... done before her. Provided the gentry acknowledged the establishment of the Church of England she did not wish to "make windows into men's souls". Matters of religion were at the heart of the state and Elizabeth was well aware that she needed to minimise the possibilities of widespread discontent and revolt. She had known from an early age that her position of power was always volatile. She was female, single, regarded by many European Catholic noblemen as the illegitimate offspring of her father's mistress, Anne Boleyn, and significantly England was still technically at war with France. Furthermore she had inherited a kingdom which was a second-rate power, strongly overshadowed by Spain and France. It was therefore obvious that in order to survive in such a hostile environment she would need to create and maintain a strong and effective government with strong uniform religious policies. As a result Elizabeth worked to maintain ...

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