At the start of her reign in 1558, Elizabeth faced many problems it was a very tumultuous time for her. These problems included Gender, Religion, Finance and Foreign policy.
One factor Elizabeth had to face, which was seen as a huge disadvantage, was her gender. This was because the society was very patriarchal, male dominated, meaning that she was seen as week and less capable of being a good leader. This was a problem for Elizabeth as she had to do more to prove that she could be a good leader. This leads onto the fact that her sister Mary wasn’t a good leader so therefore there were low expectations of Elizabeth, This also meant Elizabeth had a lot to prove in order to be a good leader. Although this was a problem for Elizabeth, there were also positive factors to her gender. One of these was that Elizabeth was very good at using her flirtatious charm to get what she wanted. Another reason Elizabeth’s gender wasn’t too much of a problem was that she asserted her royal authority; it was her divine right to become the queen as god had chosen her.
Another problem Elizabeth had to face in 1558 was deciding what religion to become, whether she would keep England as a catholic settlement or to change England to a protestant settlement. If she decided to keep England a catholic settlement it would keep her strong alliances on side; Spain and France, this would be good as Elizabeth was worried that Spain and France would go to war against her if not. Also if Elizabeth decided to stay Catholic, the pope and the House of Lords would be on her side. This means she would be able to pass laws easier. However Elizabeth could also have chose to turn England into a protestant settlement, this would suit her better as she herself, was a protestant. Also, it would keep the Privy Council and the House of Commons on side meaning it would be easier for Elizabeth to get her own way with the Privy Council. Finally, many hard line