Hello everyone and welcome to the History of England episode 287. Enter Good Queen

Bess. Now originally my script noted that I was releasing this episode spookily exactly 461 years

to the day when Elizabeth became Queen on the death of Mary on the 17th of November 1558. These

were levels of spookiness with which it was difficult to deal but in the end fate intervened and I

spent the next 84 days confined to a small room. Even despite the wonderfulness of

the NHS, the good humour, expertise and friendliness of the nurses and doctors, I feel my really

just cannot speak highly enough. This is close to 84 days too long. My thanks though, to the longtailed

tits who flew around in a ceaseless murmuration all of those days outside my window. How they didn't

drop dead from exhaustion, I do not know but I know they did it for me. Anyway, look, given the

full start last time, I'm not getting an emotional, I'm not going to offer promises. I'll do what I

can but I think the schedule on the website should be considered as aspirational as a salesmanager's

sales forecasts. The only thing I am going to get a bit emotional about but all those messages

you lot sent me over the 84 days, it made such a difference to me, ferritid away in that small room.

Thank you, thank you very much. The next two episodes incidentally had been into one but made it a

rather long episode with two disconnective subjects so I split the podcast into two rather short

episodes. I hope it's okay that I suspected the annoying people like Frank who outrageously

use my podcast purely to get them off to sleep on night. This week therefore, it's Elizabeth's

entry into London. In two weeks time, we'll talk about her historiography.

So let's get on with it then. Let me take you to London on a January morning in 1559, it's cold

and there had been a light dusting of snow the night before and in January, London 1559,

let me tell you that means mud and misery. But not today, Zerg, not today. On this day,

London was decked out in her finest livery. Preparations had been going on since Christmas for the

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