Mother Hubberds Tale and the Ambivalent Withdrawal from Power

Abstract

When Queen Elizabeth arrived at the country palace of Theobalds for her state visit on 10 May 1591, her host, William Cecil, Lord Burghley, was not present to greet her. His absence was as conspicuous as it was elaborately planned. The significance of the occasion was only augmented by the presence of the queen’s senior ministers: Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal; the Lord Admiral Charles Howard of Effingham; the Lord Chamberlain Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon; Vice-Chamberlain Sir Thomas Heneage; the Lord Steward Henry Stanley, Earl of Derby; and Master of the Horse, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Other distinguished figures of the party included the Earl of Ormonde, Lord Strange, Lord Cobham, Sir Walter Ralegh, Sir Henry Grey, Sir Charles Blount, Robert Carey, and John Stanhope. The queen was attended by senior ladies of the court Lady Howard, Lady Stafford, Lady Scroop, Lady Strange, Lady Sheffield, Lady Chandos, Lady Warwick (widow of Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick), and Elizabeth of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury.1 Greeting the queen and her party were Burghley’s two sons Robert and Thomas, and almost certainly their wives, Elizabeth Brooke and Dorothy Neville, respectively, for it seems likely that Robert’s first-born son, William, was also present, probably in his mother’s keeping.2KeywordsPrivy CouncilRoyal PalaceCourtly SuccessEnduring AttractionWest WingThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.