Elizabeth I

Timeline

1. 1533–1558Greenwich · KentBorn at Greenwich Palace, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Enduring her mother's execution and the reigns of her half-brother Edward VI and half-sister Mary I, she received her education amid religious and political turmoil and honed her political survival skills.
2. 1561–1570London · MiddlesexEarly in her reign she relied on senior ministers such as William Cecil to stabilize government, pursued a moderate religious policy to bridge divisions between the established church and the Catholic faction, while carefully managing diplomatic relations with Scotland, France, and Spain, and remaining wary of the claim to the throne by Mary, Queen of Scots.
3. 1571–1603Westminster · MiddlesexThrough major crises including the Ridolfi plot, the Babington plot, and the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, her power and prestige peaked after defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588; in her later years she relied on Burghley and Walsingham to maintain internal and external balance, until her death in 1603.