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Info from when we studied Queen Elizabeth.
https://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/queen-elizabeth-

i/http://www.ducksters.com/biography/women_leaders/queen_elizabeth_1.php

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CHAPTER I
EARLY LIFE: 1533-1558

I HAVE to deal, under strict limitations of space, with a long life, almost the whole of its adult period passed in the exercise of sovereignty-a life which is in effect the history of England during forty-five years, abounding at the same time in personal interest, and the subject, both in its public and private aspects, of fierce and probably interminable controversies. Evidently a bird's-eye view is all that can be attempted; and the most important episodes alone can be selected for consideration.

The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn was born on 6 September 1533. Anne was niece of Thomas, third Duke of Norfolk, and all the great Howard kinsmen attended at the baptism four days afterwards. Elizabeth was two years and eight months old when her mother was beheaded, and she herself was declared illegitimate by Act of Parliament. It is not recorded that in after years she expressed any opinion about her mother or ever mentioned her name. She never took any steps to get the Act of Attainder repealed; but perhaps she indirectly showed her belief in Anne's innocence by raising the son of Norris, her alleged paramour, to the peerage, and by the great favour she always showed to his family.

During her father's life Elizabeth lived chiefly at Hatfield with her brother Edward, under a governess. Henry had been empowered by Parliament in 1536 to settle the succession by his will. In 1544 he caused an Act to be passed placing Mary and Elizabeth next in order of succession after Edward. By his will, made a few days before his death, he repeated the provisions of the Act of 1544, and placed next to Elizabeth the daughters of his younger sister, the Duchess of Suffolk, tacitly passing over his elder sister, the Queen of Scotland.

After her father's death (January 1547) Elizabeth, then a girl of thirteen, went to reside with the Queen Dowager Catherine, who had not been many weeks a widow before she married her old lover Thomas Seymour, the Lord Admiral, brother of the Protector Somerset, described as "fierce in courage, courtly in fashion, in personage stately, in voice magnificent, but somewhat empty of matter." The romping that soon began to go on between this dangerous man and Elizabeth was of such a nature that early in the next year Catherine found it necessary to send her away somewhat abruptly. From that time she resided chiefly at Hatfield.

In August 1548 Catherine died, and the Admiral at once formed the project of marrying Elizabeth. This and other ambitious designs brought him to the scaffold (March 1549). It does not appear that Elizabeth saw or directly corresponded with him after he was a widower. But she listened to his messages, and dropped remarks of an encouraging kind which she meant to be repeated to him. She knew perfectly well that the marriage would not be permitted. She was only flirting with a man old enough to be her father just as she afterwards flirted with men young enough to be her sons. We already get a glimpse of the utter absence both of delicacy and depth of feeling which characterised her through life. When she heard of the Admiral's execution she simply remarked, "This day died a man with much wit and very little judgment." With Elizabeth the heart never really spoke, and if the senses did, she had them under perfect control. And this was why she never loved or was loved, and never has been or will be regarded with enthusiasm by either man or woman. For some time after this scandal she was evidently somewhat under a cloud. She lived at her manor-houses of Ashridge, Enfield, and Hatfield, diligently pursuing her studies under the celebrated scholar Ascham.

When Edward died (6 July 1553) Elizabeth was nearly twenty. Although Mary's cause was her own, she remained carefully neutral during the short queen-ship of Jane. On its collapse she hastened to congratulate her sister, and rode by her side when she made her entry into London. During the early part of Mary's reign her life hung by a thread. The slightest indiscretion would have been fatal to her. Wyatt's insurrection was made avowedly in her favour. But neither to that nor any other conspiracy did she extend the smallest encouragement. Her prudent and blameless conduct gave her the more right in after years to deal severely with Mary Stuart, whose behaviour under precisely similar circumstances was so very different.

Renard, the Spanish ambassador, demanded her execution as the condition of the Spanish match, and Mary assured him that she would do her best to satisfy him. In the time of Henry VIII. such an intention on the part of the sovereign would have been equivalent to a sentence of death. But Mary was far from being as powerful as her father. The Council had to be reckoned with, and in the Council independent and even peremptory language was now to be heard. It was not without strong protests on the part of some of the Lords that Elizabeth was sent to the Tower, Sussex, a noble of the old blood, who was charged to conduct her there, took upon him to delay her departure, that she might appeal to the Queen for an interview. Mary was furious: "For their lives," she said, "they durst not have acted so in her father's time; she wished he was alive and among them for a single month." But it was usless to storm. The absolute monarchy had seen its best days. Sussex, fearing foul play, warned the Lieutenant of the Tower to keep within his written instructions. Howard of Effingham, the Lord Admiral, had done more than any one else to place Mary on the throne. But he was Elizabeth's great-uncle, and he angrily insisted that her food in the Tower should be prepared by her own servants. A proposal in Parliament to give the Queen the power to nominate a successor was received with such disfavour that it had to be withdrawn. Finally the judges declared that there was no evidence to convict Elizabeth. Sullenly therefore the Queen had to give way.

Elizabeth was sent to Woodstock, where she resided for about a year under guard. This was only reasonable. An heir to the throne, in whose favour there had been plots, could not expect complete freedom. In October 1555 she was allowed to go to Hatfield under the surveillance of Sir Thomas Pope. During the rest of the reign she escaped molestation by outward conformity to the Catholic religion, and by taking no part whatever in politics. But as it became clear that her accession was at hand there can be no doubt that she was engaged in studying the problems with which she would have to deal. She was already in close intimacy with Cecil, and it is evident that she mounted the throne with a policy carefully thought out in its main lines.

When Mary was known to be dying, the Spanish ambassador, Feria, called on Elizabeth, and told her that his master had exerted his influence with the Queen and Council on her behalf, and had secured her succession. But she declined to be patronised, and told him that the people and nobility were on her side.
From Queen Elizabeth by Edward Spencer Beesly. Published in London by Macmillan and Co., 1892.
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Queen Elizabeth by Edward Spencer Beesly - Chapter 1

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I HAVE to deal, under strict limitations of space, with a long life, almost the whole of its adult period passed in the exercise of sovereignty-a life which is in effect the history of England during forty-five years, abounding at the same time in personal interest, and the subject, both in its public and private aspects, of fierce and probably interminable controversies.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH6TqDHV0Bs

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http://100leaders.org/elizabeth-i

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Queen Elizabeth I provides a classic example of very public leadership. Ruling England for almost 50 years in the 1500s, she embodied many leadership principles discussed in modern theory that are applicable today.

Elizabeth, young and inexperienced, began by surrounding herself with advisors. Most notable of these was William Cecil, who served as Elizabeth's most trusted confidante. Due to their close relationship, Cecil was able to speak more freely to Elizabeth than she would allow anyone else, and indeed she expected him to do so. In this sense Elizabeth was following the directions of Machiavelli, as he says a wise ruler acts by "choosing the wise men in his state, and giving to them only the liberty of speaking the truth to him...he ought to question them upon everything, and listen to their opinions, and afterwards form his own conclusions." (While we are hardly able to count Machiavelli as one of today's "modern" theorists as mentioned above, he can be considered "modern" in the context of Elizabeth. In fact, since The Prince was published in 1532 and Elizabeth began her reign in 1558, and since we know Elizabeth was a scholar, it is perfectly likely that she read his book.)

One point on which Elizabeth did not follow Cecil's counsel was her refusal to marry. Elizabeth was in love with Robert Dudley, an English noble, but she feared that an alliance with any man - be he an Englishman or a foreign monarch - would diminish her authority and tear her country further apart. She showed an understanding of a leader being a servant, that leadership is "a forfeiture of rights," concepts discussed by DePree (1992). An ordinary woman would have been allowed - in fact, encouraged - to succumb to the desires of the man she loved and marry him, but Elizabeth would not allow it for herself. She sacrificed her love of a man for her duty to her country. Leaders today may not usually be faced with this particular dilemma, but the theory of sacrifice remains the same.

Elizabeth began her reign in a country fraught with internal problems. Fortunately for her, her reign was relatively peaceful militarily, allowing her the luxury of focusing on these at-home issues such as the religious divide and nearly-worthless currency. (Note: By "relatively peaceful" I do not mean to diminish the importance of the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, but I'm choosing not to discuss it here.) These problems could not have been addressed successfully by the autocratic methods used by prior rulers - what Elizabeth's contemporaries may have seen as "weakness" in leadership was simply a different style from what they had seen before, and it was a style better suited to the issues at hand than a dictatorial one. I see this as an example of what Stogdill meant when he stated that "the qualities, characteristics, and skills required in a leader are determined to a large extent by the demands of the situation in which he is to function as a leader" (1948). Elizabeth was a leader, and her father Henry was a leader, but they were entirely different leaders due to the state the country was in at the time of their reigns. That Elizabeth was aware of this undoubtedly contributed to her success.

Questions for you:
Would we see Elizabeth in such a historically significant and influential light if she had been a man? Is our view of her subject to the "male chauvanism" described by Bass and Avolio (1994)?

Was Elizabeth "born" or was she "made"? She was born a princess with impressive genetics on both sides (Tudor and Boleyn), but she was disinherited after her mother was executed and she held Protestant beliefs during a decidedly dangerous time for non-Catholics. Which was more influential to her leadership personality?

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Queen Elizabeth I provides a classic example of very public leadership. Ruling England for almost 50 years in the 1500s, she embodied many leadership principles discussed in modern theory that are applicable today. Elizabeth, young and inexperienced, began by surrounding herself with advisors. Most notable of these was William Cecil, who served as Elizabeth's most trusted confidante.

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https://www.thoughtco.com/queen-elizabeth-i-biography-3528816

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Elizabeth I is considered one of the country's most successful and popular monarchs. Clever, enigmatic and flirtatious, she rewrote the rules of being Queen. But what was Elizabeth really like? And was her success down to her own skill and judgement - or an intuitive grasp of public relations?

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Read a detailed account about Queen Elizabeth I. Discover why she's considered to be one of the country's most successful and popular monarchs.

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https://britishheritage.com/queen-elizabeth-i/

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Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace and was named after both her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard. She was the second child of Henry VIII of England born in wedlock to survive infancy. Her mother was Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn. At birth, Elizabeth was the heir presumptive to the throne of England.

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https://www.biography.com/people/queen-elizabeth-i-9286133

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Often considered by many historians as England's greatest monarch, Queen Elizabeth I ruled during an age that saw the expansion of the Britain (England and Wales with parts of Ireland, and united with Scotland upon her death) to North America through voyages of discovery by men such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh.

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https://historicalheroines.wikispaces.com/Why+did+Queen+Elizabeth+I+make+history%3F

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The Religious Impact of Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth I
Lived from 1533 - 1603
But to fully understand Queen Elizabeth's motives in starting a religious revolution, you must first understand her past with religion.
Elizabeth's Childhood
Reigned as Queen from 1558 - 1603
Elizabeth Tudor ruled over England during a time of great religious change.
Elizabeth's was born to King Henry VIII and and his second wife Anne Boleyn. When Elizabeth was born, Henry was infuriated with his wife for not giving him a son as an heir to the throne. However, because the Catholic church did not allow divorce, the King devised a plan to frame his wife to insure her execution.
When Elizabeth was just two years old, her mother was beheaded in front of her on counts of adultery, incest and high treason.
Although Elizabeth would have likely been too young to remember her mother's death, many believe this could have been the beginning of her distrust with Catholicism.
Before Elizabeth's rule, her elder half-sister Mary Tudor reigned as Queen of England.
Queen Mary I
Lived from 1516 - 1558
Reigned as Queen from 1553 - 1558
Queen Mary I executed hundreds of Protestants because of their faith, earning herself the nickname, "Bloody Mary".
During this time, many Protestants fled England to countries that accepted their faith.

After Queen Mary's death, they were given the opportunity to come back through the next monarch, Queen Elizabeth.
Elizabethan
Era
Because Elizabeth was Protestant in faith, many expected her to turn on Catholicism and to make England a Protestant country when her rule began. However, rather than persecuting Catholics and forcing Protestantism on her subjects, she believed in much more peaceful tactics.
Religious tolerance was a very large part of Queen Elizabeth's beliefs. In one of her speeches she is quoted as saying, "There is only one Christ, Jesus, one faith. All else is a dispute over trifles." In the same speech, she further said, "We have no desire to make windows into man's souls."
However, although she
did
act with tolerance, Elizabeth also wanted to peacefully drive out Catholicism by combining their faith with her own. She wanted a church that was appealing to both Catholics and Protestants, therefore making a single religion.

To do this, she made a religious settlement that is commonly referred to as, "the middle road".
The Act of Supremacy
The Act of Uniformity
In 1559, Queen Elizabeth I began the settlement through her first parliament session. In this meeting, she created two acts that would later be passed. First, the Act of Supremacy and second, the Act of Uniformity.
- Enforced a book of common prayer which followed the act King Henry the VII passed in 1559, but took out certain Catholic elements

- Authorized a penalty of 12 pence for not attending church, which would be given to the poor

- Made wording of Communion vague so both Protestants and Catholics

- Gave ultimate control of the church to Queen Elizabeth

- Changed title from Head of Church to Supreme Government of Church

- Instituted an Oath of Supremacy that required all who were taking public or church office to swear allegiance to the Queen and her supremacy over the church

The Queen's plans to peacefully promote Protestantism were successful. After her death, the English nation had become predominately Protestant. While Catholicism was still widely accepted, she succeeded in creating one faith, where all were accepted.

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The Religious Impact of Queen Elizabeth I

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The Religious Impact of Queen Elizabeth I Queen Elizabeth ILived from 1533 - 1603But to fully understand Queen Elizabeth's motives in starting a religious revolution, you must first understand her past with religion.Elizabeth's ChildhoodReigned as Queen from 1558 - 1603Elizabeth Tudor ruled over England during a time of great religious change.Elizabeth's was born to King Henry VIII and and his second wife Anne Boleyn.

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http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/accomplishments-of-queen-elizabeth-i.htm

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Elizabeth I: Ruled England for 44 Years - Fast Facts | History

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Elizabeth I ruled England for 44 busy years. Learn more about the Queen who refused to marry in this video. Check out exclusive HISTORY content: Website - http://www.history.com?cmpid=Social_YouTube_HistHome Twitter - https://twitter.com/history Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/History Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+HISTORY Bio Shorts Season 1 Episode 1 Biography features in-depth profiles of the exceptional people whose lives and times stir our imagination.