Elizabeth I of England of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir, however despite numerous courtships she never did. She was eventually succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, James VI of Scotland. She had earlier been responsible for the imprisonment and execution of James's mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. In government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and half-siblings had been. One of her mottoes was ""video et taceo"" ("I see but say nothing"). In
I Served the King of England isolated from the world, save for the company of a few animals. Here, Dítě trades his youthful pursuit of temporal pleasures for quiet contemplation and spiritual growth. He comes to accept himself, overcoming the insecurity he felt throughout his life. The book ends with Dítě describing how he started to write the novel in the first place. James Wood wrote in the "London Review of Books" in 2001: ""I Served the King of England" is a joyful, picaresque story, which begins with Baron Munchausen-like adventures, and ends in tears and solitude, a modulation typical of Hrabal's greatest work." After the