How important to Elizabethan government was the role of the Queen? 1. Elizabeth presented herself as strong and capable
Spanish ambassador, Count of Feria, noted as early as December 1558 that Elizabeth was ‘incomparably more feared than her sister and gives orders and has her way as absolutely as her father did.’ Elizabeth was keen to reinforce the message that she was her father’s daughter, telling Parliament in 159 that ‘we hope to rule, govern and keep this our realm in as good justice, peace and rest, in likewise as the king my father held you in.’ Clearly, Elizabeth intended to govern in line with the popular image of her robust and ruthless father, Henry Viii. 2. Why did Elizabeth have to assert herself so strongly and decisively? She had to overcome prejudice against female rulers- which had been reinforced by the disaster of the later stages of Mary’s reign. Also, she had to overcome he popular stereotype of women, which emphasised the physical, intellectual and emot...