Elizabeth I ruled England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603, becoming the last and longest-reigning Tudor monarch. The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she endured her mother’s execution, her own removal from the succession, imprisonment during Mary I’s reign, and intense pressure to marry. As queen, she established the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, balanced competing political and religious forces, and relied on advisers such as William Cecil and Francis Walsingham. Her reign faced Catholic conspiracies, rebellion in Ireland, conflict with Spain, and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth never married, cultivating the image of the “Virgin Queen.” Her rule also witnessed Shakespearean drama, overseas exploration, expanding trade, and a stronger sense of English national identity.