Elizabeth I (7 September, 1533–24 March, 1603) was Queen of England, Queen of France (in name only), and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes referred to as The Virgin Queen, as she never married, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, and immortalised by Edmund Spenser as the Faerie Queene. Elizabeth I was the fifth and final monarch of the Tudor dynasty (Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, and her half-sister Mary I). She reigned during a period marked by increases in English power and influence worldwide and great religious turmoil within England.

Elizabeth's reign is referred to as the Elizabethan era or the Golden Age of Elizabeth. Playwrights William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Ben Jonson all flourished during this era; Francis Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe; Francis Bacon laid out his philosophical and political views; and English colonisation of North America took place under Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Elizabeth was a short-tempered and sometimes indecisive ruler. This last quality, viewed with impatience by her counsellors, often saved her from political and marital misalliances. Like her father Henry VIII, she was a writer and poet. She granted Royal Charters to several famous organizations, including Trinity College, Dublin (its official name is the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Elizabeth near Dublin) in 1592 and the British East India Company (1600).

Her reign was marked by prudence in the granting of honours and dignities. In nearly forty-five years, only nine peerage dignities, one earldom and seven baronies in the Peerage of England, and one barony in the Peerage of Ireland, were created. She also reduced the number of Privy Counsellors from thirty-nine to nineteen, and later to fourteen.

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@kt104 You want Peter Andre? I want Elizabeth Hurley. Unfortunately, we can't always get what we want...
Calum43 (Calum Gray) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:55:51 -0000
@kt104 You want Peter Andre? I want Elizabeth Hurley. Unfortunately, we can't always get what we want...
I like this....RT@BullsandBeavers: "He who angers you conquers you." - Elizabeth Kenny
Tina_Caviness (Tina) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:54:15 -0000
I like this....RT@BullsandBeavers: "He who angers you conquers you." - Elizabeth Kenny
What I do and what I dream include thee, as the wine must taste of it's own grapes... - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
jlmetcalfe (Jamie Lynn Metcalfe ) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:52:22 -0000
What I do and what I dream include thee, as the wine must taste of it's own grapes... - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
am car-sitting a swanky new VW this week. this after housesitting in elizabeth bay last week... i'm beginning to get ideas above my station.
nicolieadams (nicolie adams) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:47:54 -0000
am car-sitting a swanky new VW this week. this after housesitting in elizabeth bay last week... i'm beginning to get ideas above my station.
Hey #SEGames Its Elizabeth in the hanger - I'm being told its not a thermal issue (Space Elevator Games live › http://ustre.am/4mZA)
ejdn (Elizabeth Newcamp ) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:43:38 -0000
Hey #SEGames Its Elizabeth in the hanger - I'm being told its not a thermal issue (Space Elevator Games live › http://ustre.am/4mZA)
Aaron convinced me to call off work and then leaves with Elizabeth when I would have gone in....lame
justinfoxworth (Justin Foxworth) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:43:14 -0000
Aaron convinced me to call off work and then leaves with Elizabeth when I would have gone in....lame

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