Elizabeth I died, and two crowns drew closer
On this day · 24 March 1603
The last Tudor monarch died childless in 1603, handing England's throne to her Scottish cousin James VI.
In the early hours of 24 March 1603, Elizabeth I died at Richmond Palace, aged 69, after a reign of roughly 44 years. She had never married and left no direct heir, ending the Tudor dynasty that had ruled England since 1485.
The succession had been quietly arranged in advance. Her chief minister, Robert Cecil, had corresponded secretly with James VI of Scotland, a great-great-grandson of Henry VII, to ensure a smooth handover. Within hours of her death, James was proclaimed king in London.
He became James I of England, wearing the crowns of both kingdoms in what is remembered as the Union of the Crowns. England and Scotland kept separate parliaments and laws for another century, so this was a personal union rather than a single state.
Elizabeth’s death closed the so-called Golden Age, the era of Shakespeare and Drake, and opened the Stuart century that would end in civil war.
Sources & references
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