What events in her life lead to Queen Elizabeth I's rise to power?

Question

i need to know how elizabeth rose to power and what she did for england that made her so powerful and loved by england. thank you.

Answer 1

Briefly, it could be described as a series of circumstances and fate that led to Elizabeth becoming queen of England. She was the second daughter of Henry VIII; after her, a legitimate son was born who would become the next monarch. It seemed, then, that the two daughters would never become queens, especially as there was no precedent for a queen regnant - apart from a Matilda, many years ago.

However, Edward died very early, at about the age of 16. There were always going to be plots and conspiracies; Lady Jane Grey became queen for only a few days. She was brought down and succeeded by Henry's daughter Mary, who was next in line as the oldest daughter.

Mary was extremely unpopular; Edward had striven to make his country Protestant. Mary was a staunch Catholic, and tried hard to bring it back to Catholicism. She ordered the burning of about 300 people for heresy and earned the name of "Bloody Mary" for herself - even though the number of her victims was not considered excessive for the time. She also married Philip of Spain, a hugely unpopular choice. Poor Mary loved Philip, but couldn't bear him a child.

Under Mary, Elizabeth entered the most dangerous time of her life. She was very clever, and managed to stay out of political trouble, although there were some terrifying times.

Mary died fairly young, and it was obvious that Elizabeth would succeed her. After Mary's reign, when people were burned for heresy, for being Protestant, Elizabeth was loved and welcomed; she allowed more freedom of worship during her reign. Whereas Mary was small and old for her years, dressing in rich cloth and jewels, Elizabeth with her red-gold hair and father's nose, dressed simply in dark colours, must have seemed refreshing and a hope for a new future.

This future was realised. She married herself to her country; did not dilute her power with a consort or a king. She was very accomplished and educated, and truly loved her people. She was perhaps the first monarch who truly understood the power of "star quality" and self-promotion.

Look at the first site here for what she accomplished for England; in her reign Shakespeare flourished, and other great writers. Sailors sailed the seas to bring back riches and stories; Spain was defeated by the Armada, and England enjoyed a glorious age under Gloriana.
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95sep/elizabeth.html

This is a very good site. It's rather long, but shorter than a book (!), and gives a very good overview of her life and reign:
http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz1.html

Answer 2

All these answers are right, but also give credit to the fact that Elizabeth was very smart and shrewd. She knew what she had to do, what cards she had to play. She could have been killed many times over (look at Jane Grey!) but managed to get into the good graces of men who preserved her, although they were enemies (such as Philip of Spain, although he was Mary's husband). She was also smart enough and had great advisors (Such as Cecil and Walsingham) that helped her to settle the great problems that England had upon Mary I's death, such as the Religion issue, and also the fact that the country was very poor, esc.

Answer 3

her rise to power came about because her sickly baby brother died (might have had hemophilia, we don't know for sure) and her big sister was that most evil thing in British Ilse at the time, a CATHOLIC!!! ( OH TH HORRORS) this led the Parliament to name Elizabeth, Henry VIII'S only surviving protestant child to become queen. now why she was so beloved, because she either killed or banished all those who hated her, so only the one who loved her got to write her history. plus many nobleman were hoping to marry her and take over to become king.

Answer 4

Ummm her Dad the King died. She was next in line so became the queen.