Queen Elizabeth I

The Elizabethan age is celebrated for its literary and dramatic culture and for its music and chivalry. The Elizabethans loved to have a good time and knew just how to have it. Of course, poor people amused themselves differently to rich people, who entertained each other with feasts, banquets, concerts and masques, but sports, plays, and music were pastimes common to all.

When Queen Elizabeth was not busy with matters of state she liked to entertain herself, or be entertained, in a variety of ways. One of the Queen's favourite pastimes was horse riding. She spent many an hour riding in the great parks of her palaces and sometimes rode so fast that her advisors were terrified that she would kill herself in a fall. But Elizabeth was fearless and continued to ride into old age. Early in her reign Robert Dudley, Master of the Horse, had to import horses from Ireland as Elizabeth's own horses were not fast or strong enough for her. Elizabeth and Robert would ride together often, as he was one of the few people who could match her speed and vigor, and in the summer of 1560 they rode together so much that some of the Queen's advisors bewailed that she was neglecting matters of state.

Queen Elizabeth Hunting

Queen Elizabeth, like many artistocrats, also loved to hunt. On horseback, accompanied by a great party of courtiers, she would ride through the palace parks hunting the deers and stags that lived there. In 1575 the French Ambassador reported home that the Queen had killed "six does" with her cross bow. As hunting was quite an event, often lasting several hours, the Queen would often have a picnic with her courtiers in the forest. Hawking was another hunting sport that Queen Elizabeth enjoyed. Again on horseback, the Queen and her courtiers would watch as a trained hawk took to the skies in search of prey, would wait for it to dive in for the kill, and then they would race to recover the hawk and its prey.

The Elizabethans had little concept of animal cruelty and enjoyed a whole manner of violent animal sports, such as bear baiting, cock-fighting, and dog-fighting. However, animals were also kept as much loved pets and Queen Elizabeth had at least one little dog that she loved very much and went everywhere with her.

As well as participating in sports Queen Elizabeth also enjoyed watching them. Jousting tournaments were spectacular events, watched by hundreds of spectators, and these took place on special days, like the Queen's accession day, or to celebrate the marriage of one of her ladies or courtiers. Tennis was also a popular pastimes amongst her courtiers and occasionally the Queen would watch a game, especially if her favourite courtiers were playing.

Queen Elizabeth also enjoyed walking in her private gardens, which were beautifully ornate, and would start each day with a brisk walk.

The Queen playing a lute
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According to Roger Ascham, tutor to Queen Elizabeth in her teens, the young Elizabeth was a skilled musician but did not greatly delight in music. As queen, however, she enjoyed listening to music and would occasionally play instruments, such as the virginals and the lute, alone or when in company. The Queen certainly enjoyed dancing to music. She would dance to keep herself fit and she would dance with her courtiers. She was espcially fond of dancing The Galliard, a difficult and demanding dance, and The Volta, which some people did not approve of as women showed their knees. Elizabeth's dancing partner was often Robert Dudley (Earl of Leicester from 1564) and he was such a skilful dancer that a dance was named after him, The Leicester Dance.

Queen Elizabeth Dancing
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Queen Elizabeth was also a very gifted scholar. She loved to learn and would reputedly study classical texts for up to three hours a day. The Queen also had an extensive knowledge of history and geography and could speak at least six languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Latin and Greek). Like many of her contemporaries, the Queen also enjoyed poetry, and is said to have written some poetry herself.

Read Two Poems By Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth was also a patron of the arts and loved watching plays, masques, and other dramatic performances. She had her own company of actors called The Queen's Players and these would often perform plays for her at court. Some of these plays, especially during the Christmas festivities when the Queen spared no expense, were elaborate productions performed upon sophisticated stages.

Embroidery was also a popular pastime for women. Mary, Queen of Scots was a very gifted embroideress and Elizabeth too would sometimes spend an evening embroidering with her women.

Card games were also a popular pastime at court, as was gambling when permitted, and the Queen also enjoyed playing board games such as chess and backgammon.