Living Information

2003-04-30

[Lead-in]
1. Anglophiles were told of rediscovering Queen Elizabeth the First, a monarch also known as the “Virgin Queen.” It’s been 400 years since her death and she’s enjoying a new popularity. CNN’s Liz George attended a London exhibition about Elizabeth the First and she discovered why.

[Story]
2. A woman in a men’s world. Elizabeth the First, the favorite daughter of King Henry the Eighth, who overcame all the odds to become one of the England’s most successful monarchs. Yet the first thing you see when you enter the exhibition is a man’s armor.

3. “Well, Elizabeth, of course, is extraordinary multi-talented woman.”
David Starkey is the quest curator and an authority on Elizabeth the First, whose recent television series and a book have proved hugely popular, a phenomenon, he explains, by the fact that she’s an icon for women today.

4. Her succession to the throne wasn’t smooth. Her mother Ann Boleyn was executed when she was 2. She had herself imprisoned in the tower of London and nearly executed, which perhaps explains why she exploited the glamour of her position later.

5. This gives you an idea of the opulence of Queen Elizabeth the First’s court. This is a silver leopard flagon row is far too heavy to really have been of any practical use in serving wine. It was really there just to impress dinner guests. And even in those days treasures were sold off. This was sold off by Charles the First in 1626 to Russia.

6. Her reign lasted 45 years until 1603. It may be 400 years ago, but for some her strength of character spans time. The exhibition brings together 350 items from her life, many of which are on public display for the first time. Liz George, CNN, London