“ I hope you will be faithful, loyal, and serviceable, to the Queen’s Majesty, my Sovereign, who to me, under God, is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” pg. 123

To me these words from Earl Gilbert Talbot show just how important Elizabeth was even before her death. She was monarch worthy of respect, and to many like Gilbert the question of her gender simply did not matter. 

One part of the story of Elizabeth I was how she used different royal titles in different situations. She seems to have often used the title of King or Prince whenever she wanted to stress her professionalism and her authority, and to have used the titles of Queen and Princess in more casual or affectionately themed settings. She appears to have also used the title of Prince to separate herself from her cousin Mary, who was also a princess; this is discussed in the chapter of “Elizabeth as King and Queen”. I think her use of the masculine titles shows not only the part of her that, as heir to the throne, was willing to conform to the traditional role of a monarch, but also the more daring womanly side of her. I do  not know whether other queens in the past had ever called themselves by the male titles or not, but the emphasis based on how Elizabeth used titles in this book leads me to believe the other ruling women refrained from such actions. Elizabeth appears to have been a clever and daring ruler, and those two traits seem to have helped her appear to the subjects she ruled over in a more appealing way than either of the previous two queens of England.

“So both by God’s law and the interpretation of the Holy Ghost, women are utterly forbidden to occupy the place of God in the offices ‘foresaid, which he has assigned to man” pg 10.

This quote represents part of the challenge to Elizabeth’s rule purely by her being born a woman. To many men, God would not appoint a woman to rule a kingdom by divine right. (even though a woman was a Judge in Israel and some women were prophets of God). Without divine right, she would be an illegitimate ruler. Elizabeth had to show her subjects that she was the legitimate ruler and can rule. She used religious ceremony to show she had divine right to rule. While throughout her reign she was able to rule effectively which showed her ability to rule.

“The praises of Elizabeth are said to be sung at the end of the public prayers, as the Antiphon of our lady was sung in former days” – pg 30

I believe that Elizabeth’s use of the imagery of the Virgin Mary is perhaps one of her most clever and useful ploys as Queen. The fact that she was able to insert herself into the liturgy is an example of how effective she was at it. This served to increase her appeal amongst the Protestants while at the same time making it more palatable that a woman hold not only the crown but also the headship of the Church. In addition to these things, it also legtiamized her status as unmarried. The Virgin Mary imagery was by far one of the most successful for Elizabeth .

“She was a woman ruler, a “female-king” who had also to balance the variety of demands on her for a religious reform”.  pg. 26

I found this quote to be very powerful as it describes Queen Elizabeth as a “female-king”. The term “female-king” is very significant because she was a ruler in a time where only men were seen as able to be strong rulers. When a woman is in power, she is usually regarded as a Queen. However, Queen Elizabeth is being referred to as a “female-king” in this quote because she is being identified as a woman who is able to be as strong as a King and do a man’s job. This also recognizes that she faced a great challenge in ruling during the time of religious conflict, where she was also expected to be a religious leader. When people think of Queen Elizabeth today, many people do not realize how difficult that role was.

“After she had washed the poor women’s feet she deliberately traced a very large and well-defined  cross and kissed it to the sorrows of many persons who witnessed it… but to the joy of others.”

This quote written by Guzman de Siva in 1565 included on page 35 in Levine’s book describes Elizabeth’s Maundy ceremony on Holy Thursday. This quote is significant as it depicts Elizabeth I performing a deliberate religious action before the public despite the anger she knows it will bring from her court. This shows that religion did play an important role in Elizabeth I reign and that she did consider her actions within the context of Christianity as well as politically.

(On the day of Elizabeth’s death)

“Mary bore God in her womb, but Elizabeth bore God in her heart… it is in this aspect alone that there are not of equal rank.”

To, me this quote stood out more than almost any other in the book. This idea, that Elizabeth is so close in divinity to that of the virgin Mary, seems it would be almost blasphemous to me. However, considering this is not the case, it is a massive indication that Elizabeth truly did have a divine aura to much of her subjects. In no way would she receive this comparison after her death than if she had cultivated this reputation throughout her life which, as we see in the rest of the text, she did.

“I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” p. 144

To me, this may be Elizabeth’s most intelligent move throughout her entire reign. While she presented herself as a ‘Virgin Queen’ to her people, the idea that there was not a man on the throne plagued her throughout almost her entire reign. With this quote, she attempted to kill two birds with one stone as she brought up the idea of being both a king and a queen simultaneously. This would show her subjects that she is a mother to her people in the aspect of being a woman, also with the concept of the ‘Virgin Mother’, and at the same time show them that she is able to govern and act in the same way a King would. Basically, she was attempting to offer the best of both worlds to solve the problem of gender as a monarch.

“Traditionally, western society has viewed women as weak and incapable of a public role; to be successful, a woman must move away from the expectations of her gender and ‘act like a man.’  But to do so makes her unwomanly, possibly even monstrous.”

This quote very well illustrates the issues that plagued Elizabeth’s rule in terms of her authoritative role as a monarch.  As is literally exemplified by the title, “The Heart and Stomach of a King,” Elizabeth’s rulership over England was marked by a sort of authoritative androgyny due to her having to cope with the strenuous role of being a woman in the most important seat of patriarchal power at the top of a deeply male-driven society.  Elizabeth’s ability to circumnavigate and balance the intricacies and political minutiae of her rule even given the predisposed challenges she faced can only be described as extraordinary, as she maintained the legitimacy of her rule through an incredibly tumultuous time in English History.

“The expectations that the queen would marry were strong, but there was also the conflict and contradiction that the queen was ruler while a wife was to be ruled by her husband.”

This quote pretty perfectly sums up Elizabeth’s conundrum. She knows that marrying will certainly introduce a lot of difficulty and complexity into her reign as a queen. A man that is so close to her in such a position of power would be an issue in maintaining the look and outward appear of a true sovereign. On the other hand, Elizabeth is still a human like anyone else. While she may have outwardly proclaimed that marriage is not something she wants or would ever consider she certainly went deep into courtships and at least played with the idea of being wed at some points in her life.