The Elizabethan period in England had a daily life based on social order: the monarch as the highest, the nobility as second rank, the gentry as third, merchants as fourth, and laborers as fifth. The queen was believed to be God's representation here on Earth. They also believed that God had formed these social ranks and had showered blessings on each rank. Their Parliament had also regulated the clothes that can only be worn by each rank. For a laborer to wear clothes of the rich was not…

A wedding feast, c. 1569.

Tudor and Elizabethan rings from National Portrait Gallery

Elizabeth I at the Globe watching The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Fashion of the Tudor and Elizabethan Age - everything you need to know about clothing of this fascinating epoch. The styles, fabric, headdresses and more

19th May 1536 Anne Boleyn is beheaded at the Tower

With her huge, dramatic collars, ghostly pallor and flaming curls of red hair, Queen Elizabeth I’s image is etched in royal history. Trained from a young age to see power and strength in public image, she cultivated a persona that was both pure and powerful. Unwed and without children, she portrayed herself as the chase,...