Queen Elizabeth 1 Research Paper

Queen Elizabeth I’s family background and early life affected and influenced her political reign as well as her love life, which we see through her relationship with her family, her interaction with suitors, and through her reign as Queen of England. Elizabeth was often referred to as “The Queen of Compromise” which sums up her political reign. While “The Virgin Queen” was also another title she was given. While some may disagree, there is great evidence that suggests Queen Elizabeth fits exactly within these two titles. In her early life Elizabeth had a unique upbringing. Her father was King Henry VIII, the one who did away with the Catholic Church in order to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon after she gave birth to Mary but was unable

Quite the contrary, Elizabeth had several suitors, some in which she was very interested in marrying. First there was Phillip of Spain. The same King Phillip who was once married to her half sister Mary. He was a suitor but not for long. Elizabeth had a passion for her people and would have been too easy fro Phillip to take over her kingdom. “He naively assumed that Elizabeth could be easily won over by reminding her of Mary's claim to the throne and offering Spanish aid as if she were so defenseless and unresourceful that she would fly to Spain's protective side.” In addition to Phillip there was also Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Dudley served as master of the horse and later Knight of the Garter in Elizabeth’s court. Lastly, there was the Duke of Anjou of France. He was much too flamboyant for Elizabeth and so she left France empty handed. She would not marry any of these men because her first priority was her kingdom and these suitors could be a possible detriment to her success as

She learned what not to do during her reign and proved herself to be very successful. Although no ruler is perfect, it can definitely be said that she cared for her people and often put them before herself. During the time of her reign the two religions were at war with on another and she chose to let each religion practice unlike her father who did away with the Catholic Church and unlike Mary who killed many protestant. For this she is known as “The Queen of Compromise.” Not only did her family background influence her reign, her early life also had a part in shaping her love life. Elizabeth chose to abstain from marriage for many reasons. One being that she wanted to be devoted to her people and in a sense England was her husband. This stems from her early life and how she learned from her father’s way of ruling, harshly, and the fact that she was neglected as a child. In addition, she chose to abstain from marriage because she wanted to be devoted to Christ, unlike her father who got rid of the church and created his own religion. She saw how her family’s way of ruling was harsh and she chose to use a different outlet during her reign. She chose to be “The Queen of Compromise” and “The Virgin Queen” because that is what her people needed at that time. They needed a monarch to come in and stop the two