1 00:00:03,304 --> 00:00:04,944 TRACY BORMAN: Under Tudor rule, 2 00:00:05,104 --> 00:00:09,344 England was taken from a medieval kingdom plagued by civil war 3 00:00:09,504 --> 00:00:12,624 and developed into one of the most powerful nations 4 00:00:12,784 --> 00:00:14,784 in the Renaissance world. 5 00:00:14,944 --> 00:00:16,664 But from phantom pregnancies 6 00:00:16,824 --> 00:00:19,624 to the use of bizarre methods of contraception, 7 00:00:19,784 --> 00:00:23,144 it was often the most intimate and tragic moments 8 00:00:23,304 --> 00:00:27,264 of these monarchs' lives that dictated the fate of country. 9 00:00:30,904 --> 00:00:35,184 In this episode, we look at the life of Queen Elizabeth I. 10 00:00:35,344 --> 00:00:39,544 She was an attractive, charismatic and vivacious young girl 11 00:00:39,704 --> 00:00:42,984 who took the throne at the age of just 25. 12 00:00:43,144 --> 00:00:46,464 But her early years were lived in fear of assassination 13 00:00:46,624 --> 00:00:49,744 by the supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots. 14 00:00:49,904 --> 00:00:53,224 Although she fashioned herself as the Virgin Queen, 15 00:00:53,384 --> 00:00:56,544 she had a series of passionate liaisons. 16 00:00:56,704 --> 00:00:59,464 Obsessed with her personal appearance, 17 00:00:59,624 --> 00:01:02,144 she was also overly fond of sugar, 18 00:01:02,304 --> 00:01:05,024 which left her teeth black and rotten. 19 00:01:06,264 --> 00:01:09,584 As she grew older, there were ever more desperate attempts 20 00:01:09,744 --> 00:01:13,904 to stay attractive and to cover her pock-marked face, 21 00:01:14,064 --> 00:01:17,424 caking on thick layers of white lead and vinegar 22 00:01:17,584 --> 00:01:20,504 to preserve the mask of youth. 23 00:01:21,624 --> 00:01:25,504 Welcome to The Private Lives of The Tudors. 24 00:01:45,104 --> 00:01:49,384 Princess Elizabeth was only third in line to the throne of England. 25 00:01:49,624 --> 00:01:53,184 So when her father, Henry VIII, died, aged 55, 26 00:01:53,344 --> 00:01:54,984 at his palace in Whitehall, 27 00:01:55,144 --> 00:01:58,224 the crown passed to her brother, Edward. 28 00:01:59,504 --> 00:02:02,024 But not wanting to declare Henry dead, 29 00:02:02,184 --> 00:02:05,024 his accession had to be kept a secret. 30 00:02:06,464 --> 00:02:08,224 They didn't want to risk people knowing 31 00:02:08,384 --> 00:02:10,424 that the country was without a king, 32 00:02:10,584 --> 00:02:13,344 so they even had meals delivered to Henry's room 33 00:02:13,504 --> 00:02:16,104 to make it look like he was still alive. 34 00:02:16,264 --> 00:02:21,024 But three days later, on the 31st of January, 1547, 35 00:02:21,184 --> 00:02:23,024 they announced the death of Henry 36 00:02:23,184 --> 00:02:27,744 and proclaimed his son King Edward VI of England. 37 00:02:32,104 --> 00:02:35,664 Aged just nine, and under the charge of the Privy Council, 38 00:02:35,824 --> 00:02:41,304 Edward was put into a rigid routine of ceremony and official business - 39 00:02:41,464 --> 00:02:46,624 a stark contrast to the glittering world of his father's court. 40 00:02:48,344 --> 00:02:51,784 The boy that arrives is a stranger. We know little about him. 41 00:02:51,944 --> 00:02:55,784 We see the king really only from a distance 42 00:02:55,944 --> 00:02:59,184 and darkly, as it were, through a glass. 43 00:03:00,544 --> 00:03:04,104 He has a very strong personality. He's bright. 44 00:03:05,104 --> 00:03:09,424 Like all of these children, he's self-confident about himself. 45 00:03:10,744 --> 00:03:17,144 But there's also this very cool, detached, very wilful personality - 46 00:03:17,304 --> 00:03:19,624 almost cold and peremptory. 47 00:03:22,744 --> 00:03:27,464 Evidence of this still survives in the king's personal writings. 48 00:03:29,024 --> 00:03:31,824 This is now my office at Hampton Court Palace, 49 00:03:31,984 --> 00:03:34,944 but it was originally built for Edward VI. 50 00:03:36,144 --> 00:03:37,464 And it may have been here 51 00:03:37,624 --> 00:03:41,064 that the young prince started his journal, aged about 11. 52 00:03:42,224 --> 00:03:45,424 Edward was the only one of the Tudors to keep a diary, 53 00:03:45,584 --> 00:03:50,504 but, sadly, it's rather lacking in titillating gossip and scandal, 54 00:03:50,664 --> 00:03:54,744 as you might expect for something written by someone so young. 55 00:03:54,904 --> 00:03:57,464 But it's also lacking in emotion. 56 00:03:57,624 --> 00:03:59,464 There's an entry from the day 57 00:03:59,624 --> 00:04:02,824 that Edward's favourite uncle was executed, 58 00:04:02,984 --> 00:04:04,544 and he simply records, 59 00:04:04,704 --> 00:04:11,504 "On this day, the Duke of Somerset had his head cut off on Tower Hill." 60 00:04:11,664 --> 00:04:15,544 The journal ends abruptly in 1553 61 00:04:15,704 --> 00:04:18,984 when Edward falls very seriously ill. 62 00:04:21,744 --> 00:04:24,424 Edward is stricken with a mystery illness - 63 00:04:24,584 --> 00:04:27,064 possibly some kind of chest infection, 64 00:04:27,224 --> 00:04:30,344 brought on by a recent bout of measles. 65 00:04:30,504 --> 00:04:33,824 He is reported to be suffering from shortness of breath 66 00:04:33,984 --> 00:04:35,904 and a dangerous fever. 67 00:04:38,464 --> 00:04:41,784 His reign is one of remarkably good health. 68 00:04:41,944 --> 00:04:44,584 He only has a bout of measles in 1552. 69 00:04:44,744 --> 00:04:47,824 That may be the start of things going wrong. 70 00:04:47,984 --> 00:04:50,264 WOMAN: It can be a much more serious disease 71 00:04:50,424 --> 00:04:52,384 than we often give it credit for being. 72 00:04:52,544 --> 00:04:56,304 Might have been tuberculosis, it might have been sweating sickness, 73 00:04:56,464 --> 00:04:59,624 but he was only weakened at the end of his life. 74 00:04:59,784 --> 00:05:01,784 He wasn't weak from day one. 75 00:05:03,464 --> 00:05:05,904 It was his father's greatest fear - 76 00:05:06,064 --> 00:05:08,704 Henry had obsessed about protecting Edward 77 00:05:08,864 --> 00:05:11,144 from any illness during his lifetime. 78 00:05:11,304 --> 00:05:15,984 But after only six years, five months and seven days on the throne, 79 00:05:16,144 --> 00:05:20,064 Edward was dead at the tender age of 15. 80 00:05:24,984 --> 00:05:28,944 The crown would now pass to his half-sister, Mary. 81 00:05:30,704 --> 00:05:32,824 She had a rocky start to her reign. 82 00:05:32,984 --> 00:05:35,504 Edward had been a staunch Protestant 83 00:05:35,664 --> 00:05:38,664 and didn't want a Catholic to inherit his crown. 84 00:05:38,824 --> 00:05:40,544 A plot to usurp Mary 85 00:05:40,704 --> 00:05:44,544 and place the Protestant Lady Jane Grey on the throne of England 86 00:05:44,704 --> 00:05:46,824 very nearly succeeded. 87 00:05:46,984 --> 00:05:52,424 But Mary was made of stronger stuff, and the attempt was short-lived. 88 00:05:54,784 --> 00:05:58,704 Mary's first priority as queen is to find a husband, 89 00:05:58,864 --> 00:06:02,864 and the man she chooses is Philip of Spain. 90 00:06:06,064 --> 00:06:08,984 The only reason she's having to think about a marriage 91 00:06:09,144 --> 00:06:12,584 is because she's been given the responsibility of being a queen, 92 00:06:12,744 --> 00:06:14,744 she now needs to ensure the succession. 93 00:06:14,904 --> 00:06:17,584 It's the first duty of a monarch. 94 00:06:20,584 --> 00:06:23,784 WOMAN: There are many stories about Mary Tudor. 95 00:06:23,944 --> 00:06:26,864 And one of those stories is that she fell in love 96 00:06:27,024 --> 00:06:31,624 with a portrait of Philip II - or Philip of Spain as he then was. 97 00:06:31,784 --> 00:06:35,224 Your Majesty, it is my pleasure and honour 98 00:06:35,384 --> 00:06:36,984 to present to you this image 99 00:06:37,144 --> 00:06:42,744 of his most Catholic Majesty, King Philip II of Spain! 100 00:06:44,544 --> 00:06:48,664 She falls instantly in love with him after seeing only his portrait. 101 00:06:48,824 --> 00:06:52,864 She's besotted, but she's also naive, 102 00:06:53,024 --> 00:06:55,224 not blessed with good looks, 103 00:06:55,384 --> 00:06:59,064 and, aged 37, is some 11 years his senior. 104 00:07:01,064 --> 00:07:03,704 I trust this is a fair likeness? 105 00:07:03,864 --> 00:07:08,824 The artist, Senor Titian, has captured His Majesty most perfectly. 106 00:07:08,984 --> 00:07:10,984 He pleases us well. 107 00:07:12,504 --> 00:07:16,424 The reality was that the marriage between Mary and Philip 108 00:07:16,584 --> 00:07:20,904 was a political marriage - as indeed all royal marriages were. 109 00:07:21,064 --> 00:07:24,864 She asked Charles V, Philip's father, 110 00:07:25,024 --> 00:07:27,824 who had been her protector for many years, 111 00:07:27,984 --> 00:07:30,584 who he wanted her to marry. 112 00:07:30,744 --> 00:07:33,984 And it was his son Philip that he urged upon her. 113 00:07:37,264 --> 00:07:41,944 Mary tried to present herself as a romantic wife, 114 00:07:42,104 --> 00:07:46,864 and may have gone through certain expressions of romantic love, 115 00:07:47,024 --> 00:07:50,824 but the reality for her was that it was a political marriage. 116 00:07:53,984 --> 00:07:56,144 For Philip, it was even more a political marriage. 117 00:07:56,304 --> 00:07:58,024 He didn't want to marry Mary at all. 118 00:07:58,184 --> 00:08:01,704 He was persuaded, if not coerced, by his father 119 00:08:01,864 --> 00:08:04,264 to accept Mary as his bride. 120 00:08:04,424 --> 00:08:06,504 Your Majesty, welcome. 121 00:08:07,664 --> 00:08:10,704 Upon arriving in England and meeting Mary for the first time, 122 00:08:10,864 --> 00:08:13,584 Philip finds her repugnant. 123 00:08:15,264 --> 00:08:17,384 He confides to a close attendant 124 00:08:17,544 --> 00:08:23,544 that Mary is no good from the point of view of fleshly sensuality. 125 00:08:23,704 --> 00:08:25,464 (SPEAKS SPANISH) 126 00:08:26,904 --> 00:08:31,464 But Philip does his duty, and he marries the English Queen. 127 00:08:37,264 --> 00:08:40,864 MURPHY: The marriage, when it happens in July 1554, 128 00:08:41,024 --> 00:08:42,664 goes quite well, really. 129 00:08:42,824 --> 00:08:47,024 Philip, he knows he's buying a woman who's past her best. 130 00:08:48,944 --> 00:08:51,904 WOMAN: Philip had been married before, and he'd fathered a son. 131 00:08:52,064 --> 00:08:55,464 This gave Mary hope that she could conceive a son for herself. 132 00:08:55,624 --> 00:08:57,584 There was also a large age gap between them. 133 00:08:57,744 --> 00:09:01,944 Philip was then 27 and Mary 38, so time was running out for her. 134 00:09:02,104 --> 00:09:04,424 She was very keen to get the marriage started 135 00:09:04,584 --> 00:09:06,424 and to share Philip's bed. 136 00:09:08,704 --> 00:09:13,464 Within days of her wedding to Philip, Mary believes she is pregnant. 137 00:09:13,624 --> 00:09:16,744 As the weeks progress, she shows all the signs - 138 00:09:16,904 --> 00:09:20,624 including morning sickness and a swollen belly. 139 00:09:20,784 --> 00:09:22,664 When the ninth month approaches, 140 00:09:22,824 --> 00:09:25,904 she enters her confinement at Hampton Court. 141 00:09:26,064 --> 00:09:29,904 Everything has been prepared for the royal birth. 142 00:09:32,344 --> 00:09:34,384 Mary believed she was pregnant 143 00:09:34,544 --> 00:09:36,704 because she had the symptoms of pregnancy. 144 00:09:36,864 --> 00:09:40,704 Her stomach swelled, it's even said that she was lactating. 145 00:09:40,864 --> 00:09:42,384 She felt nauseous 146 00:09:42,544 --> 00:09:45,904 and even her doctors were convinced that she was pregnant. 147 00:09:46,064 --> 00:09:49,464 The whole realm thought that Mary was pregnant. 148 00:09:55,384 --> 00:09:59,184 When Mary entered her confinement, her midwives and other attendants 149 00:09:59,344 --> 00:10:04,024 would have given her a special tonic, known as cordial. 150 00:10:04,184 --> 00:10:08,024 This comprised ale mixed with various other ingredients, 151 00:10:08,184 --> 00:10:12,944 such as sugar, honey, saffron, and ginger. 152 00:10:13,104 --> 00:10:17,384 It was believed that this cordial would strengthen the expectant mother 153 00:10:17,544 --> 00:10:19,744 for the labour that lay ahead. 154 00:10:19,904 --> 00:10:25,104 But the reality in Mary's case was that she didn't need it. 155 00:10:29,224 --> 00:10:32,784 SIM: At this stage, there is no way of knowing you're pregnant for sure. 156 00:10:32,944 --> 00:10:37,584 The sort of pregnancy tests that we have today are way in the future. 157 00:10:37,744 --> 00:10:40,544 Very difficult to know if you're definitely pregnant. 158 00:10:40,704 --> 00:10:46,304 Very easy to mistake pregnancy for a whole host of other things. 159 00:10:48,264 --> 00:10:53,264 In November, she thinks that she can feel the baby quicken inside her. 160 00:10:53,424 --> 00:10:56,144 She takes her chamber in May - 161 00:10:56,304 --> 00:10:59,424 this is when you depart into your private apartments 162 00:10:59,584 --> 00:11:01,184 and seal yourself off, 163 00:11:01,344 --> 00:11:04,424 which was a normal thing for a wealthy Tudor woman to do. 164 00:11:10,424 --> 00:11:12,584 But the due date comes and goes, 165 00:11:12,744 --> 00:11:16,464 and many weeks later, there is still no sign of a baby. 166 00:11:16,624 --> 00:11:19,024 Mary's stomach decreases in size 167 00:11:19,184 --> 00:11:22,944 and it becomes obvious that it was a phantom pregnancy. 168 00:11:26,344 --> 00:11:30,264 It has to be said that Mary was not the only woman in the 16th century 169 00:11:30,424 --> 00:11:32,624 who did have symptoms of pregnancy 170 00:11:32,784 --> 00:11:35,424 when they were not, in fact, pregnant. 171 00:11:36,624 --> 00:11:39,864 Phantom pregnancy is actually a known medical condition. 172 00:11:40,024 --> 00:11:43,944 It's basically where a woman is so desperate to get pregnant 173 00:11:44,104 --> 00:11:47,584 that her body is actually deceived into thinking that she is pregnant. 174 00:11:49,064 --> 00:11:52,184 Very sad, because of course Mary is made fun of 175 00:11:52,344 --> 00:11:56,904 by lots of people after the pregnancy is discovered to be false. 176 00:11:57,064 --> 00:12:00,144 It must have been a terrible tragedy for her. 177 00:12:03,704 --> 00:12:07,184 Not only did she have to suffer the public ridicule, 178 00:12:07,344 --> 00:12:10,984 but she was also seemingly abandoned by her husband. 179 00:12:12,304 --> 00:12:13,824 LICENCE: One of the things that happened 180 00:12:13,984 --> 00:12:16,024 as a result of her failing to bear a child 181 00:12:16,184 --> 00:12:18,584 was that Philip then left England 182 00:12:18,744 --> 00:12:21,184 and for over a year she was without him, 183 00:12:21,344 --> 00:12:22,704 begging him to return, 184 00:12:22,864 --> 00:12:24,864 knowing that she couldn't fall pregnant without him. 185 00:12:25,024 --> 00:12:27,344 So on a personal level and a dynastic level, 186 00:12:27,504 --> 00:12:30,984 it was a terrible blow for Mary as Queen and as a woman. 187 00:12:34,064 --> 00:12:35,704 But it wasn't the last time 188 00:12:35,864 --> 00:12:39,064 Mary would be mistaken in thinking she was pregnant, 189 00:12:39,224 --> 00:12:43,584 because two years later, she began to show signs of pregnancy again - 190 00:12:43,744 --> 00:12:46,224 although many had their doubts. 191 00:12:48,744 --> 00:12:51,624 MURPHY: The Queen believes herself to be pregnant. 192 00:12:51,784 --> 00:12:54,064 She can only believe that for two reasons - 193 00:12:54,224 --> 00:12:56,144 one, that Philip is back in England 194 00:12:56,304 --> 00:12:58,664 and, secondly, that they must have had intercourse again. 195 00:12:59,664 --> 00:13:01,264 LICENCE: She wrote to Philip, 196 00:13:01,424 --> 00:13:03,184 telling him that she was expecting a child. 197 00:13:03,344 --> 00:13:05,544 His response was that he was delighted. 198 00:13:05,704 --> 00:13:09,624 But in reality he was...he was quite sceptical, as was Mary's court. 199 00:13:11,624 --> 00:13:13,984 SIM: This time, hardly anybody believes her 200 00:13:14,144 --> 00:13:16,664 and I think it was just the closest of her ladies around her 201 00:13:16,824 --> 00:13:19,224 played along, because they didn't want to upset her. 202 00:13:21,304 --> 00:13:23,544 The gentlewomen of the privy chamber 203 00:13:23,704 --> 00:13:25,304 don't seem to treat her as if she's pregnant, 204 00:13:25,464 --> 00:13:28,104 and by the middle of the year, it's quite clear 205 00:13:28,264 --> 00:13:31,944 that whatever the queen believed was happening, it hasn't happened. 206 00:13:33,184 --> 00:13:36,104 Again, no arrangements were made for her lying-in. 207 00:13:36,264 --> 00:13:38,544 By the time that her due date arrived, 208 00:13:38,704 --> 00:13:40,904 there was a silence in court. 209 00:13:41,064 --> 00:13:44,504 She didn't go into confinement, and again the matter was dropped. 210 00:13:44,664 --> 00:13:47,264 (GROANS) 211 00:13:47,424 --> 00:13:50,864 They were right to doubt her - Mary wasn't pregnant. 212 00:13:51,024 --> 00:13:53,584 But she may have been gravely ill. 213 00:13:56,624 --> 00:14:02,144 By May 1558, Mary had become weak and dangerously sick. 214 00:14:05,144 --> 00:14:08,704 It seems possible that what she mistook for pregnancies 215 00:14:08,864 --> 00:14:11,984 were in fact something far more serious. 216 00:14:15,104 --> 00:14:17,024 There are a number of possibilities. 217 00:14:17,184 --> 00:14:19,024 The sweat was raging through England. 218 00:14:19,184 --> 00:14:21,904 But it seems likely, given these two phantom pregnancies, 219 00:14:22,064 --> 00:14:24,304 that she was suffering from some condition, 220 00:14:24,464 --> 00:14:28,424 possibly some form of cancer, that created these symptoms in her too. 221 00:14:30,904 --> 00:14:35,384 Some doctors have argued that what Mary was experiencing 222 00:14:35,544 --> 00:14:41,024 was a form of stomach bloating that was coming from some form of tumour, 223 00:14:41,184 --> 00:14:45,424 whether it was an ovarian tumour or whether it was a stomach tumour. 224 00:14:45,584 --> 00:14:47,624 There might have been other illnesses too 225 00:14:47,784 --> 00:14:49,704 that created those kinds of symptoms. 226 00:14:52,544 --> 00:14:58,944 Mary died later that year at St James' Palace in London, aged 42. 227 00:15:02,304 --> 00:15:05,264 Her husband, Philip, who was away in Brussels at the time, 228 00:15:05,424 --> 00:15:08,504 wrote of his regret at the passing of his wife. 229 00:15:10,704 --> 00:15:14,024 MURPHY: The idea that Philip doesn't have any feelings for Mary, 230 00:15:14,184 --> 00:15:16,144 I think is probably false. 231 00:15:16,304 --> 00:15:21,224 It may not be a love match, but he sees it as an important match, 232 00:15:21,384 --> 00:15:23,784 a family matter - if I can put it that way - 233 00:15:23,944 --> 00:15:26,304 that touches him deeply and personally, 234 00:15:26,464 --> 00:15:28,664 and he obviously respects her enormously. 235 00:15:29,664 --> 00:15:32,384 And that tells us something about Mary, I think, 236 00:15:32,544 --> 00:15:36,224 because to be respected by somebody like that - 237 00:15:36,384 --> 00:15:38,864 a man brought up to be King of Spain - 238 00:15:39,024 --> 00:15:41,344 I think that implies that Mary herself 239 00:15:41,504 --> 00:15:43,624 must have had more than we often see 240 00:15:43,784 --> 00:15:50,459 from the distance that we're allowed to get. 241 00:15:50,459 --> 00:15:54,899 It had taken the death of both her younger brother and her older sister, 242 00:15:55,059 --> 00:15:59,339 but it was finally time for Elizabeth to take her turn on the throne. 243 00:16:02,059 --> 00:16:07,339 Aged 25, Elizabeth was greeted with open arms by her subjects. 244 00:16:07,499 --> 00:16:11,379 As she paraded through the city on the eve of her coronation, 245 00:16:11,539 --> 00:16:15,539 she was met by enthusiastic and adoring crowds. 246 00:16:16,979 --> 00:16:20,939 This was the start of England's Golden Age. 247 00:16:24,819 --> 00:16:28,539 She was attractive, charismatic and vivacious, 248 00:16:28,699 --> 00:16:30,819 and by the time she became queen, 249 00:16:30,979 --> 00:16:34,259 Elizabeth had already won the love of her people. 250 00:16:34,419 --> 00:16:38,179 But alongside the celebrations that accompanied her accession, 251 00:16:38,339 --> 00:16:41,659 there was an underlying unease among her subjects 252 00:16:41,819 --> 00:16:46,099 that they were, once again, being ruled by a woman. 253 00:16:50,699 --> 00:16:52,819 Women were the possessions of their men, 254 00:16:52,979 --> 00:16:54,819 their husbands, or their fathers. 255 00:16:54,979 --> 00:16:56,379 They didn't own property. 256 00:16:56,539 --> 00:16:59,659 Everything they had, including themselves bodily, 257 00:16:59,819 --> 00:17:01,739 was the possession of their husband. 258 00:17:03,019 --> 00:17:07,859 People even debated in certain circles whether women had souls. 259 00:17:08,019 --> 00:17:09,539 It was that kind of level. 260 00:17:11,419 --> 00:17:13,779 But Elizabeth made it perfectly clear 261 00:17:13,939 --> 00:17:18,979 that she was no ordinary woman - she was a queen ordained by God. 262 00:17:19,139 --> 00:17:22,699 And whether they liked it or not, she was going to rule them. 263 00:17:24,459 --> 00:17:27,299 We think of women during the 16th century 264 00:17:27,459 --> 00:17:29,539 as being second-class citizens. 265 00:17:29,699 --> 00:17:33,499 We have to remember that status always trumped gender. 266 00:17:33,659 --> 00:17:38,219 Women who came from a noble or a gentry background 267 00:17:38,379 --> 00:17:41,859 would be able to exercise authority and power 268 00:17:42,019 --> 00:17:45,139 over men who were of a lower social status. 269 00:17:46,659 --> 00:17:50,059 It was a fairly unnatural concept for most English men, 270 00:17:50,219 --> 00:17:52,779 and English women, to be ruled by a woman 271 00:17:52,939 --> 00:17:55,739 who had the ultimate say politically, dynastically, 272 00:17:55,899 --> 00:17:57,979 over how the country was run. 273 00:17:59,459 --> 00:18:03,299 SIM: Part of people's fear of having a woman on the throne 274 00:18:03,459 --> 00:18:07,859 was practical, in that they didn't think that women could keep order. 275 00:18:08,019 --> 00:18:11,219 That's why Elizabeth's achievement was all the greater 276 00:18:11,379 --> 00:18:16,419 because she did so much manage to keep herself on top. 277 00:18:18,819 --> 00:18:23,939 Elizabeth understood PR and knew how to market herself to the public. 278 00:18:24,099 --> 00:18:26,139 One of the ways she did this 279 00:18:26,299 --> 00:18:30,259 was through the beautiful and elaborate clothes she wore at court. 280 00:18:31,899 --> 00:18:36,339 Elizabeth was an iconic figure. In terms of fashion, she set the style. 281 00:18:36,499 --> 00:18:40,019 Women wanted to look like her. Men wanted to be in her favour. 282 00:18:42,259 --> 00:18:46,179 She was exceedingly clever at making the best of what she had. 283 00:18:46,339 --> 00:18:48,139 She was never a wealthy monarch. 284 00:18:49,139 --> 00:18:52,859 All her clothes were recycled time and time again. 285 00:18:53,019 --> 00:18:56,059 You think of all that beautiful embroidery that she wore, 286 00:18:56,219 --> 00:19:00,059 it could be taken off one dress and put onto another one. 287 00:19:00,219 --> 00:19:02,739 She was style on a budget. 288 00:19:07,499 --> 00:19:09,859 To better understand how Elizabeth would have been dressed, 289 00:19:10,019 --> 00:19:13,139 I've come to meet collections curator Eleri Lynn 290 00:19:13,299 --> 00:19:16,379 in the costume department of Hampton Court Palace. 291 00:19:17,659 --> 00:19:19,499 I want to get some firsthand experience 292 00:19:19,659 --> 00:19:23,939 in what it would have been like to wear one her exquisite dresses. 293 00:19:25,139 --> 00:19:29,179 But to do that, I need to get out of my 21st-century clothes 294 00:19:29,339 --> 00:19:31,699 and into some historic underwear. 295 00:19:33,979 --> 00:19:38,539 So I'm all set in my Tudor undies, and do your worst now. 296 00:19:38,699 --> 00:19:42,259 This very unassuming layer is very, very important. 297 00:19:42,419 --> 00:19:43,779 So, you're in your linen smock. 298 00:19:43,939 --> 00:19:47,699 It absorbs the sweat of the body, keeping the outer garments clean. 299 00:19:47,859 --> 00:19:50,779 Most people would've changed their linens weekly, 300 00:19:50,939 --> 00:19:52,899 but as a member of the royal family, 301 00:19:53,059 --> 00:19:54,859 you're changing it many more times than that - 302 00:19:55,019 --> 00:19:56,739 possibly several times a day. 303 00:19:56,899 --> 00:19:58,579 It's quite a cumbersome procedure, isn't it? 304 00:19:58,739 --> 00:20:00,739 But I have to say, it feels nice. 305 00:20:00,899 --> 00:20:02,859 I suspect the other layers aren't going to feel 306 00:20:03,019 --> 00:20:04,899 quite as comfortable, but shall we get started? 307 00:20:05,059 --> 00:20:08,179 Absolutely. So, the next layer is your bodice. 308 00:20:10,419 --> 00:20:14,739 The Elizabethan bodice was a type of corset worn by the women of the age. 309 00:20:16,139 --> 00:20:19,939 What the Tudors didn't do was to get into their bodice straightaway 310 00:20:20,099 --> 00:20:21,699 and just lace it up, and that was that. 311 00:20:21,859 --> 00:20:23,259 They would do it in increments, 312 00:20:23,419 --> 00:20:25,859 because the whale bone that's in this bodice 313 00:20:26,019 --> 00:20:27,699 would have warmed with your body heat. 314 00:20:27,859 --> 00:20:29,939 So, it actually changes shape to your body? 315 00:20:30,099 --> 00:20:32,979 Yes, and becomes a bit more comfortable and a bit more pliable. 316 00:20:33,139 --> 00:20:35,459 Now you say whale bone. They're not real whale bone, surely. 317 00:20:35,619 --> 00:20:38,819 They don't go out hunting whales just in the name of fashion. 318 00:20:38,979 --> 00:20:41,859 In the 16th century, they had great voyages of discovery, 319 00:20:42,019 --> 00:20:45,019 of crossing the Atlantic and finding these huge whale fisheries, 320 00:20:45,179 --> 00:20:47,019 and they're bringing back all this whale bone. 321 00:20:48,699 --> 00:20:50,859 Whale bone, during the Elizabethan period, 322 00:20:51,019 --> 00:20:53,219 was a highly-prized commodity - 323 00:20:53,379 --> 00:20:56,819 so much so that it was considered a royal fish, 324 00:20:56,979 --> 00:21:00,699 meaning that, to this day, any whale found in English waters 325 00:21:00,859 --> 00:21:02,859 belongs to the monarch. 326 00:21:04,219 --> 00:21:06,899 Elizabeth is dressing not only for fashion, 327 00:21:07,059 --> 00:21:11,859 but to project her might and the power of her expanding empire. 328 00:21:12,019 --> 00:21:14,379 So, she wants to show all of these wonders. 329 00:21:14,539 --> 00:21:17,419 And what better way than to use whale bone 330 00:21:17,579 --> 00:21:20,259 in as many different ways as possible? 331 00:21:21,339 --> 00:21:23,339 Next to go on is the bum-roll, 332 00:21:23,499 --> 00:21:26,059 a kind of padded cushion often filled with feathers 333 00:21:26,219 --> 00:21:29,779 and tied around the waist so it hung at the back. 334 00:21:29,939 --> 00:21:34,099 This would act as support for the hooped skirt known as a farthingale, 335 00:21:34,259 --> 00:21:36,859 which would have been stiffened with either bone or cane 336 00:21:37,019 --> 00:21:42,059 to add the rigid shape we often associate with Elizabethan women. 337 00:21:43,619 --> 00:21:46,979 Now I've got the farthingale and the bum-roll, 338 00:21:47,139 --> 00:21:49,499 I'm beginning to get a feeling of what it must have been like 339 00:21:49,659 --> 00:21:52,499 to be a larger lady, and just the way I'm holding myself - 340 00:21:52,659 --> 00:21:54,419 I have to put my hands in front. 341 00:21:54,579 --> 00:21:55,939 You can't stand with them by your side, 342 00:21:56,099 --> 00:21:59,059 because it's uncomfortable and probably looks a bit stupid. 343 00:21:59,219 --> 00:22:00,819 You can suddenly understand why the Tudors 344 00:22:00,979 --> 00:22:02,459 are in the postures that they are. 345 00:22:04,179 --> 00:22:06,419 Tudor portraiture always shows the ladies 346 00:22:06,579 --> 00:22:09,739 with their hands sort of crossed or holding something. 347 00:22:11,699 --> 00:22:13,699 The next layer is the petticoat, 348 00:22:13,859 --> 00:22:17,339 followed by the elaborately decorated outer garment. 349 00:22:17,499 --> 00:22:20,379 This was the most opulent and expensive layer, 350 00:22:20,539 --> 00:22:23,459 often made from hugely valuable fabrics 351 00:22:23,619 --> 00:22:27,379 such as silk and cotton imported from the Middle East, 352 00:22:27,539 --> 00:22:29,979 or fine velvets from Italy. 353 00:22:30,139 --> 00:22:34,299 And possibly the most recognisable item of Elizabethan clothing, 354 00:22:34,459 --> 00:22:38,699 the ruff - made from the finest linen from Holland. 355 00:22:43,019 --> 00:22:47,859 OK, so I've got my dress, I've got my ruff. Where's the bling? 356 00:22:48,019 --> 00:22:49,259 I need some jewellery. 357 00:22:49,419 --> 00:22:52,379 Elizabeth loved her diamonds and pearls and rubies. 358 00:22:52,539 --> 00:22:54,619 Can we have a little bit of that perhaps? 359 00:22:56,179 --> 00:22:59,059 Elizabeth was particularly keen on her pearls, 360 00:22:59,219 --> 00:23:01,939 and is seen wearing them in many of her portraits. 361 00:23:02,099 --> 00:23:04,819 This was because they were considered to be pure 362 00:23:04,979 --> 00:23:09,179 and were used in Tudor symbolism to represent virginity. 363 00:23:10,819 --> 00:23:12,979 She had a huge collection of jewels, 364 00:23:13,139 --> 00:23:16,379 many of them she'd inherited off her father, from his many wives. 365 00:23:16,539 --> 00:23:20,179 One ring that we know is missing from your fingers now 366 00:23:20,339 --> 00:23:24,899 is a locket ring that she was found wearing when she died. 367 00:23:26,099 --> 00:23:28,019 It was a jewelled ring, like any other, 368 00:23:28,179 --> 00:23:32,099 but it opened, and inside was a silhouette of herself, 369 00:23:32,259 --> 00:23:35,219 but also a lady in much earlier Tudor dress 370 00:23:35,379 --> 00:23:37,219 looking very, very much like 371 00:23:37,379 --> 00:23:39,499 the portraits that we know of Anne Boleyn. 372 00:23:41,739 --> 00:23:44,579 So before we're quite finished there is the piece de resistance, 373 00:23:44,739 --> 00:23:47,699 the crowning glory - of course, the wig. 374 00:23:49,779 --> 00:23:53,659 Thanks to my able dressers here, I have all of my outfit complete - 375 00:23:53,819 --> 00:23:58,899 my wig, my jewels, my beautiful gown, and what lies underneath. 376 00:23:59,059 --> 00:24:01,939 I'm ready to sally forth into court, am I not? 377 00:24:06,779 --> 00:24:09,179 LICENCE: She knew how to make an entrance. 378 00:24:09,339 --> 00:24:12,099 She knew how to capture her image in terms of portraits. 379 00:24:12,259 --> 00:24:16,059 And that was really the prevailing ideal of beauty of the time. 380 00:24:17,859 --> 00:24:20,459 SIM: One big advantage that Elizabeth had 381 00:24:20,619 --> 00:24:22,779 was the fact that she had inherited 382 00:24:22,939 --> 00:24:25,939 her mother, Anne Boleyn's, sense of style. 383 00:24:27,139 --> 00:24:28,779 She did start off reasonably good looking - 384 00:24:28,939 --> 00:24:32,539 she had all that twist of being able to just look particularly good 385 00:24:32,699 --> 00:24:35,179 and also had incredible charisma. 386 00:24:35,339 --> 00:24:39,579 So, Elizabeth was able to stand out amongst her ladies. 387 00:24:40,579 --> 00:24:42,219 Clothing was important to Elizabeth. 388 00:24:42,379 --> 00:24:45,939 It wasn't just an aesthetic question, it was about status. 389 00:24:46,099 --> 00:24:48,019 The more bling, the better. 390 00:24:48,179 --> 00:24:50,859 So if she could incorporate jewels, pearls, 391 00:24:51,019 --> 00:24:53,179 different rich fabrics into her costume, 392 00:24:53,339 --> 00:24:55,219 the more status she projected. 393 00:24:55,379 --> 00:24:57,739 It was a very important status symbol, 394 00:24:57,899 --> 00:25:01,099 a very important sign of her power as queen. 395 00:25:04,139 --> 00:25:08,339 In public, Elizabeth carried herself with an air of self-assurance. 396 00:25:08,499 --> 00:25:09,819 She was confident, 397 00:25:09,979 --> 00:25:13,299 and acted upon matters of state with decisive action, 398 00:25:13,459 --> 00:25:17,099 defying the expectations of many of her critics. 399 00:25:18,939 --> 00:25:21,099 But for the more cynical members of her court, 400 00:25:21,259 --> 00:25:25,659 there could be only one reason for her display of strong leadership. 401 00:25:27,979 --> 00:25:31,859 There were many rumours about Elizabeth's sexuality, 402 00:25:32,019 --> 00:25:33,419 about her gender, 403 00:25:33,579 --> 00:25:36,299 because she exhibited various masculine qualities 404 00:25:36,459 --> 00:25:40,659 such as strength and the ability to make a decision, authority. 405 00:25:40,819 --> 00:25:44,259 And the belief was that a woman couldn't actually display these, 406 00:25:44,419 --> 00:25:45,819 so the logical outcome 407 00:25:45,979 --> 00:25:48,779 was that surely Elizabeth must be a man in disguise. 408 00:25:51,059 --> 00:25:53,979 Elizabeth was well aware of these attitudes, 409 00:25:54,139 --> 00:25:56,299 and played the game very cleverly. 410 00:25:56,459 --> 00:25:58,939 She pretended to regret her sex, 411 00:25:59,099 --> 00:26:02,979 famously lamenting that she was "a weak and feeble woman." 412 00:26:03,139 --> 00:26:07,019 But her reign would prove that this was just play-acting - 413 00:26:07,179 --> 00:26:12,379 far from being constrained by her sex, she used it as a weapon. 414 00:26:17,179 --> 00:26:19,819 Elizabeth used her sexuality at court for certain, 415 00:26:19,979 --> 00:26:21,739 because it was a function of her gender. 416 00:26:21,899 --> 00:26:26,019 As a woman, she interacted with the male courtiers 417 00:26:26,179 --> 00:26:28,139 in a different way than a king would have done. 418 00:26:28,299 --> 00:26:30,539 She played up to them like lovers, 419 00:26:30,699 --> 00:26:33,339 and she had favourites and she gave them nicknames. 420 00:26:34,499 --> 00:26:37,259 This represented a very different style of queen-ship. 421 00:26:37,419 --> 00:26:39,379 She was inventing something new. 422 00:26:39,539 --> 00:26:43,099 She was establishing a court where she was the queen bee. 423 00:26:44,579 --> 00:26:49,899 She expected men to write poetry to her and pay her fulsome compliments, 424 00:26:50,059 --> 00:26:53,379 treat her almost like a mistress. 425 00:26:53,539 --> 00:26:55,539 And I think she enjoyed every minute of it. 426 00:26:58,019 --> 00:27:00,339 DORAN: Elizabeth could be flirtatious, 427 00:27:00,499 --> 00:27:01,899 and she could be teasing, 428 00:27:02,059 --> 00:27:05,739 but for the most part, she used something else, I think, 429 00:27:05,899 --> 00:27:10,299 as a political weapon, and that was courtly love. 430 00:27:10,459 --> 00:27:13,579 She was an object of devotion. 431 00:27:13,739 --> 00:27:16,779 She would have knights who would do her service 432 00:27:16,939 --> 00:27:19,299 and would be utterly devoted to her, 433 00:27:19,459 --> 00:27:21,499 but they did not have any expectation 434 00:27:21,659 --> 00:27:23,139 of a sexual relationship with her. 435 00:27:23,299 --> 00:27:27,019 And Elizabeth played on that a great deal, as did her courtiers. 436 00:27:29,219 --> 00:27:32,259 Like all monarchs, Elizabeth was expected to marry 437 00:27:32,419 --> 00:27:33,819 and produce an heir. 438 00:27:33,979 --> 00:27:37,099 But she made it clear from the outset of her reign 439 00:27:37,259 --> 00:27:40,339 that she had no intention of taking a husband. 440 00:27:42,299 --> 00:27:45,259 It has been assumed that this was pure state-craft. 441 00:27:45,419 --> 00:27:47,899 She did not wish to be ruled by a man. 442 00:27:48,059 --> 00:27:51,459 But the real reason behind Elizabeth's refusal to marry 443 00:27:51,619 --> 00:27:56,099 lay in her private fears, sparked by her childhood traumas. 444 00:27:56,259 --> 00:27:59,139 She had just been shy of three years old 445 00:27:59,299 --> 00:28:03,819 when her mother Anne had been executed at the orders of her father. 446 00:28:03,979 --> 00:28:07,579 Five years later, her stepmother, Catherine Howard, 447 00:28:07,739 --> 00:28:10,059 had followed Anne to the block. 448 00:28:10,219 --> 00:28:12,819 Horrified, the eight-year-old Elizabeth 449 00:28:12,979 --> 00:28:16,179 had confided to her companion Robert Dudley 450 00:28:16,339 --> 00:28:19,899 that she herself would never marry. 451 00:28:23,059 --> 00:28:26,339 Her big problem was that she couldn't marry 452 00:28:26,499 --> 00:28:28,019 without compromising her authority 453 00:28:28,179 --> 00:28:30,499 because, at that time, a man was always thought 454 00:28:30,659 --> 00:28:32,539 to have authority over his wife. 455 00:28:32,699 --> 00:28:35,539 And Elizabeth was certainly not going to do that. 456 00:28:35,699 --> 00:28:39,379 Elizabeth was faced by the question of whether she would marry, 457 00:28:39,539 --> 00:28:41,179 because women were not perceived 458 00:28:41,339 --> 00:28:44,139 to be able to govern themselves independently. 459 00:28:44,299 --> 00:28:46,699 When you married as a woman, 460 00:28:46,859 --> 00:28:49,139 you literally became your husband's chattel. 461 00:28:49,299 --> 00:28:52,339 Anything that you possessed before you were married 462 00:28:52,499 --> 00:28:53,819 became your husband's. 463 00:28:53,979 --> 00:28:56,899 So you could bring a fortune to that marriage 464 00:28:57,059 --> 00:29:00,379 and your husband could spend that entire fortune on his mistress, 465 00:29:00,539 --> 00:29:02,579 and there was nothing that you could do about it. 466 00:29:05,059 --> 00:29:10,539 But there was also another reason - she was afraid of giving birth. 467 00:29:12,659 --> 00:29:16,979 Elizabeth had seen the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth firsthand. 468 00:29:17,139 --> 00:29:18,779 She had experienced the death 469 00:29:18,939 --> 00:29:22,019 of her stepmother, Catherine Parr, during her teens, 470 00:29:22,179 --> 00:29:23,899 and she knew that that was something 471 00:29:24,059 --> 00:29:26,179 that could derail her from the throne. 472 00:29:26,339 --> 00:29:30,379 It also meant if she married, she'd have to give power to her husband. 473 00:29:30,539 --> 00:29:32,179 She would become second place. 474 00:29:32,339 --> 00:29:37,899 And the idea of going through the pregnancy and the birth itself, 475 00:29:38,059 --> 00:29:40,179 with all the physical weakness that would cause, 476 00:29:40,339 --> 00:29:41,859 wasn't particularly compatible 477 00:29:42,019 --> 00:29:44,779 with her presentation of either the Virgin Queen 478 00:29:44,939 --> 00:29:47,939 or the ultimate power that she personally wanted to wield. 479 00:29:49,939 --> 00:29:54,139 Elizabeth was not inclined to marry, but neither was she prepared 480 00:29:54,299 --> 00:29:57,379 to completely restrain her sexual desires. 481 00:30:02,419 --> 00:30:06,099 Whether or not Elizabeth I was really the Virgin Queen 482 00:30:06,259 --> 00:30:09,739 has been one of the most hotly debated subjects in history. 483 00:30:09,899 --> 00:30:14,059 Although her iconic image was rooted in her virginal state, 484 00:30:14,219 --> 00:30:18,219 rumours about her sexual misconduct with a whole host of men 485 00:30:18,379 --> 00:30:20,699 were forever breaking out. 486 00:30:25,059 --> 00:30:27,579 She did have relationships at court, 487 00:30:27,739 --> 00:30:30,819 but just how far these went took place behind closed doors. 488 00:30:32,059 --> 00:30:36,059 She did have a relationship with some of her courtiers 489 00:30:36,219 --> 00:30:42,739 which was more intimate, sometimes expressed even in physical touching. 490 00:30:42,899 --> 00:30:45,219 It was erotically charged, 491 00:30:45,379 --> 00:30:47,299 and this created a style at her court 492 00:30:47,459 --> 00:30:49,819 which was obviously very different 493 00:30:49,979 --> 00:30:52,979 from that of her sister or her brother, 494 00:30:53,139 --> 00:30:58,309 and indeed even that of Henry VIII. 495 00:30:58,309 --> 00:31:01,229 Among Elizabeth's many flirtatious relationships 496 00:31:01,389 --> 00:31:02,829 with her male courtiers, 497 00:31:02,989 --> 00:31:05,549 the one that inspired by far the most gossip 498 00:31:05,709 --> 00:31:09,349 was that with her longstanding confidant, Robert Dudley. 499 00:31:09,509 --> 00:31:13,749 Friends since childhood, by the time that Elizabeth became queen, 500 00:31:13,909 --> 00:31:16,349 they were inseparable. 501 00:31:23,309 --> 00:31:25,269 A year after her accession, 502 00:31:25,429 --> 00:31:27,309 she had Dudley's bedchamber moved 503 00:31:27,469 --> 00:31:29,629 next to her own private apartments, 504 00:31:29,789 --> 00:31:31,149 in order to make it easier 505 00:31:31,309 --> 00:31:32,989 for them to meet in secret. 506 00:31:33,149 --> 00:31:37,069 Before long, their relationship was causing so much scandal 507 00:31:37,229 --> 00:31:41,869 that Elizabeth had to go to great lengths to conceal it. 508 00:31:45,149 --> 00:31:47,589 A very clear favourite from the start was Robert Dudley, 509 00:31:47,749 --> 00:31:50,869 with whom Elizabeth seemed to be very much in love 510 00:31:51,029 --> 00:31:52,989 in the early part of her reign. 511 00:31:53,149 --> 00:31:56,069 She had nicknames for him, she kept his letters, 512 00:31:56,229 --> 00:31:58,229 they spent a lot of time together. 513 00:31:59,469 --> 00:32:02,149 I think it most likely that Elizabeth was aware, 514 00:32:02,309 --> 00:32:05,389 as she said often, that she was married to her kingdom first 515 00:32:05,549 --> 00:32:07,069 and that everything else came second. 516 00:32:08,589 --> 00:32:11,269 Quite possibly, she had to subjugate the personal 517 00:32:11,429 --> 00:32:14,789 into the dynastic, the political. 518 00:32:14,949 --> 00:32:17,109 Was prepared to have emotional connections 519 00:32:17,269 --> 00:32:19,149 but not necessarily physical ones. 520 00:32:20,909 --> 00:32:23,629 What made their relationship all the more scandalous 521 00:32:23,789 --> 00:32:26,829 was that Dudley was already married. 522 00:32:31,549 --> 00:32:33,909 Things came to a head when his wife, Amy Dudley, 523 00:32:34,069 --> 00:32:38,429 was found dead at the bottom of a short flight of stairs. 524 00:32:41,549 --> 00:32:46,069 Elizabeth and her alleged lover were both implicated in the death. 525 00:32:47,469 --> 00:32:48,909 She couldn't marry him, 526 00:32:49,069 --> 00:32:53,149 particularly after his wife, Amy, died in mysterious circumstances. 527 00:32:53,309 --> 00:32:56,589 She simply couldn't allow her name to be linked 528 00:32:56,749 --> 00:32:58,989 to what was possibly a murder plot. 529 00:33:01,389 --> 00:33:04,149 The rumours at court spread like wildfire. 530 00:33:04,309 --> 00:33:07,349 There were accusations that Dudley had his wife killed 531 00:33:07,509 --> 00:33:10,949 so he was free to marry Elizabeth. 532 00:33:13,029 --> 00:33:14,989 Although these claims were unsubstantiated, 533 00:33:15,149 --> 00:33:19,989 they were enough to force the queen to distance herself from Dudley. 534 00:33:22,789 --> 00:33:27,829 There were even those who said she secretly bore him a love child. 535 00:33:31,069 --> 00:33:33,349 Whether the relationship actually became physical, 536 00:33:33,509 --> 00:33:35,349 we can't say for certain. 537 00:33:35,509 --> 00:33:38,389 There was no recorded pregnancy as a result, 538 00:33:38,549 --> 00:33:40,429 but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. 539 00:33:40,589 --> 00:33:42,709 DORAN: She was a very cautious lady, 540 00:33:42,869 --> 00:33:46,149 so that I don't think she would've engaged in any sex 541 00:33:46,309 --> 00:33:48,149 that would have risked pregnancy. 542 00:33:48,309 --> 00:33:50,749 But that doesn't mean to say that it wasn't sexual 543 00:33:50,909 --> 00:33:53,789 in the sense of erotic. 544 00:33:56,589 --> 00:33:58,589 Elizabeth probably was bearing in mind, though, 545 00:33:58,749 --> 00:34:01,829 the danger to herself if she did conceive a child. 546 00:34:01,989 --> 00:34:04,069 She didn't want to run that risk. 547 00:34:05,709 --> 00:34:09,829 Sex outside of marriage in Elizabethan England was widespread 548 00:34:09,989 --> 00:34:13,229 and there were even books published on the subject of lovemaking. 549 00:34:13,389 --> 00:34:18,269 But having children out of wedlock was a different matter altogether, 550 00:34:18,429 --> 00:34:21,229 so they had to find ways to prevent this. 551 00:34:23,309 --> 00:34:28,429 Birth control, in the Tudor period, was rudimentary, to say the least. 552 00:34:28,589 --> 00:34:31,909 Some methods admittedly would still be employed today, 553 00:34:32,069 --> 00:34:33,789 such as coitus interruptus, 554 00:34:33,949 --> 00:34:38,269 or the rhythm method - whereby a woman would abstain from sex 555 00:34:38,429 --> 00:34:40,989 during her most fertile period. 556 00:34:41,149 --> 00:34:46,189 But most of the Tudor methods of birth control were outlandish. 557 00:34:47,509 --> 00:34:50,549 Some women wore amulets around the neck or thigh, 558 00:34:50,709 --> 00:34:52,709 often containing herbs that they believed 559 00:34:52,869 --> 00:34:57,869 to have contraceptive properties, such as honeysuckle or oil of mint. 560 00:34:58,029 --> 00:35:01,789 But bizarrely, they would also sometimes contain oddities 561 00:35:01,949 --> 00:35:07,909 such as dried cat's liver, donkey dung, or even weasel's testicles. 562 00:35:09,469 --> 00:35:15,389 But the most common methods involved inserting some kind of barrier, 563 00:35:15,549 --> 00:35:18,669 whether that was - bizarrely - a slice of lemon, 564 00:35:18,829 --> 00:35:22,589 or perhaps a piece of wax moulded to shape. 565 00:35:22,749 --> 00:35:26,669 But the most popular was a sponge. 566 00:35:26,829 --> 00:35:31,109 Now, this would be cut up and soaked in vinegar. 567 00:35:31,269 --> 00:35:35,389 The reason was that vinegar was believed to be doubly effective, 568 00:35:35,549 --> 00:35:38,469 because not only did it help the sponge 569 00:35:38,629 --> 00:35:40,709 to provide some sort of barrier, 570 00:35:40,869 --> 00:35:46,029 but the vinegar itself was thought to naturally repel a man's sperm. 571 00:35:47,229 --> 00:35:50,469 Well, if Elizabeth had relied on any of these methods 572 00:35:50,629 --> 00:35:53,389 in order to prevent herself from falling pregnant, 573 00:35:53,549 --> 00:35:57,589 she would have been taking an enormous risk. 574 00:36:02,189 --> 00:36:04,469 I'm not sure that there was any contraception 575 00:36:04,629 --> 00:36:08,389 that really worked in Tudor England at all. 576 00:36:09,989 --> 00:36:13,989 There was a form of post-coitus contraception - 577 00:36:14,149 --> 00:36:18,269 in other words, a form of early abortion - that was practised, 578 00:36:18,429 --> 00:36:22,669 through herbal remedies being used to induce an abortion. 579 00:36:22,829 --> 00:36:27,229 These were the ways in which historians now think 580 00:36:27,389 --> 00:36:30,069 that contraception was practised. 581 00:36:33,309 --> 00:36:34,789 Whether they worked or not, 582 00:36:34,949 --> 00:36:38,069 most women would have learned about these birth control methods 583 00:36:38,229 --> 00:36:40,189 through their female friends. 584 00:36:40,349 --> 00:36:42,429 Although Elizabeth did not have friends 585 00:36:42,589 --> 00:36:46,469 in the true sense of the word, she did become very close 586 00:36:46,629 --> 00:36:49,709 to a number of her most intimate attendants. 587 00:36:49,869 --> 00:36:53,349 They included Elizabeth Fiennes de Clinton - 588 00:36:53,509 --> 00:36:57,749 who facilitated her royal mistress's meetings with her male courtiers - 589 00:36:57,909 --> 00:37:00,909 and her old governess Kat Astley, 590 00:37:01,069 --> 00:37:04,709 who knew many of her most intimate secrets. 591 00:37:04,869 --> 00:37:07,069 At least one of Elizabeth's ladies 592 00:37:07,229 --> 00:37:09,589 would even sleep in the same room as her. 593 00:37:09,749 --> 00:37:12,749 This meant they were able to run errands for the queen 594 00:37:12,909 --> 00:37:14,469 at a moment's notice. 595 00:37:14,629 --> 00:37:17,269 She did have a lot of ladies who served her faithfully 596 00:37:17,429 --> 00:37:19,469 all the way through her life. 597 00:37:19,629 --> 00:37:23,029 Having said that, she was very bad-tempered, 598 00:37:23,189 --> 00:37:25,629 and when her life got stressy, 599 00:37:25,789 --> 00:37:29,909 the ladies could find themselves treated really quite badly. 600 00:37:30,069 --> 00:37:31,429 They were pinched, 601 00:37:31,589 --> 00:37:35,029 and in fact she even broke the finger of one of her ladies. 602 00:37:35,189 --> 00:37:41,184 So she could be a very difficult woman to work for. 603 00:37:41,184 --> 00:37:43,624 As age began to overtake Elizabeth 604 00:37:43,784 --> 00:37:45,344 and she had to face the fact 605 00:37:45,504 --> 00:37:48,584 that she was no longer the most desirable woman at court, 606 00:37:48,744 --> 00:37:52,704 she underwent an increasingly elaborate routine 607 00:37:52,864 --> 00:37:55,064 of dressing and make-up, 608 00:37:55,224 --> 00:37:59,064 including the use of a series of outlandish wigs 609 00:37:59,224 --> 00:38:01,864 as well as white lead on her face 610 00:38:02,024 --> 00:38:05,984 which, ironically, did more to corrode her skin 611 00:38:06,144 --> 00:38:09,224 than ageing ever could. 612 00:38:13,624 --> 00:38:16,744 LICENCE: Elizabeth notoriously took a long time to get herself ready, 613 00:38:16,904 --> 00:38:20,664 to make herself presentable - it was very much a theatrical process. 614 00:38:20,824 --> 00:38:24,104 She would've had her ladies ready to help prepare her skin. 615 00:38:24,264 --> 00:38:27,704 DORAN: She would use various compounds 616 00:38:27,864 --> 00:38:31,224 in order to make it whiter, to make it softer, 617 00:38:31,384 --> 00:38:33,264 and also to hide the blemishes, 618 00:38:33,424 --> 00:38:36,624 which she had as a result of small pox. 619 00:38:38,024 --> 00:38:42,904 But Elizabeth's looks also fell victim to her ever-expanding empire. 620 00:38:43,064 --> 00:38:45,344 This was the Age of Discovery, 621 00:38:45,504 --> 00:38:48,024 and things that were once rare delicacies 622 00:38:48,184 --> 00:38:51,384 were now commonplace in the royal court. 623 00:38:53,104 --> 00:38:56,144 Elizabethan explorers were bringing back sugar 624 00:38:56,304 --> 00:38:59,544 in greater quantities than ever before, 625 00:38:59,704 --> 00:39:04,144 and nobody benefited more from this than the queen herself. 626 00:39:04,304 --> 00:39:07,504 Elizabeth was said to eat sparingly, 627 00:39:07,664 --> 00:39:10,504 but she had an incredibly sweet tooth. 628 00:39:10,664 --> 00:39:12,824 She would add sugar to everything - 629 00:39:12,984 --> 00:39:18,464 not just cakes and chocolates, but to wine and even salads. 630 00:39:18,624 --> 00:39:24,184 And to make matters worse, Elizabeth used honey to clean her teeth. 631 00:39:24,344 --> 00:39:29,104 Well, not surprisingly, those teeth soon started to rot and fall out, 632 00:39:29,264 --> 00:39:31,704 which made Elizabeth's appearance change. 633 00:39:31,864 --> 00:39:37,864 Her face seemed rather gaunt, so she used what were known as plumpers - 634 00:39:38,024 --> 00:39:41,384 pieces of cloth that she would stuff into her cheek 635 00:39:41,544 --> 00:39:44,784 to make herself appear as she did before. 636 00:39:44,944 --> 00:39:47,544 Well, these had another advantage, 637 00:39:47,704 --> 00:39:50,184 because the plumpers would first be soaked 638 00:39:50,344 --> 00:39:53,824 in some sweet-smelling oil or potion, 639 00:39:53,984 --> 00:39:58,824 which helped to offset the stench of Elizabeth's foul breath. 640 00:40:02,464 --> 00:40:05,024 Towards the latter part of her life, 641 00:40:05,184 --> 00:40:07,944 Elizabeth was practically bald and toothless... 642 00:40:09,304 --> 00:40:13,904 ..a secret that the young Earl of Essex accidentally discovered. 643 00:40:17,384 --> 00:40:20,544 The audacious earl, who was more than 30 years her junior, 644 00:40:20,704 --> 00:40:26,864 played court to her, like a lover, and Elizabeth was obsessed with him. 645 00:40:27,024 --> 00:40:30,024 But their liaison came to an abrupt end 646 00:40:30,184 --> 00:40:33,744 when he burst into her bedchamber early one morning. 647 00:40:33,904 --> 00:40:36,264 Who's there? Your Majesty, it's the Earl of Essex. 648 00:40:36,424 --> 00:40:38,984 How dare you come here unannounced? Get away from here. 649 00:40:40,864 --> 00:40:42,624 (ALL GASP) 650 00:40:42,784 --> 00:40:48,224 He was aghast to see her stripped of her usual thick make-up and wigs. 651 00:40:48,384 --> 00:40:51,944 At court he laughed with his friends about what he had seen, 652 00:40:52,104 --> 00:40:54,384 saying she had a "crooked carcass" 653 00:40:55,664 --> 00:40:58,384 But Elizabeth had the last laugh. 654 00:40:58,544 --> 00:41:02,144 She had him executed shortly afterwards. 655 00:41:07,344 --> 00:41:10,344 SIM: This is a time when no person of any standing 656 00:41:10,504 --> 00:41:12,224 is ever left on their own. 657 00:41:12,384 --> 00:41:13,944 You are always surrounded by people, 658 00:41:14,104 --> 00:41:15,944 as a sign to how much influence you have. 659 00:41:16,104 --> 00:41:19,984 So, private life wasn't ever really in it for them. 660 00:41:24,264 --> 00:41:28,504 As time went by, Elizabeth's reign continued with strength 661 00:41:28,664 --> 00:41:30,344 and the love of her people. 662 00:41:30,504 --> 00:41:34,064 But while the years brought her reverence and respect, 663 00:41:34,224 --> 00:41:37,024 they also brought her loneliness. 664 00:41:37,184 --> 00:41:40,784 She had outlived most of her longest-serving confidants 665 00:41:40,944 --> 00:41:45,544 and her flirtatious liaisons and romances had all but ceased. 666 00:41:47,264 --> 00:41:49,704 It was also noted by witnesses at court, 667 00:41:49,864 --> 00:41:54,904 that the once vivacious and beautiful queen had started to fade. 668 00:41:57,824 --> 00:42:00,104 Elizabeth, at the end of her life, in private, 669 00:42:00,264 --> 00:42:03,904 would definitely have been no oil painting. 670 00:42:05,464 --> 00:42:08,064 LICENCE: In later years, as she aged, 671 00:42:08,224 --> 00:42:11,304 she deliberately asked for this to be concealed, 672 00:42:11,464 --> 00:42:14,984 and portraits were created to make her look young still and youthful. 673 00:42:16,464 --> 00:42:21,624 By the age of 69, Elizabeth had sat on the throne for 44 years. 674 00:42:21,784 --> 00:42:24,584 And having been married only to her country, 675 00:42:24,744 --> 00:42:27,784 she was to be the last of the Tudor dynasty. 676 00:42:30,504 --> 00:42:35,704 But her memory and her family's legacy would continue to live on. 677 00:42:36,904 --> 00:42:38,584 I think the Tudors are remembered 678 00:42:38,744 --> 00:42:40,824 the way they'd like to be remembered, 679 00:42:40,984 --> 00:42:43,824 particularly Elizabeth I and Henry VIII, 680 00:42:43,984 --> 00:42:46,624 because I would imagine that most of our first thoughts 681 00:42:46,784 --> 00:42:51,344 would be those famous portraits by people like Holbein, of Henry, 682 00:42:51,504 --> 00:42:54,264 the Armada portrait for Elizabeth - 683 00:42:54,424 --> 00:42:57,304 which show them in full splendour, 684 00:42:57,464 --> 00:42:59,824 exactly the way they wanted to be remembered. 685 00:42:59,984 --> 00:43:03,104 So I think you have to say they got it right. 686 00:43:05,384 --> 00:43:07,064 To the very last, 687 00:43:07,224 --> 00:43:11,304 she continued with her public duties and ruled with authority. 688 00:43:12,704 --> 00:43:14,984 But she began to suffer from ill health, 689 00:43:15,144 --> 00:43:18,184 which made her increasingly debilitated. 690 00:43:21,024 --> 00:43:24,384 Elizabeth's reign was coming to a close. 691 00:43:32,744 --> 00:43:39,184 She died in her private bedchamber at Richmond Palace in March 1603, 692 00:43:39,344 --> 00:43:42,704 surrounded by only her closest female attendants. 693 00:43:42,864 --> 00:43:49,304 It was a death that was both dignified and, fittingly, private. 694 00:43:52,664 --> 00:43:55,344 Captions by Ericsson Access Services (c) SBS Australia 2016