[1]I’m on an odd Queen Elizabeth jag, posting yesterday [2] about a marriage, and today, about the absence of one. On November 17, 1558, the mighty Elizabeth I acceded to the throne of England. During her reign, she made no apology for never marrying, and was loved by her subjects in spite of it. “Better beggar woman and single than Queen and married, ” she declared. Elizabeth hadn’t envisioned her singleness as starting a trend. But for a moment on the world’s stage, this imperious exception was proof of what a talented woman could accomplish without a husband.