Monarchy Since 1066

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In this essay I will look at how the power of Monarchs has changed in Britain since 1066. I will explain how their power has changed and the differences between them.The first Monarch I will look at is William the Conqueror. William reigned from 1066 until 1087. There are many different qualities to William other than power, he was also very lucky and made good preparations. He won the battle of Hastings on the 14th of October 1066, which proves he is very powerful. One of the main reasons William won the battle is because of his good luck. William couldn’t cross the English Channel because the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, but luckily the wind changed at a perfect time for William and was able to go across the channel and land in Hastings. This was also lucky because Harold was still fighting in the North, so it gave William a lot of time to prepare for the battle, also some of Harold’s best soldiers had been killed fighting the Norwegians and the rest were exhausted and not ready for battle. At a key moment in the battle, Harold was killed. This was also lucky for William, because with Harold being killed, there was no leader for the English. This was an advantage for William to use his skilful tactics.One of the other main reasons was good leadership. William encouraged his army of brave men to use a clever tactic of retreating to make the English come down from the hill. This was a good tactic because if the English were not on top of the hill, then the Normans had a better chance of surrounding and killing them. Also William was very brave. At an awkward time in the battle he led his army back up the hill to attack the English.Finally, William won the battle of Hastings because of his good preparation. William had made a great army including a large number of knights on horses, which gave William and the Normans good attacking power. Also he had a large store of weapons and had built many ships to carry his army across the sea. William had also arranged his army in rows of archers, soldiers and Calvary. This is good because it gave William a lot of power. Also all of his army were prepared for the battle, so there was a better chance of the Normans winning.In conclusion, I gave William 9 out of 10 for power. I think William’s power won him the battle. This was mainly because of his good preparation and leadership. If someone had good leadership and preparation then they must have a lot of power to lead an army.The second Monarch I will look at is Elizabeth I. Elizabeth became queen at the age of 25 and reined for 45 years. Elizabeth was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17th November 1558 until her death. Elizabeth was very popular. She had a lot of support, even though some people attempted to kill her. People considered her reign as a golden age, because everything was going well. Some people were even relieved when she died, but that’s because she was queen for so long. Elizabeth had a lot of power. She got on with parliament well, and could do what she wanted. The only real problems she had at home came from Mary Queen of Scott’s, but Elizabeth demonstrated how powerful she was by having her executed. The real threat from Elizabeth came from Spain, but in 1588 she defeated the Armada. This is still remembered today as one of England’s greatest victories. Her speech during the Armada showed her to be very powerful. Elizabeth I is one of our most famous Monarchs, and she ruled for a very long time. She was the first woman to run the country effectively, and still protect England from other countries. The fact that she did not get married or have a son meant that she failed to look after the throne properly.In conclusion, I have gave Elizabeth 9 out of 10 for power because she has a lot of power because she could do whatever she wanted and got on with parliament, so there was nothing stopping her.The next Monarch I will look at...
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