Great Lives is a podcast from BBC Radio 4.

I hope you enjoy the program.

My guess this week is Michael Howard,

former leader of the Conservative Party,

former Conservative Home Secretary, who served under both John Major and Margaret Thatcher.

Lord Howard of Limb has chosen the life of another strong female leader.

Elizabeth, Elizabeth the first of England, good Queen Bess, the Virgin

Queen, Lord Howard Wye.

Well I think she has a very strong claim to be the person more than any other who created

the England we know and love.

She has perhaps three great achievements to her credit. She saw off the French and the Spanish,

both of whom had designs on England and were much more powerful than the England she inherited.

She created the religious settlement after the intolerant reigns of her half brother and

half sister, the religious settlement which has lasted for centuries in the form of the Church of

England, and under her reign there was the most wonderful flowering of artistic achievement. And these are quite astonishing achievements, particularly

when at the beginning of her reign a very prominent member of parliament said that the realm was poorer in men, money, riches and wealth

than he had ever known it.

And in addition to all that, she was a compelling and perhaps even bewitching personality.

I want to take you back to the word created that you used. She created the England that we know.

Now let's say at the outset that we're not in half an hour going to be able to give

even a summary of the life and times of this very complex leader in a very complicated time in a more relaxed

way, let's instead just talk about her life.

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