Early Elizabethan England, 1558-1559: Elizabeth's Succession and Character - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

16 original exam-style questions - 4 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

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This topic is chapter 2 of GCSE History: Early Elizabethan England, 1558-88 Practice Book.

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3.2 Early Elizabethan England, 1558-1559: Elizabeth's Succession and Character

EDEXCEL 1HI0 · about 60 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Write in full sentences for Questions 15 and 16. You are advised to spend about 65 minutes on this pack.

Give the year in which Elizabeth I became queen of England.

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

Give the year in which the House of Commons petitioned Elizabeth to marry, early in her reign.

(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)

Name the position held by William Cecil in Elizabeth's government from 1558, before he was made Lord Burghley in 1571.

(Total for Question 3 is 1 mark)

State two features of the public image Elizabeth's government cultivated of her as queen.

(Total for Question 4 is 2 marks)

Give two consequences of Elizabeth remaining unmarried and childless through the years 1558-88.

(Total for Question 5 is 2 marks)

Describe two features of the problems Elizabeth faced as a female ruler in 1558.

(Total for Question 6 is 4 marks)

Explain why some people in 1558 doubted Elizabeth's ability to rule England successfully.

(Total for Question 7 is 12 marks)

'Elizabeth's own character and political skill were the main reason she overcame the doubts about her ability to rule in 1558.' How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

(Total for Question 8 is 16 marks)

Name the half-sister Elizabeth succeeded as queen of England in 1558.

(Total for Question 9 is 1 mark)

State two reasons why some contemporaries doubted whether a woman could rule successfully in 1558.

(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)

Name two members of Elizabeth's Privy Council appointed early in her reign.

(Total for Question 11 is 2 marks)

Give the year in which Elizabeth was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey.

(Total for Question 12 is 1 mark)

Name the pamphlet, published in 1558, in which John Knox argued that female rule went against the natural and divine order.

(Total for Question 13 is 1 mark)

Name the nobleman who was Elizabeth's close favourite at court and a leading candidate for her hand in marriage in the early 1560s.

(Total for Question 14 is 1 mark)

State two reasons why Elizabeth may have chosen not to marry, despite pressure from Parliament and her councillors.

(Total for Question 15 is 2 marks)

Name the foreign prince whose marriage to Elizabeth was seriously negotiated between 1579 and 1581.

(Total for Question 16 is 1 mark)

Mark scheme · 3.2 Early Elizabethan England, 1558-1559: Elizabeth's Succession and Character

Question 1

B1 1558
Answer: 1558

Question 2

B1 1559
Answer: 1559

Question 3

B1 Secretary of State (Principal Secretary)
Answer: Secretary of State

Question 4

B1 portraits and public displays presented her as the 'Virgin Queen', symbolically married only to her country
B1 she went on regular royal progresses around southern England, staying with nobles so her subjects could see her and reinforcing loyalty to her
Answer: The 'Virgin Queen' image in portraiture, and public royal progresses.

Question 5

B1 there was no clear, universally accepted heir to the English throne, keeping the succession an ongoing source of political anxiety
B1 rival claimants, such as Mary, Queen of Scots, became a focus for plots and unrest among those who wanted a different, often Catholic, successor
Answer: An unresolved succession question, and rival claimants such as Mary, Queen of Scots becoming a focus for plots.

Question 6

B1 feature 1 identified, e.g. many at the time doubted whether a woman had the authority or strength to rule effectively
B1 supporting detail for feature 1, e.g. this prejudice was expressed in works such as John Knox's 1558 pamphlet against female rule
B1 feature 2 identified, e.g. the question of who Elizabeth might marry
B1 supporting detail for feature 2, e.g. whoever she married could gain great influence over the realm, risking a repeat of the unpopularity Mary I faced over her marriage to Philip of Spain
Answer: Any two features, e.g. contemporary prejudice against female rule, and the political risks attached to the marriage question.

Question 7

Level 1 (1-3): Identifies one or two general reasons for doubt about Elizabeth's rule, with little or no supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (4-6): Identifies and begins to explain one or two reasons, supported by some accurate detail.
Level 3 (7-9): Explains two or three reasons for the doubts, each supported by accurate and relevant detail.
Level 4 (10-12): Explains three or more reasons in a well-developed, logically structured way, supported throughout by precise and accurate detail, showing how the reasons connect.
Indicative content:
- Gender and contemporary prejudice: many believed women were unsuited to the demands of government and warfare, a view expressed in works such as John Knox's 1558 pamphlet against female rule.
- Age and inexperience: Elizabeth was 25 at her accession and had no direct experience of government, having spent parts of Mary I's reign under suspicion and even briefly imprisoned.
- Doubts over her legitimacy: some Catholics viewed Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn as invalid, so questioned Elizabeth's right to the throne at all.
- Religious uncertainty: it was not immediately clear whether Elizabeth would govern as a Protestant or seek to maintain Mary I's Catholic restoration, worrying different religious factions for different reasons.
- The unmarried, childless queen also raised the succession question from the very start of the reign, adding a further layer of long-term political uncertainty to the immediate doubts about her rule.
- These factors were interconnected: gender-based prejudice fed directly into anxiety about the succession, since a woman's rule was widely assumed to depend on eventually producing an heir through marriage.

Question 8

Level 1 (1-4): Shows limited relevant knowledge of Elizabeth's early reign, and offers only a simple, unsupported opinion on the statement.
Level 2 (5-8): Shows some relevant knowledge and identifies relevant factors, but the argument is only partly supported and lacks a developed judgement on how far the statement is accurate.
Level 3 (9-12): Shows good relevant knowledge and explains a range of factors, reaching a supported judgement on how far the statement is accurate, with some links made between factors.
Level 4 (13-16): Shows precise, well-selected knowledge and explains a range of factors in a balanced way, reaching a fully supported and sustained judgement on how far the statement is accurate, with clear analytical links between factors and consistently accurate use of specialist historical terminology.
Indicative content:
- Supporting: Elizabeth's careful, cautious approach to major decisions, such as the 1559 religious settlement, and her skilful management of her public image (portraiture, progresses, the 'Virgin Queen' persona) helped win and hold popular and political support.
- Supporting: Elizabeth's careful handling of the marriage question, refusing to be rushed by Parliament's 1559 petition, allowed her to use the prospect of marriage as a diplomatic tool for years without ever fully committing to one match.
- Against: the quality of her early councillors, especially William Cecil, was crucial to competent, stable government, suggesting her success depended significantly on the people she appointed rather than her own skill alone.
- Against: there was, by 1558, no realistic alternative candidate widely acceptable across the political nation, meaning Elizabeth benefited from a lack of serious rival claimants at the very start of her reign rather than purely from overcoming doubts through her own ability.
- Balanced: Elizabeth's personal skill and her strong choice of advisers were closely linked, since choosing capable, loyal councillors such as Cecil was itself an act of political judgement.
- Judgement: while circumstances (a lack of an obvious rival, and a general desire for stability after Mary I's difficult reign) gave Elizabeth an initial opportunity, her sustained ability to manage Parliament, her councillors and her public image over many years suggests personal skill was the more significant factor in turning early doubt into lasting authority.

Question 9

B1 Mary I (Mary Tudor)
Answer: Mary I

Question 10

B1 many contemporary writers, such as John Knox, believed women lacked the authority or strength needed to govern and lead armies
B1 concern that if Elizabeth married, her husband might dominate the government or use England to serve a foreign power's interests
Answer: Contemporary prejudice against female rule, and fear that a husband might dominate government.

Question 11

B1 William Cecil (Secretary of State/Principal Secretary)
B1 Sir Nicholas Bacon (Lord Keeper of the Great Seal)
Answer: William Cecil and Sir Nicholas Bacon.

Question 12

B1 1559
Answer: 1559

Question 13

B1 The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women
Answer: The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women

Question 14

B1 Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
Answer: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

Question 15

B1 marrying a foreign prince risked drawing England into another country's wars or subjecting it to foreign influence, as some felt had happened under Mary I's marriage to Philip of Spain
B1 marrying an English nobleman such as Dudley risked provoking jealousy and factional rivalry among the other leading nobles
Answer: Fear of foreign domination through a foreign match, and fear of provoking noble rivalry through an English one.

Question 16

B1 Francis, Duke of Anjou (also known as the Duke of Alencon)
Answer: Francis, Duke of Anjou

Early Elizabethan England, 1558-1559: Elizabeth's Succession and Character - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

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