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King of Spain, and realizing that his wife would never have a baby, he turned his attentions toward Elizabeth. In 1558 Mary became gravely ill. Suspecting that the end was near Philip sent for Elizabeth. Eleven days before her death Mary proclaimed Elizabeth her heiress apparent and Elizabeth became Queen on November 17, 1558.

Queen Elizabeth I was warmly welcomed by the citizens of England. There was an enormous outpouring of love for the 25 year old Queen by her devout Protestant subjects. Elizabeth, however, was quick to make peace with the Catholics of her kingdom as well. She was far less severe than her father, her brother or her sister. Instead of beheading or burning people alive for their lack of the established faith of their monarch, Elizabeth chose to meet them in the middle. Her 1559 parliament established the Protestant settlement that Edward VI began, however retained many of the Catholic rites and rituals.

Marriage was something that was thrust into Elizabeth's lap barely the second she put on the crown. For one thing it wasn't right for a woman to rule a country. She must marry wisely and have her husband rule in her stead. And secondly, it was the woman's duty and the monarch's duty to provide an heir that the throne may be passed down to. However, unlike her father, Elizabeth wasn't so quick to do either of those things. She may have been concerned about an heir but it seems she was more concerned about marrying and turning her country over to a foreigner. And as she would prove, Elizabeth needed no help from a man when it came to leading a country.

Elizabeth had a few suitors brought to her but she seemed to cling to her 'favourite'. Knowing that it would be impossible for them to marry, Elizabeth spent quite a bit of time with Robert Dudley. It is speculated, but never proven, that she had an intimate relationship with Dudley. She and Dudley would remain close friends until his death in 1588. As long as Elizabeth was able to bear children Parliament refused to let the matter go and had arranged quite a few negotiations for her hand. In the end Elizabeth would go to her grave unwed and believed to be a virgin.

Elizabeth's foreign policy was run on the defensive for the most part. In Scotland, however, she sought to remove the French presence there because it could be considered a threat to England. Mary, Queen of Scots was the absent Scottish Queen who had been raised in France as the Dauphine of France, and the French believed her to be the

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