Problems with Inheritance of the Throne (1558)

• Debt: the country was in £300,000 debt, many lived in poverty and the Queen had to rely on taxes
• Gender: women were viewed as inferior, some believed she was not fit for the throne
• Legitimacy: after her mother’s execution, Elizabeth was declared illegitimate by her father who later reinstated her
• Religious Conflict: she was a Protestant in a Catholic country after the reign of Queen Mary, her catholic sister
• Marriage: her councillors wanted her to marry quickly to secure the line of succession with an heir and give her power, as ruling march, to a man