Have you ever heard of the Virgin Queen? No, she is not a myth or a folktale; she was the Queen of England from 1558-1603. She was named the Virgin Queen because she worked up the reputation of being a virgin her entire life. She never even got married, although many men wanted to have her hand in marriage. No one really knows why Queen Elizabeth never married but some say it was for fear of getting pregnant. She did not want to get pregnant because, back then, one out of forty women died while giving birth. But, nevertheless, she was the greatest woman of the Elizabethan Age (named after her). Queen Elizabeth's reign was successful because of her characteristics, her devotion to her country, and under her power and control, England became strong and unified in many ways.
Queen Elizabeth's characteristics were some of the contributions to her triumphant reign. Someone's traits pretty much say everything about that person, so Queen Elizabeth wasn't only a great queen but also a great person. When Elizabeth had a meeting with the Baron de Rosny, she told him her thoughts on how matters were in Europe. Rosny was shocked at how much knowledge and fluency she spoke with. Rosny said, "This great queen merited the whole of the great reputation she had throughout Europe" (Hibbert 115). It is important to have a leader that knows what she is talking about and is not there to simply nod and smile. Queen Elizabeth was very intelligent, even in the eyes of a man in the 1500s. "Her sense of humor sometimes had a malicious edge to it and she was capable of making sharp cutting remarks, yet she could be warm and compassionate when occasion demanded, particularly towards the old, the sick, the bereaved, and those who had suffered misfortune" (Weir 17). It has got to be reassuring to have a queen that is not all work and no play, yet she is also serious enough to have a successful reign.
