Elizabeth I never married - how did this effect her reign?

Hello!

My thesis statement is, "Elizabeth I never married, and this was a key factor in the success of her reign."

However, the more research I do, the more I become unconvinced of this. Mostly, because I'm on the fence about the success of her reign in general. There was a lot of good, but quite a bit of bad as well. Secondly, because it's impossible to know if her marrying would have meant that her reign would have been unsuccessful. She stayed single, and therefore was able to assert her own will, use marriage proposals as foreign diplomacy and avoid the political/religious tension that would have come with marrying a Catholic or having to worry about her husband taking control of things, whether a foreigner or not...but I just don't know if this is enough to back up this thesis strongly. Could anyone advise me please? I don't know if I should scrap this thesis or modify it somehow.

Thanks!

Monica, you have chosen a very interesting historical figure for your paper. I agree that her reign had good and bad points and that things may have changed if she had married. For one, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots would not have been able to ascend to the throne thus changing the entire history of Great Britain. Most historians believe that she was one of the first independent women who proved that women could actually be more than just child bearers in an era when women were mostly looked down upon. It is from this point of view that I believe you can effectively discuss your paper.

Read the historical accounts of her reign and pay particular attention to the suitors and marriage proposals she received. Try to get into her mindset and explain the political situation she found herself in at the time. There are many papers written about her suitors and the political campaigns that they tried to mount based upon a marriage proposal to her. By trying to get into her mindset and understanding why she chose to turn down the proposals, you will find the reasons why her reign became one of the most successful in British royal history :-) You will not lack for resource material on that topic, there are plenty to be found on the internet, library archives, documentaries, and the like.

Good luck with your research paper. Don't hesitate to see us again if you need more support :-)