Essay Sample about Queen Elizabeth I, Virgin Queen of England

Queen Elizabeth the first is well known throughout time as the Warrior Queen or more commonly the Virgin Queen. Elizabeth ushered in the golden era of England and protected the country from falling to the catholic church, or Spain. While the protestant Queen held many triumphs, the enteral question remains. Was Elizabeth held back by her gender? Could a King have accomplished more, with less pushback? Or was the main problem her religious apathy? In this paper, I set out to explore these questions and to explore the link between gender and the monarchy. 

Elizabeth was born to King Henry the eighth, and his second wife Anne Boleyn. Henry's marriage to Anne was a source of conflict in England at the time, as the marriage initially caused Henry to stray from the Catholic church. Anne was executed for crimes against the crown and the church when Elizabeth was just under three years old. While it is commonly believed that she was falsy accused, to leave a way for Henry's next marriage, the life and death of Anne Boleyn became a cloud over Elizabeth's head. While England as a country was Protestant, the Catholic Church wished to reclaim the nation. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, Henry's marriage to Anne was not legitimate, and neither was Elizabeth's claim as heir to the throne. The circumstances of her birth, made her an enemy of the church, even as a young child. The Catholic Church would have opposed any English ruler, as they feared more nations would follow if England was allowed to remain Protestant. Unfortunately, even as a proclaimed Protestant Queen, Elizabeth was also not favored by the Protestant church in England and abroad. The Protestants did not favor Elizabeth, based on her gender alone, and speakers such as John Knoxx made this belief clear. Elizabeth was also not allowed to hold her rightfully place as head of the church, as women could not be speakers or priests in the Protestant faith. Multiple attempts were made by the protestant church to remove Elizabeth and place a man on her throne, her viability as a bride being their main tool.  

Both the Queen's council and the church pressured her to marry, and produce heirs. Even as the rightful regent, Elizabeths main use to her country was to marry a powerful man, and to birth the next King of England. Suitor after suitor was brought before her, and each was sent away. The proclaimed Virgin Queen had a plethora of reasons for declining her potential husbands. While the most powerful reason is hard to decipher, there are a few strong contenders. Namely being, that once Elizabeth married, her power as sole ruler, would be gone. Even a King Consort held more power than a rightful Queen and its thought that Elizabeth feared losing this power.  Another thought is that Elizabeth feared going down a similar path to her mother, a Queen executed by a careless husband. While each reason has its own merits, it all comes down to her fear, that a female ruler was easily destroyed if she stood with a man. No matter the reasoning, Elizabeth never married. She lived and died the Golden Virgin Queen, an action that ultimately saved her rule and life. 

The rule of Elizabeth was full of obstacles and trials, starting with, and most importantly, her Scottish cousin Mary Stewart. Mary served as Scotland's Queen during a violent religious conflict, and land upheaval. While ordinarily Mary would have been seen as another monarch, her relation to Elizabeth posed a serious problem. From the Catholic church's perspective, Mary should have been next in line for the throne, not Elizabeth. The church did not recognize Elizabeth as a rightful heir.  Mary lived as a devout Catholic Queen, despite her countries growing religious conflict. And while the Catholic church would have preferred a Catholic King on the English throne, a Catholic Queen was a better choice than a heretic Queen. The church and their respective countries' people,  pitted Mary and Elizabeth against each other, some because of Mary's “ purer” bloodline claim to the English throne, and some who would prefer one religion to rule both nations.  Both women were used as nothing more than pawns of their respective churches. 

Was Elizabeth's rule hindered by her gender? Inarguably yes. The Catholic church would have supported a man's bloodline claim even as a Protestant, and the Protestant church would not have held back their support for a King. A King would have been held as head of the church, and respected as a religious leader, helping to ease the religious conflict at the time. Likewise, men were not required to marry to have a successful rule. While Elizabeth was still successful as an unmarried Queen, this exception to the rule cost her almost everything, fighting for her rightful power every step of the way. While it is easy to claim that Elizabeth's lack of devotion to the church was her main issue, this is easily disproven. Elizabeth was not religiously apathetic, she simply wasn't allowed to participate at the level a man was.