James’s attempts to foster better relations with Catholic Spain and his more extravagant court spending sometimes made older courtiers nostalgic for the frugality and fierce Protestantism of Elizabeth’s reign. This tension would be a constant undercurrent in early Stuart England.
Why Was the Succession So Smooth?
Historians often marvel at how the succession of 1603 avoided the dynastic wars that had plagued England a century earlier during the Wars of the Roses. Several factors explain this stability:
- Clear hereditary claim: James was the closest legitimate heir under primogeniture, descending directly from the Tudor line through Margaret Tudor.
- Cecil’s preparation: By negotiating secretly with James and rallying the Privy Council, Cecil ensured there would be no serious rival claim.
- Exhaustion with uncertainty: After decades of anxiety, most English elites and commoners preferred a smooth succession over renewed civil strife.
- James’s savvy: James carefully balanced religious and political factions, reassuring Protestants while avoiding unnecessary provocations.
Still, it was not inevitable. Without Cecil’s discreet diplomacy, or if James had been more overtly Catholic, the succession could have plunged England into chaos. shutdown123