The Privy Council: A Monarchical Republic?

After the monarchy, the Privy Council was the most important institution of the Tudor government which acted as an administrative and advisory body. This chapter examines the Elizabethan Privy Council’s attempts to resolve the succession debate and how many of these attempts demonstrated a fundamental difference of opinion regarding the roles of both monarch and Council. Manoeuvres by the Privy Council to force Elizabeth’s hand on the succession led to Patrick Collinson describing Elizabethan England as a monarchical republic, an idea which has been widely accepted for the period leading up to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. This chapter examines the idea of monarchical republicanism alongside the succession debate, arguing that while the Privy Council may have sought to use the theory of monarchical republicanism to counter their difficulties with female monarchy throughout Elizabeth’s reign, it had little basis in law and often led members of the Privy Council into dangerous territory.