Thread by @fakehistoryhunt

Sigh, another book claiming to have the source for Elizabeth I bathing monthly and saying "need it or no" that turns out to just quote another book that quoted another book that turns out to not have a historical source at all.
The quest continues.

Little bit of background;
It has been taught in schools and mentioned in books, museums & documentaries for decades that Queen Elizabeth I bathed very rarely and once said she had a monthly/annual bath whether she "need it or no", or something similar.

This is so generally accepted and well known I didn't think it was suspicious but still wanted to find out more.
To my surprise it turned out very difficult to find out where this story came from.
Some books suggested it was in a Venetian ambassador's letter, but where is it?

I looked through quite a bit of Venetian Ambassador's correspondence (really) but there was no mention of bathing, washing, etc.
Was the document lost?
Then I discovered that there was no mention of the quote before the 1920s!
Not that I could find anyway.

All of this doesn't mean it's not true and that she didn't say it, but it is becoming a bit dubious and at least might be apocryphal.
The quest continues, I will write an article on it, if you have any information, let me know.

But for the record;
'Clean and decent : the fascinating history of the bathroom & the water closet and of sundry habits, fashions & accessories of the toilet principally in Great Britain, France, & America' (1960) by Mr. Lawrence sadly does not contain the evidence we need.