1 00:00:02,201 --> 00:00:05,377 Royal history is at the heart of our national identity. 2 00:00:07,332 --> 00:00:12,006 We think of it as the definitive truth about our past. 3 00:00:12,031 --> 00:00:17,767 Dates and facts, kings and queens, all consigned to a past 4 00:00:17,792 --> 00:00:19,967 that's unchanging and fixed. 5 00:00:19,992 --> 00:00:22,607 But it's not like that at all. 6 00:00:22,632 --> 00:00:25,847 History is a chorus of voices, 7 00:00:25,872 --> 00:00:29,767 each of them shouting out its own version of the story. 8 00:00:29,792 --> 00:00:34,537 And very often, it's the loudest voices that get heard most clearly. 9 00:00:35,792 --> 00:00:40,767 In this series, I'm lifting the lid on three of royal history's 10 00:00:40,792 --> 00:00:42,926 great nation-building stories. 11 00:00:44,462 --> 00:00:47,327 Henry the Vlll's Reformation. 12 00:00:47,352 --> 00:00:50,157 This was a political earthquake that broke England's 13 00:00:50,182 --> 00:00:52,607 ties with Europe. 14 00:00:52,632 --> 00:00:56,157 So why is it often told as a sexy royal soap opera? 15 00:00:57,951 --> 00:01:01,517 Queen Anne helped create Great Britain, 16 00:01:01,542 --> 00:01:04,767 but she's remembered as a disastrous monarch. 17 00:01:05,992 --> 00:01:09,207 Did her liberal enemies blacken her reputation? 18 00:01:11,432 --> 00:01:16,287 And in this episode, Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada, 19 00:01:16,312 --> 00:01:20,647 when the English Navy destroyed an invincible Spanish fleet. 20 00:01:22,182 --> 00:01:24,287 The defeat of the Spanish Armada 21 00:01:24,312 --> 00:01:27,647 is often talked about as the crowning achievement 22 00:01:27,672 --> 00:01:29,897 of Elizabeth l's golden age 23 00:01:29,922 --> 00:01:33,256 and a defining moment in English history. 24 00:01:33,281 --> 00:01:38,567 England's great naval victory made icons of Sir Francis Drake 25 00:01:38,592 --> 00:01:40,847 and the Virgin Queen... 26 00:01:40,872 --> 00:01:43,767 "And a king of England too!" 27 00:01:44,872 --> 00:01:49,077 ...and it laid the foundations of the British Empire. 28 00:01:49,102 --> 00:01:54,847 It's a great story, but it's full of exaggerations, distortions 29 00:01:54,872 --> 00:01:57,157 and some whopping great fibs. 30 00:01:57,182 --> 00:02:01,046 Was England really the plucky underdog? 31 00:02:01,071 --> 00:02:02,796 This is fake news, isn't it? 32 00:02:02,821 --> 00:02:04,897 You'd think people would see through it 33 00:02:04,922 --> 00:02:07,357 but actually people believe what they want to believe. 34 00:02:07,382 --> 00:02:11,487 Did Elizabeth truly play a crucial role in England's triumph? 35 00:02:11,512 --> 00:02:13,647 It is the victors who write history, of course. 36 00:02:13,672 --> 00:02:16,357 This is a classic case of that. 37 00:02:16,382 --> 00:02:21,537 And was the Armada the decisive victory we've always believed? 38 00:02:21,562 --> 00:02:24,207 The Counter Armada was a terrible defeat 39 00:02:24,232 --> 00:02:27,006 for England, and they hid the history. 40 00:02:29,742 --> 00:02:32,967 The Spanish Armada marked out England 41 00:02:32,992 --> 00:02:35,926 as an exceptional island nation, 42 00:02:35,951 --> 00:02:39,407 destined by God for special things. 43 00:02:39,432 --> 00:02:41,437 This is the moment we took on Europe 44 00:02:41,462 --> 00:02:43,256 and won... 45 00:02:43,281 --> 00:02:45,437 ...or so the story goes. 46 00:02:56,312 --> 00:02:58,687 The Spanish Armada of 1588 47 00:02:58,712 --> 00:03:01,287 is told as the founding story 48 00:03:01,312 --> 00:03:03,647 of the British Empire. 49 00:03:03,672 --> 00:03:06,006 This little Protestant island 50 00:03:06,031 --> 00:03:08,287 is attacked by Catholic Spain, 51 00:03:08,312 --> 00:03:12,126 the mightiest imperial power in the world. 52 00:03:12,151 --> 00:03:14,967 And victory sets Elizabeth l's England 53 00:03:14,992 --> 00:03:17,207 on the road to imperial glory. 54 00:03:21,462 --> 00:03:23,287 Traditionally, the story begins 55 00:03:23,312 --> 00:03:26,847 with the Elizabethan sea dog, Sir Francis Drake, 56 00:03:26,872 --> 00:03:29,847 playing a game of bowls in Plymouth 57 00:03:29,872 --> 00:03:33,717 when the Armada is first spotted off the English coast. 58 00:03:35,872 --> 00:03:41,077 Francis Drake is the embodiment of Cool Britannia. Ha-ha! 59 00:03:41,102 --> 00:03:43,967 Of "Keep Calm And Carry On." 60 00:03:43,992 --> 00:03:46,796 He turned to Lord Howard, commander of the English fleet, 61 00:03:46,821 --> 00:03:49,717 and he said, "We've plenty of time to finish our game 62 00:03:49,742 --> 00:03:52,897 "and to thrash the Spaniards too!" 63 00:03:52,922 --> 00:03:56,567 It's classic English understatement. 64 00:03:56,592 --> 00:03:58,487 It's nonchalance under fire. 65 00:03:59,792 --> 00:04:03,537 Unfortunately, though, it's likely to be a complete fabrication. 66 00:04:06,992 --> 00:04:10,327 Not one of the first accounts of the Armada mention 67 00:04:10,352 --> 00:04:12,407 anyone playing bowls. 68 00:04:12,432 --> 00:04:15,126 So where does it come from? 69 00:04:17,312 --> 00:04:21,967 25 years after the event, we finally get a historical document 70 00:04:21,992 --> 00:04:26,157 which mentions the sailors at Plymouth dancing, bowling 71 00:04:26,182 --> 00:04:28,327 and making merry on the shore. 72 00:04:30,672 --> 00:04:35,006 Nearly 150 years after that, local legends about Drake 73 00:04:35,031 --> 00:04:38,256 finishing his game entered the history books, 74 00:04:38,281 --> 00:04:41,767 and by 1888, at the height of empire, 75 00:04:41,792 --> 00:04:45,126 his line about thrashing the Spanish was in print too. 76 00:04:46,462 --> 00:04:50,647 Drake had become the perfect imperial hero to inspire 77 00:04:50,672 --> 00:04:53,687 future generations with his stiff upper lip. 78 00:04:56,102 --> 00:04:58,607 WINSTON CHURCHILL: We must regard the next week or so 79 00:04:58,632 --> 00:05:01,717 as a very important week for us 80 00:05:01,742 --> 00:05:03,407 in our history. 81 00:05:03,432 --> 00:05:06,537 It ranks with the days when the Spanish Armada 82 00:05:06,562 --> 00:05:08,046 was approaching the Channel, 83 00:05:08,071 --> 00:05:11,207 and Drake was finishing his game of bowls. 84 00:05:16,632 --> 00:05:19,796 The story of the Spanish Armada was manipulated 85 00:05:19,821 --> 00:05:21,607 right from the start. 86 00:05:23,352 --> 00:05:26,357 This story is often presented as a personal battle 87 00:05:26,382 --> 00:05:28,687 between two bitter enemies, 88 00:05:28,712 --> 00:05:32,926 Philip ll of Spain and Queen Elizabeth I. 89 00:05:34,712 --> 00:05:39,157 In 1588, Philip was 61, a devout Catholic 90 00:05:39,182 --> 00:05:41,847 and king of a global empire. 91 00:05:43,182 --> 00:05:46,991 Elizabeth was 54, the unmarried, childless, 92 00:05:47,016 --> 00:05:50,111 Protestant Queen of England. 93 00:05:50,136 --> 00:05:51,781 The story goes that Philip 94 00:05:51,806 --> 00:05:55,781 couldn't bear to see Elizabeth on the throne. 95 00:05:55,806 --> 00:05:58,111 But actually, three decades before the Armada, 96 00:05:58,136 --> 00:06:01,082 he'd helped get her there in the first place. 97 00:06:03,657 --> 00:06:08,422 In 1554, 34 years before the Spanish Armada, 98 00:06:08,447 --> 00:06:11,472 Philip became part of the Tudor family. 99 00:06:13,266 --> 00:06:15,342 He set sail for England to marry 100 00:06:15,367 --> 00:06:18,312 Elizabeth's Catholic half-sister, Queen Mary I. 101 00:06:21,087 --> 00:06:24,111 We often forget that before he was King of Spain, 102 00:06:24,136 --> 00:06:27,781 Philip ll, the great villain of the story of the Armada, 103 00:06:27,806 --> 00:06:30,592 had spent four years as King of England. 104 00:06:31,977 --> 00:06:35,552 His wife, Queen Mary, was the Catholic daughter 105 00:06:35,577 --> 00:06:38,422 of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. 106 00:06:41,136 --> 00:06:46,272 When she became queen in 1553, Mary reversed the Protestant Reformation 107 00:06:46,297 --> 00:06:50,231 and restored England to the Roman Catholic faith. 108 00:06:54,697 --> 00:06:59,111 Mary and Philip both wanted to secure England's religious future 109 00:06:59,136 --> 00:07:00,752 with a Catholic heir. 110 00:07:04,727 --> 00:07:07,272 But if they failed to produce a child, 111 00:07:07,297 --> 00:07:11,312 the crown would be up for grabs after Mary's death. 112 00:07:11,337 --> 00:07:13,672 Next in line to the throne was Elizabeth, 113 00:07:13,697 --> 00:07:17,702 the Protestant daughter of Henry Vlll's second wife, Anne Boleyn. 114 00:07:18,977 --> 00:07:23,422 The chief rival was her Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. 115 00:07:24,657 --> 00:07:27,672 And Mary Tudor hated the idea of her half-sister 116 00:07:27,697 --> 00:07:29,312 ever becoming queen. 117 00:07:35,447 --> 00:07:39,231 One of the ambassadors to court recorded that Mary's opinion 118 00:07:39,256 --> 00:07:42,342 of Elizabeth was that she was illegitimate, 119 00:07:42,367 --> 00:07:44,502 the daughter of a strumpet! 120 00:07:44,527 --> 00:07:46,422 Mary wasn't a fan. 121 00:07:46,447 --> 00:07:48,882 She doubted her half-sister's loyalty, 122 00:07:48,907 --> 00:07:53,192 to herself as queen, and also to the Catholic faith. 123 00:07:53,217 --> 00:07:55,832 Mary thought that Elizabeth was involved in all sorts 124 00:07:55,857 --> 00:07:57,392 of plots against her. 125 00:07:57,417 --> 00:07:59,882 She even had her locked up for a while 126 00:07:59,907 --> 00:08:01,882 in the Tower of London. 127 00:08:01,907 --> 00:08:06,142 But Mary's Spanish husband, Philip, he had a different opinion. 128 00:08:07,417 --> 00:08:10,062 The truth is, Philip was on Elizabeth's side. 129 00:08:11,857 --> 00:08:16,472 He even persuaded Mary to free her from house arrest 130 00:08:16,497 --> 00:08:19,832 because the Catholic alternative, Mary, Queen of Scots, 131 00:08:19,857 --> 00:08:22,882 would have brought England under the control 132 00:08:22,907 --> 00:08:25,192 of Philip's enemies, the French. 133 00:08:25,217 --> 00:08:29,312 There was no way, for political reasons, that Philip could allow 134 00:08:29,337 --> 00:08:32,632 Mary, Queen of Scots, to become Queen of England 135 00:08:32,657 --> 00:08:37,192 because Mary was betrothed to the son of the King of France, 136 00:08:37,217 --> 00:08:41,472 and England would have been absorbed into the French Empire, 137 00:08:41,497 --> 00:08:44,552 had Mary, Queen of Scots, become Queen of England. 138 00:08:44,577 --> 00:08:46,981 So there's lots of things wrong with Elizabeth. 139 00:08:47,006 --> 00:08:50,312 She's got this dangerous Protestant tendency. 140 00:08:50,337 --> 00:08:53,312 She's illegitimate in the eyes of his wife, but she's 141 00:08:53,337 --> 00:08:55,672 the least-bad alternative as far as Philip's concerned. 142 00:08:55,697 --> 00:08:59,062 Yes. And also, he was convinced that he could turn her... 143 00:08:59,087 --> 00:09:02,882 Into a good Catholic? ..Into a good Catholic. 144 00:09:02,907 --> 00:09:06,312 Elizabeth, you know, she appeared to be submissive. 145 00:09:06,337 --> 00:09:10,522 She attended Catholic Church services, including the Mass. 146 00:09:10,547 --> 00:09:12,472 Had she the right husband, 147 00:09:12,497 --> 00:09:16,031 she would conform, or at least keep the Church where it was. 148 00:09:16,056 --> 00:09:19,422 And how did Mary feel about this pressure her husband was putting 149 00:09:19,447 --> 00:09:23,031 on to her, to be nice to her sister, to make her the successor? 150 00:09:23,056 --> 00:09:24,702 From the evidence that we have, 151 00:09:24,727 --> 00:09:27,272 it does seem that she was just not 152 00:09:27,297 --> 00:09:29,552 prepared to be the good wife. 153 00:09:29,577 --> 00:09:32,392 She dug her heels in, as well. 154 00:09:32,417 --> 00:09:35,312 She did not want Elizabeth to be her successor. 155 00:09:35,337 --> 00:09:38,392 But she had to, in the end, give way. 156 00:09:38,417 --> 00:09:44,342 And so, at the end of her life, she tried to fix Elizabeth 157 00:09:44,367 --> 00:09:47,031 into committing herself into being a Catholic, 158 00:09:47,056 --> 00:09:49,272 but was unsuccessful. 159 00:09:49,297 --> 00:09:52,192 Poor Mary. Just doesn't get what she wants. 160 00:09:55,547 --> 00:09:59,111 In November 1558, Mary Tudor was on her deathbed. 161 00:10:01,367 --> 00:10:03,231 Philip knew that when Mary died, 162 00:10:03,256 --> 00:10:05,781 his influence over England would die too. 163 00:10:07,527 --> 00:10:10,312 So he sent his ambassador to remind Elizabeth 164 00:10:10,337 --> 00:10:13,312 just how much he'd supported her. 165 00:10:13,337 --> 00:10:15,552 The meeting didn't go well. 166 00:10:15,577 --> 00:10:18,231 She did concede that, yes, 167 00:10:18,256 --> 00:10:20,472 maybe he had helped her to get out of jail, 168 00:10:20,497 --> 00:10:23,552 but she did not concede any role he might claim 169 00:10:23,577 --> 00:10:26,231 in her likely succession to the throne. 170 00:10:26,256 --> 00:10:27,752 If she got to the throne, 171 00:10:27,777 --> 00:10:31,781 she said, it would be her people who had put her there. 172 00:10:31,806 --> 00:10:36,552 Elizabeth was already writing the Spanish king out of her story. 173 00:10:38,167 --> 00:10:41,192 When Mary died, Philip made a last attempt 174 00:10:41,217 --> 00:10:43,832 to save Catholic England. 175 00:10:43,857 --> 00:10:46,572 He proposed to Elizabeth, 176 00:10:46,597 --> 00:10:50,251 on condition that she converted to the Roman Catholic faith. 177 00:10:52,026 --> 00:10:54,442 Months later, she turned him down. 178 00:10:56,467 --> 00:10:59,131 By then, Philip was making an alliance with France 179 00:10:59,156 --> 00:11:01,251 by marrying a French princess. 180 00:11:02,927 --> 00:11:04,412 Elizabeth jokes, 181 00:11:04,437 --> 00:11:06,292 and this is classic Elizabeth I, 182 00:11:06,317 --> 00:11:10,131 that he couldn't have loved her all that much 183 00:11:10,156 --> 00:11:12,852 if he couldn't even wait a few months for her answer. 184 00:11:12,877 --> 00:11:15,001 But they didn't fall out over this. 185 00:11:15,026 --> 00:11:17,972 Their letters remained in the friend zone. 186 00:11:17,997 --> 00:11:21,692 He referred to her as his sister whom he loved. 187 00:11:21,717 --> 00:11:24,332 They resolved that they were going to remain allies. 188 00:11:28,107 --> 00:11:30,772 When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558, 189 00:11:30,797 --> 00:11:34,612 she returned England to the Protestant faith, 190 00:11:34,637 --> 00:11:36,082 but the country was divided. 191 00:11:38,357 --> 00:11:41,692 To many in her court, Elizabeth wasn't Protestant enough. 192 00:11:43,437 --> 00:11:46,051 She kept some of the practices associated 193 00:11:46,076 --> 00:11:48,332 with her father's Anglo-Catholicism. 194 00:11:50,567 --> 00:11:53,442 For others, Elizabeth was too Protestant. 195 00:11:55,997 --> 00:11:59,522 The Pope encouraged Catholics to rebel, 196 00:11:59,547 --> 00:12:01,852 and also put pressure on Philip 197 00:12:01,877 --> 00:12:03,492 to help get rid of the queen. 198 00:12:04,877 --> 00:12:09,492 But Philip still didn't want to go to war with Elizabeth. 199 00:12:09,517 --> 00:12:12,212 Legend has it that, when it came to the Armada, 200 00:12:12,237 --> 00:12:14,332 Catholic Spain started it. 201 00:12:14,357 --> 00:12:16,852 They were the aggressors invading England 202 00:12:16,877 --> 00:12:18,612 just because it was Protestant. 203 00:12:18,637 --> 00:12:20,931 But that's way too simplistic. 204 00:12:20,956 --> 00:12:23,131 It was going to take more than religion 205 00:12:23,156 --> 00:12:25,612 to drive Philip into war. 206 00:12:28,357 --> 00:12:30,972 Philip had a global empire 207 00:12:30,997 --> 00:12:33,162 and the Pope had given him a monopoly 208 00:12:33,187 --> 00:12:35,492 on trade routes to the Americas. 209 00:12:36,597 --> 00:12:39,692 But in the third decade of Elizabeth's reign, she began 210 00:12:39,717 --> 00:12:42,881 protecting Protestant interests by challenging 211 00:12:42,906 --> 00:12:44,902 Philip's global domination. 212 00:12:47,276 --> 00:12:50,801 Elizabeth encouraged English sailors like Francis Drake 213 00:12:50,826 --> 00:12:54,492 to plunder Spanish ships and ports in the New World. 214 00:12:56,317 --> 00:12:59,442 Her coffers were soon filling up with Spanish gold. 215 00:13:02,517 --> 00:13:04,332 In 1580, Drake returned 216 00:13:04,357 --> 00:13:08,131 from a lucrative circumnavigation of the globe. 217 00:13:09,927 --> 00:13:12,542 Elizabeth rewarded him with a knighthood. 218 00:13:15,276 --> 00:13:20,162 The knighting of Drake marked him out as a national treasure. 219 00:13:20,187 --> 00:13:22,801 But not everybody was pleased. 220 00:13:25,597 --> 00:13:29,852 To the Spanish, Drake was nothing more than a pirate, 221 00:13:29,877 --> 00:13:32,722 a thief who'd stolen their gold. 222 00:13:34,107 --> 00:13:37,902 Elizabeth couldn't afford an all-out war with Philip, 223 00:13:37,927 --> 00:13:41,442 but she was determined to curb Spanish power 224 00:13:41,467 --> 00:13:44,131 before it crushed Protestant Europe. 225 00:13:46,076 --> 00:13:47,801 UPBEAT FLAMENCO FAN FARE 226 00:13:54,107 --> 00:13:57,902 England wasn't just damaging Spain's interests in the New World, 227 00:13:57,927 --> 00:14:02,162 it was also goading Spain on its own doorstep in Europe. 228 00:14:03,956 --> 00:14:06,652 In Philip's territory in the Netherlands, 229 00:14:06,677 --> 00:14:09,902 the Protestant population was rebelling. 230 00:14:09,927 --> 00:14:13,292 Elizabeth sent an army of over 6,000 troops 231 00:14:13,317 --> 00:14:16,131 to help the Protestant revolt. 232 00:14:16,156 --> 00:14:18,692 Elizabeth knew that this was a dangerous move, 233 00:14:18,717 --> 00:14:21,881 so she set about taking control of the story. 234 00:14:23,797 --> 00:14:27,572 The queen circulated a pamphlet across Europe 235 00:14:27,597 --> 00:14:29,772 justifying her actions. 236 00:14:29,797 --> 00:14:34,542 She claimed she wasn't attacking her brother and ally, Philip, 237 00:14:34,567 --> 00:14:37,332 she was just defending her neighbours. 238 00:14:42,517 --> 00:14:45,362 Despite Elizabeth's attempts to spin the story, 239 00:14:45,387 --> 00:14:49,492 to Philip, she was clearly supporting rebellion against him. 240 00:14:54,076 --> 00:14:55,412 To make matters worse, 241 00:14:55,437 --> 00:14:57,692 English ships were now raiding ports 242 00:14:57,717 --> 00:14:59,181 on the Spanish coast. 243 00:15:02,076 --> 00:15:04,772 Elizabeth had provoked Spain into action, 244 00:15:04,797 --> 00:15:08,492 and Philip's plans for the Armada began to take shape. 245 00:15:16,357 --> 00:15:19,692 Philip would now unleash Spain's imperial power. 246 00:15:21,387 --> 00:15:22,722 To stop Elizabeth's games, 247 00:15:22,747 --> 00:15:26,332 he would have to invade England and depose her. 248 00:15:27,997 --> 00:15:30,001 After two years of planning, 249 00:15:30,026 --> 00:15:34,801 the Spanish Armada finally set sail in May 1588. 250 00:15:36,437 --> 00:15:39,362 In the usual story of the Spanish Armada, 251 00:15:39,387 --> 00:15:41,772 it's gone down as invincible, 252 00:15:41,797 --> 00:15:45,292 the largest fleet ever to sail on England. 253 00:15:45,317 --> 00:15:47,652 Basically, the Armada is Goliath. 254 00:15:58,187 --> 00:15:59,612 SHE YELLS 255 00:16:01,747 --> 00:16:05,001 Meanwhile, England is the plucky little underdog, 256 00:16:05,026 --> 00:16:07,181 fighting a cruel giant 257 00:16:07,206 --> 00:16:11,442 determined to make the streets of London run with blood. 258 00:16:11,467 --> 00:16:13,931 But that image is something of an exaggeration. 259 00:16:17,637 --> 00:16:21,332 This wasn't the biggest fleet ever to attack England. 260 00:16:22,956 --> 00:16:27,212 Bigger invasion fleets had been sent by the Normans in 1066, 261 00:16:27,237 --> 00:16:29,131 and by the French in 1545. 262 00:16:33,517 --> 00:16:36,692 The Spanish fleet had around 130 ships. 263 00:16:38,637 --> 00:16:41,362 The queen's navy was only 34 ships strong. 264 00:16:42,877 --> 00:16:47,082 But a host of private ships were commandeered to create a force 265 00:16:47,107 --> 00:16:48,902 which outnumbered the Spanish. 266 00:16:51,026 --> 00:16:54,722 And before they even left home the Spanish Navy was in trouble. 267 00:16:56,357 --> 00:16:58,212 Some of the ships were damaged. 268 00:16:58,237 --> 00:16:59,902 Some of the men had diseases. 269 00:16:59,927 --> 00:17:02,212 Some of the provisions had gone rotten. 270 00:17:02,237 --> 00:17:05,852 So they had to stop at Corunna in northern Spain, 271 00:17:05,877 --> 00:17:09,251 and from here, their commander, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, 272 00:17:09,276 --> 00:17:10,801 wrote to King Philip. 273 00:17:10,826 --> 00:17:13,292 And he said, "Look, it's not going at all well. 274 00:17:13,317 --> 00:17:16,001 "My sailors are utterly useless." 275 00:17:16,026 --> 00:17:18,001 But the king wrote back and he said, 276 00:17:18,026 --> 00:17:21,162 "Pull yourself together, man, and get on with it!" 277 00:17:22,877 --> 00:17:27,772 The Armada's aim was to sail in tight formation up the Channel, 278 00:17:27,797 --> 00:17:30,572 towards its narrowest point. 279 00:17:30,597 --> 00:17:33,801 There they would meet an army of 26,000 soldiers 280 00:17:33,826 --> 00:17:35,652 from the Netherlands. 281 00:17:35,677 --> 00:17:39,722 The Armada would protect this army as it crossed to invade England. 282 00:17:44,956 --> 00:17:47,162 As the Spanish made their way along the Channel, 283 00:17:47,187 --> 00:17:49,612 they were hounded by the English Navy. 284 00:17:50,677 --> 00:17:53,931 But the first two major casualties to the Armada 285 00:17:53,956 --> 00:17:55,362 were self-inflicted. 286 00:17:56,747 --> 00:18:00,051 A crash within the Spanish fleet allowed Francis Drake 287 00:18:00,076 --> 00:18:03,162 to capture one of the damaged ships, the Rosario. 288 00:18:05,026 --> 00:18:06,801 But this disease-ridden, 289 00:18:06,826 --> 00:18:09,892 accident-prone Armada would soon be spun 290 00:18:09,917 --> 00:18:13,332 into the Goliath of history. 291 00:18:13,357 --> 00:18:16,131 Because the fighting was all happening out at sea, 292 00:18:16,156 --> 00:18:18,292 communication was a real problem, 293 00:18:18,317 --> 00:18:22,051 and this led to rumour and speculation, 294 00:18:22,076 --> 00:18:24,931 and sometimes even outright lies. 295 00:18:24,956 --> 00:18:28,722 The capture of the Rosario gave the popular press 296 00:18:28,747 --> 00:18:31,051 the most wonderful story to exploit. 297 00:18:32,956 --> 00:18:35,442 ENERGETIC SINGING OF VICTORY BALLAD 298 00:18:37,387 --> 00:18:40,251 The English were fearful of invasion, 299 00:18:40,276 --> 00:18:41,572 and news of the campaign 300 00:18:41,597 --> 00:18:44,612 was spread through the streets by popular ballads. 301 00:18:44,637 --> 00:18:47,001 MUSIC: AjOYFUL NEW BALLAD by Thomas Deloney 302 00:19:03,817 --> 00:19:06,821 Political songs were big sellers in this period. 303 00:19:06,846 --> 00:19:09,872 These Armada ballads are sort of political news 304 00:19:09,897 --> 00:19:11,592 and political commentary, as well. 305 00:19:11,617 --> 00:19:16,352 In this case, the words are by a man called Thomas Deloney, 306 00:19:16,377 --> 00:19:20,872 who was probably the greatest songwriter of his age. 307 00:19:20,897 --> 00:19:23,592 He's like, you know, Elton john, Lennon and McCartney, 308 00:19:23,617 --> 00:19:27,872 he knew how to kind of lay down a hit like nobody else. 309 00:19:27,897 --> 00:19:31,872 Within a few clays of the capture of the Rosario, 310 00:19:31,897 --> 00:19:35,151 Thomas Deloney had written a ballad about it. 311 00:19:49,046 --> 00:19:51,432 It seems like it's about current affairs, 312 00:19:51,457 --> 00:19:54,232 but if you actually look at the words, 313 00:19:54,257 --> 00:19:55,951 this is fake news, isn't it? 314 00:19:55,976 --> 00:19:57,542 It's not just news. It's fake news. 315 00:19:57,567 --> 00:20:02,182 Yes, definitely, but it is based on these actual events that happened, 316 00:20:02,207 --> 00:20:04,912 which are then sort of blown up, blown out of proportion. 317 00:20:04,937 --> 00:20:08,712 The emphasis is very much on the might of the Spanish. 318 00:20:08,737 --> 00:20:13,271 The idea that, you know, that, actually, there's this huge force 319 00:20:13,296 --> 00:20:16,592 with massive ships, you know, massively armed, 320 00:20:16,617 --> 00:20:19,592 and plucky little England somehow survived. 321 00:20:19,617 --> 00:20:22,712 And what you don't get is the fact that the Rosario 322 00:20:22,737 --> 00:20:26,662 basically took itself, in a way. It bumped into another Spanish ship, 323 00:20:26,687 --> 00:20:28,742 so it was a Spanish own goal. 324 00:20:28,767 --> 00:20:30,512 But in the ballad, 325 00:20:30,537 --> 00:20:33,071 it's more about, you know, a mighty kind of mismatch 326 00:20:33,096 --> 00:20:35,592 between a huge Catholic empire 327 00:20:35,617 --> 00:20:38,512 and a tiny, little Protestant nation. 328 00:20:51,537 --> 00:20:53,792 There's something about the language of it. 329 00:20:53,817 --> 00:20:57,232 We've got virgins being deflowered and babies being smited. 330 00:20:57,257 --> 00:20:59,352 That's very sort of tabloid, isn't it? 331 00:20:59,377 --> 00:21:03,712 Definitely. I mean, it is whipping up a frenzy 332 00:21:03,737 --> 00:21:07,312 against, you know, a dangerous foreign force. 333 00:21:08,767 --> 00:21:11,071 You know, you'd think people would see through it, 334 00:21:11,096 --> 00:21:13,592 but I think there's always that sense that people believe 335 00:21:13,617 --> 00:21:15,271 what they want to believe. 336 00:21:15,296 --> 00:21:17,662 It's amazing that there's nothing official about this. 337 00:21:17,687 --> 00:21:20,432 This isn't the government. It's the marketplace. 338 00:21:20,457 --> 00:21:22,792 And yet, it is propaganda for the Tudor regime. 339 00:21:22,817 --> 00:21:25,662 It is. Yeah. It does seem to be commercially driven. 340 00:21:25,687 --> 00:21:28,512 It does seem to be giving the English public what they want. 341 00:21:28,537 --> 00:21:30,662 It's a time of national panic. 342 00:21:30,687 --> 00:21:32,662 So to be told constantly, 343 00:21:32,687 --> 00:21:34,102 God is on your side, 344 00:21:34,127 --> 00:21:36,312 that you've had this miraculous escape 345 00:21:36,337 --> 00:21:39,821 which just proves that whatever happens to you, you'll be OK, 346 00:21:39,846 --> 00:21:43,712 is kind of reassuring, at that point in time. 347 00:21:43,737 --> 00:21:47,432 I think he created a story that resonated in 1588, 348 00:21:47,457 --> 00:21:52,352 and it has resonated whenever England is in danger from Europe. 349 00:21:52,377 --> 00:21:54,542 And doesn't it still resonate today? It does! 350 00:21:54,567 --> 00:21:57,742 It does still resonate today. Yes. Yes, indeed. 351 00:22:09,054 --> 00:22:12,909 The Spanish Armada was followed up the Channel for eight days. 352 00:22:16,804 --> 00:22:18,470 But as they reached Calais 353 00:22:18,495 --> 00:22:21,550 there was still no sign of the invasion troops. 354 00:22:23,495 --> 00:22:26,270 Now they had to wait, exposed to attack. 355 00:22:36,615 --> 00:22:41,420 It's at this point in the story that Elizabeth's big moment comes, 356 00:22:41,445 --> 00:22:44,830 and normally she's dressed to impress for it, 357 00:22:44,855 --> 00:22:47,909 perhaps in a white velvet gown, 358 00:22:47,934 --> 00:22:51,140 maybe with feathers in her hair, or even wearing armour. 359 00:22:52,855 --> 00:22:55,950 The queen visits her army, here at Tilbury, on the banks 360 00:22:55,975 --> 00:22:58,190 of the Thames, where they're assembled 361 00:22:58,215 --> 00:23:00,500 to protect Essex from invasion. 362 00:23:02,695 --> 00:23:06,979 She delivers a rousing speech to the troops. 363 00:23:07,004 --> 00:23:09,140 She says that she, herself, 364 00:23:09,165 --> 00:23:12,270 is here in the midst and heat 365 00:23:12,295 --> 00:23:16,159 of battle to live and die amongst you all. 366 00:23:19,335 --> 00:23:25,340 "L know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, 367 00:23:25,365 --> 00:23:29,109 "but I have the heart and stomach of a king, 368 00:23:29,134 --> 00:23:32,060 "and of a king of England, too. 369 00:23:32,085 --> 00:23:35,750 "L, myself, will take up arms. 370 00:23:35,775 --> 00:23:39,620 "L, myself, will be your general, 371 00:23:39,645 --> 00:23:45,109 "judge and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field." 372 00:23:52,775 --> 00:23:54,979 In the traditional version of the story, 373 00:23:55,004 --> 00:23:57,700 the queen's speech launches the attack. 374 00:23:59,445 --> 00:24:02,750 The English set fire to eight of their own ships 375 00:24:02,775 --> 00:24:07,270 and sent them off into the midst of the Armada. 376 00:24:07,295 --> 00:24:12,520 In a panic, Spanish ships cut anchor and were scattered. 377 00:24:12,545 --> 00:24:14,979 Three collided and one ran aground. 378 00:24:18,134 --> 00:24:22,270 In the battle that followed, four Spanish ships were lost. 379 00:24:23,365 --> 00:24:26,779 Then strong winds drove the Armada to the north. 380 00:24:28,645 --> 00:24:31,470 Cutting their losses, the Spanish headed home 381 00:24:31,495 --> 00:24:33,140 via Scotland and Ireland. 382 00:24:35,445 --> 00:24:40,060 It seems like Elizabeth's rallying cry worked, it did the trick. 383 00:24:40,085 --> 00:24:44,029 But, in fact, the story of her most famous speech 384 00:24:44,054 --> 00:24:45,620 is riddled with holes, 385 00:24:45,645 --> 00:24:48,909 and the biggest fib of all lies in the timing. 386 00:24:52,134 --> 00:24:55,060 When Elizabeth began planning her Tilbury visit, 387 00:24:55,085 --> 00:24:56,979 invasion did seem imminent. 388 00:25:00,254 --> 00:25:05,029 But by the time she actually made the speech, the battle was over. 389 00:25:06,855 --> 00:25:09,310 This extravaganza at Tilbury happened 390 00:25:09,335 --> 00:25:12,140 a whole 11 clays after the fire ships 391 00:25:12,165 --> 00:25:14,670 and by this point, the Spanish Armada, 392 00:25:14,695 --> 00:25:16,029 well, it had floated off. 393 00:25:16,054 --> 00:25:18,700 It was somewhere off the coast of Scotland. 394 00:25:18,725 --> 00:25:22,190 Not only were the men not going to get to do any fighting, 395 00:25:22,215 --> 00:25:25,190 very soon, they were going to get sent home, 396 00:25:25,215 --> 00:25:27,909 and that was because the queen couldn't afford 397 00:25:27,934 --> 00:25:29,870 to go on paying their wages. 398 00:25:32,775 --> 00:25:34,950 But that didn't fit with the image of Elizabeth 399 00:25:34,975 --> 00:25:38,830 that was already emerging, even as the Armada sailed home. 400 00:25:40,615 --> 00:25:42,779 A poet called James Aske, 401 00:25:42,804 --> 00:25:45,270 who claimed to have been at Tilbury, 402 00:25:45,295 --> 00:25:48,750 wrote an epic verse called Elizabeth Triumphans, 403 00:25:48,775 --> 00:25:50,190 in November 1588. 404 00:25:53,975 --> 00:25:58,229 It mythologised Elizabeth as a warrior queen, and it placed 405 00:25:58,254 --> 00:26:01,500 Tilbury before the battle for dramatic effect. 406 00:26:03,254 --> 00:26:06,620 But Aske doesn't mention the most famous line in her speech. 407 00:26:08,365 --> 00:26:11,140 The reference to the heart and stomach of a king 408 00:26:11,165 --> 00:26:14,520 doesn't appear until 35 years after the event. 409 00:26:17,295 --> 00:26:20,190 It was first introduced by a Protestant chaplain 410 00:26:20,215 --> 00:26:21,909 who'd also been at Tilbury, 411 00:26:21,934 --> 00:26:25,700 and who was keen to glorify the now-long-dead Elizabeth. 412 00:26:29,004 --> 00:26:33,140 Historians still argue over the speech's authenticity. 413 00:26:36,895 --> 00:26:40,550 But, accurate or not, the queen's speech at Tilbury 414 00:26:40,575 --> 00:26:43,590 is now part of our history, and it continues 415 00:26:43,615 --> 00:26:45,700 to inspire in the 21st century. 416 00:26:57,855 --> 00:27:00,420 During the 2019 Women's World Cup, 417 00:27:00,445 --> 00:27:02,979 an advert featured English celebrities 418 00:27:03,004 --> 00:27:04,779 performing the speech. 419 00:27:25,934 --> 00:27:30,950 As the Armada made its long journey back to Spain, at least 22 ships 420 00:27:30,975 --> 00:27:34,620 were sunk in storms off the coast of Scotland and Ireland. 421 00:27:36,575 --> 00:27:38,779 It wasn't the queen or her navy 422 00:27:38,804 --> 00:27:42,550 who had dealt the decisive blow to the Spanish Armada, 423 00:27:42,575 --> 00:27:44,830 it was the weather, 424 00:27:44,855 --> 00:27:47,909 but that suited the Elizabethan narrative very well. 425 00:27:49,595 --> 00:27:51,080 If anyone still doubted 426 00:27:51,105 --> 00:27:53,830 that the future of England was Protestant, 427 00:27:53,855 --> 00:27:57,979 this victory would be used to put them right. 428 00:27:58,004 --> 00:28:01,779 The storms which had scattered the Armada were God's storms, 429 00:28:01,804 --> 00:28:05,229 which meant that God had clearly picked the Protestant side, 430 00:28:05,254 --> 00:28:07,029 and all over Europe 431 00:28:07,054 --> 00:28:11,390 Protestants were determined to make a big deal about this. 432 00:28:11,415 --> 00:28:15,470 Even Elizabeth herself wrote a verse praising the God who'd made 433 00:28:15,495 --> 00:28:20,340 the winds and waters rise to scatter all of her enemies. 434 00:28:20,365 --> 00:28:25,830 In the Netherlands celebratory medals were struck, like this one. 435 00:28:25,855 --> 00:28:28,029 It says on it, "He blew." 436 00:28:28,054 --> 00:28:30,060 That's God blew. 437 00:28:30,085 --> 00:28:32,590 And they were "Dissipati". 438 00:28:32,615 --> 00:28:35,190 They were dissipated, they were scattered. 439 00:28:35,215 --> 00:28:39,310 England was a unified, victorious Protestant nation. 440 00:28:43,445 --> 00:28:47,570 After the Armada, the Protestant propaganda war continued. 441 00:28:51,415 --> 00:28:54,140 A letter from a Catholic priest in England 442 00:28:54,165 --> 00:28:57,909 to the Spanish ambassador in Paris was published across Europe. 443 00:29:00,335 --> 00:29:03,340 The person who wrote the letter found it highly regrettable 444 00:29:03,365 --> 00:29:07,229 that Spain had tried to invade England, and he claims that even 445 00:29:07,254 --> 00:29:09,870 English Catholics had thought that this was a bad idea, 446 00:29:09,895 --> 00:29:12,340 a mistake in the eyes of the Lord. 447 00:29:12,365 --> 00:29:14,340 He even claims that these English Catholics 448 00:29:14,365 --> 00:29:18,310 are more loyal to their queen than they are to the Pope. 449 00:29:18,335 --> 00:29:22,750 The word he uses is "addicted". He says they are addicted to her. 450 00:29:22,775 --> 00:29:25,830 And some translations finish like this - 451 00:29:25,855 --> 00:29:29,700 "Here ends the story of the misfortunes of the Spanish Armada, 452 00:29:29,725 --> 00:29:32,779 "which they used to call invincible." 453 00:29:32,804 --> 00:29:35,340 "lNVINCIBLE". Ha-ha-ha! 454 00:29:35,365 --> 00:29:37,060 It's even written in capital letters 455 00:29:37,085 --> 00:29:39,590 just to heighten that delicious irony. 456 00:29:41,895 --> 00:29:45,950 The description of the Armada as "invincible" still appears 457 00:29:45,975 --> 00:29:48,420 in history books today, 458 00:29:48,445 --> 00:29:50,750 but it was never used by the Spanish 459 00:29:50,775 --> 00:29:53,830 to describe their Armada, and it gets worse. 460 00:29:55,335 --> 00:29:57,779 The letter was a fake. 461 00:29:57,804 --> 00:29:59,390 It was a forgery. 462 00:29:59,415 --> 00:30:02,779 It was made up by the Machiavellian William Cecil, 463 00:30:02,804 --> 00:30:04,620 Elizabeth's close adviser. 464 00:30:04,645 --> 00:30:08,890 There are even drafts of it in his own handwriting. 465 00:30:08,915 --> 00:30:11,610 But this was a brilliantly successful bit of fake news. 466 00:30:11,635 --> 00:30:15,210 People believed it and they thought, well, if even the English Catholics 467 00:30:15,235 --> 00:30:18,799 are keen on the queen then she must now truly rule 468 00:30:18,824 --> 00:30:20,440 over a unified nation. 469 00:30:27,105 --> 00:30:29,640 In November 1588, 470 00:30:29,665 --> 00:30:33,440 Queen Elizabeth I held a procession through London. 471 00:30:35,995 --> 00:30:38,970 This was her victory parade. 472 00:30:40,795 --> 00:30:44,440 The queen made her way through the city to St Paul's, 473 00:30:44,465 --> 00:30:45,770 to give thanks. 474 00:30:45,795 --> 00:30:48,690 God and his chosen special monarch 475 00:30:48,715 --> 00:30:51,049 together had saved the day. 476 00:30:51,074 --> 00:30:55,890 THEY were the hero and the heroine at the heart of this narrative. 477 00:30:55,915 --> 00:30:59,879 But in reality, though, things weren't quite so heroic. 478 00:31:02,515 --> 00:31:05,850 Elizabeth's promise at Tilbury to reward her soldiers 479 00:31:05,875 --> 00:31:07,999 proved to be empty rhetoric. 480 00:31:10,385 --> 00:31:13,929 The war had drained Elizabeth's coffers. 481 00:31:13,954 --> 00:31:16,999 The sailors who fought for England were hit by disease, 482 00:31:17,024 --> 00:31:19,929 and were still fighting for their wages. 483 00:31:22,555 --> 00:31:24,640 The Crown threatened prison 484 00:31:24,665 --> 00:31:28,520 for those slanderously suggesting that they hadn't been paid. 485 00:31:31,665 --> 00:31:35,360 William Cecil now rubbed salt into the wound. 486 00:31:35,385 --> 00:31:38,330 He said, "Well, if the soldiers die of illness, 487 00:31:38,355 --> 00:31:42,129 "then at least the Crown won't have to pay them!" 488 00:31:42,154 --> 00:31:44,129 By the end of 1588, 489 00:31:44,154 --> 00:31:47,570 more than half of the men who'd fought in the Armada campaign 490 00:31:47,595 --> 00:31:50,570 were dead, and they were killed not by the Spanish, 491 00:31:50,595 --> 00:31:52,970 but by disease and starvation. 492 00:32:03,274 --> 00:32:06,249 The reality of post-Armada England 493 00:32:06,274 --> 00:32:10,570 was economic crisis and an increasingly unpopular queen. 494 00:32:12,545 --> 00:32:16,129 But history was soon to forget all of this, thanks to the courtiers 495 00:32:16,154 --> 00:32:19,210 who commissioned a painting which celebrated the queen 496 00:32:19,235 --> 00:32:20,970 and her Armada victory. 497 00:32:24,355 --> 00:32:29,530 This portrait is absolutely overflowing with symbolism 498 00:32:29,555 --> 00:32:31,360 and, indeed, the pearls are probably 499 00:32:31,385 --> 00:32:34,520 the most prominent symbol in this picture. 500 00:32:34,545 --> 00:32:37,570 It seems to be this sort of endless abundance of them. 501 00:32:37,595 --> 00:32:42,210 Pearls at this period symbolised purity and chastity. 502 00:32:42,235 --> 00:32:46,080 And, of course, Elizabeth at this point, in 1588, 503 00:32:46,105 --> 00:32:47,799 she's in her mid-50s, 504 00:32:47,824 --> 00:32:50,080 she's no longer of child-bearing age, 505 00:32:50,105 --> 00:32:54,640 and we see this cult of the Virgin Queen being introduced. 506 00:32:54,665 --> 00:32:58,440 So we have, for example, this fabulous pearl positioned 507 00:32:58,465 --> 00:33:00,770 exactly where, in a portrait of Henry VIII, 508 00:33:00,795 --> 00:33:03,929 you'd have an enormous codpiece, for example. 509 00:33:03,954 --> 00:33:07,490 This is Elizabeth really playing on this idea 510 00:33:07,515 --> 00:33:11,210 of her virginity, and, of course, this is a mirror 511 00:33:11,235 --> 00:33:14,160 of the idea of the impenetrability of England. 512 00:33:15,795 --> 00:33:19,080 A virgin queen who'd failed to produce an heir 513 00:33:19,105 --> 00:33:20,720 was highly problematic. 514 00:33:22,274 --> 00:33:24,530 But in the story of the Armada, 515 00:33:24,555 --> 00:33:27,850 Elizabeth's virginity becomes a superpower. 516 00:33:29,074 --> 00:33:33,179 This puts her front and centre of the events unfolding, 517 00:33:33,204 --> 00:33:34,970 and it positions her really 518 00:33:34,995 --> 00:33:38,610 as the sort of grand choreographer of what's going on. 519 00:33:38,635 --> 00:33:43,410 And she is, if you like, the source of light in this picture, 520 00:33:43,435 --> 00:33:47,610 and she is casting her light onto this scene, 521 00:33:47,635 --> 00:33:50,640 in the left of the picture of the English fleet, 522 00:33:50,665 --> 00:33:54,330 and turning her back, of course, on the Spanish fleet, 523 00:33:54,355 --> 00:33:56,570 which is wrecked in this storm. 524 00:33:56,595 --> 00:34:00,280 She's taking the credit for it all, really? Absolutely. 525 00:34:00,305 --> 00:34:03,490 Yeah. Good for her. Ha-ha. She owns it. 526 00:34:03,515 --> 00:34:05,850 And what has she got under her hands there? 527 00:34:05,875 --> 00:34:08,999 This hand is hovering over a globe, 528 00:34:09,024 --> 00:34:11,410 and you can just about make out her fingers 529 00:34:11,435 --> 00:34:15,410 are almost caressing, if you like, an image of the Americas. 530 00:34:15,435 --> 00:34:18,770 This is a not-so-subtle reference to her 531 00:34:18,795 --> 00:34:22,249 and to England's ambitions for empire. 532 00:34:22,274 --> 00:34:25,799 But indeed, when she died, there was no empire to be spoken of 533 00:34:25,824 --> 00:34:28,929 beyond the British Isles. 534 00:34:28,954 --> 00:34:31,049 This is really an image of aspiration 535 00:34:31,074 --> 00:34:33,640 and not of reality. 536 00:34:33,665 --> 00:34:35,850 The British Empire starts here... 537 00:34:35,875 --> 00:34:38,970 Indeed. ..in the grasp of those white fingers. Yeah. 538 00:34:38,995 --> 00:34:42,999 This is the, sort of, the creation myth, if you like. 539 00:34:43,024 --> 00:34:45,520 This idea of Britain as an island nation 540 00:34:45,545 --> 00:34:47,490 that is looking globally, 541 00:34:47,515 --> 00:34:50,129 with its ambitions, across the Atlantic. 542 00:34:50,154 --> 00:34:55,640 This is just an amazingly powerful propaganda message, isn't it? 543 00:34:55,665 --> 00:34:58,280 And wouldn't you say it's really worked terrifically well? 544 00:34:58,305 --> 00:35:00,530 It is the victors who write history, of course, 545 00:35:00,555 --> 00:35:03,440 so this is a classic case of that. 546 00:35:03,465 --> 00:35:06,080 And the painters who paint history, as well. Indeed. 547 00:35:06,105 --> 00:35:08,490 They did a very good job in selling her version. 548 00:35:09,795 --> 00:35:13,210 The Armada portrait has become the lasting symbol 549 00:35:13,235 --> 00:35:15,330 of Elizabeth's triumph, 550 00:35:15,355 --> 00:35:19,330 forever connecting the queen with victory and empire. 551 00:35:20,745 --> 00:35:23,890 But the reality was that Spain's empire and navy 552 00:35:23,915 --> 00:35:27,280 continued to dominate the world for another half century. 553 00:35:36,185 --> 00:35:37,850 In 1603, 554 00:35:37,875 --> 00:35:42,080 the Tudor dynasty came to an end with Elizabeth's death. 555 00:35:42,105 --> 00:35:45,540 The crowns of England and Scotland were united 556 00:35:45,565 --> 00:35:49,740 as James VI of Scotland became James I of England. 557 00:35:51,125 --> 00:35:54,069 England remained a Protestant country, 558 00:35:54,094 --> 00:35:58,380 but a Catholic resistance was still at work 559 00:35:58,405 --> 00:36:01,069 and Elizabethan propaganda still came in useful. 560 00:36:03,655 --> 00:36:06,019 In this small church in Norfolk 561 00:36:06,044 --> 00:36:09,740 is a pair of paintings created in the 17th century, 562 00:36:09,765 --> 00:36:12,630 during the reign of King James I. 563 00:36:14,685 --> 00:36:17,790 So, Natalie, what's happening in these amazing pictures? 564 00:36:17,815 --> 00:36:22,230 So, on this side, we have a depiction of the Spanish Armada 565 00:36:22,255 --> 00:36:26,460 and particularly Elizabeth visiting the troops at Tilbury, 566 00:36:26,485 --> 00:36:30,590 with a depiction of the fire ships in the background. 567 00:36:30,615 --> 00:36:32,269 The fire ships are fantastic. 568 00:36:32,294 --> 00:36:37,350 So this painting depicts the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. 569 00:36:37,375 --> 00:36:40,710 It was a Catholic plot to blow up James, 570 00:36:40,735 --> 00:36:44,100 his heir, Prince Henry, and the whole of Parliament. 571 00:36:44,125 --> 00:36:47,819 So this is the opening of Parliament and below that, 572 00:36:47,844 --> 00:36:49,819 and it is unfortunately very dark... 573 00:36:49,844 --> 00:36:51,100 It's quite exciting! 574 00:36:51,125 --> 00:36:53,870 ...you can just see the cellars 575 00:36:53,895 --> 00:36:58,180 and here, you can see the conspirators being discovered. 576 00:36:58,205 --> 00:37:00,819 And we actually see right at the far corner, a devil, 577 00:37:00,844 --> 00:37:04,510 just to make sure you know who's on the wrong side. 578 00:37:04,535 --> 00:37:06,990 I didn't know that the Devil himself took part in the plot, 579 00:37:07,015 --> 00:37:08,870 but I guess it all makes sense. 580 00:37:08,895 --> 00:37:10,630 So the two paintings we've got, 581 00:37:10,655 --> 00:37:13,910 defeating the Armada, defeating the Gunpowder Plot, 582 00:37:13,935 --> 00:37:15,910 some parallel is being drawn here. 583 00:37:15,935 --> 00:37:17,840 What was the purpose of putting them up 584 00:37:17,865 --> 00:37:19,380 in this church, do you think? 585 00:37:19,405 --> 00:37:22,630 So, these are two key moments in English Protestant history. 586 00:37:22,655 --> 00:37:27,790 On both occasions, God intervenes in England's favour. 587 00:37:27,815 --> 00:37:31,819 So these paintings are using these kind of iconic moments 588 00:37:31,844 --> 00:37:35,790 of Protestant history to give a message to the parishioners 589 00:37:35,815 --> 00:37:39,180 who would have seen them on a sort of daily basis, 590 00:37:39,205 --> 00:37:42,269 about how to act and how to behave. 591 00:37:42,294 --> 00:37:45,790 A message for parishioners can be found in another version 592 00:37:45,815 --> 00:37:50,540 of the Tilbury speech at the bottom of the painting. 593 00:37:50,565 --> 00:37:53,430 It doesn't have all those famous phrases about, 594 00:37:53,455 --> 00:37:55,510 "l may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, 595 00:37:55,535 --> 00:37:57,910 "but I have the heart and stomach of a king." 596 00:37:57,935 --> 00:38:04,550 Instead, it emphasises that though we may be in danger from Spain 597 00:38:04,575 --> 00:38:07,790 and from Catholicism, we've got God on our side. Yes. 598 00:38:07,815 --> 00:38:12,100 And the real danger will be if we forfeit God's favour 599 00:38:12,125 --> 00:38:14,660 by being sinful and ungodly. 600 00:38:14,685 --> 00:38:19,069 So it's a message actually about being more pious 601 00:38:19,094 --> 00:38:22,990 and using the Armada as a symbol of God's providence 602 00:38:23,015 --> 00:38:27,790 and favour to England and the English church. 603 00:38:27,815 --> 00:38:32,910 But these paintings may also contain a subtle message for the king. 604 00:38:32,935 --> 00:38:37,380 Why in james's reign were people glorifying Elizabeth 605 00:38:37,405 --> 00:38:40,510 and the defeat of the Armada like this? 606 00:38:40,535 --> 00:38:43,269 Well, some people had their suspicions about James, 607 00:38:43,294 --> 00:38:45,949 that he was too sympathetic to Catholics, 608 00:38:45,974 --> 00:38:47,949 both in England and abroad. 609 00:38:48,974 --> 00:38:51,870 He sees his role in Europe as a peacemaker. 610 00:38:51,895 --> 00:38:55,790 He does negotiate a peace with Spain at the beginning of his reign. 611 00:38:55,815 --> 00:39:00,300 And then, most famously, he negotiates a marriage 612 00:39:00,325 --> 00:39:04,590 between his son, Prince Charles, who is heir by that time, 613 00:39:04,615 --> 00:39:06,740 to marry the Spanish lnfanta 614 00:39:06,765 --> 00:39:08,710 and that occurs in 1623-4. 615 00:39:09,735 --> 00:39:12,590 Now, certainly at that time, 616 00:39:12,615 --> 00:39:15,069 the imagery of the Armada 617 00:39:15,094 --> 00:39:18,790 and Elizabeth very much comes to the fore 618 00:39:18,815 --> 00:39:20,949 because Elizabeth is seen 619 00:39:20,974 --> 00:39:25,550 as a champion against Spanish and Catholic aggression, 620 00:39:25,575 --> 00:39:29,990 and so her image is used, particularly by critics 621 00:39:30,015 --> 00:39:35,069 of the Spanish match, as a sort of a warning to James. 622 00:39:35,094 --> 00:39:38,870 No, you shouldn't be effecting this marriage to Spain. 623 00:39:38,895 --> 00:39:41,069 Look what they've done to us in the past. 624 00:39:41,094 --> 00:39:45,380 You should be acting more like Elizabeth and standing up 625 00:39:45,405 --> 00:39:48,019 against Spain and Catholicism. 626 00:39:48,044 --> 00:39:52,019 So, at that point in 17th-century history, when James was flirting 627 00:39:52,044 --> 00:39:55,590 with the Spanish, it made sense for people to start talking 628 00:39:55,615 --> 00:39:58,350 about how great Elizabeth was at beating the Spanish. 629 00:39:58,375 --> 00:40:01,660 Exactly. You can never criticise a king openly. 630 00:40:01,685 --> 00:40:04,300 So, what you could do is you 631 00:40:04,325 --> 00:40:07,510 give an example of someone else, 632 00:40:07,535 --> 00:40:10,230 and that's the model that you should be following. 633 00:40:13,205 --> 00:40:16,910 The heroic queen strand of the Armada tale 634 00:40:16,935 --> 00:40:20,430 continued to dominate in the 17th century, 635 00:40:20,455 --> 00:40:23,949 but an alternative narrative was fighting to get out. 636 00:40:26,735 --> 00:40:31,790 With all this talk about a Protestant wind and a royal victory, 637 00:40:31,815 --> 00:40:34,790 the contribution that the Navy made to the defeat 638 00:40:34,815 --> 00:40:37,460 of the Spanish Armada seemed to be taking second place. 639 00:40:37,485 --> 00:40:41,019 But the commander of the fleet, Lord Howard of Effingham, 640 00:40:41,044 --> 00:40:43,790 he saw things differently. 641 00:40:43,815 --> 00:40:48,790 In 1592, Lord Howard commissioned one of Europe's greatest weavers 642 00:40:48,815 --> 00:40:51,990 to create ten tapestries for his London home. 643 00:40:54,655 --> 00:40:56,949 Based on his own account of the campaign, 644 00:40:56,974 --> 00:40:59,199 they cost over £1,500, 645 00:40:59,224 --> 00:41:02,510 the equivalent of 87 years' wages 646 00:41:02,535 --> 00:41:05,019 for the average English worker at the time. 647 00:41:07,455 --> 00:41:11,660 These tapestries told the naval story of the Armada 648 00:41:11,685 --> 00:41:14,180 on a gigantic scale. 649 00:41:14,205 --> 00:41:16,100 They were 4m tall. 650 00:41:16,125 --> 00:41:18,380 Some of them were 9m wide. 651 00:41:18,405 --> 00:41:22,069 They must have looked absolutely massive in Howard's house, 652 00:41:22,094 --> 00:41:26,300 but they were going to make an even bigger impact than that. 653 00:41:26,325 --> 00:41:30,819 In 1616, Howard sold his tapestries to King James. 654 00:41:34,294 --> 00:41:37,660 And they were hung at the heart of political power, 655 00:41:37,685 --> 00:41:39,790 in the House of Lords. 656 00:41:46,815 --> 00:41:49,660 By the late 18th century, the tapestries had become 657 00:41:49,685 --> 00:41:52,630 an integral part of Westminster. 658 00:41:52,655 --> 00:41:56,660 Not only were they a reminder of the great historical event, 659 00:41:56,685 --> 00:42:00,910 they were also being used as propaganda in their own right. 660 00:42:02,565 --> 00:42:07,870 In 1798, Britain was threatened by another European invasion, 661 00:42:07,895 --> 00:42:10,590 this time from Napoleonic France. 662 00:42:11,615 --> 00:42:13,819 To inspire patriotism, 663 00:42:13,844 --> 00:42:18,069 satirist James Gillray created a series of cartoons called 664 00:42:18,094 --> 00:42:21,269 Consequences Of A Successful French Invasion. 665 00:42:23,044 --> 00:42:26,660 Gillray shows French revolutionaries who've invaded England 666 00:42:26,685 --> 00:42:29,939 tearing down the Armada tapestries. 667 00:42:29,964 --> 00:42:32,269 This one is hacking at them with his sword. 668 00:42:32,294 --> 00:42:34,710 This one is setting fire to them, 669 00:42:34,735 --> 00:42:38,590 and here are the familiar words about the defeat 670 00:42:38,615 --> 00:42:42,460 of the Spanish invincible Armada. 671 00:42:42,485 --> 00:42:46,149 England's great triumph over a European enemy 672 00:42:46,174 --> 00:42:49,100 is really what's being torn down here, 673 00:42:49,125 --> 00:42:52,230 and with it one of the founding mythologies 674 00:42:52,255 --> 00:42:54,300 of England's national story. 675 00:42:57,535 --> 00:43:01,300 In 1834, Gillray's vision of burning tapestries 676 00:43:01,325 --> 00:43:03,300 became a reality. 677 00:43:04,535 --> 00:43:07,019 A fire swept through Westminster 678 00:43:07,044 --> 00:43:09,430 and they were destroyed, 679 00:43:09,455 --> 00:43:12,380 but a plan soon emerged to recreate 680 00:43:12,405 --> 00:43:15,149 the tapestries as paintings for the new 681 00:43:15,174 --> 00:43:17,590 Victorian Palace of Westminster. 682 00:43:20,844 --> 00:43:23,819 Whose artistic vision do we see here in this 683 00:43:23,844 --> 00:43:26,710 really rich, gold-encrusted interior? 684 00:43:26,735 --> 00:43:29,660 Well, the Fine Arts Commission were tasked with decorating 685 00:43:29,685 --> 00:43:31,870 the entire palace, but it was Prince Albert 686 00:43:31,895 --> 00:43:33,460 as the chair of the commission 687 00:43:33,485 --> 00:43:37,740 who really drove the direction of the artistic works that we see here. 688 00:43:37,765 --> 00:43:40,590 This room was selected to be a Tudor room. 689 00:43:40,615 --> 00:43:42,870 So the scenes that you see around the room 690 00:43:42,895 --> 00:43:45,380 are various scenes from Tudor history. 691 00:43:45,405 --> 00:43:48,990 These are then topped with a series of Tudor portraits. 692 00:43:49,015 --> 00:43:53,380 And then all of this is topped off with the views of the Armada. 693 00:43:53,405 --> 00:43:56,870 And at the centre of the entire room we have this enormous statue 694 00:43:56,895 --> 00:43:59,230 of Queen Victoria herself, by Gibson. 695 00:43:59,255 --> 00:44:02,590 It's pretty Tudor-tastic in here. It certainly is! 696 00:44:02,615 --> 00:44:04,939 I think it's very telling because there's been a lot 697 00:44:04,964 --> 00:44:07,630 of British history that was available to them to revive, 698 00:44:07,655 --> 00:44:09,790 but no, they went for the Tudor age. 699 00:44:09,815 --> 00:44:12,870 That seemed like the most potent, the most exciting age for them 700 00:44:12,895 --> 00:44:14,550 to associate themselves with. 701 00:44:14,575 --> 00:44:17,269 Well, the Armada's seen as the most important 702 00:44:17,294 --> 00:44:19,990 British naval victory in history, 703 00:44:20,015 --> 00:44:22,350 and so, by highlighting a link to that, 704 00:44:22,375 --> 00:44:25,269 showing the enormous naval power of Britain 705 00:44:25,294 --> 00:44:26,819 in the Victorian age. 706 00:44:26,844 --> 00:44:29,630 She thought, "l'd like a little bit of that glory to rub off on me." 707 00:44:29,655 --> 00:44:33,069 Absolutely. I mean, having Victoria's enormous statue 708 00:44:33,094 --> 00:44:35,870 in this space is drawing a very clear line 709 00:44:35,895 --> 00:44:40,289 between Victoria herself and all of her Tudor forebears. 710 00:44:40,314 --> 00:44:44,209 This is about showing the continuous link between a sort of golden age 711 00:44:44,234 --> 00:44:46,570 of British monarchy, of Elizabeth I 712 00:44:46,595 --> 00:44:51,169 and the relatively, at this point relatively new Queen Victoria. 713 00:44:54,635 --> 00:44:58,250 For the Victorians, the Armada signalled the start 714 00:44:58,275 --> 00:44:59,810 of the British Empire. 715 00:45:01,145 --> 00:45:05,010 In the 19th century, Britannia ruled the waves 716 00:45:05,035 --> 00:45:07,930 and heroic tales about the Armada 717 00:45:07,955 --> 00:45:11,650 seemed to offer a connection to England's past. 718 00:45:11,675 --> 00:45:15,890 The story of British sea power began with Drake's game of bowls 719 00:45:15,915 --> 00:45:18,730 and led to this massive empire. 720 00:45:21,395 --> 00:45:24,169 The Victorians pushed the naval triumph back 721 00:45:24,194 --> 00:45:27,320 into the national consciousness. 722 00:45:27,345 --> 00:45:30,810 Monuments and art celebrated Sir Francis Drake... 723 00:45:33,725 --> 00:45:38,139 ...and Elizabethan sea dogs became the heroes of popular fiction. 724 00:45:40,005 --> 00:45:41,700 As the empire flourished, 725 00:45:41,725 --> 00:45:46,620 the Armada victory became a tale of British naval power and courage. 726 00:45:49,365 --> 00:45:52,090 And THAT version of the story survived 727 00:45:52,115 --> 00:45:55,420 even as the British Empire eventually crumbled. 728 00:46:01,954 --> 00:46:04,500 Nearly 400 years after the Armada, 729 00:46:04,525 --> 00:46:06,730 another female leader was keen 730 00:46:06,755 --> 00:46:09,860 to align herself with the warrior queen. 731 00:46:11,605 --> 00:46:13,620 I know that one or two men are prejudiced, 732 00:46:13,645 --> 00:46:18,009 but after all, their prejudice is really so, so ridiculous. 733 00:46:18,034 --> 00:46:19,889 I mean, I say to some of them sometimes, 734 00:46:19,914 --> 00:46:22,450 "My goodness! It's as well you didn't live in the time 735 00:46:22,475 --> 00:46:24,090 "of Queen Elizabeth I, isn't it?" 736 00:46:24,115 --> 00:46:25,780 After all, I wonder if we should 737 00:46:25,805 --> 00:46:27,780 have grown to such a fantastic nation 738 00:46:27,805 --> 00:46:29,370 if we hadn't had people like her? 739 00:46:31,034 --> 00:46:33,900 In January 1976, 740 00:46:33,925 --> 00:46:37,450 Margaret Thatcher gave a speech called Britain Awake. 741 00:46:38,675 --> 00:46:43,009 It was a call to arms for Britain to stand up to communism 742 00:46:43,034 --> 00:46:45,500 and Russian aggression. 743 00:46:45,525 --> 00:46:47,730 Now, in response to the speech, 744 00:46:47,755 --> 00:46:50,220 a Soviet newspaper, The Red Star, 745 00:46:50,245 --> 00:46:53,170 came up with a nickname for Margaret Thatcher. 746 00:46:53,195 --> 00:46:55,889 It was the Iron Lady. 747 00:46:55,914 --> 00:46:58,090 She was quick to respond to this, 748 00:46:58,115 --> 00:47:02,009 and a week later she made another speech, defending herself 749 00:47:02,034 --> 00:47:06,900 with what seems to be an allusion to Elizabeth I. 750 00:47:12,365 --> 00:47:14,530 LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE 751 00:47:27,395 --> 00:47:29,009 LAUGHTER 752 00:47:33,755 --> 00:47:35,220 APPLAUSE 753 00:47:38,645 --> 00:47:41,500 She, too, had a feminine exterior 754 00:47:41,525 --> 00:47:44,530 hiding the heart and stomach of a king. 755 00:47:55,284 --> 00:47:58,580 The Iron Lady moniker would stick 756 00:47:58,605 --> 00:48:02,090 and so too would the image of Thatcher as warrior leader 757 00:48:02,115 --> 00:48:05,220 at the centre of the action amongst her troops. 758 00:48:07,725 --> 00:48:11,450 Jenny, how does it seem to you that Margaret Thatcher 759 00:48:11,475 --> 00:48:15,620 used the idea of Elizabeth I in her self-presentation? 760 00:48:15,645 --> 00:48:18,730 Elizabeth I was a phenomenal person 761 00:48:18,755 --> 00:48:21,450 for putting herself forward, 762 00:48:21,475 --> 00:48:24,340 knowing how to dress, knowing how to behave, 763 00:48:24,365 --> 00:48:28,259 knowing how to speak, knowing how to be feminine and warlike. 764 00:48:28,284 --> 00:48:32,809 And when Thatcher put herself up onto a tank, she was doing 765 00:48:32,834 --> 00:48:36,340 exactly what Elizabeth I had done at Tilbury. 766 00:48:36,365 --> 00:48:40,420 Whenever I drive past Tilbury, a little thrill goes through me, 767 00:48:40,445 --> 00:48:42,809 and has done since I was a teenager 768 00:48:42,834 --> 00:48:47,090 and I learned about Elizabeth I on her white charger, 769 00:48:47,115 --> 00:48:50,650 delivering that amazing speech that, you know, 770 00:48:50,675 --> 00:48:53,580 she had the body of a weak and feeble woman, 771 00:48:53,605 --> 00:48:56,900 but the heart and stomach of a king. 772 00:48:56,925 --> 00:49:01,259 And I remember thinking as a teenager, "Wow, that is amazing!" 773 00:49:01,284 --> 00:49:05,259 And then when I looked at Thatcher I thought, 774 00:49:05,284 --> 00:49:11,500 she has exactly that same sense of femininity 775 00:49:11,525 --> 00:49:16,860 and having to play on her femininity to quite a degree. 776 00:49:16,885 --> 00:49:19,170 Whether Thatcher thought "Hmm, maybe 777 00:49:19,195 --> 00:49:21,500 "l could be like Elizabeth l," I don't know, 778 00:49:21,525 --> 00:49:23,730 but when Elizabeth sat on that charger 779 00:49:23,755 --> 00:49:25,980 and made her wonderful speech, 780 00:49:26,005 --> 00:49:30,139 you can draw a direct line to Thatcher sitting on a tank. 781 00:49:31,885 --> 00:49:36,290 Elizabeth's Tilbury visit has become a touchstone of history, 782 00:49:36,315 --> 00:49:39,929 but it's a touchstone built on shaky foundations. 783 00:49:42,395 --> 00:49:45,220 Now, the Tilbury speech that everybody loves, 784 00:49:45,245 --> 00:49:48,059 does it not matter to you that it didn't really quite happen 785 00:49:48,084 --> 00:49:50,370 in the way that we like to think that it did? 786 00:49:50,395 --> 00:49:52,340 I know it's questionable, 787 00:49:52,365 --> 00:49:54,340 but I will not question it. 788 00:49:54,365 --> 00:49:57,620 That image of a woman being powerful 789 00:49:57,645 --> 00:50:01,900 and taking control and being proud of her power, 790 00:50:01,925 --> 00:50:05,220 and knowing how to express it, is a myth that... 791 00:50:06,555 --> 00:50:08,730 I don't believe it's a myth. I think it's true. 792 00:50:08,755 --> 00:50:11,340 So even if it's a myth, it's a good myth for us to have. 793 00:50:11,365 --> 00:50:13,059 It's a very good myth. 794 00:50:14,525 --> 00:50:16,290 Take that, history! 795 00:50:16,315 --> 00:50:17,530 Quite! 796 00:50:19,755 --> 00:50:24,420 Margaret Thatcher understood the power of the Armada legend 797 00:50:24,445 --> 00:50:27,730 and, even after she left office, she continued to use 798 00:50:27,755 --> 00:50:30,730 Elizabethan history for her own purposes. 799 00:50:31,994 --> 00:50:35,940 In 1998, the Chilean dictator General Pinochet 800 00:50:35,965 --> 00:50:39,610 was held under house arrest in England. 801 00:50:39,635 --> 00:50:41,969 Spain wanted to extradite him 802 00:50:41,994 --> 00:50:44,690 to face trial for human rights crimes. 803 00:50:46,075 --> 00:50:48,250 Margaret Thatcher took on the Spanish 804 00:50:48,275 --> 00:50:50,330 and campaigned for his release. 805 00:50:52,155 --> 00:50:56,219 When Pinochet was declared unfit to stand trial and sent home, 806 00:50:56,244 --> 00:51:00,690 his plane was stopped on the runway to take delivery 807 00:51:00,715 --> 00:51:03,330 of a gift from Margaret Thatcher. 808 00:51:03,355 --> 00:51:07,860 It was a plate commemorating the defeat of the Spanish Armada. 809 00:51:07,885 --> 00:51:11,490 It came with a personal note from Thatcher. 810 00:51:11,515 --> 00:51:13,969 "With your return to Chile," she wrote, 811 00:51:13,994 --> 00:51:18,860 "Spain's attempt at judicial colonialism has been decisively and, 812 00:51:18,885 --> 00:51:20,969 "l trust, permanently rebuffed." 813 00:51:23,275 --> 00:51:26,250 Now, we don't know what Pinochet made of his plate, 814 00:51:26,275 --> 00:51:30,180 but we do know that the Spanish weren't impressed by all this. 815 00:51:30,205 --> 00:51:32,660 Their foreign minister said that Thatcher 816 00:51:32,685 --> 00:51:34,540 needed her head examining. 817 00:51:40,565 --> 00:51:44,690 It's easy to see why the British have continued to use the story 818 00:51:44,715 --> 00:51:48,050 of our triumph over Spain as a powerful weapon. 819 00:51:50,565 --> 00:51:53,180 But what if it that victory is built on sand? 820 00:51:55,565 --> 00:51:58,490 History paints the Spanish Armada 821 00:51:58,515 --> 00:52:00,460 as the end of the story. 822 00:52:00,485 --> 00:52:03,860 Peace and unity come to England 823 00:52:03,885 --> 00:52:07,690 as the Spanish ships are broken by the storm. 824 00:52:07,715 --> 00:52:10,690 But that's just another big fib because it's not the end 825 00:52:10,715 --> 00:52:13,300 of the story of the Spanish Armada. 826 00:52:13,325 --> 00:52:14,610 By the end of 1588, 827 00:52:14,635 --> 00:52:18,710 Elizabethan England was planning a Counter Armada. 828 00:52:21,585 --> 00:52:24,680 The war with Spain was unfinished business. 829 00:52:25,865 --> 00:52:28,600 Around half of Philip's ships had made it home 830 00:52:28,625 --> 00:52:30,630 and were now being repaired. 831 00:52:32,345 --> 00:52:36,119 So, in 1589, Sir Francis Drake led an attack on Spain. 832 00:52:37,814 --> 00:52:41,119 His orders were to destroy what was left of Spain's fleet, 833 00:52:41,144 --> 00:52:43,480 invade Spanish-owned Portugal 834 00:52:43,505 --> 00:52:46,320 and put a Portuguese king on the throne. 835 00:52:48,455 --> 00:52:50,270 But the expedition failed. 836 00:52:52,425 --> 00:52:56,880 England's Counter Armada was a disaster. 837 00:52:58,505 --> 00:53:02,200 Today, English people have forgotten the story of the Counter Armada. 838 00:53:02,225 --> 00:53:05,760 Was it well known at the time, in the 16th century? 839 00:53:42,264 --> 00:53:47,200 The pamphlets downplayed the failure and denounced negative accounts 840 00:53:47,225 --> 00:53:49,680 of the expedition as malicious slander. 841 00:54:03,505 --> 00:54:05,680 Our propaganda was better? Yes? 842 00:54:05,705 --> 00:54:07,119 Yeah, of course. 843 00:54:39,144 --> 00:54:40,710 So, we English people, 844 00:54:40,735 --> 00:54:44,400 we like to think that England beat Spain. 845 00:54:44,425 --> 00:54:46,989 We won! But it's not that simple, is it? 846 00:55:46,785 --> 00:55:50,150 The Spanish Armada was just one battle in a war 847 00:55:50,175 --> 00:55:53,600 that outlasted Elizabeth and Philip, 848 00:55:53,625 --> 00:55:56,430 and the heroic legend would last even longer. 849 00:55:58,095 --> 00:55:59,680 For over 400 years, 850 00:55:59,705 --> 00:56:03,239 the triumphant story of the Spanish Armada 851 00:56:03,264 --> 00:56:06,880 has armed Britain with a sense of confidence, 852 00:56:06,905 --> 00:56:10,320 ambition and cocky independence. 853 00:56:10,345 --> 00:56:12,200 As our own farewell to the European Union, 854 00:56:12,225 --> 00:56:14,600 The Sun have projected our own message onto the side 855 00:56:14,625 --> 00:56:15,880 of the White Cliffs of Dover. 856 00:56:15,905 --> 00:56:20,039 The Armada is part of the bedrock of our national story. 857 00:56:20,064 --> 00:56:23,630 Its rhetoric informs the speeches of any leader seeking 858 00:56:23,655 --> 00:56:26,239 to galvanise the nation. 859 00:56:26,264 --> 00:56:29,550 No-one in the last few centuries has succeeded 860 00:56:29,575 --> 00:56:33,760 in betting against the pluck and nerve and ambition 861 00:56:33,785 --> 00:56:35,119 of this country. 862 00:56:37,655 --> 00:56:39,480 The story of the Spanish Armada, 863 00:56:39,505 --> 00:56:41,510 as told by the Elizabethans 864 00:56:41,535 --> 00:56:44,400 and retold by generations since, 865 00:56:44,425 --> 00:56:46,270 has a powerful legacy. 866 00:56:48,345 --> 00:56:51,350 It's been manipulated by monarchs, 867 00:56:51,375 --> 00:56:55,200 artists and politicians for centuries. 868 00:56:57,934 --> 00:57:01,680 But it remains an inspiring national myth 869 00:57:01,705 --> 00:57:04,350 that reassures us in times of crisis. 870 00:57:07,505 --> 00:57:09,600 It's been used to convince us 871 00:57:09,625 --> 00:57:13,400 that our little island can take on superpowers, 872 00:57:13,425 --> 00:57:16,070 that we come from a line of cool-headed 873 00:57:16,095 --> 00:57:18,989 and inspirational leaders. 874 00:57:19,014 --> 00:57:20,680 That, small as we are, 875 00:57:20,705 --> 00:57:24,510 we can still play a mighty role on the world stage. 876 00:57:24,535 --> 00:57:26,840 Even in a secular age, 877 00:57:26,865 --> 00:57:31,680 it seems like English people, British people, feel special, 878 00:57:31,705 --> 00:57:34,430 marked out for greatness. 879 00:57:34,455 --> 00:57:36,039 And, whether it's true or not, 880 00:57:36,064 --> 00:57:38,600 the drama of that defeat of the Armada 881 00:57:38,625 --> 00:57:42,159 gives us the confidence to believe in ourselves. 882 00:57:42,184 --> 00:57:45,789 Who knows where that potent mix 883 00:57:45,814 --> 00:57:48,960 of fact and fantasy and fibs 884 00:57:48,985 --> 00:57:50,710 may take us next? 885 00:57:54,785 --> 00:57:58,880 In the next programme, Queen Anne comes to the throne 886 00:57:58,905 --> 00:58:01,119 and helps create Great Britain. 887 00:58:03,345 --> 00:58:06,909 She's remembered by history as fat and foolish. 888 00:58:09,095 --> 00:58:12,150 But was she the victim of character assassination 889 00:58:12,175 --> 00:58:15,350 by her liberal enemies? 890 00:58:15,375 --> 00:58:19,350 Sarah chose to drag Anne's name through the mud 891 00:58:19,375 --> 00:58:22,550 and to maintain her own reputation in the process.