Elizabeth was the only child of England's King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. She was the heir apparent to the English crown at the time of her birth in 1533. Anne Boleyn's marriage to Henry VIII was canceled in 1536. Elizabeth was proclaimed illegitimate when Anne was publicly executed. After Anne, Henry had four additional wives. He died in 1547 and was succeeded by Edward VI, his son with his third wife Jane Seymour. Edward died at the age of 15 in 1553 and was succeeded by Mary I, Henry's daughter from his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon. During Mary's reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower of London on suspicion of conspiring to overthrow the Queen. She nearly avoided being executed. However, Elizabeth was sent to court in 1555, and Mary accepted her as her heir in 1558. Mary died on November 17, 1558, and Elizabeth took her place. Elizabeth I became Queen of England and Ireland in 1559.

According to Roy Strong, Elizabeth's coronation and royal arrival have received the most academic attention. Historians from Raphael Holinshed forward drew significantly on the tone of Mulcaster's The Queen's Majesty's passage in the following centuries, presenting the 1559 coronation and pageants as a turning moment against forced Catholicism and the victory of popular Protestantism. Modern historians have adopted a more critical stance, claiming that Elizabeth and her aides skillfully stage-managed the events of January 1559. Even the mystery of the circumstances surrounding the Coronation Mass has been viewed as a hint that the regime's future religious policy had yet to be completely developed.

Major accomplishments of Queen Elizabeth I of England include her policies cleared the debt and provided economic prosperity.

While Elizabeth was frugal with her money, any long-term improvement in England's financial status was jeopardized by the absence of major financial reforms. Elizabeth opposed raising taxes because she believed it would alienate people who she wanted to support her. Conflict, on the other hand, costs money, and Elizabeth's war with Spain in 1585 forced her to borrow again.

When Elizabeth I ascended to the throne of England, she inherited an almost impoverished country from previous reigns.

As a result, she instituted austerity programs to reestablish budgetary prudence. Her economic prudence had freed the regime of debt by 1574, and the Crown had a £300,000 surplus ten years later. Apart from the Queen's policies, the trans-Atlantic commerce, repeated theft of Spanish wealth, and the African slave trade were all key contributors to England's economic success. Merchant Thomas Gresham established the Royal Exchange to serve as a commercial hub for the City of London. It was inaugurated on January 23, 1571, by Queen Elizabeth, who bestowed the edifice with a royal title and a license. The Royal Exchange was also crucial to the economic growth of England.

Elizabeth I was the one who came forward to negotiate of religious differences and conflicts.

In terms of religion, Elizabeth took a midway path between the hardline Protestants (Puritans) and the Catholics. She restored the autonomous Church of England while retaining many aspects of Catholicism, like as bishops and archbishops. She thought that by doing so, she would achieve state unity. However, many Catholics were not reconciled. Some advocated for Mary, Queen of Scots, to succeed Elizabeth.

Mary sought sanctuary in England in 1568, after being forced to relinquish the Scottish crown. Elizabeth refused to execute Mary immediately, instead imprisoning her for 19 years. The Babington Plot of 1586, orchestrated by Anthony Babington, was the final event in a chain of events that eventually convinced Elizabeth to put Mary on trial. Mary was condemned to death and executed in 1587 after being found guilty of involvement in the attempt to kill Elizabeth. Elizabeth was also pressed to become more involved in the conflict in continental Europe between Catholics and Protestants. Her counselors specifically advised her to assist Protestant rebels battling the Spanish soldiers in the Netherlands. Despite her reservations, Elizabeth consented to deploy a small military force to the Netherlands in 1585.

Elizabeth I played an important role in the Defeat of the Spanish Armada. After years of planning, Philip II of Spain prepared a massive fleet of his best and greatest warships, dubbed the Armada by the Spanish. The Armada sailed into the English Channel in 1588, intending to invade and conquer England. The English were expecting them. During her reign, Elizabeth allocated enough funding to maintain a fleet of nimble, well-armed battle ships. When the Armada arrived in English seas, the queen's ships beat the Spanish fleet in one of history's most famous naval battles, which was subsequently nearly destroyed by horrible storms on its way back to Spain.

When the Spanish invasion was near, Elizabeth decided to personally inspect a force of soldiers stationed at Tilbury. She rode past the camp wearing a white robe and a silver armor, then delivered a famous speech. Some of her subordinates were concerned about her being in front of such a big group of soldiers, but she was unfazed: she was their leader, and she was determined to be with them in their most vital hour before combat. "I know I have the body of a sickly and weak lady," Elizabeth stated, "but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of an English monarch as well." She then pledged to lavishly reward her devoted soldiers. The event showed several of Elizabeth's attributes, including her bravery, mastery of great public situations, and strategic connection with masculine martial ideals.

Elizabeth I governed England and Ireland for 44 years and 127 days, beginning on November 17, 1558, and ending on March 24, 1603. She is the seventh longest reigning queen in British history. Her reign is the third-longest among female monarchs, behind Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria. Elizabeth I's reign provided a period of stability and peace in England. This contrasted sharply with the preceding and succeeding times, which were characterized by theological warfare between Protestants and Catholics, as well as political struggles between parliament and the crown. During the Elizabethan period, the country is thought to have been more rich than much of Europe, with only Spain as a serious contender.

The period is remembered for the flowering of English theatre, driven by playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, as well as the nautical prowess of Englishmen such as Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh. Some historians portray Elizabeth as a short-tempered, indecisive monarch who had more than her fair share of good fortune. A succession of economic and military issues eroded her popularity at the conclusion of her rule. However, Elizabeth is remembered as a captivating performer ("Gloriana") and a tenacious survivor ("Good Queen Bess") in a period when governance was rudimentary and restricted, and monarchs in neighboring nations suffered internal issues that jeopardized their thrones. Following the brief reigns of her half-siblings, her 44-year reign offered welcome stability for the country and helped to develop a sense of national identity.

Elizabeth I oversaw a period of great exploration is one of the major accomplishments of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth's reign was eventful and marked a period of significant change in England. She dealt with religious issues, presided over a period of worldwide exploration and trade, and faced dangers from Mary Queen of Scots and the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth established her government almost immediately after becoming Queen. She drastically decreased the size of the Privy Council, partially to clear it of Catholic members and partly to make it more efficient.

For England, the Elizabethan era was a time of immense discovery. The Queen's principal motivation for sponsoring exploration was to develop valuable commercial routes. Sir Francis Drake was maybe the most famous navigator of the time. Queen Elizabeth I gave him permission to lead expeditions to attack Spanish treasure ships in the New World. One such journey resulted in Francis Drake becoming the first Englishman to circle the world, for which Queen Elizabeth knighted him. This was the second time a single expedition circumnavigated the globe. Other notable Elizabethan-era explorers include Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Richard Greenville, and Sir Martin Frobisher. Exploration during the Elizabethan period was critical to the establishment and extension of the British Empire in the 17th century.

Elizabeth I got a thorough education in Latin, Greek, French, Italian, and rhetoric from notable humanists John Cheke, William Grindal, and Roger Ascham while she was young. Throughout her life, she translated ancient books and penned poems. More notably, Queen Elizabeth I authored a great deal of correspondence and speeches. These were written with outstanding rhetorical abilities, and they helped her establish her authority and improve her image. Elizabeth I was also an excellent orator. The Speech to the Troops at Tilbury, made on August 19, 1588 to the land forces gathering at Tilbury in Essex in preparation for resisting the projected invasion by the Spanish Armada, is one of her most famous speeches. "I have the body of a frail, fragile woman; yet I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a King of England too," she remarked in the address's most famous sentence.

She was a prominent writer and a great orator. In their stiff and complicated language, some of her first letters resemble school exercises, yet they respond discreetly to different political problems throughout the reign of her brother, Edward VI. These letters show her developing capacity to use language to conceal as much as it exposes, as well as to walk a narrow line between self-assertion and self-abnegation.