Top 10 Things Elizabeth (1998) Got Factually Right and Wrong
#10: Mary's False Pregnancy Right & Wrong
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In the movie, Queen Mary I, Elizabeth’s older half sister, announces that she’s pregnant, but it’s actually a tumor that eventually kills her. Elizabeth is freed from arrest and becomes Queen. In real life, Mary did suffer a false pregnancy while Elizabeth was under house arrest; but she lived on for several more years. She thought she was pregnant again in 1557; however, nothing came of it, and she died the following year during an influenza epidemic, possibly suffering from ovarian or uterine cancer. By this time, Elizabeth was no longer imprisoned.
#9: Dudley's Betrayal Wrong
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, is depicted in the film as Elizabeth’s lover, which we’ll delve into more later. What’s patently false, however, was that Dudley conspired against Elizabeth, as he’s portrayed doing on screen. In reality, the two remained very close for the rest of their lives, even after any romantic intimacy between them concluded. In the movie we see Elizabeth pardon Dudley and refuse to have him executed despite his treasonous behavior. In actual fact, no such exchange would have taken place, because Dudley never betrayed her.
#8: Elizabeth's Protestantism Right
Religion is one of the major themes in “Elizabeth”, with the Catholic Mary I juxtaposed against the Protestant Elizabeth. This conflict was very real, and represented a major division in England during the period. In fact, during her reign, Mary did indeed have hundreds of people burned at the stake, earning her the sobriquet “Bloody Mary”. When Elizabeth became queen, one of the first things she did was to establish the English Protestant church—and make herself its supreme governor. While Elizabeth’s religious convictions are portrayed accurately, what isn’t totally believable is how isolated she seems to be in her beliefs. At the time, she was far from the only person to support Protestantism.
#7: The Reason for Anne Boleyn's Death Wrong
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In the film, Bishop Gardiner mentions that Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed because of her religious beliefs. While this fits nicely into the narrative of religious persecution in the movie, it’s not based on the truth at all. Anne Boleyn was infamously condemned to death by her husband, Henry VIII and beheaded in 1536, but her crimes had nothing to do with religion. Anne was in fact accused of high treason; the charges against her included adultery, incest, and plotting against the king. Most modern historians believe her to have been innocent.
#6: The Reason that Elizabeth Wore Makeup Wrong
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At the end of “Elizabeth”, we see the sovereign change her image in an attempt to appear like the Virgin Mary. While Elizabeth did begin to wear dramatic white makeup from a certain point on, it was likely to cover up scars from a bout of smallpox. She had smallpox in 1562, and the disease permanently marred her skin. This may also have thinned her hair, leading to her reliance on wigs, although wigs were also fashionable at the time. Later in life, in artistic depictions of her, she was depicted as poet Edmund Spenser’s youthful fairy queen, Gloriana.
#5: Elizabeth's Coronation Outfit Right
The scene depicting Elizabeth’s coronation was costumed based on the famous portrait that exists of the monarch from the day she ascended the throne. Her coronation took place on January 15th, 1559 when she was just 25 years old. In the movie, she’s shown with her hair worn long and loose, which is exactly how she appears in her portrait. At the time, a woman wearing her hair down signified that she was unmarried, and therefore a virgin. This was an image that Elizabeth was happy to embrace.
#4: Elizabeth's Thoughts on Marriage Wrong
When the film concludes, we see that Elizabeth has solidly decided to never marry and to embrace being England’s virgin queen. It’s true that Elizabeth never married, but based on historical records there’s plenty of evidence that she considered it for much of her life and never made any sort of official commitment to remaining single. At the time, it would have been very advantageous to marry into another one of Europe’s royal families, which was something she seriously contemplated—though she never followed through on it.
#3: Elizabeth’s Knowledge of Dudley’s Wife Wrong
It’s largely believed that Queen Elizabeth did have a romantic and sexual relationship with Robert Dudley, as we see in the film. While there’s no solid evidence, most historians think it likely. In the movie, Elizabeth eventually learns that the man she loves is actually married and has kept this from her, leading to the dissolution of their relationship. In reality though, Elizabeth knew that Dudley was married, as his wedding was prominent in society circles. Interestingly, something the movie omitted was that Dudley’s wife died after falling down the stairs, and that some have theorized he had her killed to make himself available for Elizabeth.
#2: Elizabeth Was Pressured to Marry Right
In the movie, we see William Cecil advising Elizabeth that she should marry shortly after ascending the throne. He mentions that securing an heir for England is essential in order to avoid political turmoil. While we can’t say for sure whether this exact conversation took place, it was absolutely expected that Elizabeth would marry. At the time, having a woman rule England was still a relatively new concept, so having her rule without a man at her side was even harder to swallow. Everyone figured that Elizabeth would marry eventually, considering the many suitors she had, but she opted to remain untethered for her entire life, reigning alone. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Mary of Guise's Death, Wrong She Died Naturally & Was Not Murdered William Cecil's Age, Wrong He Was Actually Only 13 Years Older Than Elizabeth The Poisoned Dress, Wrong Elizabeth Was Not Sent a Poisoned Dress The Act of Uniformity, Right Elizabeth Did Sever Ties with the Vatican
#1: Elizabeth's Dependence on Men Wrong
One of the major criticisms of the movie was that it took a historically strong ruler who successfully presided over England for decades, and stripped her of agency and independence. While she’s certainly portrayed as being strong, she’s also portrayed as largely depending on the men around her when it comes to making political decisions. Historian Carole Levin expressed disappointment at seeing Elizabeth depicted as “a very weak and flighty character who often showed terrible judgment". In contrast, historians tend to see her as a strong, charismatic, and shrewd ruler.
