One reason why i could agree with the statement that the problem of Elizabeth’s legitimacy was the main problem she faced when she became queen is due to Henry VIII’s marriage with Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII’s second wife which meant that he divorced his first wife, Catherine or Aragon, before marrying Anne Boleyn. Catholics believe that marriage is not a thing and if someone marries after a divorce then is is not a valid marriage. This meant that most catholics believed that Elizabeth I was born out of wedlock. Catholics made up a large majority or England at Elizabeth’s time which meant that a large majority of the country would have deemed her illegitimate to rule the country. It could be argued that this i her main problem because it could cause an uprising from the mainly catholic north, as it did later on. Overall, it could be argued that legitimacy was Elizabeth’s main problem that she faced when she became queen in 1558 because of the catholic belief that divorce isn’t real. However, even though legitimacy could be a major issue when becoming the king or queen, i would strongly disagree that it was for the case of Elizabeth due to the debt she received after stepping to the throne. Queen Mary I, the monarch before Elizabeth had been in many wars with France during her reign and as a result, she built up a lot of debt from these wars. When Elizabeth stepped to the throne, she started with £300,000 of debt. This meant that the government had to raise money from tax and other means which could could unrest. It also means that if there is an attack on the country then the military budget would be much smaller due to the heavy debt. Overall, I strongly disagree with the statement that the problem of Elizabeth’s legitimacy was the main problem she faced when she became queen in 1558 due to the debt that she has right at the start. Another main reason why I strongly disagree with the statement that legitimacy was the main problem is because of religious opponents in and around the English channel and on the British isles. Since Elizabeth was a protestant, when she stepped to the throne in 1558, she changed the country back to a protestant one. Around England, there were countries like Scotland, Spain and France who could all pose a threat to England if they form a coalition to attack England. This meant that the only main ally near England to Elizabeth was the Netherlands who were controlled by Spain for a long time. This meant that in the case of an outbreak of war, Elizabeth would have to wait a long time until help from a protestant ally arrives which leaves Elizabeth’s England vulnerable to attack. For this reason, I strongly disagree with the statement that the problem of Elizabeth’s legitimacy was the main problem she faced when she became queen in 1558 due to threat of invasion from religious rivals. As a whole, I strongly disagree with the statement because of the debt that Elizabeth had to take on as soon as she became queen in 1558. It could be argued that because catholics deemed Elizabeth as illegitimate, that her legitimacy was the main problem because of the threat of an uprising but it would be answered with the heavy threat of foreign invasion from catholic rival countries and the lack of protestant allies close by on the globe.