Who Was Ruling Britain When William Shakespeare Was Born?

At the time of William Shakespeare's birth the reigning monarch was Queen Elizabeth the first, the Virgin Queen. She ruled during the early part of the bard's carrier as well and this was ion many ways beneficial to him. During Queen Elizabeth's reign Britain prospered and in turn so did the arts, drama and theatre, of which the Queen was a patron.

Queen Elizabeth was born on the 7th of September 1533. She ruled from the 17th of November 1558 till her death on the 24th of March 1603; she was the last of the Tudor monarchs. When she came to power England was suffering from religious strife and faced a number of foreign threats including Spain and a rebellion in Scotland. By the time of her death Britain was the richest and most powerful it had ever been; her reign is known as the Golden Age.