At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Elizabeth remained Queen, but the stability of her final years was increasingly fragile. The question of succession, postponed throughout her reign, could no longer be ignored. Her relationship with Essex had reached a breaking point, and the events that followed would expose the dangers of allowing a favourite to mistake royal affection for political independence.

This final episode explores the collapse of Essex’s position, his rebellion in 1601 and his execution, before turning to the Queen’s final years. The court was changing, the old generation was disappearing, and the Tudor dynasty had no direct heir. Elizabeth’s long reign had transformed England’s political and cultural identity, but she could not determine what would happen after her death.

On 24 March 1603, Elizabeth died at Richmond Palace, bringing the Tudor dynasty to an end. James VI of Scotland succeeded her as James I of England, uniting the crowns in a new monarchy. The woman who had spent her life managing uncertainty left behind a kingdom that had to move forward without her.

Her story was not simply one of survival, power or legend. It was the story of a woman who turned the vulnerabilities of her position into a distinctive form of authority, and whose image would continue to shape how England understood itself long after the last Tudor had gone.

Researched, written and read by Paul Carmichael.

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