This year, Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, a milestone that acknowledges not only her seventy years of service, but reaffirms her status as Britain’s longest reigning monarch. While there may be debate about monarchy’s relevance in the modern world, there is no denying that Elizabeth II has been a figure of constancy and global fascination for almost three-quarters of a century. As the new two-part documentary Elizabeth I And II: The Golden Queens reminds us, however, she is not the first woman of her name to put her mark on British royal history.
In comparing the lives and personalities of these two remarkable leaders, the legacy of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II is shown to extend far beyond the boundaries of monarchical power; there’s a reason they have each been written about and portrayed on screen countless times. As the documentary reveals, neither were ever meant to sit on the throne, nor had any real desire to do so, and it’s their relative anonymity within royal circles, coupled with their unexpected ascension to power, and the subsequent success of their respective reigns, that immediately links them.
As the documentary recounts, Elizabeth II enjoyed an idyllic childhood until the abdication of her uncle King Edward VIII in 1936, which saw her father reluctantly abandon the comfort of family life and become his successor. The future of the young Princess Elizabeth was changed in an instant, and as the eldest daughter of King George VI, she suddenly found herself the heir to the world’s most influential throne at just ten years old. As unexpected as it was to suddenly find herself in the spotlight, Elizabeth II could never have imagined in that moment that, at just twenty five, she would be seated on the same throne herself.
Her unlikely path to power echoes that of her namesake Elizabeth I who, as the daughter of the brutal Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, was never destined to be Queen. Their stories deviate however in that Elizabeth I’s childhood was far from happy; when your father executes your mother and disowns you as illegitimate as punishment for her supposed failures, things are bound to get off to a rocky start. In yet another unlikely turn of events, Elizabeth I’s sickly half-brother Edward VI succeeded her father, and subsequently passed away himself a short while later, and after the brief reign of Mary Tudor, England turned to Elizabeth I to take the throne.
So two young women, of exactly the same age, are seated on the same throne four hundred years apart, sharing a name and title, but also a deep awareness of the fragility of their position. It is one they were never meant to hold and there are many who waste no time in reminding them of such a fact. It’s astonishing to realise that, despite centuries passing, each are burdened with the similarly limiting expectations placed on women, expectations that feel at odds with such power. The documentary tells of the accusations of weakness, incapability and naivety that were levelled at Elizabeth I and II, but also of how each resists this criticism and remains determined to prove themselves to be anything but.
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by Marchus Gheeraerts, known as the Armada portrait. Source: Corbis/Getty Images
Though they navigate their newfound responsibility in a way that speaks to their individual contexts, Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II both recognise early on that the crown is only as successful as its relationship with the public. As the documentary moves to the height of their rule, the greatest threat to this relationship comes in the form of two other popular royal women who appear on the scene: Mary, Queen of Scots and Princess Diana.
Just as there are obvious similarities between the two Elizabeths, the documentary highlights how Mary and Diana offered the British people an alternative notion of beauty and power. It is interesting to note the parallels, but also the stark differences, in how Elizabeth I and II approach this diversion of public attention, and as the contributing experts to the documentary confirm, their responses have a way of exposing the true personalities of the Queens.
The most interesting parallel that the documentary draws between Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II, however, is their mutual desire to know their fellow citizens. Elizabeth II has revived the royal walkabout during her time as sovereign, a practice first put in place by her namesake centuries before. It has been an important opportunity to break down the longstanding barriers between royals and others in Britain, and avoid the monarchy becoming disconnected from the very nation it seeks to retain a place within. But, with the Queen approaching her 96th birthday, will her legacy of connection, inspired by Elizabeth I before her, be enough to preserve the British monarchy into the future?
As historian Kate Williams so rightly suggests in reflecting on the reigns of Elizabeth I and II, when it comes to the question of why the legacies of these two monarchs have endured above all others, perhaps it’s simply that ‘Queens do it better’. Between them, the Elizabeths have more than 140 years of dedicated service, fundamentally changing the attitude towards women on the throne and, above all else, have defied the odds to ensure the stability of the crown.
Elizabeth I And II: The Golden Queens premieres at 7:30pm, Sunday 6 February on SBS. Episodes available to stream at SBS On Demand after broadcast (limited catch-up).
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