Chapter 26 Summary

Queen Elizabeth appears in state to her people to acknowledge the victory over Spain. She has ruled so long that her advisers are dying, and new ones appear. Elizabeth has a fondness for young, handsome men. Walter Raleigh appears on the scene, as does Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Essex is twenty-one, and Elizabeth is fifty-four and still flirting romantically. William Cecil is replaced by his son, Robert Cecil, intelligent and a hunchback. Francis Bacon is an adviser. These young men, a generation younger than the queen, are interested in her position rather than in her. A cult develops in Europe after 1588, exalting Elizabeth to supernatural status with radiant splendor as Diana, or Cynthia, goddess of chastity and moonlight.

The Spanish threat returns. Elizabeth allies with Henri IV of France and sends 4,000 English troops to his assistance. The internal English harassment of Catholics...