“I shall desire you all, my lords, (chiefly you of the nobility, everyone in his degree and power) to be assistant to me that I, with my ruling, and you with your service, may make a good account to Almighty God and leave some comfort to our posterity on earth” (Elizabeth at the beginning of her reign) (Elizabeth I. org). Most people, in England, believe that there has always been only one queen to stand above all the rest. Under her rule Britain began to gain strength because her policies laid the groundwork for the future rulers to build upon.
Queen Elizabeth I has made many accomplishments during her reign. Queen Elizabeth was immensely popular Queen. She is still one of the best-loved monarchs, and one of the most admired rulers of all time. The reign of Queen Elizabeth I is often referred to as “The Golden Age” of English History, and she is best known through , her life, her reign, and her legacy. Elizabeth was born September 7, 1533 in Greenwich England. Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry Viii and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Her birth was a possibly the greatest disappointment of her father’s life.
Elizabeth loved many sports like horse riding, hunting, hawking, bear baiting, and watching the male courtiers excel at jousts. Elizabeth also loved music, dancing, pageantry, masques, and even playing the virginals and the lute herself with skill. She also enjoyed watching plays and creating the atmosphere responsible for the flourishing of the literary masterpieces of the period against the Puritan demands for the closure of all theatres and playhouse. Elizabeth had a half sister from the king’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and also had a half brother from the king’s third wife, Jane Seymour.
Elizabeth’s early life was consequently troubled. When Elizabeth was only two, her father had her mother executed for suspicion of adultery. Elizabeth then was stripped of her title as princess because of her father executed her mother. The next eight years of her life saw a quick succession of stepmothers. There was Jane Seymour who died giving birth to the king’s longed for son, Edward; Anne of Cleves who was divorced; Catherine Howard who was beheaded; and finally Catherine Parr. As a child, Elizabeth was given a very impressive education.
It had become popular amongst the nobility to educate daughters as well ass sons and Elizabeth excelled at her studies. Famous scholars such as William Grindal and Roger Ascham taught her, and from an arly age it was clear that she was remarkably gifted. She had an especial flare for languages, and by adulthood, she could reputedly speak five languages fluently. Elizabeth adolescence was no easier than her childhood. While the King lived, she was safe from political opportunists, but when he died in the January of 1547, she became vulnerable to those who saw her as a political pawn.
Despite being officially illegitimate, Henry had reinstated his daughters in the line of succession. Mary was to follow Edward, and Elizabeth was to follow Mary. This meant that Elizabeth was now second in line to the throne. Edward was too young to rule himself, as he was only nine years old, so his uncle, Edward Seymour, became Protector of England. When her father died, her brother came to power. One religion had been followed for several years and suddenly stability disappeared. Social and economic unrest marked Edward’s short rule.
Born weak and ill, he became king at the age of nine and lived to fifteen. His age several people ruled in his place, each person implementing new ideals. After Edward followed Queen Mary, She earned the nickname Bloody Mary for her policy of public execution of religious radicals. Mary was Catholic. She killed people that were Protestants. This caused a problem for Elizabeth because she was Protestant. Many people who did not believe the Catholic faith thought that Elizabeth was the rightful and plotted against Mary. The leader of this plot was named Thomas Wyatt.
Whether or not rebellion was to make Elizabeth queen, is uncertain, and it is also unknown whether Elizabeth had any knowledge of it. Even if she did have knowledge of it, there is no evidence that she approved of the actions of Wyatt and his followers. He was organizing a rebellion and soon Mary found out of this plan. Mary then had Elizabeth mprisoned in the Tower of London. Elizabeth told her sister she had no idea of the plot but her sister would not believe her. When soldier came to get Elizabeth and take her to the Tower, she was so scared Elizabeth literally would not move.
Elizabeth’s governess had to persuade her so they could get her to go. Many of those surrounding the Queen would have like Elizabeth to be executed, but there was no evidence against her and she was popular with the people. Elizabeth was kept a captive at the Tower for two months and then removed to Woodstock Manor in Oxfordshire, where she was kept a prisoner for a year. On November 17, 1558 Elizabeth got the news of her sister’s death. It was said that Elizabeth was sitting in a park under a tree, when the news of her sister’s death reached her.
Elizabeth said these words when she heard, “Dominum factum est illud,et est mirabile in oculis notis. ” this ten translates to “It is the Lord;s doing, and is marvelous in our eyes. ” This line is the 118th Psalm twenty-third line. With that news, it now means that Elizabeth was officially the Queen of England. It was a moment of supreme triumph for the not wanted daughter, that spent her life in the shadow of the court, known as a cast aside and orgotten. On January 15, 1559, Elizabeth was crowned at the Westminster Abbey by Dr. Oglethorpe, the Bishop of Carlisle. She was 25 at the time of her coronation.
Elizabeth was not like many other England’s monarch’s. At her coronation she shook hands and talked to many poorer people. Most royals would have overlooked them. Year following the death of her father was called for sobriety and caution, but now that she is Queen, Elizabeth is determined to enjoy her newfound freedom and live her life to the fullest. There was also many problems left behind by her sister, Mary. One for the biggest was the tension etween the Catholics and Protestants. Her first session in Parliament, Elizabeth called for the pass of the Act of Supremacy.
This act re-established the Church of England and also the Act of Uniformity. This Act of Supremacy mad Elizabeth the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. This made anyone swear allegiance to the monarch. If they were going to take a public or office church. Anyone refused this act, they could be tried for treason. She wanted to return England to the Protestant faith. She did, and she keeped some of the Catholic Tradition. She tried to reach a compromise, but many Catholic ere still angry at her. The Catholics tried to overthrow her and some tried to kill her. She made a secret group made up to protect her.
The group that she made was called the Secret Service. The head of the group was Walsingham. Spies could only communicate at this time was through letters. So they made you their own coded messages in the letters. During her reign in England, there were two wars that Elizabeth was able to defeat. The first one she defeated the French just shortly after she had become queen. The next one was the defeat of the Spanish Armada. The war began it was just off the coast of Gravelines, France. The Spanish and English fought for eight hours then all of a sudden the wind changed direction.
Made the Spanish break off and retreat towards the North Sea. The Spanish went back to Spain with half of the original ships and supplies. Spanish were also about 15,00 casualties on Spain’s side. The English, the commanding officers were Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake. England only had 34 ships and 163 armed merchants. Spanish had 130 ships carrying 2,500 guns, about 8,000 seamen, and almost 20,000 soldiers. England is every powerful nation because of the defeat of Spanish Armada. England introduced long-range weapons into battle. This is one of England’s most proud and accomplished moments.
Elizabeth has enemies, just like any other monarch. Mary Stuart, queen of Scots was her biggest enemy. Elizabeth was scared of Mary advisors. So Elizabeth had Mary imprisoned in 1567 with connections of many of the assassination attempts. Mary was imprisoned for 20 years before agreeing to sign her execution warrant. Mary was executed in 1587. People in England thought that someday Queen Elizabeth I would marry. Elizabeth got the nickname “The Virgin Queen” because people igured out that she would never get married. Elizabeth had many suitors, even though she never got married.
Some of the men of her suitors include the king of Sweden, Archduke Charles of Austria, and the future King Henry III of France. The closest she got to getting married was Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester but she turned them him and all the other down. People worried because she was not married so they were unsure of who would get the throne after she died. Her response was that England was her “husband” when her advisors begged her to try to find someone to marry. Rather than trying to find a husband, Elizabeth cared more for the welfare of her country.
She managed to use her single state to benefit the country by using the bait of marriage to draw in enemies or to frighten them by suggesting she would marry one of their foes. I don’t know Queen Elizabeth personal feelings towards marriage but whatever they are, on two occasions she did come close to matrimony. Many years, the most serious contender for her was Robert Dudley, created Earl of Leicester in 1564. Elizabeth and him had known each other for years and had been imprisoned in the Tower of London at the same time. The only serious ersonal love interest of Queen Elizabeth’s life.
The second one for Queen Elizabeth’s had was Francis, Duke of Alencon/Anjou, heir to the French throne. The match was ultimately impossible by the political considerations made. Elizabeth was fluent in six different languages. All of the languages were, English, Latin, Greek, Italian, Welsh, and Cornish. She was really smart. She stated the East India Trading Company to be able to trade with America. Elizabeth had many nicknames like, “Gloriana”, “Good Queen Bess”, and her most common one is “The Virgin Queen. ” During her reign Elizabeth made at less 25 progresses.
She was known as England’s most famous monarch. Helped keep England out of hardship and turmoil, she was queen for 45 years. It is The Elizabethan Era because it is named after her. During her reign the arts flourished like, Shakespeare, Spenser, and Marlowe created poetry and drama. She preferred to go out riding on horseback instead of in a carriage because she could see and talk to everyone along the way. After Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth the II, Elizabeth the first was the third longest reigning monarch in England. England’s economy started to go downhill at the end of her reign.
She signed a document stating that King James I would be the rightful heir to the throne once she had passed She signed that the day before she died. Elizabeth was only thinking of her people’s welfare first, even though he was the son of her nemesis, Mary Queen of Scots. She died at Richmond Palace on March 24th, 1603. England was one of the most powerful and prosperous countries in the world. Even though there were many problems Elizabeth I had to face during her life, the main point was that she did are she didn’t run and hide and she didn’t confronted them. It help Queen Elizabeth accomplish many things during her reign and life.
