Elizabeth I of England was a queen in England.
Elizabeth I ( 7 September 1533 -- 24 March 1603 ) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death . Sometimes called The Virgin Queen , Gloriana or Good Queen Bess , the childless Elizabeth was the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty . One of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church , of which she became the Supreme Governor . Merrie England (opera) . The patriotic story concerns love and rivalries at the court of Queen Elizabeth I , when a love letter sent by Sir Walter Raleigh to one of Queen Elizabeth 's Ladies in Waiting , Bessie Throckmorton , ends up in the hands of the Queen .