Elizabeth I Was Bald, Wrinkled and Frail

In 1586, Queen Elizabeth I declared: “We princes, I tell you, are set on stages in the sight and view of all the world duly observed; the eyes of many behold our actions, a spot is soon spied in our garments; a blemish noted quickly in our doings.”

Elizabeth's “doings” – the state of her health, her actions and behaviour – were the subject of international speculation. Her ‘private' life was of ‘public' concern. Her body was held to be one and the same as England. The stability of the state depended on the queen's wellbeing, chastity and fertility.