Anne Boleyn gave birth to Elizabeth a healthy girl at Greenwich Palace. King Henry had hoped they would have a boy to ensure the continuation of the Tudor line.

Princess Elizabeth was moved from Greenwich, London to Hatfield were she was looked after in the household of Lady Bryan.  ^[1]

By the order of King Henry VIII Mary's title of Princess had been removed and she was taken to Hatfield to be a servant in the household of Princess Elizabeth, her younger step-sister. Mary was around eighteen years old at this time. Mary was not happy with this arrangement and could not accept that Elizabeth had a better claim to the English throne than she did. ^[1]

Parliament declared that Elizabeth, like her elder step-sister Mary, was illegitimate. This allowed the next son of King Henry VIII to be born to become the heir to the English throne. ^[1]

The Succession to the Crown Act was an act passed by Parliament specifiying the order of succession to the English throne after the death of King Henry VIII. Although Edward was the youngest the order would be Edward, Mary and then Elizabeth.  ^[1]

Jealous of his elder brother's power Thomas Seymour married Catherine Parr to enter the household of the young King Edward and the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. ^[2]

King Edward VI died at Greenwich Palace as the age of 15.

Mary Tudor arrived at London to a huge welcome. Entering through Aldgate she was met by Elizabeth, Anne of Cleves and many others. Mary quickly ordered the release of her supporters that had been locked up at the Tower of London. The Duke of Northumberland and his supporters were placed in the Tower of London to await trial and execution.

Elizabeth agreed to attend a mass but when the day came she pretended to be ill and only took part under protest. Elizabeth had refused to attend any Catholic ceremony including the one that Mary had arranged after the death of Edward. Mary and Elizabeth disagreed strongly over religion. ^[3]

Issues over religion and succession to the throne became too much for Elizabeth and she requested that she could leave court and return to Hertfordshire and to Hatfield (or Ashridge). Queen Mary granted her request against the advice of her ministers who suspected Elizabeth was preparing to remove Mary from the throne.

Several groups around the country were unhappy with the proposal of marriage between Mary and Philip of Spain. In Wales a group was led by Sir James Croft. In Devon another group was led by Sir Peter Carew. The Duke of Suffolk was in Leicestershire, but it was only Sir Thomas Wyatt from Kent who managed to get a force together. ^[4]

Queen Mary sent a letter to Elizabeth asking her to come to London. This was, Mary said, for her own protection because to the rebels threatening to prevent the marriage of Mary to Philip of Spain. Mary could have been unsure of Elizabeth's involvement in the plots against her and it was best to keep Elizabeth close where she could be watched. ^[4]

Sir Thomas Wyatt and this followers reached London but he was to learn that the other groups of rebels around the country had been defeated and their leaders arrested. The entrance into London was blocked by the Londoners whose support for Mary was higher than the rebels. After a short fight the rebels were defeated leaving many dead and Wyatt was captured. on 11th of April 1554. Elizabeth was also held in the Tower for a while as it was suspected she was involved in the plots because she would have benefited if they had succeeded. ^[4]

Sir Thomas Wyatt was executed at Tower Hill for leading the rebellion against Queen Mary. Wyatt denied that Elizabeth had been involved in any part of rebellion. ^[4]

Princess Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower of London. ^[5]

Elizabeth was removed from the Tower of London and taken to Woodstock. She was held under house arrest by Henry bedingfield, a Privy Councillor to Queen Mary. ^[5]

Queen Mary of England died at the age of forty two. She was buried at Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth became the new Queen of England.

Several days after the death of her sister Mary, Elizabeth entered London. She made her way through the crowds of loyal Londoners to the Tower where she stayed for a few days while she sorted out her affairs and selected her advisres.

King Gustav, the ruler of Sweden, proposed a marriage between Elizabeth and his son, Prince Eric. A proposal was sent but was refused. Gustav was undeterred by the refusal and sent his younger son, John, to see to if he could persuade the Queen otherwise. ^[3]

Soon after Elizabeth became Queen of England an act was passed called the Act of Supremacy. This act required all persons holding positions of power in the Government or in the Church to take an oath acknowledging Elizabeth as the supreme governor of the realm and to reject the right of any foreign power to interfere with English affairs.

On the eve of her coronation, traditional pageants were held for Elizabeth. She viewed them all as she made her way from the Tower of London to Westminster Abbey. They were of a political nature showing the problems of the past and hopes for the future.

The coronation of Elizabeth I took place at Westminster Abbey. She was crowned by Bishop Oglethorpe of Carlisle as the other more senior bishops refused to crown her due to their reluctance to accept the new Protestant religion.

Robert Dudley's wife, Amy, was found dead at home with a broken neck at the bottom of some stairs. Robert Dudley was accused of her murder because it was thought he planned to marry Queen Elizabeth. Dudley was banished from Court while an inquiry was conducted, but he was found innocent. Although Dudley returned to Court rumours still spread about his involvement in the death. ^[6]

In Scotland, the regent, Mary of Guise had designs to place put her daughter Mary on the throne of England. There were many Protestants in Scotland and Queen Elizabeth had been secretly helping them in their opposition of the regent and her daughter. There were fears in Scotland that Mary of Guise, a devote Catholic, would secure French assistance and make Scotland a French territory, The Lords of the Congregation, who by now now were a powerful force in Scotland, pushed for an agreement with England that English help would be provided against a French invasion. Queen Elizabeth agreed to this and the treaty was signed at Berwick by the Scots and the Queen's representative, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk.

This treaty, signed by Scotland, England and France saw the French leave Scotland and the port of Leith near Edinburgh. Mary of Guise had been trying to make Scotland a French territory, but after her death and some limited fighting between English troops and French troops the French agreed to leave peacefully.

Eric left Sweden bound for England with a fleet of ships and gifts and a further proposal of marriage but bad weather ended his plans and he returned to Sweden. ^[3]

After the death of Francis II, Mary Stuart was approached by Spain with a marriage proposal to Don Carlos of Spain. Both being Catholic, the marriage was a prefect choice but it fell through. Mary turned her attention to a return to Scotland. ^[7]

Mary Stuart hoped that she could return to Scotland through England but Queen Elizabeth denied her request. Instead Mary and her entourage left France from Calais in a small flotilla of ships and set sail for Scotland. The voyage was hazardous as the English fleet were looking for her. But thick fog aided her escape and five days later the ships arrived at the port of Leith, now part of Edinburgh. Mary was met by her half-brother James Stewart ^[8]

The Treaty of Richmond was signed in secret by Queen Elizabeth and Louis Bourbon prince of Condé, the leader of the Huguenots. The Huguenots were French Protestants or French Calvanists. In return for Elizabeth's military assistance in France the prince promised the return of Calais to the English. ^[6]

Elizabeth came down with smallpox and was seriously ill. Her council feared that she would die and were concerned about who would succeed her. Lady Catherine Grey, who had been mentioned in Henry VIII's will, was a strong candidate to become Queen of England if Elizabeth died. The Earl of Huntingdon (?) was also considered. The problem was avoided as Elizabeth recovered several days later. ^[3]

As part of the secret treaty of Richmond, an English garrison was allowed to station itself at Le Havre and would swap the town for Calais once Calais was recaptured. The garrison of around 3,000 men was lead by the Earl of Warwick. ^[6]

The relationship between the English Queen and Mary Queen of Scots became more friendly and Elizabeth proposed a marriage between Mary and Robert Dudley, the 1st Earl of Leicester. In return for marrying an English noble Elizabeth promised to accept Mary's claim to the English throne. Not only did Mary reject the proposal but Robert did as well.

The Huguenots abandoned their treaty with Elizabeth and abandoned the English garrison at Le Harve. An outbreak of the plague struck the garrison leaving many dead or dying. Although reinforcements were sent to assist, the Earl of Warwick had little choice but to leave the town and return to England. The returning men bringing the plague back to England with them. ^[6]

In Plymouth harbour John Hawkins prepared his fleet of six ships, two supplied by Queen Elizabeth and four of his own for a voyage to the west coast of Africa. The two ships supplied by the Queen were the Jesus of Lubeck and the Minion. The Jesus had been purchased by King Henry VIII in 1545 from the Hanseatic League in Lubeck (Northern Germany) for the English Royal Navy and was 700 tons. It was at this point an old ship and showing signs of its age.

Led by the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland and with support of the Spanish, a rebelion was started with the aim of freeing Mary Stuart from captivity and restablishing Catholicism. The rebels attacked and took the city of Durham but their plans failed when Royal forces advanced against them. The rebels fled north and Northumberland and Westmoreland took refuge in Scotland. Northumberland was handed over to the English while hundreds of suspected rebels were arrested and killed.

Pope Pius V drew up a Bull of Excommunication on Queen Elizabeth. His hope was that the Catholic states of France and Spain would come together to remove the English Queen. The Bull was not issued immediately as both Philip of Spain and Charles of France were against it.

The Royal Exchange in London, built by Sir Thomas Gresham at Bishopsgate, was officially opened when the Queen visited the building and dined with Sir Thomas. The building was the first purpose-built centre for trading stocks. It is modelled on the Bourse in Antwerp, the world's oldest financial exchange, where Gresham had been based as a royal agent. It also had 100 small shops and the rent from which was to be used to reimburse the building costs.

The Earl of Northumberland had been held prisoner at Lochleven Castle after his arrest. He was moved to York where, accused of treason, he was executed.

Queen Elizabeth was offered sovereignty of the Netherlands but she declined. ^[9]

The Golden Hind with Sir Francis Drake in command arrived at Plymouth. Drake asked if the Queen was still alive and learnt that plague had taken hold in the town. He sent a letter to the Queen and waited aboard the ship for a reply. ^[10]

Francis Throckmorton was found guilty of carrying messages with details of an assassination attempt to murder Queen Elizabeth, an invasion by Spain and the freeing of Mary Stuart from captivity. Along with the Earl of Northumberland, Throckmorton was put in the Tower of London before being executed for treason. Before his death, Throckmorton revealed that Queen Mary knew about the plot. ^[6]

In response to the assassination threat to Queen Elizabeth an agreement signed by her supporters was devised. Those who signed agreed to prevent those who plotted against the Queen to succeed to the throne if the assassination was successful. They also agreed to prosecute anyone who would benefit whether they were involved in the assassination or not. The third agreement promised to chase down and kill those who carried out the assassination attempt. This move was hoped to prevent supporters of Mary Stuart directly or indirectly taking part in any more plots against the Queen. ^[6]

Queen Elizabeth amended the terms of the Bond of Association as Parliament tried to make the statute law. The Queen had the statute amended because she was unhappy about the clause that would have resulted in people being punished for the actions of others.  ^[6]

A plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth was uncovered. The person accused and found guilty was Dr. Parry, a supporter of Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scots. It was found that he had been assisted by Thomas Morgan, Mary Stuart's assistant who was looking after her affairs in Paris. Parry was executed for treason but no other action was taken. ^[6]

John Ballard a Jesuit priest and an exiled soldier called George Savage arrived in England with a plan to kill Queen Elizabeth and place Mary Stuart on the throne. Their plot was made known to Anthony Babington. But the plot was uncovered by spies of Walsingham the Secretary of State and supporter of Queen Elizabeth. Walsingham arrested the plotters just before they attempted to put their plan into operation. When questioned, the plotters admitted that Mary Stuart knew of the plans. The ringleaders of the plot were executed horribly, while the others were put to death more quickly.

A plot against Queen Elizabeth was discovered when letters between Mary and Anthony Babington were found. The plot to assassinate the English Queen had been encouraged by John Ballard, a Catholic priest. Both men were executed for their involvement and Mary was tried and found guilty of treason. She was executed at Fotheringhay Castle.

Drake's mission was to attack Spanish ships in their harbours and capture supplies. After he sailed new orders were sent to prevent him attacking Spanish harbours but he did not receive the message. ^[10]

In mid-afternoon Drake's small fleet or four ships sailed in to Cadiz harbour and opened fire with their cannons on the many cargo boats lining the docks. By the end of the day the harbour was alight with the flames of the burning ships.

From Cadiz, Drake sailed north west to Cape St Vincent, the point of Portugal that changes from north to west. This was an important location as any Spanish ships coming south would have to go around the Cape and be met by Drake's cannons. A few miles to the east of the Cape is a natural port and town called Sagres. The port was protected by a fort which Drake attacked and captured. ^[10]

On the order of Queen Elizabeth, Mary, Queen of Scots was buried in the Cathedral several months after having been executed at nearby Fotheringhay Castle.

Queen Elizabeth commissioned Drake and Hawkins to attack Spanish ships that might be planning an attack on England. The large fleet began to assemble in Plymouth but it was hard to keep such a number of ships secret and word was sent to Spain  ^[10]

The French king sent a delegation to England to ask for help with his war against Spain. But Queen Elizabeth refused.

The first water closet or toilet was designed by John Harrington and installed at Richmond Palace for Queen Elizabeth.

Plots to kill Queen Elizabeth were, at times, very inventive. Edward Squier plotted to kill the Queen by poisoning the pommel of her saddle and managed to get access and carry out his plan. But the Queen was unaffected by the poison while Squier fled abroard, He was arrested after attempting to also kill the Earl of Essex and executed for high treason.

To put down the Irish revolt led by Hugh of O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, Queen Elizabeth sent the Earl of Essex to Ireland with a large army. The Queen had given him instructions regarding the campaign againt The Earl of Tyrone, but Essex ignored them all. Rather than bringing the Irish rebellion to an end by force, the two Earls agreed a peace treaty, When word of this reached Elizabeth, she baned Essex from returning to England. Essex was angered by this and even planned to return to England and remove Elizabeth from the thone. But he was pursuaded against this course of action.

The Earl returned to England without permission and forced his way into the Queen's chambers. After this he was held prisoner under house-arrest where his health deteriorated. The Queen allowed doctors to attend to him and he had recovered by the end of the year.

The English East India Company was created in this year to control the trade of spices in the East Indies. The company would expand greatly to become one of the most powerful corporations in history. Queen Elizabeth I granted a royal charter to the company giving it a monopoly in trade with the East Indies. ^[11]

Queen Elizabeth granted a charter to the Earl of Cumberland and some two hundred more to trade exclusively with counties to the east of the Cape of Good Hope and West of the Straits of Magellan. Those adventurers who traded without permission were threatened with imprisonment. ^[12]

Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, having been found guilty of treason for his part in the revolt was executed as a traitor. ^[6]

Elizabeth's health was failing and before her death she reportedly named James of Scotland as her successor. She was buried in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey.