August 9 - Elizabeth I’s Tilbury Speech

On this day in Tudor history, 9th August 1588, Queen Elizabeth I gave her famous Tilbury Speech to the forces gathered at Tilbury Fort.

 

It is a speech that has been immortalised on screen by the likes of Glenda Jackson and Cate Blanchett, and is famous for the line "I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too", but what words did Elizabeth really speak that day?

 

In today's talk, Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society, shares three versions of Elizabeth I's Tilbury Speech.

 

You can see the original video here:
https://youtu.be/0E6-wPzg9ww