伊莉莎白一世

伊莉莎白一世(1533～1603年)

Elizabeth I

英格兰女王（1558～1603）。为国王亨利八世与其第二任妻子安妮.布林的女儿。自幼以端庄凝重着称，她和男嗣一样接受正规的严格教育。在异母弟爱德华六世（Edward VI）和异母姐姐玛丽一世先後继位期间，所处情况极为危险。1554年韦艾特爵士（Sir Thomas Wyatt）的叛乱後，伊莉莎白被捕，但不久即被释放。玛丽死後，她继承王位时受到全国人民的欢迎。她网罗了一批经验丰富的顾问，其中包括塞西尔（William Cecil）和沃尔辛厄姆（Francis Walsingham），但她仍握紧最後的决定权。在位期间发生的大事如下：恢复英国的新教信仰；处决苏格兰女王玛丽；打败西班牙的无敌舰队（Armada）。她一直活在受英格兰天主教徒不断地阴谋威胁中。人称「处女女王」（Virgin Queen），她嫁给了自己的王国。曾有多个合适的结婚对象，和列斯特伯爵（Earl of Leicester）也曾有过情投意合的迹象，但最後她还是抱持独身，可能因为不愿失去权力。1601年她把第二位追求者艾塞克斯伯爵第二（2nd earl of Essex）依叛乱罪处死。虽然晚年国家经济有所衰退，征服爱尔兰人也遭到军事挫败，但在她的统治下，英国晋升为世界强国，凝聚了国内力量一致对外。她极有智慧而意志坚强，使得人们对她忠心耿耿。在位期间也是艺术蓬勃发展时期，特别是文学和音乐。死後由詹姆斯一世（James I）继承王位。

English version：

1533～1603年

Elizabeth I

Queen of England (1558-1603). Daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, she displayed precocious seriousness as a child and received the rigorous education normally reserved for male heirs. Her situation was precarious during the reigns of her brother Edward VI and her half sister Mary I. After Sir Thomas Wyatt's rebellion in 1554, she was imprisoned but later released. Her accession to the throne on Mary's death was greeted with public jubilation. She assembled a core of experienced advisers, including William Cecil and Francis Walsingham, but she zealously retained her power to make final decisions. Important events of her reign included the restoration of England to Protestantism; the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots; and England's defeat of the Spanish Armada. She lived under constant threat of conspiracies by British Catholics. Over time she became known as the Virgin Queen, wedded to her kingdom. Many important suitors came forward, and she showed signs of romantic attachment to the earl of Leicester, but she remained single, perhaps because she was unwilling to compromise her power. She had another suitor, the 2nd earl of Essex, executed in 1601 for treason. Though her later years saw an economic decline and disastrous military efforts to subdue the Irish, her reign had already seen England's emergence as a world power and her presence had helped unify the nation against foreign enemies. Highly intelligent and strong-willed, Elizabeth inspired ardent expressions of loyalty, and her reign saw a brilliant flourishing in the arts, especially literature and music. After her death, she was succeeded by James I.