Elizabeth I of England has inspired artistic and cultural works for over four centuries. The following lists cover various media, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture, film and fiction. The entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering rather than a complete catalogue.
There have been numerous notable portrayals of Queen Elizabeth in a variety of art forms, and she is the most filmed British monarch. [1] [2] George MacDonald Fraser wrote "no historic figure has been represented more honestly in the cinema, or better served by her players". [3]
There have been numerous depictions of Elizabeth I in satirical drawings. In actual comic books and strips, her appearances include: [6]
In the cinema, Elizabeth has been portrayed by:
On television, Elizabeth has been portrayed by:
Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series of well-made marriages, she rose to the highest levels of English nobility and became enormously wealthy. Bess was reportedly a shrewd businesswoman, increasing her assets with business interests including mines and glass-making workshops.
Philippa Gregory is an English historical novelist who has been publishing since 1987. The best known of her works is The Other Boleyn Girl (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association and has been adapted into two films.
Blackadder II is the second series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986. The series is set in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and sees the principal character, Edmund, Lord Blackadder, as a Tudor courtier attempting to win the favour of the Queen while avoiding execution by decapitation, a fate that befell many of her suitors.
The Virgin Queen is a 2005 BBC and Power co-production, four-part miniseries based upon the life of Queen Elizabeth I, starring Anne-Marie Duff and Tom Hardy as Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. It was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Serial in 2007.
Mary Stuart is a verse play by Friedrich Schiller that depicts the last days of Mary, Queen of Scots. The play consists of five acts, each divided into several scenes. The play had its première in Weimar, Germany on 14 June 1800. The play formed the basis for Donizetti's opera Maria Stuarda (1835).
Alison Margaret Chichele Plowden was an English historian and biographer well known for her popular non-fiction about the Tudor period.
Young Royals is a series of novels for children by Carolyn Meyer based on the early lives of multiple royalties such as English and French royalty. Books in the series are mostly about the English Tudors, such as: Mary, Bloody Mary (1999); Beware, Princess Elizabeth (2001); Doomed Queen Anne (2002); and Patience, Princess Catherine (2004). The French books in the series are Duchessina (2007), about the life of Catherine de' Medici, and The Bad Queen: Rules and Instructions for Marie-Antoinette (2010). The most recent titles in the series are: The Wild Queen: The Days and Nights of Mary, Queen of Scots (2012); Victoria Rebels (2013), about Queen Victoria of the British Empire; and Anastasia and Her Sisters (2013), about the daughters of Tsar Nicholas of Russia, specifically Anastasia.
Alison Weir is a British author and public historian. She primarily writes about the history of English royal women and families, in the form of biographies that explore their historical setting. She has also written numerous works of historical fiction.
Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen is a work of literary fantasy by British novelist Michael Moorcock. It was first published in 1978 and has remained in print ever since.
Richard III of England has been depicted in literature and popular culture many times. In the Tudor period he was invariably portrayed as a villain, most famously in Shakespeare's play Richard III, but also in other literature of the period. Richard's life was not much depicted again until the 20th century when the "Ricardian" movement sought to restore his reputation. Much of more recent creative literature has portrayed him in a positive light. However his reputation as a hunchbacked villain has remained a familiar historical cliché within popular culture.
Henry VIII and his reign have frequently been depicted in art, film, literature, music, opera, plays, and television.
Henry VII of England has been depicted a number of times in popular culture.
Lady Jane Grey, 16th-century claimant to the English throne, has left an abiding impression in English literature and romance. The limited amount of material from which to construct a source-based biography of her has not stopped authors of all ages filling the gaps with the fruits of their imagination.
Edward VI of England has been depicted in popular culture a number of times.
Mary I of England has been depicted in popular culture a number of times.
The Fair Maid of the West, or a Girl Worth Gold, Parts 1 and 2 is a work of English Renaissance drama, a two-part play written by Thomas Heywood that was first published in 1631.
Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England, and Queen of England from 1533 until she was beheaded in 1536 for treason, has inspired or been mentioned in numerous artistic and cultural works. The following lists cover various media, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture, film and fiction. The entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering, rather than a complete catalogue. Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII and was the mother of Elizabeth I. She has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had", as she provided the occasion for Henry VIII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and declare the English church's independence from the Vatican.
Mary, Queen of Scots, has inspired artistic and cultural works for more than four centuries. The following lists cover various media, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture. The entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering rather than a complete catalogue.
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English gentleman, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer, well known for popularising tobacco in England.
The White Queen is a British historical drama television drama serial based on Philippa Gregory's historical novel series The Cousins' War. The first episode premiered on BBC One on 16 June 2013 in the UK.