizabethan Church Settlement and the 39 Articles tried to settle the religious disputes by trying to strike a balance between Catholics on the one hand and extreme Protestants (or Puritans) on the other. At the same time, English Literature flourished. This was the age of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, while Francis Bacon was one of the greatest minds of the day.

M: Elizabeth was a master politician. Here look at this picture. This was the Spanish Armada. These great warships had helped turn Spain into the strongest European nation at the time. When Elizabeth turned down a marriage proposal from Philip II of Spain, the king was so furious he sent his Armada to attack England. The English were terrified.

G: I can imagine. What did Elizabeth do?

M: The smartest thing. Elizabeth was a woman, and as such considered small and frail. But she made all of them rethink that idea. She travelled to Tilbury and addressed her troops who were waiting to defend England against the Spaniards. Here, read it.
Glootnoot looks at the little card, and reads the Queen's words.

". . . therefore I am come amongst you… in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm . . ."

M: As they say, the rest is history. The English defeated one of the greatest seafaring forces ever to have put to sea, thanks in part to some rotten weather. England was now IT – the world's strongest naval power. Elizabeth would later use this navy cleverly to conquer many other countries.

G: And she never married…

M: Never. In fact, she was famous for it – people called her the "Virgin Queen." Parliament was very keen that she marry so that there might be an heir to the throne, but she never did. Here, this is a picture of her tombstone. As you can see, she was buried by her sister in Westminster Abbey. She was 69 years old when she died… and had reined for 45 glorious years.

Glootnoot leans forward to read the Epitaph. It's written in Latin, but the fair committee has translated it below. "Partners both in throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in the hope of one resurrection."