GCSE HISTORY: Elizabethan England - Problems of Legitimacy, gender, marriage (Lesson 2) *NEW Spec*

UPDATED FOR LATEST 2025 SPEC & EXAM FORMAT

**This lesson examines the problems Elizabeth I faced when she first became Queen of England in 1558 such as questions about her gender, pressure to marry, the country’s finances and threats towards her. **

Included in this resource:
1 x A4 fact sheet linked to Elizabeth’s challenges in 1558. (PDF & PPT)

Main 14 slide Power Point Presentation:
Slide 1: Title page - The Challenges faced by Elizabeth I in 1558
Slide 2-4: Previous lesson recap match-up about Elizabethan government and society. Includes answers and printable student worksheets.
Slide 5-6: Starter Task - What challenges do you think Elizabeth faced?
Slide 7-8: Task 1 - Identify the challenges Elizabeth I faced from the images. Answers provided.
Slide 9-10: Task 2 - Student worksheet and instructions
Slide 11: Follow up challenge questions including practice exam question
Slide 12: Practice exam question
Slide 13: Two learning review activities
Slide 14: Fact sheet based on the GCSE specification.

All images used in this lesson are in the public domain and are therefore copyright free at the time of publishing. Images which require attribution have been attributed in the notes section of each slide where the image appears. If you feel any errors have been made, please contact me at raschoolresources@gmail.com in the first instance to resolve any issues. My lessons are completed using PowerPoint and designed on widescreen formatting. Thank you.

This resource is for personal use only and for copyright reasons should not be copied/amended for commercial use.