ABSTRACT
As ancient wisdom has it, ‘Of making many books there is no end’ (Ecclesiastes 12.12). Among the many demonstrations of that truth is the number of books written about Elizabeth I, who ruled England from 1558 to 1603. There are many reasons her reign has been found so fascinating. In part it was because she was a female king, unusual but not unprecedented, but also in part because she reigned so long. Above all, she was unique amongst English monarchs for at least 500 years in that she did not marry. That she ruled for more than 40 years as a single woman was even more intriguing. One effect of her unmarried status has been that she has also been a focus for much romantic imaginings and speculation, more so than any other monarch, except perhaps for her remarkable father, Henry VIII, who married so unusually often.
