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The new Queen came to the throne at the age of 25.After the coronation，her Parliament passed the necessary legislation to abolish the papal supremacy over the Church，and gave Elizabeth all the powers over the Church which her father had held，though with the more modest title of“Supreme Governor”of the Church of England instead of“Supreme Head”.The Catholic Mass was abolished，and the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion⁵ and the third Bookof CommonPrayer⁶ repudiated transubstantiation⁷，which was one of the mysteries of the Christian faith.But the Queen’s primary interests were statecraft and uniting the Kingdom.Her policy was moderation and not taking sides.In spite of her Protestant background，she tried to settle the religious problem by following a middle course that satisfied all reasonable men.The intention was to be inclusive.Catholics were not to be driven out of the Church of England if she could help it，and she wanted to keep as many of her protestant subjects within it as possible.The result，however，was disunion.Catholics could not be content with the Church of England after the Pope had excommunicated the Queen in 1571，and the more extreme Protestants were constantly pressing for further reforms，especially in the structure of church government and in the conduct of worships，which they wanted in full austerity.The vagueness of the Elizabethan settlement also gave rise to disagreement within the Church of England，and this has lasted until the present day.Two groups are formed in the Church of England：the High Church that attaches much importance to the authority of the priesthood，the spiritual power of the sacraments，and the observance of ritual；the Low Church that attaches greater importance to the literal interpretation of the Bible and to evangelism generally than to ritual or the value of the sacraments.This disagreement，however，has never disrupted the organization of the Church under the headship of the sovereign.

Elizabeth’s next problem was to keep her enemies quiet until her country was strong enough to defend itself.She had no doubt that Rome would encourage the Catholic kings of Europe to attack her，but she depended on the rivalry between France and Spain.She was sure that neither would let the other seize England.

France was the immediate danger since the French King had married Mary Stuart，the ruling Scottish Queen，and a French army was in control of Scotland.Mary was Elizabeth’s nearest cousin and，if Elizabeth died without children，she could claim the English crown.Elizabeth decided to interfere with the Scottish affairs.With the help of her ships and soldiers，the Scottish Protestants were able to drive out the French.Later when Mary married the murderer of her second husband，she too was driven out and her son James became King instead.Mary fled to England where she was left in peace for 18 years.At last when Mary’s private letters were seized，which proved her knowledge of plans to murder the Queen Elizabeth，Mary was sentenced to death in 1586.

Spain had been the national enemy of England for quite a long time.As English trade developed，Spain became for the English bourgeoisie a great hindrance in their colonial activities.So the fight between England and Spain was inevitable.In 1588PhilipⅡof Spain sent the Spanish Armada against England.When Elizabeth heard of the news，she sent Sir Francis Drake⁸，a famous sea dog，to attack the Spanish fleet.The fight took place in the English Channel.In the end the mighty Armada was completely defeated，and thus England established its supremacy over the sea.

Elizabeth died on March 24，1603at the age of 69.Her 44-year reign had not only ensured the triumph of Protestantism in Britain and in northern Europe，but had greatly increased the wealth，power and prestige of England.Her navy triumphed over the great Armada of the king of Spain；her sailors circumnavigated the world，and established a colony in North America that they named Virginia after their virgin queen.At home，the merchants were prosperous；the common people enjoyed a higher standard of living than in most other European countries；and her reign was also full of achievements in literature and the other arts.After all，ElizabethⅠwas one of the most successful despots to govern England in English history.