Elizabeth 1 the virgin queen biography

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While Elizabeth went along with the religious change, she remained a candidate for the throne for those who wanted a return to Protestantism.

In 1554, Thomas Wyatt organized a rebellion against Mary in the hopes of making Elizabeth queen and restoring Protestantism to England. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994. Elizabeth I. London: Knopf, 2003 (original 1991).

In 1599, one of the leading members of the navy, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and given command of the largest army ever sent to Ireland, in an attempt to defeat the rebels. See her Speech to the Troops at Tilbury, where she said that she had “the heart and stomach of a king.” Yet she always tried to rule with love, recognizing that a higher court would hold her to account:

There is no jewel, be it of never so rich a price, which I set before this jewel; I mean your love.

She later persuaded her mother's chaplain, Matthew Parker, to become Archbishop. She made peace with France in 1564; she agreed to give up her claims to the last English possession on the French mainland, Calais, after the defeat of an English expedition at Le Havre. Indeed, she saw herself as personifying England; by loving England, she made England beloved.

With Francis Walsingham’s help, Elizabeth imprisoned Mary and kept her under constant surveillance for 19 years. She was a shrewd and intelligent woman who was fluent in six languages.

Elizabeth’s first priority on becoming Queen was to return England to the Protestant faith.

Later years

Portrait by Nicholas Hilliard, c.

These struggles would emerge especially during the Civil War, and during the rule of Oliver Cromwell. She did not always succeed. She did not, however, give up her claim to the French Crown, which had been maintained since the reign of Edward III during the period of the Hundred Years' War in the fourteenth century, and was not renounced until the reign of George III during the eighteenth century.

My heart was never set on worldly goods but for my subjects' good."

While the end of her reign had been difficult, Elizabeth is largely remembered as a queen who supported her people.

Different lines of succession were considered during Elizabeth's reign.

Tensions with Parr over Parr's new husband, Thomas Seymour, led Elizabeth to return to the royal estate at Hatfield, away from the court.

In a famous speech to troops at Tilbury, she said: ‘I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king - and of a King of England too.’

Partly aided by bad weather, the English Navy defeated the Spanish Armada, with the help of Sir Francis Drake.

Despite pressure from her advisers, particularly Lord Burghley, Elizabeth always refused to marry and provide an heir.

Some say that she left an indelible feminine stamp on her nation, which has never been blotted out.

Early reign

In 1558, upon Mary I's death, Elizabeth ascended the throne. The alternative line descended from Henry VIII's younger sister, Mary Tudor (queen consort of France); the heir in this line would be the Lady Catherine Grey, Lady Jane Grey's sister.

This was a period of English disengagement from Europe and of turning towards overseas commerce, exploration, settlement and colonial conquest.