What were some of the strengths of Elizabeth I?

Queen Elizabeth I is to me a very interesting person because of how she secured power and kept the nobility in check as a result. She slapped convention in the face by not marrying. In her time, a queen was expected to marry early and bear an heir to the throne.

Yet she saw the mistake that her cousin, Mary of Scotland made by marrying and losing her power. Elizabeth was determined to let no man control her, and in fact found this to be the highest form of control. Men all over England and even most of Europe saw her as a sort of marital Mecca. They waited on her hand and foot, and she put them in their place. She neither rejected nor accepted any suitor and as a result kept them dependent on her.

She held so much sway over men that poets and writers fantasized about deflowering the "Virgin Queen". Elizabeth stands out as do others by breaking all the rules. Aghast at her decision, even the Church was at her feet, begging her to marry and have an heir. She held all the cards, and when she got to old to have children her power was secure. No man could have her, and hence the old saying, "What cannot be had is nearly impossible to resist."

You see, she understood that her true power was actually the very thing she was expected to give up to a man-her womb. By allowing no man to have control over her, she controlled them.

In a contest of strength and wits, you say? Well, strength maybe but your only half in the battle of wits.

Actually, Elizabeth could be quite vindictive, don't kid yourself, and she could certainly exile someone from court if she didn't like his or her behavior.

Elizabeth also had a rather large ego. She wasn't someone you wanted to tease or cross, I assure you. She didn't always play fair, and she did use her royal status to manipulate people when she wanted to.

If you really want to know what she was like, read serious, scholarly biographies of her, by people who have studied her reign and letters and other archival documents for years. Don't expect to get real information about her from mere online sites or comments.

Having your profile blocked is not near as bad as being beheaded, drawn and quartered, or burned at the stake. Of course, she would not tolerate an off color comment. People with the manners of pigs would probably not allowed to post on Yahoo.

Lets put it this way ,She didnt suffer fools gladly,you messed with Elizabeth and she ALWAYS had the final word,if you were right or wrong,if she didnt like it ,tough !

Mod,

I believe you though I know not enough about her majesty.

Thanks for the advice,

Gerry