How did Elizabeth view the role of the monarchy?
Elizabeth views the role of a monarch as a God-given thing. I think that was incredibly important to her. The most brutal, sadistic, psychotic anointed sovereign had, to her, more value than anyone who, for the most righteous of reasons, would rebel against a monarch. She was totally undemocratic. What are your thoughts on Elizabeth as a feminist icon? Elizabeth was as alien to the concept of feminism as she was to the concept of democracy. She did very well in a man’s world. She was intelligent, ambitious, egotistical and probably quite vain. However, it was all of these attributes combined that made Elizabeth the very powerful person she was. What did you think when you saw yourself in the mirror as Elizabeth for the first time? The whole process of creating my visual persona as Elizabeth was evolutionary. Her character had to be discussed – what she would be wearing, what sorts of wigs, which hair colour, her age, her demeanour, etc. Although the process of building up the character
