Queen Elizabeth I took the crown of England on January 15, 1559 and ruled until her death in 1603. Here are 15 things you might not know about Good Queen Bess. She very nearly wasn’t queen at all.

Elizabeth I was born Princess Elizabeth in September 1533, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife. A portrait of Elizabeth I, painted when she was around 13 years old.