For over 40 years.
During this long time, which might constitute someone's entire lifetime, the Queen had created many excellent laws and appointed many great subjects to enhance her glory while ruling England.
She was cunning and persistent enough to win power struggles that would have crushed lesser monarchs. Her keen mind saw three moves ahead in the chess game of court politics, outmaneuvering rivals who underestimated the woman behind the crown. Otherwise, she would have already departed for the next world, her name merely a footnote in the chronicles of English sovereignty rather than emblazoned across the epoch that now bore her name.
The Queen's bluff about establishing a standing army was also the result of such cunning and persistence. She meticulously swayed public opinion in London over a long period, spreading rumors on the streets.
'The Queen is trying to build up an army!'
'She's trying to build an army loyal only to the royal family!'
