~The Virgin Queen~

Elizabeth I of England
1. To begin with, I must say, that speaking about Great Britain we should remember that t he
Crown always plays a very important role in the history of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland.
2. In the history of Britain there were certain kings and queens whose names are specially
remembered in the country and are well-known in the whole world. One of them is
Elizabeth I, one of the best-loved English monarchs.
3. Elizabeth was born on the 7 th of September in 1533 at Greenwich Palace.
4. Her birth was a big disappointment to his father, Henry VIII, who had turned his world
upside down, divorced his first wife Catherine of Aragon broke with the Catholic Church
so that he could marry again. He wanted to have a son, who would secure the Tudor line
on the throne.
5. Elizabeth was not three years old when her mother, Anne Boleyn was executed, so much
was the king disappointed by her failure to give him a son. Soon after her mother s
execution the girl was proclaimed illegitimate.
6. Life at the court of her father influenced a young Lady Princes world-view. Her father,
the king married four more times and had one more of his wives beheaded. It was after
that second execution, Elizabeth evidenced when an eight year old girl declared Ill
never marry. At that time nobody knew that she would stay true to her promise.
7. During the reign of her half-sister Mary I (Bloody Mary) Elizabeths life was in danger.
Mary was a Catholic queen in a protestant country and the existence of a protestant heir,
Elizabeth, was a constant worry to Marry, who was justly hated by her people.
8. Thus Elizabeth was firstly imprisoned in the Tower then at Woodstock, but Mary never
got the courage to have her half-sister executed.
9. At the age of twenty-five Elizabeth became the Queen of England to the great delight of
the people. Her destiny and all actions were based on the fact that she was the daughter of
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn of the father who was a great king and national leader, and
the mother who represented a real Protestant, the revolutionary movement of the century.
10. As a monarch Elizabeth inherited a very troublesome country. That is why the age of
Elizabeth is remembered as one of the great development.
11. Elizabeth made her first task the settlement of Englands religious affairs. As a result, a
new prayer book, similar to the previous one, was adopted hoping that Catholics might in
time come to prefer the national Anglican Church service to Latin mass.
12. Subsequently, according to a new Church doctrine people had to go to church on Sundays
by law and were fined if they stayed away. Rebellion against the Crown was regarded as a
sin against God. Consequently, unlike politically dangerous forms of Protestantism in
Europe, Elizabeth managed to make the Church a part of the state machine.
13. She wanted to stop religious struggle. Therefore , she tried to gradually spread Protestant
religion, without offending the Catholics too much. However, the struggle between
Catholics and Protestants continued and endangered Elizabeths position. But some
Catholic nobles wished to remove Elizabeth and replace her with the queen of Scotland,
Mary Stuart, because she was Catholic.

14. Mary Stuart the queen of Scots was a granddaughter of Henry VII by his daughter
Margaret. She was the heir to the English throne because she was Elizabeths closest
relation. Mary had powerful enemies in Scotland.
15. Elizabeth kept Mary in the Tower of London as a prisoner for nearly twenty years. During
that time several Catholic plots were discovered, which aimed at making Mary queen of
England. Finally Elizabeth had to agree to Marys execution in 1587.
16. As a matter of fact, Elizabeths reign is known not only for its longevity, but as the
Golden Age of Britain. To be more exact, the Queen reined almost 45years.
17. Besides she turned the poor and weak country into a great world power expending its
influence overseas. In fact, Elizabeth, as well as her father and grandfather, considered
trade the most important foreign policy and encouraged merchant expansion.
Subsequently, England had established wide commercial contacts with all non-Catholic
nations, including Russia. As far as I know, Russian timber was brought to Britain for the
construction of ships which could confront Spanish fleet, as Spain did not allow England
to trade in the sea.
18. So that Elizabeth thought it profitable to allow her sea dogs who were traders as well as
pirates and adventurers to attack Spanish ships returning from America loaded with silver
and gold. The treasure was shared with the Queen, who thus could increase her income
and save people from high taxes. Her share in robbing enabled Elizabeths government to
start a vast building program and the half-timbered style of building flourished in her
time.
19. Besides some social measures were instituted which made masters responsible for the
welfare and education of their apprentices and obliged the parishes to provide for the sick
and unemployed, to look after the poor who couldnt help themselves. Many Grammar
schools, hospitals and alms-houses to look after the aged were founded, as well as
professorship at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
20. However the peak of the countrys development was reached in 1588. In addition
Elizabeth helped the Dutch Protestants. Besides, at that time, the Netherlands was part of
the Spanish Empire, and King Phillip II of Spain was trying to suppress the Protestant
rebellion there.
21. King Phillip II of Spain sent his army there. Elizabeth did the same. As a result Philip had
to fight with England. He built a huge fleet of ships, which became known as the Spanish
Armada. England was in danger. The two fleets were fighting for six days, and on August
9, 1588, the Armada was defeated. Only half the ships of the Armada returned to Spain. It
was a great victory for England.
22. As far as I know, when news of the Armada reached England, in spite of the great danger,
Elizabeth went to review her troops and addressed them in one of her most famous
speeches. She spoke to the crews of the ships that were going to do battle with the
Armada. She won their hearts by saying that she was ready to live or die amongst
you for my God, and for my Kingdom, and for my people I know I am a week
woman but I have the heart of a King and a King of England too!
23. It was under Elizabeth that England finally freed itself from the threat of invasion from
Spain as she defeated the Spanish Armada. She also suppressed the rebellion in Ireland.
That contributed to the growth of English prestige at home and abroad.
24. Driving back the Spanish Armada helped establishing England as "Queen of the
Seas" through her defeating Spain, and helping the economy of England to prosper.

25. It was the time of English Renaissance. Thanks to printing an interest in art and literature
spread far beyond the court. There was a wonderful harvest of art, music, poetry and most
importantly of theatre.
26. I must say that Elizabeths reign was one of the greatest periods of English literature.
Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare were only a few of
many writers who created the great works at the time.
27. In the theatres that sprang up just outside London plays by Shakespeare, Marlowe and
Ben Jonson were performed. William Shakespeare dominated the theatre. Elizabeths
court became of centre culture for English musicians, poets, scientists and artists.
Moreover the English were proud of their country and their queen.
28. Elizabeth had won the hearts of the people and she returned that love. Since, her great
skills made people forget the fact that she was a woman. They saw her as a strong and
effective leader because of the great changes for the better of all her people. Queen
Elizabeth changed the way we now look at woman leaders. Besides, as a leader, Elizabeth
had strengths in many different areas. Her good education and memory helped in ruling
the country.
29. In March, 1603 Elizabeth died. She never married and was childless. At the end when she
could no longer speak, she made a sign that James , the son of Mary Stuart should succeed
her.