Elizabethan Royal Progresses

Elizabeth I regularly travelled away from her permanent palaces on royal progresses, particularly during the summer. The queen, councillors, servants, guards and courtiers formed a large mobile household whose arrival required local authorities and aristocratic hosts to provide food, lodging, transport and elaborate entertainment.

Progresses allowed Elizabeth to display monarchy directly to subjects and to reward or burden hosts through the honour and expense of receiving the court. They also created practical problems of supply, roads, security and access because the royal household moved through a succession of private residences and public spaces rather than remaining within one fortified palace.

A book focused on a specific military conflict, court faction or local event encountered during a progress should also use the more specific relevant context where appropriate.