Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I was born Elizabeth Tudor, the second daughter born of King Henry VIII, and the only surviving child of Anne Boleyn. She was born at Greenwich Palace, the same place her father and half siblings were born.

When Elizabeth was a young child of three, her mother was executed for being a witch, committing adultery, and for conspiring against the King. When her father Henry VIII remarried, he claimed Elizabeth and her half sister, Mary, were illegitimate and could make no claim to the throne.

Soon after marrying her, Henry's new wife, Jane Seymour, gave birth to Elizabeth's half brother Prince Edward and he became heir to the throne. It wasn't until Henry married his last wife Catherine Parr, that he declared Mary and Elizabeth were in line to the throne after Prince Edward. This, however, did not change the fact they were viewed as Henry's illegitimate children.

After the death of her sister, Queen Mary, a coronation was held for Elizabeth on January 15, 1559. Because Elizabeth was declared illegitimate by her father, the senior bishops at the time declined to coronate her. Owen Oglethorpe, the Bishop of Carlisle, took the responsibility of crowning Elizabeth I Queen of England and Ireland.

The 45 years that she spent on the throne were known as the "Golden Age of Elizabeth" or the "Elizabethan era." Many grand things took place in this time, such as; the writings of William Shakespeare and the colonization of North America. In fact, Virginia, one of the first American colonies, was named so after Elizabeth I; who was also known as the "Virgin Queen."

Queen Elizabeth was seen as a level headed ruler and it was even known that her favorite motto was "video et taceo", which means, "I see and keep silent."

The people of England embraced her. However, the people of Ireland felt somewhat ignored and were unhappy with English traditions and religion being forced on them.