Elizabeth's reign raised England's status abroad immeasurably. "She is only a woman, only mistress of half an island," marveled Pope Sixtus V, "and yet she makes herself feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all". Under Elizabeth, the nation gained a new self-confidence and sense of sovereignty, as Christendom fragmented. Elizabeth was the first Tudor to recognize that a monarch ruled by popular consent. She therefore always worked with parliament and advisers she could trust to tell her the truth-a style of government that her Stuart successors failed to follow. Comes in a beautiful custom display gift box.