You tak Elizabeth I in the context of the time - of course it looks terrible - don't forget, the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there. Actually there is not that much evidence that Elizabeth did burn heretics at the stake, she is famous for saying

'she would not make windows into mens souls' She may have had them hung for plotting to assassinate her but then, that is true now in most countries today.

EI took a country that was not a global power and was not that wealthy and turned it around.

Queen Victoria was a much loved and revered monarch, the likes of which we will never see again.

And our present Queen is a good example for us all of dedication to service. She is still preforming over 300 public engagements a year and she is in her late 80's, at a time when most of us want to put our feet up.

Highlander - you mean because men never go overboard - Sadam Hussein, Pol Pot, Hitler, Stalin and the current bunch of dictators we are enjoying (Kim Jon Il and his son - what lovely people). And don't start on the South American dictators, they are in another league.