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Elizabethan Nobles

Queen Elizabeth Ist

"Queen Elizabeth Ist"

Elizabethan Times - Elizabethan Nobles
Elizabethan Nobles consisted of the men from the greatest and wealthiest families in the land. The oldest families of Elizabethan nobles could trace their family history back many hundreds of years and generally adhered to the Catholic religion. The new nobles of the era were created during the reign of King Henry VIII many of whom adhered to the new Protestant religion.

Elizabethan nobles and their appropriate rank were easily recognised by the type of clothing they wore. Clothing provided an immediate way of distinguishing 'Who was Who' of the Elizabethan nobles. This was not just dictated by the wealth of the person, it also reflected their social standing. Only Royalty were permitted to wear clothes trimmed with ermine. Lesser Nobles were allowed to wear clothing trimmed with fox and otter and so on and so forth. The Elizabethan Sumptuary Laws dictated what color and type of clothing individuals were allowed to own and wear,  an easy and immediate way to identify rank and privilege of Elizabethan Nobles. Elizabethan Nobles were wealthy but many had to pay for the privilege.The appointment of an Elizabethan Noble as a foreign ambassador required that they pay for their own retinue of up to 100 attendants. Queen Elizabeth I also burdened her Elizabethan Nobles with the expense of entertaining the queen and her royal retinue should she choose to favour them with a royal visit on one of her famous 'Progresses' throughout England.

Facts and Information about Elizabethan Nobles
Some of the Elizabethan Nobles who graced the court of Queen Elizabeth I included the men and women in the following list:

  • Lord and Lady Dudley
  • Lady Arabella Stuart
  • Duke and Duchess of Suffolk
  • Lord Hunsdon
  • Earl of Salisbury and Viscount Cranborne
  • Baron Burghley
  • Countess of Shrewsbury
  • Lord Stafford
  • Duke of Norfolk
  • Knollys, Lettice - Lady and Countess of Essex and Leicester
  • Countess of Lennox
  • Countess of Pembroke
  • Lady Cecil and Baroness Burghley
  • Earl of Salisbury and Viscount Cranborne
  • Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex
  • Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
  • Willoughby, Catherine - Duchess of Suffolk
  • Lord and Lady Berkeley
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