Milton Meltzer's Elizabeth I: The Queen Of England

Elizabeth I became the queen of England at the age of twenty-five in 1558, which was a particularly difficult time for a young woman to shoulder the responsibility of ruling the country. At the time, it was riddled with religious conflicts and a huge financial deficit coming from a recent war with France. But by the time of Elizabeth's death forty-five years later, England had experienced one of the greatest periods in its venerable history, causing many people to believe that she was the greatest monarch in England’s history. However, she was an ordinary person who had to cope with numerous obstacles and conspiracies such as marriage issues, assassination threats, and illness along the way. The historian Milton Meltzer writes in Elizabeth

Even though those close to her knew she feared for her life, she hid these feelings from the public. She did not hesitate to punish or execute those traitors, as according to Milton Meltzer in Elizabeth I, like all rulers, Elizabeth said she believed that "born a sovereign princess" she enjoyed "the privilege common to all kings" and was exempt from human jurisdiction and subject only to the judgment of god (Milton, 9). For instance, In Elizabeth I: The Golden Age, West Tilbury Camp notes that when two earls combined forces against her, the queen was so infuriated she ordered that 800 of the rebels be hanged (West Tilbury Camp, 21). Elizabeth also came down hard on writers who criticized her actions. John Stubbs, a frantic Puritan, expressed horror in his pamphlet at the probability the queen might marry a French Catholic. The queen had Stubbs and his publisher convicted of seditious libel. Elizabeth was implacable as she invoked the penalty for libel. William Camden writes in John Stubbs that "with a butcher's cleaver, the hangman cut the right hands off Stub and his publisher. It was not an uncommon punishment during her reign"(William, 1). As we can see, Elizabeth strongly confronted several attempts to kill her using the absolute power that monarchs possessed back then. But at the same time, her confrontational style does show how fearful she was of being killed. There is well-known anecdote related to this. "She was personally courageous and refused to alter her many public appearances for fear of an assassin. This caused her councilors many sleepless nights," Marilee, Hanson writes in Queen Elizabeth I: Biography & Facts Continued Part 4 (Marilee, 1). Marilee, Hanson also states that she took to keeping a small sword beneath her pillow in case of an attack (Marilee, 1). It was her only sign of distress and perfectly in keeping with her