Queen Elizabeth

`Queen Elizabeth is a leader that possesses many greatqualities. She has a vision of earningher people’s lovethroughrespect, understanding and being unprejudiced. As a leader, she accepts the opinions of her advisors but at the same time thinks rationally and decides on what is the right thing to do. ` `In chapter one,Queen Elizabeth and her ministerswere discussing on how Mary Stuart, a Catholic,isthe Queen of England in waiting.

It was also said by Howard, one of her ministers that all Catholics are traitors as their loyalty is to the Pope of Rome. I believe that it was right for Queen Elizabeth to say that she will not punish her people for their belief but only for their wrong doings. This shows that she understands that by allowing her people tolive freely, it creates joy and happiness among the people. This in return will allow her to earn the love from her people.

I can see thatas much as she wants to maintain a good relation with her loyal Protestant supporters and her ministers, she makes decisions for the good of her country and her people even though some people might not agree with her decisions. From this situation,it shows that the Queen adopts pragmatism, fairness and transparency. She makes a practical decision about an issue, she treats everyone equally, she is open and that her rules, regulations decisions are made clear. `Chapter seventeen is when the story really makes her stand out as an organized,brave, honest yet motivating leader. Quoted, Queen Elizabeth said “My lords, I can offer you no words of comfort. If this Armada succeeds there will be no more freedom in our land, and England will be no more. We cannot be defeated. ” This few sentences show thatshe believes that her people should be self motivated to perform their duties. However she encourages her people not by telling them words of comfort but telling them the consequences.

She uses reverse psychology to turn fear into strength,braveryand commitment to the country. ` `Queen Elizabeth is well-organized leader as she is able to leadthe country andalso delegate the tasksequally according to her people’s capabilities. This can be seen when Queen Elizabeth issued commands as Hatton,Walsingham, the Queen’s entourage and the Queen herself entered the great vaulted nave of St Paul’s to make their way towards the altar. In my opinion, she is also a risk taker when she sent out two ships to engagethe enemy.

This is a quality of a good leader as someone who dares to take risks shows that they are not afraid to fail and try again. ` `As a leader, she does not mind dying in the midst of her people. This shows that although she is the Queen, she does not discriminate her people who are of lower rank. This is an important qualityin a leader as it will either make or break a trust. Lastly, I think Queen Elizabeth is a good leader because she recognizes contributions. She recognizes Raleigh’s contribution to the country and rewarded him with his wife, son and freedom. `

Christmas is a time to be cherished by all those who celebrate, a time in which the spirit of community and family is at its pinnacle, a time in which every shop in existence goes on sale. Decorating one’s castle, gifting one’s servants, and tinselling one’s corgis are but a few of the customs which contribute to such a jubilant atmosphere… The ungrateful children, unwanted presents, and garish Christmas specials are amongst those which do not.

Nevertheless, one must not lose sight of the reason for such a joyous occasion: which is to celebrate the birth of our saviour, not Santa Claus, but Jesus Christ. A meaning often forgotten by those of common upbringing, who see this occasion as an excuse to drink wine to the point of intoxication, and then later regurgitate turkey and stuffing in a snow-topped bus shelter.

And thus the prime principle of Jesus’ teachings – to love one’s neighbour – is more applicable than ever during Christmastide. Such love is demonstrated by you, the people of Britain, through the public funding which you so generously bestow upon myself, and my ever so needy family. It is through such funding that I buy my vibrant hats and organise my splendid garden parties.

However, it takes but a simple visitation to a local shopping centre to demonstrate that some people are just impossible to love.

(Cut to footage of hooligans spitting, riding mopeds and fighting)

Many are those who carelessly loiter on street corners, countless amounts of unwanted offspring in tow, cigarette in mouth, alcohol in grasp. Copious amounts of this kind were exhibited during the widespread riots this August. Prince Philip and I would like to thank such rioters, for leaving Buckingham Palace undisturbed and instead besieging local ‘Tesco Extras’ in slums such as Birmingham and Manchester.

How obvious it would be, for me to imply we are a nation of peace and cohesion, with people who are loyal and respectful to those of supreme eminence, such as myself. Alas, I ensure many of you do not watch this broadcast due to royalist ideals, but have tuned in early for the 3:30 showing of “Shrek 2”.

(Obligatory clip of Shrek 2, complete with advertisement for the blu-ray release)

Unfortunately, our nation is in a state of utmost disharmony – a nightmare cesspit of crime, violence and vulgarity. Had it not been for my ever so vital role in the governing my kingdom, I fear the very fabric of our empire would have been torn to shreds by conceited anarchists. Waving from balconies, shaking hands with people whom I neither know nor wish to know, inheriting tax payer’s money: but a few examples of the strenuous work which I endure for the sake of my country. Undoubtedly a stellar demonstration of expressing love for one’s neighbour.

The common folk of our country have previously proven hindersome to communities, with their spray paint and lacklustre futures. However this year this has changed, with the marriage of my grandson William, and his wife Kate – or should I say Catherine as she so prefers. She may be a royal, but she is still a mere laywoman is the eyes of the aristocracy. Despite the many elegant Princesses and majestic Duchesses whom I attempted to marry William off to, he instead settled with a commoner with rich parents. He really could have done better, but

it’s better Kate than never, I suppose.

(Cut to footage of The Royal Wedding, mainly plebs frantically waving miniature union jacks)

The rare marital union of proletariat and aristocrat spurred the excitement of many citizens of the commonwealth and fuelled the temporary harmony seen across the land. It gave us the opportunity to express pride in our country, wreck streets with streamers and novelty bunting, cause heavy traffic with road closures, buy tacky merchandise and hang Union Jacks from our windows.

The chance that the populace celebrated due to legitimate pride and joy for their country is unlikely, many simply embraced the day off work. Regardless, the Royal Wedding instilled a sense of community where there was previously dissonance, gave us a well deserved boost in tourism, and finally made other countries pay attention to us. It put the Royal Family back in the good books after my husband accused a 14 year old boy of being “on drugs”.

As Christmas is a time for reflection, I feel we must look back on the achievements and accomplishments of the 21st century thus far. As consumers, we owe a great sense of gratitude to the innovators and inventors behind the “iPhone”.

(Cut to footage of the Queen on face time with Prince Philip, both laughing merrily.)

Not only for revolutionising the way we communicate with one another, but also for “Angry Birds” and “iBeer”, which have managed to enrich me (and assuredly many others) with hours of entertainment and joy.

2011 has been a time of great development in industry, technology, science, but not economy. With a packet of “Space Raiders” crisps now at 15p and “Freddos” now at a staggering 20p, the effects of inflation are evident. We should take time, this Christmas, to reassure those whom have suffered the hardships of financial loss, including those irritating carolers begging for small change.

But with such tribulation, we are only strengthened. We are a proud nation, we may moan, but we are proud. Some express this pride through celebration, and some express it through harsh xenophobia and degrading racism. But still we have managed to maintain our composure, as a family; together enduring obstacles such as rioting, terrorism, recession and disastrous coalition.

Through my faith, and through the support you have given me, I continue to serve my country with utmost aspiration. Even to those who mock my accent, those who see me as nothing more than a device for tourism, and the Sex Pistols: I am thankful, for you are the catalyst behind my efforts.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas. Unless you are of other religions, in which case absolutely no offence was intended, and you may continue with your heretical customs.

(Fades to uniformed men with brass instruments playing typical patriotic themes.)

Elizabeth’s Golden Age Elizabeth was Queen of England from 1558-1603. During that time England was a strong country and she was a successful queen. Many people thought Elizabeth would not last long without a powerful husband but they were proved wrong. In fact Elizabeth was very clever in not choosing a husband. She didn’t choose a husband because she didn’t want anybody taking over her throne. There were four men that she could have married but said no to. The first man was Philip of Spain. Philip of Spain had married Elizabeth’s sister Mary and was expecting Elizabeth to say yes to his proposal.

Elizabeth turned him down though because she didn’t want to marry the same man as her sister and also Philip was a devout Catholic. The English didn’t like foreigners and hated Catholic ones even more. There had been a rebellion when Mary had married Philip. This was another reason why Elizabeth decided not to marry Philip. Another man whom Elizabeth could have married was Charles of Austria. She decided against him as well though because she thought that he would use England to fight his own wars and she didn’t want England to get caught up in other countries squabbles.

Elizabeth could have also married a wealthy nobleman from a powerful English family but decided against him too as if she had married him then the other noblemen could have got jealous and started a rebellion. She was also clever in not marrying a nobleman because if she kept them all guessing then they would all remain loyal as they would all think that they had a chance to get some wealth and power. The last man of which she turned down was Robert Dudley who was a good looking man and whose wife had just passed away. Elizabeth turned him down too though as she thought that he might take the chance to steal her throne away from her.

Even though Elizabeth was very clever in not choosing a husband that would take over all her power, some sexist historians will argue that although Elizabeth didn’t have a husband she had excellent Male advisors who helped and supported her throughout her reign. One of these men was William Cecil or Lord Burghley. During his time, William Cecil helped Elizabeth through her reign and was always there for her. He served her as secretary, served her as position of Lord Treasurer and together with the help of Sir Francis Walsingham devised an intricate spy network that helped uncover the Babington Plot.

He was also instrumental in having Mary Queen of Scots executed and even when he had lost his hearing at the age of seventy, continued to serve Elizabeth who looked upon him as a father figure. He carried on serving Elizabeth all the way until his death in 1598. One of her greatest challenges was to hold England together despite the religious divisions amongst her people. Elizabeth did this by setting a middle road. Elizabeth wanted England to have peace and not be divided over religion. She tried to find ways which both the Catholic and Protestant sides would accept and be happy.

She made Protestantism the official religion in England. She did not call herself the Head of the Church of England, instead she was known as the Supreme Governor of the English Church. To please the Protestants she made all churches use the prayer book in English that Edward had used and allowed the priests once again to marry. To please the Catholics she made some changes to some words in the prayer book and also let priests were special vestments. She did not give way to extremists though and would punish them. Even though she would punish Protestants and Catholics she would always punish Catholics more severely.

If a protestant extremist wrote a book saying anything bad or wrong about Elizabeth’s decisions to divide the country peacefully would have their writing hand chopped off to stop them writing any more books. But if a Catholic extremist was caught trying to convert someone to Catholicism then they would be arrested, tortured and then eventually hanged. Elizabeth’s treatment of the extremists may have seemed horrible but it got the message across and England ended up much better than it had started off. Elizabeth dealt with opposition from inside the country effectively.

She didn’t only deal with extremists but also dealt with Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary returned to Scotland after her first husband’s death. She married again to her first cousin, Henry Stuart (Lord Darnley) four years later but their union was unhappy and in February 1567 there was a big explosion at their house and Darnley was found dead in the garden, apparently strangled. She soon married James Hepburn who was actually the main murder suspect for Lord Darnley’s murder. But soon after, following an uprising against the couple, Mary was imprisoned in a castle.

After an unsuccessful attempt to reclaim the throne, Mary fled to England to seek protection from her first cousin, once removed, Elizabeth. Elizabeth had Mary arrested though as soon as she was in the country. This was because of the threat that Mary presented, who had previously claimed the throne to be her own. Mary spent nineteen years in custody, guarded in castles and manor houses across England until she was tried and executed by Elizabeth for her involvement in the Babington plot, a plot to assassinate Elizabeth.

Elizabeth’s treatment of Mary not just helped stop the Babington plot but helped Elizabeth’s control of England too. This is because Elizabeth had executed one of the head Catholics which make the others think again and had also helped her since Mary would have been the next in line to the throne after Elizabeth. A successful ruler needs to keep her country safe. Elizabeth did this by defeating the Spanish Armada. Philip of Spain thought Elizabeth as an illegitimate ruler of England. Elizabeth had also helped the Dutch in the Dutch revolt against Spain.

As retaliation, Philip sent out a fleet of ships, Armada, to invade and conquer England. The fleet set out with 22 warships and an intention of sailing through the English Channel. Philip’s plan was going well and the Armada had reached its first goal, to anchor at the coastal border area between France and the Spanish Netherlands. While awaiting communications from the army that would invade the South East of England, it was driven from its anchorage by an English fire ship attack. England had already defeated many of the Spanish ships so the Spanish fleet decided regroup and withdraw north.

A return voyage to Spain was plotted and the fleet sailed into the Atlantic, past Ireland but severe storms disrupted the fleet’s course. More than 24 vessels were wrecked insuring that England had victory. There was one thing that got the Englishmen ready and motivated and that was Elizabeth’s speech. During her speech she said “ I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and soul of a King, and a Kind of England too! ” Throughout her reign Elizabeth saw the importance of maintaining an image.

She got artists to paint portraits of her throughout her life. But she didn’t just have normal portraits painted, she had them painted with significant things in. An example of this is that she would be wearing very expensive clothes to show she had wealth. During her paintings she could also have a bible in her hand to show that she held power over the religions, she could have a map in her hand to show that she ruled over the world and in one of her portraits she had Elizabeth Regina (Elizabeth Queen) written behind her.

She is also clever in one of these photos as if you look at the top of the portrait you see the Spanish Armada sailing out to invade England on the left, Elizabeth herself is in the middle and then you have the wrecks of the Spanish Armada on the right. If we look for one single thing that made Elizabeth successful it must be her intelligence. I have chosen this because she was clever in not choosing a husband, she sorted out the religious divisions, she defeated an Armada with a single speech and also maintained a perfect image throughout. This is why, even today, her reign is known as The Golden Age. By Joe Tapper.

During the late 1500s, there were two great powers fighting for superiority. Both King Phillip II of Spain and Queen Elizabeth I of England were contending for the greatest empire in the world. At that, both of these rulers were drastically different in how they carried out policies. One of the biggest policies during the time was religion. During this time, the church was splitting with the protestant sect. of Christianity taking Europe by storm.

Henry VIII formed the Church of England in an attempt to marry again, making the country protestant. This would cause a great sir in England as previously it was a catholic country and even a bigger stir when his daughter Mary tried to convert the country back to Catholicism. By the time Elizabeth took reign, she would make the country protestant but, very lenient towards Catholics. Phillip was drastically different when religion was concerned. His nickname was “The Most Catholic King” referring to his dedication to Catholicism. It would prove to be a great part in the reason why he would send his armada in 1588. Foreign policy was another difference between the two countries.

England had a policy of not interfering with foreign affairs unless it was against their interests. This policy includes aiding the Spanish Netherlands in a failed attempt to stop the Spanish and also financially aiding pirates to raid Spanish ships. Spain was mostly about preserving Catholicism in Europe. Some examples are a failed attempt to help the Guise family route out the Protestants in France during the French civil war and even more notoriously was the disastrous 1588 Armada, losing two-thirds of his navy.

This would definitely mark the end of the Spanish being the greatest empire in Europe. By the end of both King Phillip II of Spain and Elizabeth II of England, Europe would be greatly changed. Spain would no longer be the greatest super power of Europe and England would start its rise to power.

Queen Elizabeth’s speech invigorated the troops and ensured her faith in them and her capability as a leader through the use of repetition, juxtaposition, persuasion, amplification, and diction. In the beginning sentence, Elizabeth includes herself in the fight by using “we” thereby establishing a common ground with the troops. She uses emotional argument to instill a sense of nationalism. Elizabeth repeatedly refers to her people affectionately with phrases like “my loving people” (line 1) or “my faithful and loving people” (line 5).

By complementing the soldiers, asserting nationalism, and giving them a purpose, she inspires them to proudly defend England. Queen Elizabeth reference’s God and country throughout the speech, evoking a strong sense of English patriotism through the use of repetition. The Queen juxtaposes her “weak and feeble” (line 14) form as a woman, to her strong spirit and bravery, likened to that of a king of England, thus further appealing to the audience’s nationalism. She elevates her status above the oppressing sexism of the times, she suggests that she is as capable of success as any shrewd, hard-stomached king.

When speaking of the defense of the county, the Queen proposes that she herself will fight amongst them, Elizabeth repeats “myself” as amplification of her dedication to her country. Elizabeth places her full trust in her people, denouncing any thought of distrust. Her unwavering trust is a reassurance to her people. She does not feel the need to control and regulate her subjects for fear of rebellion, she gives them the power to defend and protect the homeland. Her people respect her for this and remain loyal to her. The final persuasion is promise of “rewards and crowns” (line 21) for those concerned with monetary and influential matters.

The Queen promises to reward for valour and virtue on the battlefield. The repetition of “your” in the closing sentence serves as an appraisal and importance of the troops. Elizabeth uses the value of trust, nationalism, faith, relation, and material reward as a means to convince her troops to defend their homeland. By assimilating herself as their equal and asserting her willingness to give everything for her country, she makes the idea of dying in battle more comfortable to the soldiers. She gives them a cause, and they rise to the occasion.