‘Elizabeth’
Before Queen Elizabeth II ruled on high, there was Queen Elizabeth I, who went down in history as the only English queen to never marry. While she has been portrayed in several films and television adaptations throughout the years, it was 1998’s Elizabeth, which featured Cate Blanchett as the leading lady, that would perhaps become the most acclaimed. Though Elizabeth I managed to establish Protestantism during her reign, champion the arts, and bring peace to her then-tumultuous country, her worth was reduced by many of her subjects to what was seen as a failure to wed and produce a royal heir. In the end, it was her rival, Queen Mary of Scots, that would birth the next King of England, James IV of Scotland. With Elizabeth, however, Blanchett managed to restore some of the historical figure’s power, proclaiming herself a bride of England and ruling as “the virgin queen.”
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