Biography elizabeth first queen

Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Elizabeth I is the ninth longest reigning British monarch, and the third longest reigning female monarch after Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria. Having grown up in a country torn down religious lines, Elizabeth understood the importance of maintaining peace and her religious policies were some of the most tolerant of the day.

It was in sharp contrast to the previous and following periods, which were marred by religious battles between Protestants and Catholics and political battles between parliament and the monarchy respectively. Guided by her Privy Council or innermost advisors , Elizabeth cleared national debts and restored the state to financial stability.

In , the Spanish Armada set sail from Spain with the purpose of assisting an invasion of England to overthrow Elizabeth.

Biography elizabeth first queen

Five Spanish ships were lost and many were badly damaged. Worse soon followed when a strong south-westerly wind forced the Armada into the North Sea and the fleet was unable to transport the invasion force — gathered by the Governor of the Spanish Netherlands — across the Channel. The famous speech delivered by Queen Elizabeth to her troops, who were assembled at Tilbury Camp, was hugely influential:.

Queen Elizabeth I wanted to build a stable, peaceful nation with a strong government, free from the influence of foreign powers in matters of the church and the state. Immediately after becoming Queen, she created the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. Then in the Act of Uniformity was passed, which found a middle ground between Catholicism and Protestantism.

Despite these measures, most English Catholics remained loyal to the Queen when the Spanish Armada sailed in The ships that fought the armada were commanded by a Catholic, Lord Howard of Effingham. Elizabeth was reluctant to become involved but from onward the Spaniards were winning. In Elizabeth was forced to send an army to the Netherlands.

Then in , there was a plot to murder the queen called the Babington Conspiracy. Because of her involvement, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded on 8 February However, in April Drake sailed into Cadiz harbor and destroyed part of the fleet that was preparing to invade. Even so the next year the invasion fleet was ready and it sailed in July The Spanish Armada consisted of ships.

The Armada failed and they sailed into terrible storms. Many of their ships were wrecked. Both her brother and sister died without having children so Elizabeth became Queen. To show people she could rule the country well, she had portraits painted of her as strong, mighty and rich, just as a queen should be. In , he sent the Spanish Armada, a fleet of more than ships, to invade England.

Elizabeth stayed strong. She told her soldiers and sailors: "I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too. England and Elizabeth had won! There were many great artists and writers. William Shakespeare, the most famous playwright ever, performed his plays in front of her.

She had shown that a queen could be just as strong as a king. That a woman could do as good a job as a man! Back in time with Even though Elizabeth supported Mary in her coup, she was not free from suspicion. A staunch Roman Catholic, Mary sought to restore her country back to her faith, undoing her father's break from the Pope. While Elizabeth went along with the religious change, she remained a candidate for the throne for those who wanted a return to Protestantism.

In , Thomas Wyatt organized a rebellion against Mary in the hopes of making Elizabeth queen and restoring Protestantism to England. His plot was uncovered, and Mary quickly imprisoned Elizabeth. Although Elizabeth disputed any involvement in the conspiracy, her sister was not wholly convinced. Although she was soon released, Elizabeth's life was firmly in her sister's hands.

Wyatt was executed, but he maintained that Elizabeth was not aware of the rebellion. Elizabeth eventually returned to Hatfield and continued with her studies. Elizabeth ruled for 44 years, from until her death in Elizabeth I inherited a number of problems stirred up by her half-sister Mary. The country was at war with France, which proved to be a tremendous drain on the royal coffers.

There was also great tension between different religious factions after Mary worked to restore England to Roman Catholicism by any means necessary. Mary had earned herself the nickname Bloody Mary for ordering the execution of Protestants as heretics. Elizabeth acted swiftly to address these two pressing issues. During her first session of Parliament in , she called for the passage of the Act of Supremacy, which re-established the Church of England, and the Act of Uniformity, which created a common prayer book.

Elizabeth took a moderate approach to the divisive religious conflict in her country. She was able to avoid clashing with the other superpower of the age, Spain, for much of her reign. In , however, Elizabeth entered the fray to support the Protestant rebellion against Spain in the Netherlands. Spain then set its sights on England, but the English navy was able to defeat the infamous Spanish Armada in According to several reports, the weather proved to be a deciding factor in England's victory.

While she worked hard at court, Elizabeth took time for leisurely pursuits. She loved music and could play the lute. Thomas Tallis and William Byrd were among her court musicians.