[wimpycat]

IIRC, I believe that Elizabeth, being the illigitimate child of King Henry VIII, was not the rightful heir to the throne of England...Anyone else remember their history differently?

Let me take a wild guess...you're Catholic. :-) Elizabeth and Mary were made legitimate and illegitimate in turns by acts of Parliament. Who decided if someone was legitimate or not in England, or who was eligible for the succession of the throne of England or not...the (English) Parliament, or the (foreign) Pope? That was a large part of the argument at the time.

[CatoRenasci]

The tendency of some Freepers, both Catholic and Protestant, to want to reargue the Reformation never ceases to amaze me.

In this world where the hostility to Christianity is huge, both from secular forces and from Islam, it seems to me that whatever the differences among Christians of different flavors, our common acknowledgement of the Lord Jesus Christ is paramount, and we need to stand together against Christianity's enemies.

[It's me]

What difference does it make whether or not I am Catholic? The truth is the truth what ever ones religion.

Elizabeth was the illigitimate child of King Henry VIII. He had his first wife and ligit child banished to a corner of England. Mary, Henry's ligit child was, understandably angry. She, whether right or wrong, when she was crowned, wanted to rid the country of those who had banished her mother and herself.

[Ciexyz]

I'd recommend the latest bio on "Shakespeare" by Michael Wood (who did PBS' series In Search of Alexander and In Search of the Dark Ages). He researched the history of the bard's family in Stratford-on-Avon, which was a Catholic stronghold in Elizabethan England, and he believes that the entire clan were recusants, or secret Catholics who refused to participate in Protestant communion.

Shakespeare's father lost his position on the town council for being a recusant. Shakespeare's daughter Susanna was fined for being a recusant (this occurred years after his death).