Queen Elizabeth I was one of the daughters of Henry VIII and thus a Tudor. Because she never had any children, she was also the last of the Tudors. She was third in line to the throne when Henry died. Her brother, who was a fierce Protestant, became king for a short while and then died. The throne was then taken over by her elder sister, Mary, who was a Catholic.

When Mary died, the throne then passed to Elizabeth. Elizabeth inherited a kingdom that was in religious turmoil and almost bankrupt. England was regarded as poor and weak among European countries. For example, England had not gained colonies in the Americas like Portugal, Spain and France. Much os Spain's wealth came from the gold and silver that were shipped over from the colonies.

So Elizabeth had to use all of her intelligence to try to improve the state of the country. She allowed some of her naval captains to become pirates and take gold and silver from the Spanish as they sailed from the Americas. She also encouraged exploration. She was very determined to keep the country Protestant, and this, together with the loss of gold, made Spain the bitter enemy of England and Elizabeth.

It was the attempt to conquer England and return it to Catholic ways, that caused the Spanish to launch the invasion fleet, or Armada, that was defeated by the English Navy.

At the end of her reign, Elizabeth had succeeded in holding the country together. It had suffered many up and down, but was, on the whole, a more prosperous place. It was because of this that the second part of Elizabeth's reign coincides with the time called the 'Great rebuilding', when many Tudor houses were rebuilt to a much better standard. Most Tudor houses that we see today date from this time.