Death

At the turn of the seventeenth century Queen Elizabeth began to display very real hum frailty, as most people had seen her to be immortal, and although she didn’t say anything she could tell that those around her were preparing for the time when her reign would be over. She was starting to get old and needed a stick to walk up stairs, and when Parliament was opened she would almost fall under the heavy robes she was subjected to wear. She was starting to suffer from mental instability, but due to the time it is hard to know what exactly she was suffering from, although she started to become paranoid and bitter as well as lonely as more and more of her friends passed away.
 * Death **

During the late winter of 1602/03 Elizabeth was feeling unwell, and she complained about having a sore throat and aches and pains after going for a walk in the cold winter. As a result she would stay in her private room and could not be persuaded to leave the comfort of her bed declaring //“I am unwell”.// The Queen’s condition started to get worse, and she no longer wanted to fight as she was getting old and most of her friends had already passed away. At this point she could no longer speak and it was clear that she was dying and didn’t have much longer to live. The Archbishop Whitgrift was called to her bedside and it is recorded that she clung tightly to his hand as he spoke about the joys of heaven.

The last gesture that Queen Elizabeth I ever made was for the King of Scotland to be the one to succeed her as she didn’t have any children, siblings, niece or nephews that were alive. That night Queen Elizabeth died in her sleep in the early hours of the 24th of March 1603. At this time to Julian calendar was still being used, and according to this the new year began to the 25th of March so the last day of 1602 marked both the end of the year as well as the end of the Tudor monarch and the end of the Queen Elizabeth’s life. The New Year would bring the reign of King James I, a new ruling dynasty (the Stuarts), and a new era in British history.

The Queen’s death was announced on the streets of London to eerie silence of the stunned crowd who couldn’t believe that their much loved Queen had died. It was Elizabeth’s wishes that there be no post mortem, so her body was embalmed and placed into a lead coffin, and a few days later she took her last journey to Whitehall and lay in state. She was then taken to Westminster Hall where her body waited until James I gave orders about her funeral which took place on the 28th of April 1603. Her coffin was covered in purple velvet and was drawn by four horses draped in black, the streets full of people who had come to pay their last respects to the Queen who had ruled them so wisely and for so long as she was placed at her final resting place Westminster Abbey. It was a tribute to the remarkable achievements of a remarkable woman.