Death of a Queen

Abstract

Queen Elizabeth’s eighth child may have been born prematurely. The queen was visited by two nurses in November—Mistress Harcourt at Westminster on the 14 and “a French woman” at Baynard’s Castle on the 26—but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and her life continued in all its usual routine.¹ In late autumn her subjects brought her presents—a wild boar, tripes, puddings, and chine of pork—and received their usual rewards. The queen ordered new bedding and curtains in late November,² and black satin for a new riding gown on November 26.³ The “Yeoman Cook for the Queen’s Mouth” purchased chickens and larks for her December dining.⁴ Ten shillings was paid to a man who had spent five weeks breaking a horse for the queen.⁵