The origins of Queen Elizabeth I's celibacy and political strategies: Experience, education, and tactics

This dissertation is an inquiry into the personal and intellectual origins of Queen Elizabeth I's political strategies, particularly that of celibacy, and an effort to demonstrate how those early influences affected the way she ruled her state as queen. Queen Elizabeth I (1558--1603) intentionally created her unique public persona as a virgin queen, using her sex and virginity as powerful weapons in grasping her hegemony in male dominated politics and diplomacy. One of the reasons for her decision to remain single was her early lessons of the dangers of female sexuality and marriage which were taught through her family background and through her own experiences of sexual scandals before she ascended the throne. Elizabeth's humanist education was also pivotal in developing her worldview as a ruler. More specifically, by the intellectual influences of Plato and Machiavelli, Elizabeth set her goals to be a successful monarch in history, adopting various political strategies to fulfil her ambition. Plato, who showed an idealistic model of the "philosopher-king" with his emphasis on the celibacy of a ruler and the equality between men and women in politics in The Republic, was a strong inspiration to Elizabeth in pursuing fame and glory as a ruler by choosing celibacy. Furthermore, Machiavelli's The Prince, a political discourse of a contemporary Italian, was an important source of Elizabeth's tactics of "realpolitik" in running her government. With her outstanding intelligence and her mastery of statecraft in the games of politics and diplomacy, Queen Elizabeth played well and won her reputation as the great virgin queen of 16th century England. This dissertation combines political, social, intellectual, and psychological methodologies to interpret Queen Elizabeth as a person and the significance of her reign in history.