Elizabeth's Personality and Image
After the turbulent and short reigns of Edward VI and
Mary I, the length and prosperity of Elizabeth's reign came somewhat
as a surprise. Her 45-year reign, earning her the title "the Great",
was not merely the result of chance, but the result of her strong
will, intelligence, popularity with the people, and personal character.
By the end of her reign, especially after the defeat of the supposedly
invincible Spanish Armada, Elizabeth began to be held in almost
supernatural awe throughout Europe, and to her own subjects she became
a sort of secular saint. As she became older, Elizabeth increasingly
transformed herself into a national symbol. With her majestic
dress and bearing and her renowned intelligence, she represented
the splendor and power of England.
Elizabeth had an erect posture and very pale skin, which
people said practically glowed. Her aquiline nose and reddish-gold
hair reminded everyone of her father, Henry VIII, fondly remembered
as a strong and decisive leader of the nation. She had extremely
long, slender hands and fingers. Her eye-color is not definitively
known, but from portraits they appear to have been brown, or golden-brown.
In old age, her voice was reported as high and shrill. Elizabeth
was also an expert horsewoman, who loved to ride her horse at a
gallop, frightening everyone (including Master of the Horse Robert
Dudley) with her equestrian antics. She mastered the art of appearing
stately and regal when it mattered, but in private, she moved and
walked quickly. Her obsession with dancing was famous, and she
enjoyed watching dancers as much as she liked to dance herself.
She loved fine clothing and jewelry, and her attire was the height
of glamour and fashion in the period.
The Queen was not just for show, however. She had both
natural talent and a willingness to study and deliberate. She
was always cautious in foreign affairs, preferring in most cases
to wait and see what happened, and decide what to do at the last
moment. This patience often gave England an advantage over European
nations led by more hotheaded rulers.
Elizabeth's fear of committing to action in foreign affairs,
particularly her aversion to any and all war, was largely a product
of her childhood, in which she had often witnessed the high costs
of failure in politics. Extraordinarily stingy for a woman so
wealthy, she believed wars expensive, and peace cheap. She came
off as high-strung and nervous, which was not surprising, for England
was in a very bad international position at the time. With no
clear successor to follow her, France and Spain were both jockeying
for control of England after her death. Thus, Elizabeth hesitated
to intervene when Mary of Guise was overthrown, despite Cecil's
council. Also, when Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded, Elizabeth
recognized the need for her opponent's death, but wished it could
have been carried out through a quieter method like poisoning.
Elizabeth was similarly guarded on issues of religion,
always preferring compromise to definitive actions. Thus although
she wished the English clergy to be celibate, because she knew
this went against the Protestant view she did not challenge the
English clergy's practice of marrying. Regarding communion and
the great Protestant-Catholic spiritual debates of the Reformation,
over which so many people were killing each other, Elizabeth refrained
from comment, saying, "Some think one thing, some another, and
only God can say whose judgment is best."
Like many famous historical people, Elizabeth is the subject
of several myths. One story claims that she went more or less
bald after age 30. This is untrue. Certainly she was fond of
wearing wigs, especially as her hair grayed, but nearly everyone
wore wigs at that time, as it was the fashion. Another humorous
story, this one true, revolves around her hatred of bad smells.
Toilets in the day were fairly disgusting and unsanitary affairs,
and Elizabeth suffered them the same as everyone else until an
inventor friend of hers designed and built one of the earliest
"water-closets" for her at her Richmond palace. Also, it is often
reported that in her old age, Elizabeth became spiteful and treated
married women with cruelty; although the truth of this is contested,
one can certainly speculate that Elizabeth did not like it when
the men she was trying to manipulate married other women instead;
perhaps she did bear ill will against these women.
