This Day in History: 15 January 2020
15 January 1559
461 years ago, today, Elizabeth Tudor, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, is crowned Queen Elizabeth I at Westminster Abbey in London, two months after the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary I. She was welcomed into the city on the evening of the coronation ceremony, with a strong Protestant favour. The two sisters, both daughters of Henry VIII, had a hectic relationship during Mary's reign, as Mary was brought up Catholic and enacted pro-Catholic laws. She also tried to restore papal supremacy in England, which was something her father had ceased. This caused a Protestant rebellion to break out, and Mary imprisoned Elizabeth, who was a Protestant, in the Tower of London. During Elizabeth's reign, she survived many Catholic plots, and her ascension was met with approval from most lords. Elizabeth also revoked Mary's pro-Catholic legislation and established a permanent Protestant Church of England.
During the reign of Elizabeth, she introduced policies that would strengthen England's Protestant allies, but was opposed by the Pope, who refused to recognise her legitimacy, and also by Spain, who was a Catholic nation and at the height of their power. This led to an English-Spanish rivalry, and in 1588, the Spanish invaded England with their Spanish Armada, the greatest naval force in the world at the time, which was destroyed by storms and the English navy. Elizabeth also became known as the 'virgin queen', as she has a reluctance to marry. By her death in 1603, England was a major world power, and Queen Elizabeth passed into history as one of England's greatest and well-known monarchs.
Want to find out more about the background, preparations and events that took place at Elizabeth's coronation? Click here for more details.
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