This Day in History: 24 March 2020
24 March 1603
417 years ago, today, Queen Elizabeth I of England died, after 44 years of ruling over her country. As she left behind a lack of an heir, King James VI of Scotland ascended to the throne, which united the English and Scottish kingdoms under a single British monarch. As the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she succeeded to the throne in 1559 after the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary. The two had a stormy relationship during Mary's reign, as she was a Catholic, who made efforts to restore the Pope to supremacy in England, after her father's Reformation. This brought about a Protestant rebellion, so Mary imprisoned Elizabeth, a Protestant, on suspicion of complicity. Elizabeth also faced many Catholic plots in her own reign, but her ascension was greeted with approval by most of England's lords, who were mainly Protestant.
In her foreign affairs, Elizabeth practised a policy of strengthening her allies and dividing her foes. She was opposed by the Pope, who refused to recognise her legitimacy, and by Spain, a Catholic nation. The English-Spanish rivalry led to a Spanish invasion in 1588, in which the Spanish Armada, the greatest naval force in the world at the time, was destroyed by storms and a resilient English navy. With England's power at sea, Elizabeth encouraged voyages to discover new lands, prompting Sir Francis Drake's vast exploration. Elizabeth became known as the 'Virgin Queen' for her reluctance to hinder her authority through marrying, causing her to be the final Tudor monarch as she did not bear an heir. By her death in 1603, caused most likely by sepsis, England became a major world power, and Elizabeth passed into history as one of England's greatest monarchs.
Want to find out more about the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth I? Click here for more information and facts you may not have known about the Queen. Click here to read more about the possible causes of her death.
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