The Privy Council
Elizabeth surrounded herself with trusted advisers, a group called the Privy Council . Privy councillors could be dismissed by Elizabeth if they displeased her.
Role of the Privy Council
- The Privy Council were a group of powerful Someone of high rank with a title. appointed by Elizabeth. They advised Elizabeth but did not control her.
- Elizabeth chose a small group of 19 men to minimise conflict between them.
- The council met every day and was the most powerful part of the machinery of the government.
- They advised on domestic and foreign issues such as how to handle challenges and threats, when to go to war, relations with foreign ambassadors, and supervising the enforcement of the Religious Settlement.
Elizabeth tried to control her Privy Council in the following ways:
- she limited the council to 19 members and of these only eight or nine met regularly
- she appointed councillors with different viewpoints
- she used flattery and played the councillors off against each other
- she used rewards and the threat of removing those rewards in order to maintain control
- she also discussed policies and the business of state with courtiers who were not members of the Privy Council
In this way her reign differed from that of her predecessors where factions or groups at court had caused trouble for the monarch.
Elizabeth鈥檚 Secretaries of State
1. William Cecil - Elizabeth appointed Cecil as the The senior member of the Privy Council. in 1558. He was her most important A clergyman or a head of a government department. and guided her wisely for 40 years. In 1571, he received the title Lord Burghley. Cecil was a moderate Christians who broke away from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation. They believe in the teachings of the Bible but reject the authority of the Pope. and was concerned about the threat of English The Church in Western Europe before the Reformation. The Pope was head of the Church. A member of the Roman Catholic Church.. Whilst he shared her caution as he did not want to see England embroiled in expensive foreign wars he was very much his own man. He was clear on the fact that he was an advisor to the queen and as such he would challenge her by using parliament and her courtiers to encourage her to change her mind about various issues. After the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1587 Elizabeth refused to see Cecil. She was angry with him and blamed him.
2. Sir Francis Walsingham - was in charge of Elizabeth鈥檚 secret service and advised on The policy of dealing with other countries or with overseas activities.. Walsingham like Cecil was also worried about the Catholic threat and advised Elizabeth. Walsingham was a cold and calculating man and whilst Elizabeth admired his straight talking nature she could be angered by him. In the 1580s when Walsingham wanted to repress the Catholics she was angry with him and even threw a slipper at him! In 1586, he uncovered the plot that led to Mary, Queen of Scots鈥 execution. When Walsingham died Cecil took back the role of Secretary of State.