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1. “Queen Elizabeth I.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 17 Apr. 2019, www.biography.com/royalty/queen-elizabeth-i.
2.  Morrill, John S., and Stephen J. Greenblatt. “Elizabeth I.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Mar. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-I.

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What were Queen Elizabeth's intentions behind refusing marriage? 

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What were Queen Elizabeth's intentions behind refusing marriage? 

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Throughout Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, many questions about her hand in marriage emerged. Many suitors of both royal and middle class made efforts to court her, but the late queen chose to be “married to her job and people”. She saw the difficulties in royal marriages through the experiences of her family members. Queen Elizabeth wanted to avoid the mistake of marrying a man unpopular among the society, like her sister did. It was in the best interests of the country to marry into another royal family in order to form alliances and strengthen her country.  Using this information to her benefit, Queen Elizabeth “used her availability as means to political ends, but she never agreed to marriage”.This is because the young queen wanted complete control of her kingdom and did not feel obligated to have a king make decisions for her. In other words, she feared that having a husband would weaken her image as a powerful monarch.

Along with her fears of losing power, Queen Elizabeth feared that marriage would lead to childbirth. Growing up, she witnessed her father, King Henry VIII execute many of his wives; which is said to have put off Queen Elizabeth’s interest in marriage. Two of her step mothers, grandmother, and many family friends died because of childbirth, and she was sure that it would happen to her as well. Knowing that she would be expected of heirs to her throne, Queen Elizabeth was terrorized of slowly losing her role as a monarch, and turning into the housewife with no power. Refusing to compromise her authority, the queen committed herself to a life of serving her country and her people; this decision earned her the name of “The Virgin Queen”.

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How did Queen Elizabeth acquire so much power and how did she keep it?

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How did Queen Elizabeth acquire so much power and how did she keep it?

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Queen Elizabeth I was known for being such a powerful ruler in England and keeping her title for so long. She was a very fierce queen and had many methods to staying in power for such a long period of time. The main method of hers was probably that she never got married. By choosing to not get married, she continued to make her own decisions as a queen, without having a king to make a decision for her. That would allow her to strategically decide things on her own and not rely on another person to make them for her and not risk making a mistake that would lead to the fall of her kingdom.
Queen Elizabeth I was also a very smart woman. Her "blend of shrewdness, courage, and majestic self-display inspired ardent expressions of loyalty and helped unify the nation against foreign enemies.” (Morrill and Greenbalt, Britannica) She united the nation through tough times which allowed her to gain trust in the people. With that trust, she was able to build such a large campaign of people by her side. In addition to being determined, "she transformed the language of politics into the language of love, likening herself to the spouse or the mother of her kingdom.” In a way, she kind of gave off a different message to the people, while trying to convey another, allowing her to connect with the people in her nation and gain more supporters.