Elizabeth I addresses the people of Coventry, or does she?

One of the most popular local tales after Lady Godiva, is that Queen Elizabeth I visited Coventry on 17th and 18th August 1565 and addressed the people of Coventry from the Oriel window at Whitefriars. It is widely agreed that the Queen did visit Coventry between 17th-18th August 1565 however, in all of these accounts there is a suspicious omission of any address to the populace. The closest reference to a link between the Queen and a window at Whitefriars is during renovations to the building when "in one instance a large oriel window, known as Queen Elizabeth's window, being inserted." Nevertheless, it is not all doom and gloom, since whilst she was visiting she had a wonderful time being "splendidly received by the Mayor and citizens who entertained her with varieties of shows and pageants". Indeed she enjoyed herself so much that she is recorded as visiting at least three more times, most notably around 1588 when she was greeted by the Mayor and he supposedly remarked "When the King of Spain attacked your Majesty, egad, he took the wrong sow by the ear" or even "by the dug", depending on the source. At least we can safely say that Coventry will have made a lasting impression. Sources: https://www.coventry.gov.uk/directory_record/5745/whitefriars_monastery Dugdale; A History of Warwickshire; Lowes Cuttings, Fretton W.G. Fretton on Memorials of the Whitefriars, Coventry. p. 68 Scraps of Old Coventry [compiled by "Mercia"], Lowes Cuttings, Misc I, p. 1 W.G. Fretton on Memorials of the Whitefriars, Coventry. p. 69 Some Strange Mayors, Lowes Cuttings, Misc I, p. 107 Lowes Cuttings, Misc I, p. 155

A commercially-produced postcard, sent in 1907, featuring "a re-enactment of the visit by Queen Elizabeth I in 1565 when she addressed the people of Coventry from the Oriel Window"

I've seen that picture a few times MR and never got round to wonder what they were doing. I never even spotted the Lizzy leaning out of the window.