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 the progress intriguing privy council meetings took place, magnificent feasts, and pageantry.

POP 1578 immerses people in the key moments of the progress, as told by actors in authentic Elizabethan rooms. Using 360° films, embedded in virtual reality technology, audiences enter an Elizabethan world where they bear witness to Privy Council conversations and watch royal entertainment. Using gamification, audiences are challenged to become a part of the great Elizabethan spy network. Sir Francis Walsingham invites you to become one of his ‘Watchers’.

You are tasked to find several virtual ‘hot spots’ and earwig on private royal court conversations.

The POP 1578 VR Experience is available on quality VR headsets connected to tablets to allow for a multi-user experience. Each experience is further complemented by its own audience-differentiated set of resources.

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.