Elizabeth Tunstall

Elizabeth Tunstall (PhD in History, 2022) ‘The Elizabethan Succession Question and Competing Understandings of Monarchy, 1558–1603‘

Queen Elizabeth I ruled England for almost 45 years (1558–1603) and, throughout her reign, the succession was a prominent source of debate and anxiety. This thesis surveys the Elizabethan succession question for the entirety of her reign, instead of dividing the topic into early or late periods as is typical. An examination of the debate as it appeared in the succession tracts, the writings of Elizabeth, and the numerous manoeuvres of the Privy Council and Parliament, has enabled this thesis to explore the effect of the succession debate upon English considerations of government and royal prerogative during the late sixteenth century.

Supervisors: Dr Una McIlvenna, Associate Professor Jenny Spinks