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The Virgin Queen
Like many historical figures that keep people
fascinated, Elizabeth I remains
somewhat enigmatic. No one knows the whole truth
about the personal aspects of Elizabeth's story. Of
course, these things are difficult to know from a
historical distance, but even in her own time, her
success, power, and mystery were legendary.
Elizabeth became
Queen of England when she was only 25 years old.
Probably the most talked about aspect of her rule
remains her romantic life. Elizabeth was an
effective and impressive
young queen, but she never married. Much has been made
of this fact, and even today, people
speculate and disagree about
her reasons for remaining "The Virgin Queen." This is so
partly because she never
offered a complete explanation herself
and partly because she
displayed an intriguing mix of intelligence and reserve
that still keeps people wondering what she was thinking.
Elizabeth
undoubtedly had
accomplishments outside of her private life which have
cemented her place in
history. One of the most significant is her role in the
establishment of the Protestant Church in England. For
reasons both personal and political, she
sided with the general feelings of the people and
moved to separate the Church
in England from the
authority of the Pope. Elizabeth is seen as having led
England into a "golden age," a time that saw England
rise to a place of unprecedented global importance. It
was a time when England produced
renowned playwrights, most notably Shakespeare,
and several famous adventurers. As we can see from the
recent release of the Hollywood movie on the subject,
the story of Elizabeth I has not lost its
appeal. |
