On 11 July 1578, Queen Elizabeth I set off from her royal palace in Greenwich on her unique royal progress which would see an immense throng of people, including her royal household and foreign ambassadors, journey North. They travelled across East Anglia to her destination, Norwich, Norfolk. During this progress intriguing privy council meetings took place, magnificent feasts, and pageantry.

Putting on a Progress will immerse people in the key moments told by real actors in authentic Elizabethan rooms. Using virtual reality technology, audiences will enter an Elizabethan world where they will bear witness to these privy council conversations and watch royal entertainment. You will be challenged to find several ‘hot spots’ to access links to delve deeper into the fascinating history of 1578.

The films will be available on quality VR headsets which will be available to hire free of charge. Each experience will be complemented by its own activity pack easily accessible on this website.

We aim to enlighten, embolden and enhance the heritage of this spectacular event in our region in 1578. However, you need to be prepared to complete the tasks and earn yourself the status of one of Walsingham’s Watchers!

As part of the experience, students will receive documents with questions, find the answers within the immersive films and delve deeper into the history of the Queen’s journey. The whole experience have been developed to enable teachers to embed it in the Key Stage 3 and GCSE curriculum.