What were the roles of kings in Elizabethan England??

Question

What were the roles of kings in Elizabethan England??

Answer 1

The "Elizabethan Era" of England's history (Elizabethan ENgland) refers to the period when Ellizabeth I was queen of England. There WERE  no kings. Elizabeth I, a woman, was the monarch, and she never married.

England was  not opposed to a king, but Elizabeth's father had died with only 1 male heir, and that boy had not lived to adulthood. So the throne went to the daughters (first Mary, then ELizabeth)

So there were no kings during "Elizabethan England"

if you want to know about kings around the same time period.. read up on Elizabeth's father, HEnry VIII, her Brother, Edward, and her sucessor James I

Answer 2

Surely there weren't any? Elizabeth I was the monarch in England during the Elizabethan period, by definition there were no kings. Her successor was male.

Answer 3

Well, I could argue that 'Elizabethan England' didn't have any kings - the 'Elizabethan era' only lasted for the reign of Elizabeth I - 1558 - 1603 (approx)

As she never had any children, her heir (her nephew, James) started his own house, the Stuarts.

As she never married, there was never a king in the Elizabethan era (and if she had, presumably he would have been a prince consort, not a king)

However, if you are asking 'what was the role of the monarch in approx the 16th century', then the answer is completely different - Elizabeth I and her fellow kings in other countries were theoretically absolute monarchs.

I say theoretically because legally they were absolute monarchs but in fact they were very subject to politics and were constantly defeating assassination attempts and other methods to undermine their power. They were not free to 'do whatever they wanted' but were constantly hemmed in by politics.