Some historians have suggested that during Elizabeth's reign there was a coalition of leading MP's who formed a group that Neale referred to as 'The Puritan Choir'. Neale suggested that these MP's adopted a stance of opposition towards Elizabeth and that they implemented proposals that they favoured and attempted to bully or cajole Elizabeth into accepting them. There were 43 members of the choir, and all at one time or another had directly opposed the Queen wishes, attempted to further the privileges of the commons and move the church into a more puritan form. The Choir is credited with forcing Elizabeth to adopt a furthered protestant stance in 1559. The group was also thought to have played no small part in the execution of Mary Queen of Scots and the prominent catholic the Duke of Norfolk. Neale highlights events such as the parliament session in 1566 when the commons delayed funding the Queen until she had satisfied their grievances. Perhaps the most prominent aggressors of the choir were the notorious Wentworth brothers; Peter and Paul. Peter Wentworth single handedly attacked the Queen for poor policy making, forwarded proposals for a more puritan English church and claimed that Parliament should have the right to discuss whatever it wished. For his actions, he was rewarded with two stays in the tower, the last of which extended to his death. What is clear however is that the incidents Neale highlights were nothing short of outright conflict between the Queen and her Parliament.
There were throughout Elizabeth's reign a number of issues over which she and Parliament disagreed. Elizabeth's marriage was often a sore point between the two and this was not a hidden fact. Many times Parliament discussed her marriage, particularly after the almost life threatening disease that she contracted. These unwanted intrusions by Parliament provoked Elizabeth into rousing speeches about their willingness to confront her authority. In 1566 in response to a parliamentary delegation on her marriage, Elizabeth said, "Was I not born in the realm? Were my parents born in any foreign country? Is not my kingdom here? Whom have I oppressed? Whom have I enriched to other's harm? What turmoil have I made in this commonwealth that I should be suspected to have no regard to the same? How have I governed since my reign? I will be tried by envy itself. I need not to use many words, for my deeds do try me." The main point of difference between the two camps came over Mary Queen of Scots. After falling out with her council, Elizabeth turned to Parliament to give her suggestions on what to do with Mary. Elizabeth's wishes were not fulfilled as Parliament returned a verdict to try Mary for treason. Elizabeth heartily disagreed, but council perhaps lead by the 'Puritan Choir' feared for the consequences if they did not rid England of Mary. Elizabeth sent Parliament away after this decision and the matter would always be a bone of contention between the two camps.
Let us not approach conflict between Elizabeth and her Parliament with too much zeal however. There were indeed many cases of co-operation between the two sides and much of the conflict can be explained away. The 'Puritan choir' can be referred to as a fictional organisation, after all its so called members, all 43 was only a tenth of the number of MP's in parliament at its peak. These men did not speak for all of Parliament and in particular, the case of Peter Wentworth who was imprisoned by his fellow MP's did show much cohesion between Elizabeth and her Parliament. Parliament also funded the queen's requests each time she asked for money and in the end however much individuals championed the rights of Parliament, Elizabeth was still the divine monarch.
Prominent antagonists stirred up much of the conflict between Elizabeth and Parliament, but in the same light they must not be ignored. Never before had MP's showed opposition in the face of divine monarchy. These individuals were perhaps just testing how much they could flex their proverbial muscles as it were, just seeing how far they could push things. Their actions may have been individually selfish, but could be argued to be the catalyst and original actions that would, during the 17th century, lead to civil war.
In the end though, these men were MP's. They lived privileged lives in comfortable surroundings but obviously because of their position as MP's had more say in what happened in England than many other inhabitants of the country did. Elizabeth however was still the Queen of England. This was a case of MP's opposing the Queen on issues they disagreed with, but in the end conforming to a monarch's wishes. These pioneers of liberalism talked the talk but when it came to the crunch, there could only be one victor, and that was the woman who had been chosen by God. Therefore it has to be said that although there were those who opposed Elizabeth in conflict on some points, the majority of MP's however respected their Queen and on the whole co-operated with her.
