Queen Elizabeth I Research Paper

Elizabeth I is one of the most famous British royals of all time, and for good reason. While the title of the first female monarch in England goes to her sister, Mary’s reign lasted only five years and has not been viewed favorably by historians. Elizabeth’s forty-five year reign however, is considered a golden age of British history. Of course, what Elizabeth is most famous for is her nickname: the Virgin Queen. Against all expectations and encouragements from advisors and Parliament, not to mention many, many suitors, Elizabeth never married. She chose instead to remain the sole ruler of England, at a time when the very idea of a woman running a country alone was completely unheard of. Although the pressure to do otherwise would have

It is true that she proved wrong many people who said a woman could not rule a country such as England, and had a very successful forty-five year reign. However, in their excitement, many overlook Elizabeth’s immediate predecessor Queen Mary, unless to paint her as the Catholic monster from whom Elizabeth saved the English. This is a gross misrepresentation of Elizabeth’s part in Mary’s reign, and more importantly, often means leaving out how much Elizabeth studied her sister’s reign, for examples of both what and what not to do. Elizabeth, like Mary, waited until after her coronation to call a parliament, to avoid casting any doubt on the ‘fact’ that her sovereign right to rule was determined by God, not Parliament. Mary’s marriage, however, was a perfect example to Elizabeth of what not to do. From the moment of their nuptials, Mary and her husband Philip I of Spain were in a battle to balance personal and political power. This is clear in their wedding, where Mary swore obedience to Philip in the ceremony, yet ate off gold plates at the reception when Philip ate off silver, a symbol of her political power over him. Their marriage treaty was full of clauses and caveats in its attempt to reconcile the societal views of marriage at the time with Parliament and the people’s complete unwillingness to hand their country over to a foreigner, and even worse, a Spaniard. Mary desperately wanted her marriage to work, but ultimately put her throne first; this most likely is a major part of the rapid deterioration of her marriage over the course of only four years. This applied especially to Elizabeth because after waiting a certain polite mourning period, Philip began to pursue Elizabeth. He had tried to watch out for her to some degree during Mary’s reign, but it is safe to assume that his pursuit of her has much more to do with a desire to add England to Spanish lands than any personal feelings for