Elizabeth I (English: Elizabeth I, September 7, 1533 – March 24, 1603), formerly Elizabeth Tudor (English: Elizabeth Tudor), the last Queen of England and Ireland of the Tudor Kingdom (from November 17, 1558 to March 24, 1603), is also the nominal Queen of France. The daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Bolin. [16]
Elizabeth received good court education in her early years, but was suppressed during the reign of her half-sister Mary I. In 1558, Mary I died and Elizabeth succeeded to the throne. She was crowned Queen of England in January the following year. At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he relied on the support of the new aristocracy and the bourgeoisie to strengthen autocratic rule and restore the Protestant law. To the outside world, we concentrated on fighting against Spanish maritime hegemony and vigorously developed maritime trade and colonization. In 1585, he supported the "Netherland Revolution". In 1588, it defeated the Spanish "Armada" and began to establish British maritime hegemony. The "East India Company" was approved in 1600. English culture also reached a peak during this period, with the emergence of cultural giants such as Shakespeare and Bacon. [40] Therefore, the reign of Elizabeth was called the "Golden Age" in British history. However, at the end of her reign, the deterioration of the protracted Anglo-Spanish war, the Irish crisis, the rebellion of the Earl of Essex, the agricultural harvest and famine, the storm of parliamentary anti-patent rights, the corruption of the unsound local government and the central bureaucracy, the poverty of the lower social strata, and the displaced refugees have darkened this glorious era. [1]
In 1603, Elizabeth died at the Royal Palace in Richmond at the age of 69. She was never married, so she was called "Virgin Queen" [16]; It is also known as "Queen of Glory" and "Queen of Wisdom".

Early experience
Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1533 at the Palazzo Plassenser in Greenwich, London, the capital of the Kingdom of England. She was baptized on the 10th and was called "Princess Elizabeth" [27]. She is the only surviving child of King Henry VIII and his second Queen Anne Bolin. Since her parents were married according to Protestant rules, the Catholic Church believed that she was an illegitimate daughter. When Elizabeth was born, she was designated as the heir to the throne, and her half-sister Mary (later Mary I) became her waiter. But the good times did not last long. On May 19, 1536, Anne Bolin was executed for adultery. Elizabeth, who was only 2 years old and 11 months old, was declared illegitimate and lost the right to inherit the throne. Her title changed from "Princess Elizabeth" to "Miss Elizabeth Tudor". [27] [34]
In 1537, Henry VIII and his third queen, Jane Seymour, gave birth to a boy named Edward (later Edward VI). Both Elizabeth and Mary became Edward's servants, but her sister Mary did not treat Elizabeth well from childhood to adolescence, so Elizabeth's childhood situation was bleak [34]. When Edward was baptized, Elizabeth offered Edward a white washing gown and smeared the holy oil on Edward's body. [2]
Elizabeth in 1546
Elizabeth in 1546
In 1543, Elizabeth's elderly father Henry finally married Catherine Parr, who served at the court, as his sixth wife. Queen Catherine Parr treated Mary and Elizabeth very well, so that they were well educated and had reliable friends and partners of the same age. Influenced by the queen, Henry VIII reconciled with his two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Elizabeth's teachers include Roger Askane, a famous humanist in the British Renaissance. She was educated in classics, history, mathematics, poetry and language. She can speak and write six languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin and Greek. Elizabeth became a Protestant under the influence of Queen Catherine Parr and other teachers. Under the persuasion of Queen Catherine Parr, Henry passed the Third Inheritance Act in 1544 to grant Mary and Elizabeth the right of succession to the throne again, but they are still illegitimate daughters in law [3] [27]. Henry stipulated in his will that if Edward had no issue, Mary, born by Catherine, would succeed him, and if Mary had no issue, Elizabeth would succeed him [34].
In January 1547, Henry VIII died and Edward VI succeeded. At that time, Edward was still young, and the regime fell into the Regency Council, which was dominated by Protestants. These Protestants tried to make Protestantism the national religion of England, so Elizabeth's position as heir to the throne was relatively stable (although she was still involved in the Thomas Seymour incident in 1549 [27]). Elizabeth is foster in her stepmother's home and has an ambiguous relationship with Thomas Seymour, the stepmother's stephusband and brother of Edward Seymour, the regent. Just as the Seymour brothers were fighting for power, Thomas tried to marry Elizabeth to steal the throne, and it was revealed that he was killed. Elizabeth, who was only 14 years old, was involved in the court struggle and was closely interrogated [34].
In 1553, when Edward learned that his life was at the end of its life, he drew up a "succession case" with the parliament to try to prevent the country from falling into the Catholic power again. Edward appointed his cousin Jane Gray as the heir to the throne, excluding his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth.

Sisterly wall
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
In July 1553, after the early death of Edward VI, Mary deposed her successor Jane Gray and became Queen Mary I of England. [5] Mary is a devout Catholic. She forced Elizabeth to convert to Catholicism. Although she appears to be a convert, Elizabeth is still a Protestant at heart. Mary is very dissatisfied with this. So when Mary ascended the throne, Elizabeth retired from the court. [34]
At the end of 1553, Thomas Huaiyi, in the name of supporting Elizabeth, launched a rebellion and led the army from Kent to London before being defeated. Although Elizabeth insisted that she did not participate in the uprising, she was still imprisoned in the Tower of London for two months (March May, 1554), and then Elizabeth was released, but was placed under house arrest in a manor in Woodstock. [27] [34]
In April 1555, Elizabeth was released from prison and ordered to enter the palace to accompany Mary I, who claimed to be pregnant. Mary's pregnancy reaction lasted until July 1555. After her stomach recovered, it was confirmed that she was not pregnant. In 1556, Elizabeth was implicated in a new conspiracy and imprisoned again. [27]
On November 6, 1558, Mary I had to make Elizabeth her legal heir because she had no children for a long time after marriage. [27] The British Parliament reiterated Henry VIII's arrangement for Elizabeth as heir.
At the beginning of his accession to the throne
Elizabeth I at the beginning of her accession
Elizabeth I at the beginning of her accession to the throne (3)
On November 17, 1558, Mary I died and Elizabeth succeeded. Elizabeth was crowned Queen at Westminster Abbey, Westminster Abbey, London, from January 15 to 16, 1559, and was called Elizabeth I. [27]
Mary's five years of rule interrupted the process of British religious reform, resulting in disastrous consequences; To the outside world, she followed the Pope and Spain and fought against France at the request of her husband, King Felipe II of Spain. As a result, the war failed and the British stronghold on the mainland was lost. Elizabeth inherited the throne under this situation of internal and external difficulties. [34]
Elizabeth is intelligent, diligent and studious. She has received a good humanistic education. She can talk about literature with literati and poets elegantly and debate with people smartly [44]. She is cruel, greedy, and smooth, but she has broad knowledge, sharp vision, and stable [34]. Her motto is "video et taceo" [35].
Elizabeth I (middle) and courtiers on tour
Elizabeth I (middle) and courtiers on tour [16]
After Elizabeth came to power, she claimed that the king was the plenipotentiary representative of God on earth and the God on earth. She asked her subjects to obey her absolutely and worship her limitlessly. She regarded the parliament as her ruling tool, and believed that the role of the parliament was not to let members make new laws or waste good time to make speeches, but to allocate funds to enrich the national treasury. She prohibited the parliament from discussing her policies, restricted its actions, and even drove out the members who dared to contradict her. In order to show off the majesty of the "God on earth", she likes luxurious rehearsals, grand banquets and luxurious clothes, but also saves the court expenses and transfers these expenses to ministers and nobles. She often toured the aristocratic manors in various places to strengthen the control of the place and scraped a large number of gifts from the local aristocrats. However, this "human God" is not the legitimate monarch recognized by the Pope. Because the Pope did not recognize Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Bolin, regarded Elizabeth as an illegitimate child, and denied her right to the throne. The Pope, Spain and France all supported the Catholic Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland to be the legitimate monarch of Britain, which made Elizabeth unable to rule according to the "legitimacy" recognized by the Pope. She had to rely on the new aristocracy and bourgeoisie hostile to Catholicism to carry out policies in their favor. On the other hand, the new aristocracy and bourgeoisie who had acquired a large amount of land and property of the church during the religious reform were also afraid of the restoration of Catholicism, and therefore supported Elizabeth. The parliament had to obey her autocratic rule. So this alliance between the monarchy and the new aristocracy of the bourgeoisie became the political basis of Elizabeth's autocratic regime. [34]
Elizabeth is particularly good at communicating with others and knows how to win the love of her subjects, A chronicler wrote: "If there was a person who had a talent and grace that could win the hearts of the people, it was Queen Elizabeth. If she had shown such talent and grace, it was at this time. She combined gentleness and dignity, and bowed solemnly to pay tribute to the most humble subjects. All her functions were active, and every move seemed to be well controlled by thoughts and feelings: her eyes looked at a subject, Her ears are listening to the voice of another subject, and her heart is judging the opinions of the third person, while she is talking with the fourth person; Her spirit seems to be everywhere, but it seems that she is completely absorbed and not distracted. She expressed sympathy for some people, praised some people, thanked some people, and ridiculed others with great wit. She doesn't blame anyone, she doesn't ignore any etiquette, she deliberately smiles to the public and shows her elegant manners, so her subjects also doubled their joy, and later talked about it in the highest tone, so that people's ears often hear some excessive praise of the king. " In response, Winston Churchill once commented: "Her relationship with her subjects is a long-term flirting relationship." Her tender attitude towards British subjects has won the love of almost all Britons. At that time, people affectionately called their queen "Bessie". At that time, the British actually regarded the Queen as the embodiment of England, and Elizabeth gradually became the equivalent of the era of national self-awareness in England. [44]

In the face of the domestic division and foreign war crisis left by Queen Mary, Elizabeth first focused on stabilizing the country. When she attended the first reception held for the Queen in London, she put forward the slogan of "harmony". Furthermore, the theme of her coronation ceremony is "unity", and her throne is decorated with red and white roses. The following reads: "The York family and the Lancaster family are united, just like the marriage of Henry VII and Edward IV ended civil strife, and their granddaughter Elizabeth will work hard to maintain permanent harmony in Britain. But religious issues still plague Elizabeth. [48]
In the early days of Elizabeth's reign, the Catholic forces led by the Pope were very afraid of the religious reform that Britain continued to carry out. Spain was also very worried that Britain's growing overseas activities would threaten its maritime hegemony. Mary Stuart of Scotland was always coveting the British throne. Faced with the threat of these powerful foreign forces and taking into account the British trade with the West Netherlands, Elizabeth adopted a cautious foreign policy. In 1559, Elizabeth rejected the proposal of Felipe II, which prevented Spain from turning Britain into a dependent country by marriage. She actively supported Scottish Protestants, helped Protestant nobles defeat and depose Mary, and made pro-British Protestants take power in Scotland. Elizabeth also tried not to intervene in European affairs. Until 1585, she refused to intervene in the Netherland Revolution publicly to avoid direct conflict with Catholic countries, but she also supported British pirates to attack Spain and other countries. [34]
Mary Stuart, who was about to be executed
Mary Stuart before the execution [36]
The Pope and Spain were not reconciled to the power of Protestantism in Britain and the consolidation of Elizabeth's autocratic regime, and increasingly stepped up the planning of conspiracy against the Queen. England entered the so-called "conspiracy" period [31]. Mary Stuart, who fled to England in 1567 and was put under house arrest, became the center of this conspiracy. In 1569, Elizabeth cracked the case of Thomas Howard, the fourth Duke of Norfolk, plotting to marry Mary and overthrow herself. When the Catholic forces in northern England heard of the rebellion, the rebels were instructed by Spain and supported by money in an attempt to rescue Mary and replace Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard the news, she sent a large number of troops to suppress the rebellion. In 1570, Pope Pius V announced the expulsion of Elizabeth from the Church, relieved the British subjects of their obligation of loyalty to her, and then sent a large number of Jesuits into Britain to instigate the rebellion. But the conspiracy cases were solved one after another. In 1584, Spain sent an assassin to assassinate William I, the leader of the Netherland Uprising. In 1585, the Western army occupied Antwerp. Britain was not only seriously hit in terms of trade with Netherland, but also seriously threatened by the Spanish invasion. The internal and external situation became increasingly tense. At this time, Elizabeth, on the one hand, allied with Scotland, supported the French Protestant denominations to fight against the Catholic Union, and sent troops to support Netherland to contain Spain; On the other hand, it intensified the struggle against the domestic Catholic forces and Mary's surveillance. After a long period of investigation, in 1586, Anthony Babington and his gang were found to have attempted to assassinate Elizabeth and support Mary, and the secret letters between Mary and the conspirators and the action instructions she gave were found. Elizabeth immediately arrested the conspirator when she had the evidence, then tried Mary, and executed her for treason in 1587 (see the entry "Babington plot") [20]. [34]
The death of Mary has cleared the center of domestic conspiracy activities and is a bold challenge to the Catholic world. Pope Sixtus V was furious and called on Catholics to fight against Britain. In July 1588, Spain sent an "invincible fleet" consisting of more than 100 ships to expedition Britain. At that time, Britain was not as strong as Spain, but at the critical juncture, different classes and different sects in Britain took active action. Coastal cities have prepared their own ships to join the war, and a large number of militiamen have gathered. Elizabeth also delivered a speech at the military assembly site, saying that she would live and die with them. In the naval battle, Spanish ships were bulky and inflexible, sailors lacked training and command was incompetent. However, the British ships were small and flexible, with fierce artillery fire, and the sailors were brave and good at fighting. The British generals Charles Howard, Francis Drake and others were well commanded. In addition, the storm was beneficial to the British army. As a result, the "Invincible Fleet" was defeated, and only dozens of ships escaped back to Spain (see the entry of the Battle of Gravelina).
The Battle of Gravelina was seen as a major victory of the Protestant Church over the Catholic forces. The failure of the Armada weakened Spain's maritime hegemony and opened the way for Britain's large-scale overseas expansion. At this time, the Elizabethan era reached its peak. The British economy continues to develop, and London has become an important center of industry, commerce and finance. Humanism in the Renaissance also flourished in Britain, producing Shakespeare, the great master of world literature, and Francis Bacon, the founder of modern materialism. [34] After nearly half a century of rule, England has become one of the strongest and richest countries in Europe. [20] This period is often referred to as the "settlement" period by British historians. [31]
During the reign of Elizabeth I, many navigators including Drake, Walter Raleigh and Humphrey Gilbert also appeared, which promoted the development of British navigation industry. Britain also tried to establish colonies in North America.

Storage location problem
Elizabeth I in about 1575
Elizabeth I in about 1575 [16]
Elizabeth I was known as "The Virgin Queen" when she was alive, and she remained unmarried all her life. During her reign, her marriage has always been the focus of attention. Because she was unmarried all her life, she had no children. Elizabeth's advisers have repeatedly asked her to marry, and so has Parliament. [20] Elizabeth never refused or agreed with the pursuit of others. She took advantage of her unmarried status to make a false deal with the Spanish, Holy Roman Empire, France, Sweden and other royal families who had proposed to her, and used her marriage as a bargaining chip to balance power among countries on the European continent, especially France and Spain, the two major powers, in order to maximize the national interests of Britain. [15] It is said that after her accession to the throne, she wore the coronation ring on her left ring finger as a symbol of her life to her country and people. [16] [23]
Lady Catherine Gray, the niece of Elizabeth I, is the granddaughter of Mary Tudor, the daughter of Henry VII, and has priority to inherit the throne. Her secret marriage to Edward Seymour, the first Earl of Hertford, angered Elizabeth I, and she herself was imprisoned to death in 1568.
In the late years of Elizabeth I, when she had to determine her successor, she became more and more inclined to her nephew, King James VI of Scotland (later James I), the son of Mary Stuart, who was executed by her. But she never officially named him heir.
Glorious curtain call
Robert de Fro, Elizabeth's favorite minister in her later years
Robert Devero, Elizabeth's favorite minister in her later years [26]
During the reign of Elizabeth I, the autocratic monarchy and nation-state of Britain were consolidated, the primitive accumulation of capital developed rapidly, and Spain's maritime hegemony was initially seized, all of which had a profound impact on British history. However, in the last ten years of Elizabeth I's rule, the domestic contradictions in Britain became increasingly acute: the war against Spain brought heavy tax burden to the people, the massive inflow of gold and silver led to soaring prices, the abolition of the anti-enclosure law made the phenomenon of farmers losing land more serious, and the disintegration of the guild system made the situation of handicraftsmen worse. In the 1990s, five consecutive years of poor harvests made the social situation unstable, and urban and rural people's uprisings continued to occur. In 1601, Elizabeth's favorite minister, the second Earl of Essex, Robert DeFro, used this discontent to incite a civil uprising in London. Although Essex failed to be killed, the defection of his favorite minister reflected the profound social contradictions and left painful memories in Elizabeth's heart. [34]
From 1594, a nine-year war broke out in Ireland. However, the policies of the Elizabeth government ensured the security of Britain, saved the national financial resources to the maximum extent, reduced the burden on the people, and thus maintained social stability. [12]
With the growth of capitalism, the alliance between the monarchy and the bourgeoisie also began to crack, and the relationship between the parliament and the queen became tense. This contradiction is first manifested in religious issues. The bourgeoisie demanded to deepen religious reform and replace the state religion with Puritanism, which set off the Puritan movement. Elizabeth, however, took the national religion as the ruling tool and was afraid of the Puritan democratic republican spirit. After 1588, with the disappearance of the threat of the restoration of Catholicism, Elizabeth intensified her attack and persecution of Puritanism. Especially in her later years, she executed Puritan radical leaders many times, which caused dissatisfaction of the bourgeoisie and the parliament. Secondly, in her later years, Elizabeth more and more casually gave the monopoly rights of many commodities to her favorite ministers, which seriously damaged the interests of the bourgeoisie and also caused dissatisfaction among the masses. In 1597, Parliament requested to abolish the monopoly power, which was rejected by the Queen. In 1601, the Queen's last parliament again discussed the bill to abolish the monopoly right, and launched a fierce attack on the monopoly system. The tactful and experienced Elizabeth was afraid of public conflict with the parliament, so she had to promise to stop selling harmful monopoly rights, and went to the parliament to pacify the situation for the time being. [8] [9] [34]
Elizabeth I in her later years (1595)
Elizabeth I in her later years (1595)
On November 30 of the same year, Elizabeth I delivered a "golden speech" to the members of the House of Representatives in Whitehall, The main idea is: "There is no priceless treasure in the world. No matter how valuable it is, it can't match the one I mentioned. This is your love. [27]
At this time, the turbulence of the lower class, the dissatisfaction of the bourgeoisie, the increasingly sharp religious disputes and the constant court strife made Elizabeth become melancholy, lonely and suspicious in her later years. After her brilliant achievements, Elizabeth I left a small amount of wealth and huge debts to future generations. [1] At the same time, her body also became weak and sickly. [34] After Essex died, Elizabeth suffered from neurasthenia, rheumatism and chronic anthrax. [39]
In January 1603, Elizabeth was bedridden. On March 23, she agreed to the arrangement of the Privy Council and designated James VI of Scotland to inherit the throne with a gesture. In the early morning of March 24, Elizabeth died in a coma at Richmond Palace in London at the age of 69. [27] [34] William Condon has the following poetic style in the British Chronicle, which records the scene when Elizabeth's subjects buried her:
The Queen was transported to Whitehall Palace by water,
Every move of the firewood makes people cry;
The fish under the water are also clinging to the boat,
She cried her eyes down and swam blindly. [44]
Because Elizabeth never married and had no children, after her death, the rule of the Tudor dynasty after 118 years ended. After her death, James VI of Scotland inherited the throne of England and called James I, which opened the Stuart Kingdom of England.