Queen Elizabeth delivered this speech to the soldiers at Tilbury as they prepared to face the Spanish Armada. Leaving her body guard behind, she walked among the men in a symbolic act of solidarity. She told them, “I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” By telling them she would fight alongside them if necessary, Queen Elizabeth further established herself as both a fellow citizen and a benevolent ruler.
