Speech to the Troops at Tilbury

One of the most important ways Elizabeth shapes her depiction as a queen is framing herself as an exception among women. Instead of insisting women are as capable as men, she uses the speech to argue that despite her body, her royal lineage gives her the courage and authority of a king—that is, a man. Legitimizing her reign in this way was a crucial issue for Elizabeth, who had several rivals vying for her throne.

Invented shortly before Elizabeth’s birth, the Gutenberg printing press allowed easy mass printing and contributed to the expansion of literacy in Europe. This allowed new ideas to spread. However, English society at the time considered women inferior to men and often did not provide them with an education, instead valuing them primarily for their childbearing capacity. Researchers who study 16th-century pamphlets and books devoted to explicating women’s “proper” role argue that the sheer numbers of these publications reflects intense anxiety about women’s roles. For example, during Elizabeth’s life, both England and Scotland were ruled by women, which the Scottish writer and theologian John Knox argued was contrary to the Bible in a book entitled The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. Knox argued that God’s order of creation precluded women from holding positions of authority.

This was the political climate Elizabeth had to navigate as a woman in power. In her early years, she faced immense pressure to marry and bear children—i.e., to produce an heir. Although she had several suitors, she resisted marrying because she did not wish to share her power with whomever she might marry (a concern male rulers typically did not have since queen consorts were not expected to govern). One way Elizabeth fought against this pressure was to portray herself as a mother or wife figure to her English subjects.