Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth the first was unlike any male author or monarch of her time. The speeches she wrote for her people and the parliament, as well as the poetry and letters she wrote for herself (and others in her close knit circle) were well known during her life. In her heart, she carried the weight of an empire and her people. She was careful to show her public side to the populace and kept her private life closely guarded. Throughout her reign, she was faced with disease, pressure to marry the countless suitors thrust upon her, invasions from other countries, and all the while, she used her station as queen to thrust herself into the hearts and minds of the English people through her writings. 

Publicly, Queen Elizabeth catered to the sensibilities of the common person. Having been welcomed by them and treated well as a prisoner in the Tower of London, Elizabeth understood the needs and desires of the common man and woman. She appealed to their sense of patriotism whenever she could. Her voice was the voice of her God, her people, and her country. She was selfless and loving. “My heart was never set on any worldly goods, but only for my subjects’ good.” (Speech) Though she needed to convince both parliament and the public she was a fine prince of , the means she had were limited to speeches and public appearances.  “Elizabeth inherited a tattered realm: dissension between Catholics and Protestants tore at the very foundation of society” (Britannia) which also threatened an invasion early in her reign as well as numerous plots to assassinate her. Elizabeth, however, used her words, wit, and charismatic nature to unify the battling religions of her country.