To a remarkable extent—one all the more striking in light of how deeply the two sisters always differed, and the determination of the younger to set herself apart from the elder—Elizabeth’s reign has followed much the same trajectory as Mary’s. Both, upon becoming queen, were welcomed enthusiastically by most of their subjects, England being quite as weary of Mary and her Spanish connection in 1558 as it had been of Edward’s evangelical regime in 1553. Both went on to enjoy a middle period of popularity and success (Mary’s was measured in months, Elizabeth’s in decades), and both ended in
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