Answer: Elizabethan government operated on a hierarchical system. Elizabethans believed that God had appointed the monarch and she had the power and status to grant jobs to those below her. They in turn granted rewards and jobs to the people below them and so on.
Explanation: The Privy Council was Elizabeth's group of advisers. Its main purpose was to give numerous different opinions and the monarch decided on the issue at hand. (However, the advice was often ignored; the Council still carried out her wishes.) Routine administration was usually left to the Council. It was involved in matters of religion, military, the queen's security, economics, and the welfare of the citizens. It dealt with both matters of national and individual interest, issued proclamations in the queen's name, and supervised law and enforcement.
The Council could make decisions, but the monarch could veto (turn down or overturn) anything without question.
Who was in it depended on who the queen wanted there. However, certain powerful noblemen were necessary in the Council so that their and their realms' interests were represented so that a rebellion would be avoided. Believing that more members (and therefore more different opinions) would cause more problems, Elizabeth dropped the previous member count of 50 to 19 and eventually 11 by 1597. The Counselors employed assistants who did most of the work.
