Royal Entertainment at Elvetham 1591

The Royal Entertainment at Elvetham was an elaborate four-day event in honour of Queen Elizabeth I's visit in 1591. It was organised and planned by Edward Seymour, the Earl of Hertford (cf. The British Library).

Background

In 1591, Queen Elizabeth, in an attempt to promote and spread her royal image, decided to journey through certain regions of England (cf. Breight 21). Although her regime would be approved of in areas northwest of London, southern regions like West Sussex and East Hampshire did not appear too fond of her regime (cf. ibid). By personally travelling, she intended to improve relationships and mend "potential disaffection and perhaps even revolt" (ibid) that seemed so prevalent amongst her subjects. These travels are part of the so called "royal progress – a journey through the country during which a monarch could be seen by his or her subjects and would meet with important local people. The in-person presence of the monarch encouraged loyalty and asserted his or her royal authority" (The British Library).

The Earl of Hertford, Edward Seymour, seeked to thoroughly entertain the Queen during her stay in East Hampshirean Elvetham, having constructed a scenery consisting of an artificial pond serving as the stage for multiple musical, theatrical and poetic performances to ensure the Queen's amusement and delight (cf. Breight 23; The British Library).

Programme

Date	Events
20 September 1591	The Queen was brought to Hertford's estate and greeted by a poet with a Latin performance Six virgins remove blocks from the Queen's path and perform a song Cannons shoot from the islands into the pond to celebrate the Queen's arrival After supper, the Queen was treated to a performance by six musicians
21 September 1591	Elizabeth watched a drama "featuring Nereus and his five Tritons, the virgin Neaera placed on a small ship, and Sylvanus with his fellow Satyrs" (Breight 23) Characters delivered speeches directed at the Queen
22 September 1591	Pastoral love song in the morning In the afternoon Elizabeth watched tennis The day ended with a banquet and fireworks
23 September 1591	Elizabeth witnessed the dance of a fairy queen who also gave a speech and sang a song All previous characters made an appearance to bid a farewell to the Queen During the Queen's departure, musicians performed one final song

(cf. Breight 23f.)

Queen Elizabeth is said to have left the Elvetham wholly entertained, having been so delighted by the fairy queen act "that she had the performers sing and dance it three times" (The British Library).

Works cited

An Entertainment for Elizabeth I at Elvetham, 1591. The British Library. URL: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/an-entertainment-for-elizabeth-i-at-elvetham-1591. Accessed 4 July 2022.
Breight, Curt. “Realpolitik and Elizabethan Ceremony: The Earl of Hertford’s Entertainment of Elizabeth at Elvetham, 1591.” Renaissance Quarterly, vol. 45, no. 1, 1992, pp. 20–48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2862830. Accessed 4 July 2022.