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History Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Tudor Queen Elizabeth I?
Which figure at Henry VIII’s court intervened to reinstate Elizabeth I to the line of succession?
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Katherine Parr
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Henry VIII
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Thomas Cromwell
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Anne of Cleves
Explanation
Elizabeth was struck from the line of succession when her parents’ marriage was declared invalid, before Anne Boleyn’s execution in 1536. It was only reinstated thanks to the intervention of Katherine Parr – Henry VIII’s last wife, and Elizabeth’s last stepmother. By the time of her father’s death, Elizabeth was third in line to the throne, behind her younger brother, Edward VI, and her elder sister, Mary.
Despite popular belief, Elizabeth deeply loved her mother, the disgraced Anne Boleyn. How did she clandestinely express this in her teenage years?
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She dressed up in her mother’s old dresses in her bedchamber
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She wore her mother’s ‘A’ pendant around her neck when sitting for a portrait
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She signed her diary entries as ‘Elizabeth Boleyn’
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She played her mother’s old lute in secret
Explanation
When Elizabeth was a teenager, she put on her mother’s famous ‘A’ pendant while she sat for her portrait. This audacious stunt would have likely incurred Henry VIII’s wrath had he noticed. Elizabeth continued to honour her mother when she became queen, too. She ensured Anne’s relatives held prized positions at court, and she also wore a pendant necklace that contained a tiny picture of her mother opposite one of herself.
Edward VI reigned for a mere six years, while Mary I lasted for five. But for how long did Elizabeth sit on the throne?
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22 years
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36 years
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44 years
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51 years
Explanation
Elizabeth was queen of England and Ireland for a staggering 44 years – from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last monarch of the Tudor period, and she was succeeded by King James VI and I – the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a king notorious for his witch hunts.
Why did many Catholics want Mary, Queen of Scots to have England’s throne – not Elizabeth?
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They hoped the Catholic European nations would send ships laden with supplies and gold to England if it turned Catholic, with Mary at its head
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They believed Mary was a better queen than Elizabeth and would protect England
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They believed Elizabeth was illegitimate, whereas Mary was the legitimate granddaughter of Henry’s sister, Margaret Tudor
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They disliked the fact that Elizabeth hadn’t married or had any children and wanted a queen who had a family to sit on England’s throne
Explanation
Elizabeth’s relationship with Mary, Queen of Scots – her first cousin once removed – was the focal point of English and Scottish politics for two decades. Many Catholics viewed Elizabeth as illegitimate, with Mary – the granddaughter of Henry’s sister, Margaret Tudor – being England’s rightful queen. Following years of intrigue and Mary’s imprisonment in England, Elizabeth finally decreed that her relative should die. Mary was executed by beheading in February 1587.
Which group did Elizabeth penalise more than any other in English society during her reign?
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Catholics
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Unmarried women
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Alchemists
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Academics
Explanation
According to historian Jessie Childs, “England’s Elizabethan Catholics were public enemy number one… Their Masses were banned, and their priests were executed.” While Elizabeth sat on the throne, approximately 200 Catholics were executed (effectively just for being Catholic), and they were in many cases fined if they refused to attend Anglican services. Catholics were also subject to a number of restrictions. They couldn’t hold public office, for one, and they couldn’t take up arms for the monarch.
Elizabeth was a renowned flirt, and she came up with nicknames for her many favourites. What pet name did she have for François, Duke of Anjou?
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Her ‘snail’
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Her ‘songbird’
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Her ‘lion’
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Her ‘frog’
Explanation
Yes, rather strangely, Elizabeth called François, Duke of Anjou, her ‘frog’. Burghley, the queen’s chief minister, was called her ‘spirit’, and the Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, (her alleged lover) was her ‘eyes’. Even though Elizabeth never married, rumours about her love life abounded during her reign – both in England and abroad. Fascination with the queen’s potential romances have continued over the years, with countless books, novels, plays and films depicting her relationships with a variety of figures – including the Duke of Anjou and Robert Dudley.
As Elizabeth’s looks began to fade, which of these tactics did she employ to make sure she remained an object of desire at court?
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She wore vividly coloured gowns, while her ladies were only allowed to wear dresses made from black or white material
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She insisted that her ladies had to rub soot into their teeth to blacken them
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She made her ladies wear their hair in unflattering styles, while she had her hair primped each day
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Only she was allowed to wear makeup – every other lady at court had to go bare-faced
Explanation
Elizabeth was determined to keep all eyes on her at court, so she resorted to some dirty tactics. While Elizabeth appeared bedecked in lavish gowns of rich materials and bright colours, her dutiful ladies donned either black or white. No matter how attractive any of these women were, their drab clothes would draw everyone’s attention to Elizabeth – even if she was slightly past her prime. To test what effect this dress code was having, the queen once asked a visiting French noblemen what opinion he had of her ladies. He immediately protested that he was unable to “judge stars in the presence of the sun” – exactly as Elizabeth hoped he would say.
What substance was not part of Elizabeth’s beauty regime?
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White lead
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Vinegar
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Beeswax
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Plant dye
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Lemon
Explanation
Elizabeth’s beauty regime was rather involved, as she piled on makeup and wigs to conceal the fact that she was ageing. This so-called ‘mask of youth’ was created by painting her face, neck and hands with ceruse (a mixture of white lead and vinegar); colouring her lips with a red paste made from beeswax and plant dye; and lining her eyes with kohl. However, most of these cosmetics damaged her skin more than ageing ever could. Ceruse was particularly corrosive, and one contemporary observed with some distaste: “Those women who use it about their faces, do quickly become withered and grey headed, because this doth so mightily drie up the naturall moisture of their flesh.”
What outlandish theory circulated during the Victorian era to explain why Elizabeth refused to marry?
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She was in love with a commoner
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She was really a man
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She preferred the company of women
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She was secretly married
Explanation
Yes, there truly was a theory that the real reason Elizabeth would not marry was because she was actually a man. According to the ‘Bisley Boy’ story, the real Elizabeth had passed away when she was a young girl, and the princess had been replaced by the only redheaded child that could be found. The fact that this child was male was of course rather inconvenient, but he apparently spent the rest of his life dressing as a woman to continue the pretence.
When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558, who did she appoint principal secretary?
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Sir Robert Dudley
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Sir Robert Cecil
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Sir William Cecil
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Sir Francis Walsingham
Explanation
Sir William Cecil was Elizabeth’s first principal secretary. Lord Robert Dudley (later the Earl of Leicester), her favourite courtier, entered the Privy Council in October 1562, but never acted as secretary. Elizabeth appointed Sir Francis Walsingham as a principal secretary in December 1573. Sir Robert Cecil, the son of William, was Elizabeth’s last principal secretary, formally appointed in July 1596.
In which month and year was Elizabeth crowned?
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November 1558
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December 1558
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January 1559
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February 1559
Explanation
Elizabeth came to the throne on 17 November 1558, and her coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on Sunday 15 January 1559.
Elizabeth nearly died in OctoberFrom which illness did she suffer?
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The plague
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Sweating sickness
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Ague
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Smallpox
Explanation
Elizabeth was so seriously ill with smallpox in October 1562 that it was thought she would die. She recovered, but Lady Mary Sidney, who had nursed her back to health, caught the infection and was badly scarred. In 1572 Elizabeth was awarded a medal commemorating her recovery from smallpox. She never suffered from the other illnesses listed in this question.
Which of the following was NOT a plot against Elizabeth?
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Ridolfi Plot
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Dudley Conspiracy
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Babington Plot
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Throckmorton Plot
Explanation
The Dudley Conspiracy, which was hatched against Queen Mary I in December 1555. The Ridolfi Plot of 1571, the Throckmorton Plot of 1583 and the Babington Plot of 1586 were all conspiracies against Elizabeth I involving foreign powers, designed to free Mary Queen of Scots and depose Queen Elizabeth.
Who was the last custodian of Mary Queen of Scots?
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The Earl of Shrewsbury
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Sir Amias Paulet
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Sir Francis Knollys
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Lord Scrope
Explanation
Sir Amias Paulet. Paulet was Mary’s custodian from April 1585, at Tutbury, Chartley, and Fotheringhay Castle, until her execution in February 1587. Sir Francis Knollys and Lord Scrope were Mary’s first guardians after her arrival in England in May 1568, and the Earl of Shrewsbury took charge of Mary in 1569 and remained her custodian until September 1584.
Which of the following was NOT a reason Philip II launched the Armada against Elizabeth?
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She refused his hand in marriage
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She helped his rebels in the Netherlands
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She was a Protestant
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Her privateers attacked Spanish shipping
Explanation
Philip had reluctantly proposed to Elizabeth in early 1559, and she declared that it was against scripture for her to marry her sister’s widower, but this was not a cause of the Spanish Armada nearly 30 years later. In 1585 Elizabeth sent troops to aid Philip’s rebels in the Netherlands, an action that outraged the king. Even worse was that her privateers (Philip called them pirates) were attacking Spanish shipping while Drake assaulted his territories in the New World in 1586. Philip hoped the Armada would restore Catholicism to Protestant England.
Who commanded the Spanish fleet in the 1588 armada against England?
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The duke of Alva
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The duke of Parma
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The prince of Eboli
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The duke of Medina Sidonia
Explanation
The duke of Medina Sidonia was the Spanish commander-in-chief. Parma was Philip's governor in the Netherlands, and was to head the army that would invade England. Alva was governor-general in the Netherlands from 1567 until 1573, and brutally suppressed the first revolt there. Eboli was a close friend of Philip II.
Who was the commander of the English fleet during the 1588 Armada crisis?
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Lord Charles Howard of Effingham
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Sir Francis Drake
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Sir Walter Raleigh
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Sir John Hawkins
Explanation
Howard was the Lord Admiral and commanded the fleet, with Drake as his second-in-command, and Hawkins third. There is no evidence that Raleigh carried out active service against the Armada.
Which of the following died just a month after the defeat of the Armada?
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The Earl of Leicester
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Sir Francis Walsingham
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Sir Philip Sidney
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Sir Christopher Hatton
Explanation
Leicester died at Cornbury, Oxfordshire, on 4 September 1588, less than a month after he had accompanied the queen to review the troops at Tilbury. His fatal illness was probably malaria, which he may have contracted during his campaign in the Netherlands. His nephew, Sir Philip Sidney, had been killed at the battle of Zutphen in 1586. Walsingham died in 1590, and Hatton in 1591.
The Spanish war did not end with the defeat of the Armada. In which of the following places did English armies NOT fight during the Elizabethan struggle against Spain after 1588?
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Portugal
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Brittany
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The Netherlands
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Naples
Explanation
The English did not fight in Naples, which was ruled by the king of Spain. The Portugal expedition was mounted in 1589; English troops fought against the Catholic League and Spain in Brittany during the early 1590s, and English troops remained in the Netherlands from 1585 until 1603.
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