Royal Court, Privy Council
The Royal Court
During this period Elizabeth held very great power, although she was not a dictator. However, she could choose ministers and officials to advise her. The group consisted of Privy Councillors, judges and The Queen鈥檚 representatives in the counties..
Elizabeth lived at Whitehall Palace, London. Her advisers, government officials, ladies-in-waiting and servants lived with her. This large community was known as the Royal Court and those who attended it were known as courtiers.
Members of the Royal Court undertook a wide range of duties. Many did domestic jobs, such as feeding and looking after the many people who were part of the Court or who were visiting it. There were chaplains and physicians and people who looked after the horses and royal palaces.
The Royal Court also accompanied the Queen when she travelled around the country. These visits were known as progresses and during them the Queen would stay at the houses of wealthy nobles, often at great expense.
The Royal Court was the centre of political power in Elizabethan England and Wales. Wealthy and ambitious people would go there to try and get noticed by the Queen and win her favour, in the hope of being rewarded with an important job in the government that would bring them power, influence and a valuable income.
The use of The power to appoint people to an important job or position. enabled Elizabeth to ensure subjects were loyal to her. The Royal Court was also a place of great rivalries, intrigues and factions. During her reign the Queen often had to intervene in these disputes to ensure that her power was supreme.
The Privy Council
On her accession, Elizabeth chose as her chief advisers, a small group of men known as the Privy Council, whose responsibilities were to:
- assist the Queen in making decisions about home and foreign policy
- ensure that all political decisions were carried out
- keep the government in touch with the rest of the nation through the people who held power in the counties and towns
- meet at the Queen's request, which was practically every day by the end of her reign (approximately three times a week at the beginning).
The number in the Privy Council varied from 12 to 20 during the reign. Of the 19 she appointed in 1558, half of them had served under her sister Mary. Elizabeth tried to choose advisers with a range of views, although this did result in some disagreements between Privy Councillors and the Queen.