The early Elizabethan polity: William Cecil and the British succession crisis, 1558-1569

Abstract

STEPHEN ALFORD. The Early Elizabethan Polity: William Cecil and the British Succession Crisis, 1558-1569. Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Pp.xii + 271, appendices, bibliography, index. $59.95. Fortunate is the writer of history who tan weave a narrative that captures elements of mystery, vivid characterizations, and intrigue and plotting in two royal households; happier still is the historian who can do this within a framework of sound analytic investigation. Stephen Alford succeeds in his monograph The Early Elmibeihun Polity, William Cecil and the lirilish Succession Crisis, 1558-1569. Kven as he meticulously provides his readers with a closely-argued explanation of several of the most salient challenges that imperiled the stability of the regime of Elizabeth I in its first precarious decade, Alford never loses sight of the human tensions, prejudices, miscalculations and occasional histrionics that helped to shape the regime. This monograph is an impressive and well-written re-examination of the decision-makers and the processes of deliberation by which they set the tone of the royal government of England for the four and a half decades after 1558; it will be of considerable use to scholars and biographers lor the foreseeable future. The first important political contributions of William Cecil were achieved in his role as the principal secretary to the new queen. In this office, he served as the intermediary between Elizabeth and her Privy Council, and as such he developed a finely-honed sense of the political milieu, and, eventually, an acute understanding of the capacities and limitations of his sovereign. The memoranda and state papers he generated in this arduous and often frustrating position are among the richest sources for the study of the political culture of the period. Alford argues that while the Privy Council was occasionally hampered by disagreements, in general its members were ideologically united and often personally linked by marital ties, a Cambridge education, and service (usually at a relatively junior level) under the two avowedly Protestant protectorates of Kdward VI. Cecil's skill in defusing rare factional rifts within the council was an important component in his efforts to shape a clear, sustained policy against what he regarded as the most pernicious threat to the survival of the regime: the hostility of the Catholic powers of Europe coupled with the erratic and menacing behavior of Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland. Alford's research highlights more than Cecil's central function as council organizer and high-powered royal functionary; he captures Cecil's diplomatic ventures, and, more significantly, his intellectual struggles to recalibrate the relations between the monarchs (both Mary ol Scotland and Elizaheth of England) and their subjects. …