Accession
Formally proclaimed Queen outside the Palace of Westminster
Role range: 1558-1603
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Elizabeth I Biography and Timeline — Page 2
Follow Elizabeth I through 434 dated historical records for England.
Elizabeth I, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
434Distinct records
2 of 11Page
1558–1559Years on this page
1558
News Reaches Hatfield
Elizabeth receives news of Mary's death and her own accession
Role range: 1558-1603
Proclaimed Queen
Elizabeth is formally proclaimed Queen outside Westminster
Role range: 1558-1603
Succession
Elizabeth succeeds Mary I and is proclaimed Queen in London
Role range: 1558-1603
First Council
Elizabeth begins forming her first Privy Council
Role range: 1558-1603
William Cecil Appointed
Elizabeth appoints William Cecil as principal secretary
Role range: 1558-1603
Feria Audience
Elizabeth receives the Spanish ambassador Count de Feria after her accession
Role range: 1558-1603
Francis Knollys Council
Elizabeth appoints Francis Knollys to her Privy Council
Role range: 1558-1603
Robert Dudley Advanced
Elizabeth appoints Robert Dudley as Master of the Horse
Role range: 1558-1603
Thomas Parry Council
Elizabeth brings Thomas Parry into her early governing circle
Role range: 1558-1603
Recognized Successor
Elizabeth is accepted as successor as Mary's health fails
Role range: 1558-1558
Succession Supported
Philip supports Elizabeth's succession to block the French-backed claim of Mary Queen of Scots
Role range: 1558-1558
Nicholas Bacon Appointed
Elizabeth appoints Nicholas Bacon as Lord Keeper
Role range: 1558-1603
Spanish Marriage Question
Elizabeth avoids committing herself to a marriage with Philip II
Role range: 1558-1603
Religious Reform Planned
Ministers prepare legislation restoring royal supremacy over the Church
Role range: 1558-1603
Parliament Summoned
Elizabeth summons her first parliament for the coming year
Role range: 1558-1603
Elizabeth's Coronation Planning Begins
Elizabeth's council begins organising the first major public ceremonial display of the new reign after her accession in November.
Role range: 1558-1603
Mary's Funeral Ordered
Elizabeth's government prepares the funeral ceremonies for Mary I
Role range: 1558-1603
Religious Policy Planned
Elizabeth's ministers begin preparing a Protestant religious settlement
Role range: 1558-1603
Foreign Policy Statement at London
Elizabeth is visited by Count de Feria and says she will not be Spain's puppet
Role range: 1558-1603
Militia Reform
Annual militia rates are planned with regular training and local arsenals
Role range: 1558-1603
1559
Coronation Eve City Entry
Elizabeth enters the City of London in a carefully staged public procession on the day before her crowning.
Role range: 1558-1603
Coronation Procession
Elizabeth rides through London in a public coronation procession before her crowning
Role range: 1558-1603
Coronation
A Coronation procession is held in the streets of the City of London
Role range: 1558-1603
Elizabeth I Cheapside Coronation Pageant
Elizabeth pauses at a major Cheapside display where civic symbolism links the queen with good government and national renewal.
Role range: 1558-1603
Elizabeth I Cornhill Coronation Pageant
A pageant at Cornhill forms part of the city's elaborate welcome and reinforces expectations for the new reign.
Role range: 1558-1603
Fenchurch Coronation Pageant
A civic pageant greets Elizabeth near Fenchurch, beginning a sequence of symbolic displays along the route.
Role range: 1558-1603
Gracechurch Coronation Pageant
Elizabeth encounters another London pageant presenting political and religious imagery to the new queen.
Role range: 1558-1603
Truth and Time Pageant
A pageant using the figures of Time and Truth presents Elizabeth with symbolic religious and political messages before her coronation.
Role range: 1558-1603
Coronation
Elizabeth is crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey
Role range: 1558-1603
Elizabeth I Crowned
Elizabeth is crowned queen in Westminster Abbey as the Tudor succession passes to Henry VIII's younger surviving daughter.
Role range: 1558-1603
Elizabeth Receives Coronation Regalia
Elizabeth receives the traditional regalia of sovereignty before the formal crowning.
Role range: 1558-1603
Elizabeth's Coronation Banquet
A formal feast follows the Abbey service and concludes the public coronation celebrations of the new queen.
Role range: 1558-1603
Elizabeth's Coronation Oath
Elizabeth takes the coronation oath as the religious and constitutional inauguration of her monarchy proceeds.
Role range: 1558-1603
Elizabeth's Coronation Recognition
Oglethorpe presents Elizabeth before the Abbey congregation, marking the public recognition of the new queen before her oath.
Role range: 1558-1603
Mixed Latin and English Coronation Service
Parts of Elizabeth's coronation are conducted in Latin and parts in English, reflecting the unsettled religious position at the start of the reign.
Role range: 1558-1603
Elizabeth's First Parliament Assembles
Elizabeth's first Parliament meets to establish the legal foundations of the new reign and reverse key features of Mary's religious policy.
Role range: 1558-1603
Reform of Parliament
Parliament supports Elizabeth's reforms even though the Bishops do not
Role range: 1558-1603
Parliament
Attends the opening of a Reformation Parliament
Role range: 1558-1603
Reformation, The
Attends the opening of a Reformation Parliament
Role range: 1558-1603
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.