Mary Tudor (r.1553-58), the last Catholic monarch of England, died early on the morning of November 17th, 1558, at St James’s Palace in London. Several miles away at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, her half-sister Elizabeth was expecting word of Mary’s death but she could not be sure of her passing until her own servant brought her the ring Philip II had given his wife, removed from the late queen’s finger.

As soon as Elizabeth was certain that she had inherited the kingdom, a carefully prepared succession plan swept into action.

That Elizabeth would survive as queen to gain her glorious reputation required luck, a great deal of political skill and self-assured action in the first months of her reign. Conservative, imperious and frugal from the outset, Elizabeth knew who she was and what her duties were. Only twenty-five, she was sure of her God-given place as queen, of her responsibilities as the ‘handmaiden of the Lord’, and of the ....

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