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Elizabeth Tudor was born on 7 September 1533 at Greenwich Palace.

She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.

Elizabeth was educated as well as any legitimate prince, and she displayed a genuine love and aptitude for her studies.

Along with such classical subjects as rhetoric, languages, philosophy, and history, Elizabeth also studied theology and supported the Protestant cause.

Elizabeth was thirteen years old when her father died.
His will did recognize his daughters' crucial place in the succession.

If Edward died without heirs, Mary would inherit the throne; if Mary died without heirs, Elizabeth would become queen.
 

When she became queen in 1558, she was twenty-five years old, a survivor of scandal and danger, and considered illegitimate by most Europeans. 

 

Elizabeth Tudor is considered by many to be the greatest monarch in English history: clever, enigmatic and flirtatious, she rewrote the rules of being Queen.

The reign of Elizabeth I is often thought of as a Golden Age.

It was a time of extravagance and luxury.

 

The religious tension

 

 

Would Elizabeth be the Queen  who persecuted the Catholics ?

 

Both Protestants and Catholics had suffered throughout the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I.

 

As soon as her Council had been appointed, Elizabeth made religion her priority.

She recognised how important it was to establish a clear religious framework and between 1559 and 1563 introduced the acts which made up the Church Settlement.

 

This returned England to the Protestant faith stating that public worship, religious books such as the Bible and prayers were to be conducted in English rather than Latin.

 

But Elizabeth was careful not to erase all traces of Catholic worship and retained: Elizabeth's reign saw just 4 executions for heresy as compared to to the 280 in Mary's reign.

 

By pursuing a policy of moderation she was attempting to maintain the status quo and, although Puritans were particularly upset by the continuance of some Catholic traditions, an uneasy compromise was reached and maintained throughout her reign.

 

 

Against the Spanish Armada

 

There was also the problem of her dead sisters husband, Phillip II of Spain.

 

The Queen's principal anxiety was that Philip II of Spain was determined to extirpate Protestantism.

He attempted to crush the Dutch and prepared a great Armada to invade England.

 

Britain's army prepared for battle on land, assuming that the "Invincible" Armada would be able to land Philip's troops.

 

On November 24, 1588, the nation celebrated a national day of Thanksgiving for its victory over Spain.

Even as England faced invasion from Catholic Spain's Armada, the large number of Catholics in England remained loyal to Elizabeth.

 

After leading England through 30 years of prosperity, she enjoyed popularity even among her religious opponents.

 

Elizabeth's success as a Queen is a measure of how well she overcame each of these problems.

 

Elizabeth knew herself to be intellectually superior to most men and she relished her independence.

 

Elizabeth was determined to remain single.

 

Because she never married , she was known as "the Virgin Queen" and her cousin, James I, ascended the English throne after her death.

 

At the end of her reign Queen Elizabeth ruled over an England that was stronger politically and wealthier than it had been for hundreds of years.

 

And five centuries later, the worldwide love affair with Elizabeth Tudor continues.