Can You Rule This Quiz on Queen Elizabeth I?

When explorer Sir Walter Raleigh returned to England after his travels to Virginia in 1586, he brought potatoes, tobacco, and maize with him. Tobacco was the first American import to really catch on, and soon it became fashionable at the royal court and was regarded as good for health. It has even been reported that Raleigh persuaded Elizabeth herself to sample a pipe of tobacco.

Only the very wealthy could afford to eat sugar in the 16th century, and Elizabeth herself had quite a sweet tooth. Her favorite treats were candied violets, which are small purple flowers steeped in sugar. Elizabeth ate so many that her teeth became rotten. But rather than being seen as ugly, black teeth in the Elizabethan era were perceived as a status symbol and a demonstration of wealth.

It is said that after the Earl of Oxford let go a fart while making a low bow to the queen, he was so upset that he exiled himself from court for seven years. Fortunately, it seems that Elizabeth was the forgiving sort; when the earl returned to court, she is said to have reassured him by saying, “My lord, I had forgot the fart.”

Edmund Spenser is one of the most celebrated Elizabethan poets, and in 1590 he published “The Faerie Queene” to honor the English monarch. The epic poem was written in praise of the Tudor dynasty and especially Elizabeth I, who Spenser depicts as Gloriana, the faerie queen. Elizabeth also depicted herself as Gloriana in portraits, to enhance her power and reputation.

After the birth of her half-brother Edward, it seemed unlikely that Elizabeth would ever succeed to the throne. But Edward VI’s reign was a short-lived regency that ended with his death in 1553 at the age of 15. Henry VIII’s eldest daughter Mary, a Catholic, then inherited the throne, plunging the country into religious turmoil. Elizabeth succeeded to the throne in 1558 after Mary’s death.

Elizabeth’s reign saw a blossoming of art, music, and writing that marked the start of the English Renaissance. She was a noted patron of the theater, and founded her own acting company. Several of the most famous playwrights in history wrote works that were performed at her court and in the growing number of theaters at the time, including William Shakespeare, who references the queen in his comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Elizabeth and Robert Dudley were childhood friends, and rumors about the true nature of their relationship persist to this day. Dudley’s favored position at court and the pair’s clandestine meetings led to gossip that they were lovers, particularly after Dudley’s wife died under mysterious circumstances. They quarreled over Elizabeth’s jealousy surrounding his second marriage, but she was devastated by Dudley’s death in 1588.

Elizabeth survived a bout with smallpox in 1562, which left her skin scarred. Always very conscious of her public appearance, she relied on dramatic white makeup to disguise the scars on her face. The makeup contained heavy amounts of lead, which might have contributed to the hair loss and tooth decay she suffered in later life.

Sir Francis Drake was one of the most celebrated mariners of the Elizabethan era, earning a knighthood for his circumnavigation of the globe. He also acted as second in command during the British victory over the Spanish Armada. Though he was considered a hero in England, he was also a participant in the slave trade, and his raids on Spanish ships are known as piracy today.

In the Elizabethan period it was fashionable to have a pale complexion, because people who worked outdoors for a living were tanned from exposure to the sun. To enhance her fair skin, and to disguise her smallpox scars, Elizabeth took to wearing thick white face powder made from toxic lead and vinegar.

When Elizabeth came to power, many of her advisers worried that her gender would work against her, as women at the time were viewed as weak and emotional. Elizabeth deliberately used symbolism to dispel these fears by aligning herself with male traits. In a famous speech to her army, she said, “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman but I have the heart and stomach of a king.”

Westminster Abbey has hosted the crowning of English kings and queens ever since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066. Elizabeth’s coronation took place in Westminster Abbey in 1559 and was cause for great pageantry and celebration. It also marked the first time that the English language was used in the ceremony, which until then had been held entirely in Latin.

Under Elizabeth’s reign, England became a global naval and commercial power. The queen encouraged exploration and colonization of new lands for financial gain, and to weaken England’s enemies. Sir Walter Raleigh, an explorer and a court favorite, received funding for a voyage to North America. In the 1580s, he established a settlement near Roanoke Island in modern-day North Carolina, which he named Virginia after his benefactor.

One of the most frequently depicted people in history, Elizabeth has been the focus of dozens of films, books, plays, and television series. The role has drawn the attention of several award-winning actresses, who’ve portrayed the famous queen in films such as 1955’s “The Virgin Queen” (Bette Davis), 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love” (Judi Dench), 1998’s “Elizabeth” (Cate Blanchett), and 2018’s “Mary, Queen of Scots” (Margot Robbie).

Elizabeth received an exemplary education, not always common among women of her era. She studied theology, philosophy, history, and math, but truly excelled at linguistics. She began learning Latin at age five, and was fluent in five languages (Latin, Greek, Spanish, French, and Italian) with knowledge of several others. She was the author of several translations, from poems to scholarly works, and used these skills as a diplomatic tool in her relations with foreign powers.

When Elizabeth succeeded to the throne, she returned England to Protestant rule. As a result, some powerful Catholics began plotting to have her ousted. Many rallied around Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, so to protect her position, Elizabeth had Mary imprisoned. In 1586, after another plot to overthrow Elizabeth and install Mary was discovered, the exiled Scottish queen was executed.

After years of rising tensions between Catholic Spain and Protestant England, King Philip II of Spain launched an invasion of England in 1588, hoping to remove Elizabeth from the throne. But skilled English fighting and a destructive storm doomed the Spanish Armada, a large naval fleet some 130 ships strong. Elizabeth claimed an unlikely victory, and received an enormous boost in popularity by positioning herself as England's fierce defender.

The daughter of King Henry VIII, Elizabeth I was the fifth monarch of the House of Tudor. In 1558, 25-year-old Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister Mary I, starting a 44-year reign that saw England reach new heights of influence and prosperity. When the childless Elizabeth died in 1603, she was succeeded by James VI of Scotland, who united Scotland and England and began the Stuart dynasty.

Fearful of foreign influences on the English throne, as well as the loss of her independence, Elizabeth resisted pressure from her advisers to marry and produce an heir to secure the royal succession. She was courted by several potential suitors, but remained steadfast in her opposition to marriage, instead focusing her dedication and devotion on England itself. Her nickname "the Virgin Queen” is the namesake of the U.S. state of Virginia.

Elizabeth was born into a tumultuous era for the English monarchy. Henry VIII’s attempts to annul his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon in order to wed his lover Anne Boleyn caused a permanent break with the Roman Catholic Church. Elizabeth was Henry and Anne’s only living child, and she was just two years old when Anne was executed on false charges, after falling out of favor with the king for failing to provide a male heir.