Henry couldn't divorce Anne, for there was no grounds to do so. So she was accused of adultery, found guilty, and ordered to be executed. Anne Boleyn was executed in 1536 when Elizabeth was only three years old. During that time Elizabeth fell from her fathers favor. But his third wife, Jane Seymour, made him take Elizabeth back into his favor. Jane gave Henry a son who they named Edward. Elizabeth and Edward were raised together in the royal nursery for a short time. During that time Henry married twice. His fourth wife was Anne of Cleves, his fifth wife was Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr was his sixth and final wife. Catherine Parr was well-educated and it was her influence that allowed Elizabeth to be educated in French, Italian, Greek and Latin. Elizabeth became one of the most educated women of her time thanks to her stepmother.

During "Bloody" Mary's short and unhappy rule, Elizabeth was once sent to the Tower of London as a prisoner accused of attempting to overthrow her sisters rule, but later forgiven by her older sister. Elizabeth waited very patiently for the throne, and after Mary's death, she was finally crowned Queen at the age of twenty-five. Elizabeth never married, but it was said that she fell in love with Sir Robert Dudley. She would have married him, but he was suspected of murdering his wife, Amy Robsart. From then on Elizabeth decided that she would live a virgin and die a virgin.

Elizabeth loved clothes with tight bodices with huge sleeves and uncomfortable ruffs. She loves books as much as she loved clothes. She actually took one of the prayer books that Queen Catherine Parr wrote and translated it into Latin, French and Italian. She wrote all this at the age of fifteen.

One of the biggest personal threats to Queen Elizabeth was Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary was the granddaughter of Henry VIII’s sister Margaret Tudor and King James IV of Scotland. Mary tried many times to take over Elizabeth’s throne, but was unsuccessful every time. Finally, Mary was arrested and put in the Tower of London. Elizabeth signed her death warrant in 1587.

Perhaps the biggest threat to England during Elizabeth's rule came in 1588 from the Spanish Armada. Philip II of Spain intended this fleet to cause the overthrow of Elizabeth in favor of himself, thus restoring Catholicism to England, but the Spanish Armada was destroyed in a naval battle in the English Channel.

Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603, at the age of 70. She had ruled for about 45 years. The same day she died a rider sped north on relays of horses night and day to be first to tell James Stuart, King of Scotland, that he was also now King of England. The time of the House of Tudor had ended, and time of the House of Stuart had come.