Greenwich Palace was Elizabeth's birthplace, her father was Henry VII and her mother was Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife (Strickland 2). To their surprise she was a girl, extinguishing the hope for a male heir. “By the sentence which Cranmer has passed on the marriage of her parents and her own birth, Elizabeth was branded with the stigma …show more content…
It was January 1559 and Mary’s reign had left it decidedly another country (Roland 15). “In the twelve years since her father's death, neither Edward’s nor Mary’s reign had regressed the damaging effects of Henry’s Great Debasement of the English currency” (Roland 25). This meant Elizabeth had to restore their riches and keep England from what seemed to be its demise. After she became queen most assumed she would marry as soon as possible. “Elizabeth was far and away the best marriage to be had in Europe, a fact which every eligible bachelor and widower was aware” (Neale 69). Despite that Elizabeth seemed completely uninterested in marriage (Roland 36). She avoided it for months, declaring that she was married to her country. Soon after Elizabeth's coronation, Mary, the Queen of Scotland, began to lay claim to the English throne (Neale 86). After her husband's death many turned against her so Mary bought an army against the nobles, but lost and was imprisoned (Mary Queen of Scots Beheaded). After escaping captivity in 1568, Queen Mary fled to England in hopes the Elizabeth would protect her after corresponding with her for many years (Mary Queen of Scots Beheaded). Queen Elizabeth was initially kind in helping her fellow queen but was soon forced to imprison her, as many Spanish, English, and Catholic people began to plot to overthrow Elizabeth after hearing of Mary's arrival (Mary …show more content…
“By her death in 1603, England had become a major world power in every respect, and Queen Elizabeth passed in history as one of England's greatest monarchs” (Elizabeth the First). During her long reign she became known as the “Virgin Queen” for her reluctance to marry and give up her power which coincided with the bloom of the English renaissance (Elizabeth the First). “She was committed above all else to preserving English peace and stability; her genuine love for her subjects was legendary (Hanson 1). After her death Mary's son King James VII of Scotland inherited the throne, and became the king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Mary Queen of Scots