Elizabeth I (1533-1603)

A character sketch of Elizabeth I

Elizabeth was born at Greenwich, an estate near London. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.

Elizabeth was queen of England from 1558 until her death in 1603. Her reign is often called the Golden Age or the Elizabethan Age because it was a time of great achievement in England.

Elizabeth made the Church of England, a Protestant denomination, the country's main church.

Elizabeth had to decide whether England's religion would be Catholic or Protestant and to do so without causing a revolt.

Elizabeth signed several laws called the Religious Settlement of 1559. The main law, the Act of Supremacy, reestablished the Church of England, which her father set up and Mary tried to abolish. This church was independent of the Roman Catholic Church, but had similarities to it. The Act of Uniformity approved a new prayer book and enforced the book's use.

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