Elizabeth Tudor or Queen Elizabeth I was the third Queen to rule England, but things didn’t turn out so well for the two who preceded her and it was generally assumed that the best thing she could do was to find a good husband to rule as king. Elizabeth had other ideas. She remained single and reigned for 45 years. The time of her rule became known as the Elizabethan period and is known for a great flowering of arts and fashion in England. Elizabeth’s rule also saw the defeat of the mighty Spanish Armada, turning England into the mightiest sea power in the world and setting the stage for it to become a colonial power and a globe spanning empire. Elizabeth also started the Church of England, a major turning point in the crucial conflict between states and the power of the Roman Catholic Church.

At a time when the power of men and the unsuitability of women to rule were unquestioned, Elizabeth became one of the greatest rulers England ever knew and changed the course of world history.