The Queen's Bed: An Intimate History of Elizabeth's Court by Anna Whitelock

 

Summary (from the publisher): Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in 1558, restoring the Protestant faith to England. At the heart of the new queen’s court lay Elizabeth’s bedchamber, closely guarded by the favoured women who helped her dress, looked after her jewels and shared her bed.

Elizabeth’s private life was of public, political concern. Her bedfellows were witnesses to the face and body beneath the make-up and elaborate clothes, as well as to rumoured illicit dalliances with such figures as Robert Dudley. Their presence was for security as well as propriety, as the kingdom was haunted by fears of assassination plots and other Catholic subterfuge. For such was the significance of the queen’s body: it represented the very state itself.

This riveting, revealing history of the politics of intimacy uncovers the feminized world of the Elizabethan court. Between the scandal and intrigue the women who attended the queen were the guardians of the truth about her health, chastity and fertility. Their stories offer extraordinary insight into the daily life of the Elizabethans, the fragility of royal favour and the price of disloyalty.

Review: This biography of Queen Elizabeth I details her private life throughout the decades of her life that she reigned over England. While private, the intimate details of her life were very much always the subject of public speculation, rumors, and interest as the queen's body represented the state of the realm itself. In this book, we read about what she wore, the ladies who spent their days and nights with her, the wardrobe and makeup, and the many men who courted her but failed to win her hand. 

Perhaps my favorite aspect of this biography is that it was slim on political minutiae in favor of personal details. Additionally, as the title indicates, this book really focuses on her time as queen and doesn't spend much time on her childhood or adolescence before being crowned. For anyone looking for a more expansive general biography of Elizabeth I, this might not be the best place to start. In many ways, this book assumes some prior knowledge of the time period or what proceeded her rule. But again, these gaps allowed for the book to have a fascinating focus and spend much time on the intimate details of her life.  

This book provided incredible insight into the daily life at court and the habits and lifestyle of the queen in the sixteenth century. As the book progresses, Elizabeth changes "from being a young vibrant queen with a pale pretty face, golden hair and slender physique, to a wrinkled old woman with rotten teeth, garishly slathered in jewels and cosmetics to distract from her pitted complexion, and wearing a reddish wig to cover her balding head" (9). Even across centuries, the telling details about her life - her fear of the dark and insomnia, her rotting teeth, her rage at ladies in waiting who married without her permission - tell a fuller story about her life.  

Stars: 4

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