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Primary sourceArtifact1605-1606

Tomb of Elizabeth I

Maximilian Colt · 1605-1606

A tomb in Westminster Abbey made in 1605 to 1606 by Maximilian Colt. James VI and I commissioned it for his Tudor predecessor, Elizabeth I.

James commissioned this tomb, so it shows how he chose to present the Tudor queen he succeeded.

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Dim interior view of Westminster Abbey's Gothic chapel showing a dark, ornate tomb with columns, gilded decorations, and a black inscription plaque; a few visitors stand in the foreground.
Maximilian Colt, Tomb of Elizabeth I, 1605-1606. Westminster Abbey, London.

About this source

What it is

This tomb of Elizabeth I stands in Westminster Abbey. It was made in 1605 to 1606 by the sculptor Maximilian Colt, and King James VI and I commissioned it for Elizabeth, the queen who ruled England before him.

The monument is a dark, ornate tomb with columns, gilded decorations and a black inscription plaque. The facts do not say what the inscription reads.

Why it matters

James became king of England in 1603, after Elizabeth's reign, and he came from the Scottish royal family. A grand tomb for the late Tudor queen placed her at the centre of royal memory and connected her reign to his own. Historians read monuments like this as one way a ruler shaped how the past was remembered.

Look closer

  • What do the tomb's size and gilding suggest about the message it was meant to send?
  • Why might a new king want to honour a predecessor's memory in such a public place?
  • What does this monument leave out about Elizabeth's reign or the people who lived under it?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of James I on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Engraved title page of the 1611 King James Bible. Large white central panel reads 'The Holy Bible' and 'Anno Dom. 1611'. Above, figures in clouds and a dove with rays. Moses holds tablets on the left, Aaron on the right, and four evangelists sit in the lower corners.Book

Secondary source

King James Version

1611

Title page of a early 17th-century book. Ornate woodcut border at top. Text reads: DAEMONOLOGIE, IN FORME OF A DIALOGUE, Diuided into three books, written by the high and mighty Prince, James by the grace of God King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith. Below is a small ornament, then LONDON, Printed by Arnold Hatfield for Robert Waldegraue, 1603.Book

Primary source

Daemonologie

James VI and I · 1597 (reprinted 1603)

Title page of a 1598 book reading 'The True Lawe of free Monarchies: or, The reciprocal and mutuall duetie betwixt a free King, and his naturall Subiectes', printed in Edinburgh by Robert Waldegrave, printer to the King's Majestie, with a printer's device at the bottom.Book

Primary source

The True Law of Free Monarchies

James VI and I · 1598

Title page of an early 17th-century printed book, 'Basilikon Doron, Devided into Three Books', printed at Edinburgh by Robert Waldegrave, Printer to the King's Majestie, 1599. Ornate border with figures of Justice and Peace, Latin mottoes Amor, Pax, Pacis Alumnus, and Infestamalis, and a central printer's ornament.Book

Primary source

Basilikon Doron

James VI and I · 1599 (published 1603)

Photograph of a handwritten early 17th-century letter in brown ink on aged paper, with a fold line across the middle and the number 11A in the top right corner. The cursive text is partly legible and faded.Letter

Primary source

The Monteagle Letter

Unknown · 1605

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