Faction in the reign of Elizabeth I

In his television series on the reign of Elizabeth I, David Starkey described the Queen as 'a bright star who dazzled both the nation and the world'. He then went on to claim that, whereas most stars fade in time, Elizabeth's luminescence 'has lasted for nearly four centuries'. It is easy to see why such a claim can be made. In the autumn of 2002 Elizabeth I was voted one of the ten greatest Britons of all time; the only monarch to feature in that list. She is still popularly perceived as a strong leader whose church settlement brought religious divisions to an end and whose foreign policy defeated the Spanish Armada, whilst allowing Francis Drake and the other maritime adventurers to sow the seeds of the British Empire.