Married regnant queenship in Early Modern England : gender, blood and authority, 1553-1714
Regnant queenship is one of the defining features of the early modern era. During this period England witnessed the reigns of four regnant queens, three of whom were married: Mary I, Mary II and Anne. The reigns of Mary I and Mary II in particular were marked by considerable religious and political tensions, which made their queenships even more remarkable. Using a wide range of contemporary sources, the thesis considers the early modern period as a coherent whole. Despite distinct differences between the mid Tudor and later Stuart political climates, continuing fears of and antipathy to female rule meant that precedents set by Tudor regnant queens in the sixteenth century remained highly relevant to the reigns of the Stuart queens in the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and parallels can be easily drawn. In an era when marriage was deemed necessary for women, and particularly queens, who were required to secure the future succession of their dynasty, marriage was and remained an important, yet problematic, element of queenship. Focusing on married regnant queens and analysing the ensuing tensions between conjugal and political power over the period gives us a fuller understanding of these
Mearns, Anne
Married regnant queenship in Early Modern England : gender, blood and authority, 1553-1714. Regnant queenship is one of the defining features of the early modern era. During this period England witnessed the reigns of four regnant queens, three of whom were married: Mary I, Mary II and Anne. The reigns of Mary I and Mary II in particular were marked by considerable religious and political tensions, which made their queenships even more remarkable. Using a wide range of contemporary sources, the thesis considers the early modern period as a coherent whole. Despite distinct differences between the mid Tudor and later Stuart political climates, continuing fears of and antipathy to female rule meant that precedents set by Tudor regnant queens in the sixteenth century remained highly relevant to the reigns of the Stuart queens in the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and parallels can be easily drawn. In an era when marriage was deemed necessary for women, and particularly queens, who were required to secure the future succession of their dynasty, marriage was and remained an important, yet problematic, element of queenship. Focusing on married regnant queens and analysing the ensuing tensions between conjugal and political power over the period gives us a fuller understanding of these
married queenship early_modern_england gender blood authority queenship defining feature period england witness reign queen marry mary mary anne reign mary mary particular mark considerable religious_political tension make even remarkable using wide_range contemporary_source considers early_modern_period coherent_whole despite distinct difference stuart political climate continue fear antipathy female rule mean precedent set tudor queen remain highly relevant reign stuart queen parallel easily draw era marriage deem necessary woman particularly queen require secure future succession dynasty marriage remain_important yet problematic element queenship focusing marry queen analyse ensue tension political_power period give fuller