Queen Elizabeth came into power of England during a somewhat transitional period. Many watched her carefully to see what she would do. Elizabeth was patient and savvy. She used good political strategy to accomplish her goals, and maintain order in England. She maintained a cool and patient head when dealing with sensitive religious matters. This was simply one reason that explains why she was popular with her subjects and arguably one of the greatest monarchs England ever had.
             When Elizabeth first became Queen of England in 1558, many of her subjects thought that she would act quickly to undo many of the religious changes her sister Mary had brought upon England. Despite conforming to Roman Catholicism during Mary's rule, it was no secret that Elizabeth was a protestant. Upon her coronation as Queen, few actually knew what her intentions would be. Elizabeth had maintained her silence in regards to her plans for reforming the Church. One view is to say that she used her silence as a political trick to keep controversy and conflict to a minimum. It could also be said that the conflict in which she strove to avoid was with Rome. Ever since Henry VIII broke with Rome England had been a Protestant country. When Mary became queen and undid many of the changes brought on by the reform, she actually did little to increase the popularity of Catholicism. Under Mary, England saw virtually a full revival of all things Catholic. Debatably the most unpopular thing she did was have people such as Thomas Crammer executed for heresy.
             Elizabeth did in fact work to unchanged many of her sister's doings. However, she changed things in a very slow and deliberate many, probably to avoid raising the ire of Rome and its supporters. Unmistakably, Elizabeth was protestant, but she seemed to want to find a way to make a Protestant church that reflected her views and would appeal to both Catholics and Protestants. Elizabeth's stance may ha...