1st Parliament of Queen Elizabeth I
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The 1st Parliament of Queen Elizabeth I was summoned by Queen Elizabeth I of England on 5 December 1558 and assembled on 23 January 1559. At the state opening of Parliament the Lord Keeper Sir Nicholas Bacon informed the house that one of the main reasons for summoning the Parliament was to establish ‘an uniforme order of religion’. He also drew attention to the recent loss of Calais and the need to maintain the England's navy and coastal defences. The speech summarised Elizabeth’s manifesto for the whole of her reign i.e. to restore stability, prosperity and peace to the country. She approved the appointment of Sir Thomas Gargrave, sitting for Yorkshire, as Speaker of the House.
The membership of the Lower House (the House of Commons) numbered 402, of whom only a quarter had survived from the previous Parliament in the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary. The membership of the Upper House (the House of Lords), however, still favoured Catholicism. After much debate the Commons held sway and two important acts were passed into law, the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity. Collectively referred to as the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, the former confirmed the break from Rome and the latter more Protestant practices for the Church of England.
A committee was established to guarantee the Queen's financial stability. She was also petitioned to marry and secure the succession, notwithstanding their concern about the approach from Queen Mary's widower, the Catholic King Philip II of Spain, which in the event was rebuffed by Elizabeth.
By the time Elizabeth's first Parliament was dissolved on 8 May 1559 some 24 public statutes and 17 private measures had passed into law.
See also
References
- "1st Parliament of Queen Elizabeth I, 1 Eliz. I". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 1 November 2017.