Introduction

Queen Elizabeth I ascended the English throne on 17 November 1558 and for the next forty-four years a single issue reverberated across her reign, that is the succession debate. The succession had long been a concern for the Tudor monarchy but by the time of Elizabeth’s reign it had reached its peak as this chapter discusses. After outlining the Tudor problems with the succession, and the basis of the Elizabethan issue, the histography of the Elizabethan succession debate is explored. Historians have examined the succession previously but typically restricted their analyses to either early or late in Elizabeth’s reign, a method this chapter argues against and instead sets out a different approach.