Elizabeth cared deeply for the welfare of all citizens of whatever class. She was sensitive to public opinion and was loved by her people. She respected truth and was sincere, avoiding guile or fraud. She claimed that she had never dishonored her tongue with a falsehood to anyone. She expected that any covert manipulations by monarchs would be found out and therefore would damage their credibility. "It becometh therefor all of our rank to deal sincerely; lest if we use it not, when we do it we be hardly believed."
She was frugal and diplomatically avoided unnecessary wars, saying that her purse was the pockets of her people. Her credit reputation was so good that she could always get loans at small rates of interest from other countries. England was a small Protestant nation threatened by the larger Catholic nations of France and Spain. When Elizabeth flirted and talked of marriage with foreign princes, they laid aside any thoughts of conquering England by war, hoping to obtain it my marriage. Not only did she not seek to conquer other lands, but she turned down an invitation to rule the Netherlands.
Elizabeth prayed for divine guidance as in this prayer: "Almighty God and King of all kings, Lord of heaven and earth, by whose leave earthly princes rule over mortals, when the most prudent of kings who administered a kingdom, Solomon, frankly confessed that he was not capable enough unless Thou broughtst him power and help, how much less am I, Thy handmaid, in my unwarlike sex and feminine nature, adequate to administer these Thy kingdoms of England and of Ireland, and to govern an innumerable and warlike people, or able to bear the immense magnitude of such a burden, if Thou, most merciful Father didst not provide for me (undeserving of a kingdom) freely and against the opinion of many men. Instruct me from heaven, and give help so that I reign by Thy grace, without which even the wisest among the sons of men can think nothing rightly. Send therefore, O inexhaustible Fount of all wisdom, from Thy holy heaven and the most high throne of Thy majesty, Thy wisdom to be ever with me, that it may keep watch with me in governing the commonwealth, and that it may take pains, that it may teach me, Thy handmaid, and may train me that I may be able to distinguish between good and evil, equity and iniquity, so as rightly to judge Thy people, justly to impose deserved punishments on those who do harm, mercifully to protect the innocent, freely to encourage those who are industrious and useful to the commonwealth. And besides, that I may know what is acceptable to Thee alone, vouchsafe that I wish, dare, and can perform it without paying respect to any earthly persons or things. So that when Thou Thyself, the just Judge, who askest many and great things from those to whom many and great things are entrusted, when Thou requirest an exact accounting, charge me not with badly administering my commonwealth and kingdom. But if by human thoughtlessness or infirmity Thy handmaid strays from the right in some thing, absolve me of it by Thy mercy, most high King and most mild Father, for the sake of Thy Son Jesus Christ; and at the same time grant that after this worldly kingdom has been exacted of me, I may enjoy with Thee an eternity in Thy heavenly and unending kingdom, through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son and the Assessor of Thy kingdom, our Lord and Mediator. To whom with Thee and with the Holy Spirit, one everlasting King, immortal, invisible, only-wise God, be all honor and glory forever and ever, amen.
Elizabeth promoted commercial speculations, which diffused a vast increase of wealth among her people. The Elizabethan era was one of general prosperity. Her good spirits and gayness created a happy mood in the nation. She loved dancing and madrigal music was popular. She came to dress elaborately and fancifully. Her dresses were fitted not only at the waist, but along the torso by a long and pointed bodice stiffened with wood, steel, or whalebone. Her skirt was held out with a petticoat with progressively larger hoops. There were two layers of skirt with the top one parted to show the bottom one. The materials used were silks, satins, velvets, and brocades. On her dress were quiltings, slashings, and embroidery. It was covered with gold ornaments, pearls, gems, and unusual stones from America. She wore decorated gloves. Ladies copied her and discarded their simple over-tunics for elaborate dresses. The under-tunic became a petticoat and the over-tunic a dress. Often they also wore a fan with a mirror, a ball of scent, a miniature portrait of someone dear to them, and sometimes a watch. Single ladies did not wear hats, but had long, flowing hair and low cut dresses showing their bosoms. Married ladies curled their hair and wore it in high masses on their heads with jewels interwoven into it. Both gentlemen and ladies wore hats both indoors and outside and large, pleated collars around their necks (with the newly discovered starch), perfume, rings with stones or pearls, and high-heeled shoes. Gentlemen's' tight sleeves, stiffened and fitted doublet with short skirt, and short cloak were ornamented and their silk or velvet hats flamboyant, with feathers. At their leather belts they hung pouches and perhaps a watch. They wore both rapiers [swords with cutting edges] and daggers daily as there were many quarrels. There were various artistic beard cuts and various lengths of hair, which was often curled and worn in ringlets. Barbers sought to give a man a haircut that would favor his appearance, for instance a long slender beard for a round face to make it seem narrower and a broad and large cut for a lean and straight face. Men now wore stuffed breeches and stockings instead of long hosen. Some wore a jeweled and embroidered codpiece between their legs to emphasize their virility. Both gentlemen and ladies wore silk stockings and socks over them and then boots. Coats dipped in boiled linseed oil with resin served as raincoats. Both men and women wore velvet or wool full length nightgowns with long sleeves and fur lining and trimming to bed, which was the custom for the next 150 years. Fashions changed every year due to the introduction of cheaper, lighter, and less durable cloths by immigrant craftsmen. When Elizabeth became old, she had a wig made to match her youthful long red hair. Other ladies then began wearing wigs.
Every few years, Elizabeth issued a proclamation reminding people of the apparel laws and reiterating certain provisions which had been disregarded. For instance, only the royal family and dukes and marquises in mantles [cloaks] of the garter could wear the color purple. One had to be at least an earl to wear gold or silver or sable. Only dukes, marquises, earls and their children, barons, and knights of the order could wear imported wool, velvet, crimson, scarlet, or blue, or certain furs., except that barons' sons, knights, or men who could dispend at least 200 pounds yearly could wear velvet in gowns or coats, embroidery, and furs of leopards. Spurs, swords, rapiers, daggers, and woodknives were restricted to knights and barons' sons or higher. A man who could dispend at least 100 pounds per year could wear taffeta, satin, damask, or cloth made of camels' hair and silk, in his outer garments. One had to be the son and heir or the daughter of a knight or wife of said son or a man who could dispend 20 pounds yearly or had 200 pounds worth in goods to wear silk in one's hat, bonnet, nightcap, girdle, scabbard, or hose. Yeomen, husbandmen, serving men, and craftsmen were very restricted in what they could wear. Poor men wore skirted fustian tunics, loose breeches, and coarse stockings or canvas leggings.
Children wore the same type of apparel as their elders. They were given milk at meals for good growth. It was recognized that sickness could be influenced by diet and herbs. Sickness was still viewed as an imperfect balance of the four humors.
Women spent much of their time doing needlework and embroidery. Since so many of the women who spent their days spinning were single, unmarried women became known as "spinsters".
There were many lifestyle possibilities in the nation: gentleman, that is one who owned land or was in a profession such as a attorney, physician, priest or who was a university graduate, government official, or a military officer; employment in agriculture, arts, sciences; employment in households and offices of noblemen and gentlemen; self-sufficient farmers with their own farm; fisherman or mariner on the sea or apprentice of such; employment by carriers of grain into cities, by market towns, or for digging, seeking, finding, getting, melting, fining, working, trying, making of any silver, tin, lead, iron, copper, stone, coal; glassmaker.
Typical wages in the country were: field-workers 2-3d. a day, ploughmen 1s. a week with board, shepherd 6d. a week and board, his boy 2 1/2 d., hedgers 6d. a day, threshers 3-7d. depending on the grain, thatching for five days 2d., master mason or carpenter or joiner 4d. a day and food or 8d. without food, a smith 2d. a day with food, a bricklayer 2 1/2 d. a day with food, a shoemaker 2d. a day with food. These people lived primarily on food from their own ground.
There was typical work for each month of the year in the country: January - ditching and hedging after the frost broke, February - catch moles in the meadows, March - protect the sheep from prowling dogs, April - put up hop poles, sell bark to the tanner before the timber is felled, fell elm and ash for carts and ploughs, fell hazel for forks, fell sallow for rakes, fell horn for flails, May - weed and hire children to pick up stones from the fallow land, June - wash and shear the sheep, July - hay harvest, August - wheat harvest, September and October - gather the fruit, sell the wool from the summer shearing, stack logs for winter, buy salt fish for Lent in the town and lay it up to dry, November - have the chimneys swept before winter, thresh grain in the barn, December - grind tools, repair yokes, forks, and farm implements, cover strawberry and flower beds with straw to protect them from the cold, split kindling wood with beetle and wedge, tan their leather, make leather jugs, make baskets for catching fish, and carve wood spoons, plates, and bowls.