Abstract
The Privy Council provided support and advice for the monarch, and the queen appointed the members. There were twenty-four members at any given time, and it met at least weekly. The meetings were run by the Principal Secretary, who had a position of great importance. There were also Clerks. Many of those who served on the Privy Council also served in Parliament and held other offices at court. This chapter describes the working of the Privy Council, its Principal Secretaries, and all of those who served as members throughout Elizabeth’s reign. The most significant of the Principal Secretaries were William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Sir Francis Walsignham, and Sir Robert Cecil.
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Levin, C. (2022). The Privy Council. In: The Reign and Life of Queen Elizabeth I. Queenship and Power. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93009-7_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93009-7_3
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-030-93009-7
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