Elizabeth I

American  

noun

1. Elizabeth Tudor, 1533–1603, queen of England 1558–1603 (successor of Mary I; daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn).

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Elizabeth I British  

noun

1. 1533–1603, queen of England (1558–1603); daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She established the Church of England (1559) and put an end to Catholic plots, notably by executing Mary Queen of Scots (1587) and defeating the Spanish Armada (1588). Her reign was notable for commercial growth, maritime expansion, and the flourishing of literature, music, and architecture

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Elizabeth I Cultural  

1. A queen of England in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries; a brilliant and crafty ruler who presided over the Renaissance in England. Her reign, the Elizabethan period, was a time of notable triumphs in literature (William Shakespeare rose to prominence while she was queen) and war (the defeat of the Spanish Armada). The daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth never married. She is called the “Virgin Queen” and “Good Queen Bess.”

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The state of Virginia is named after the “Virgin Queen.”

Example Sentences

Though it stretched for more than two centuries, it’s an era best known for Elizabeth I and Shakespeare, stiff ruffs and courtly processions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

More than a decade after Henry’s death, a daughter of his, Elizabeth I, became queen and restored confidence with a nationwide recoinage.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

Dame Judi, who won an Oscar for her role as Elizabeth I in 1998's Shakespeare in Love, is a patron of the Sarah Thorne Theatre community interest company.

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025

In the 16th century, California came within a Tudor whisker of being a queen’s land: Elizabeth I.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2025

At the town of Knysna, more than a hundred miles west of Port Elizabeth, I stopped to survey the surroundings.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela