Leaders Model the Way:
From the time that Elizabeth was born, she knew eventually she would become the Queen of England that despite the best efforts of her sister Mary, who was the Queen until she died in 1558 and Elizabeth succeeded her at the age of 25. The childhood of Elizabeth was fraught with danger and disaster. Her mother was beheaded when she was three years old. Elizabeth, a nominal Protestant, was considered a constant threat to her sister, for a while during Mary's reign; Elizabeth was imprisoned in the tower on London, suspected of having aided Sir Thomas Wyatt in a rebellion against the queen. These early experiences, helped Elizabeth develop a technique, which was to hold her in good stead throughout her reign: the technique of giving "answerless answers" (Haigh, 1985, p 25). In addition, Elizabeth schooled herself well; during her teen years, she could already speak six languages.
Ivan IV of Russia ("Ivan the Terrible") demonstrat...
Elizabeth I of England, the Armada Portrait, Wobur...
English: The "Darnley Portrait" of Elizabeth I of ...In later years, this ability with languages would place her at an advantage with foreign dignitaries.
On the mourning in which her sister died and Elizabeth was told that she would be the next queen "she knelt on the cold grass amid the crackling autumn leaves, saying, "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes," a quotation from the Psalms (118, v. 23) which celebrates God's mercy toward Israel" (Rossaro, 1966, p. 4). These where the first words Elizabeth said when she heard the news, which tells us that she was already thinking of the people in her country. Since she was quoting the she pleased, her Protestant followers and she quoted it in Latin, which pleased her Catholic follower. She could already see the tension that was dividing the people, the tension brought on by her two older siblings. Understanding that violence was not...