Queen Elizabeth I :: essays research papers

Queen Elizabeth I was said to be one of the best rulers of England. Unlike rulers before her, she was a Protestant and not a Catholic. She was not stupid though. She did go to church and did everything that Catholics did to prevent getting her head cut off under the rules of her sister Mary. Elizabeth was very young when she came to rule. She was only 17 years old when her sister Mary died and she took over. Elizabeth’s relationship with her half sister Queen Mary was mediocre. It seemed like they did not talk as much as some sisters do. They did love each other though because when Queen Mary was on the deathbed she refused to sign the paper that would have Elizabeth killed. If she didn’t really love her sister, she would have let them kill her and allow the Duke of Norfolk to take over as king. The Duke of Norfolk was Elizabeth’s cousin and wished to be king more than anything else. On the other hand, Mary called her sister a bastard and other bad names. Elizabeth and her cousin Mary Queen of Scots often clashed, both personally and politically. Eventually, they wanted one another dead. Mary Queen of Scots wanted to be the queen of England and was ready to attack them. French forces increased their numbers, without planning to attack England. However, Elizabeth was worried and decided to attack. She sent her weak army up to Scotland and was easily defeated. Mary laughed in her face and sent back one of her men wearing the French colors. Later on Elizabeth sent an assassin to kill her and it was successful. Mary Queen of Scots was killed. Elizabeth’s relationship with her elder male cousin, the Duke of Norfolk, was not good at all. The Duke of Norfolk wanted to kill Elizabeth because he wanted to become the king of England. Becoming the king of England was impossible while Elizabeth was still the queen. When Mary was on her deathbed with cancer the Duke of Norfolk tried to get Mary to sign a paper that would allow him to kill Elizabeth and become King of England. The Duke of Norfolk would speak against Queen Elizabeth and try to turn England against her. At one meeting she had to lock him and his men up so he wouldn’t cause a disturbance. They both had their differences.