Fêting the Queen

In a 1572 visit to Warwick, Queen Elizabeth looked out the window of her lodgings and saw local people dancing in the courtyard, a seemingly spontaneous performance meant to entertain her. During her travels, she was treated to fireworks, theatrical performances, and lavish banquets. Reconstructing the formal and informal events that took place throughout Elizabeth’s progress visits, events rich in pageantry and ceremony, John M. Adrian demonstrates how communities communicated their character, as well as their financial and political needs, to noble guests.
While previous scholars have studied Elizabeth I and her visits to the homes of influential courtiers, Fêting the Queen places a new emphasis on the civic communities that hosted the monarch and their efforts to secure much needed support. Case studies of the cities of Oxford, Canterbury, Sandwich, Bristol, Worcester, and Norwich focus on the concepts of hospitality and space—including the intimate details of the built environment.

“Adrian’s essential contribution is in providing the narrative of these civic occasions, which includes descriptions of the places, processions, sounds, buildings, speeches, landscape, entertainments, participants, and their agendas for the entire visit. With his nuanced analysis of these many perspectives, he invites readers into the experience of a royal civic visit.”—Mary Hill Cole, author of The Portable Queen: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Ceremony