Doctor Who: 15 Real Historical Characters The Doctor Has Met
14. Queen Elizabeth I
An interesting entry here, as while the Doctor's first happened across QE I was in the modern series, her majesty actually made an appearance on the show many years earlier. The Doctor's first encounter with the 'virgin queen' occurred at the conclusion of 'The Shakespeare Code', with QE I uttering the immortal line "off with his head" at recognition of the time lord.
The reason for this reaction became clear in the 50th anniversary special 'The Day of the Doctor', with Tennant's Doctor becoming reacquainted with an earlier version of the Queen, before marrying her! Eyebrows were raised when Gwen and Stacey actress Joanna Page was cast as QE I, but to everyone's relief she played the role to perfection, getting the right mix of authority figure and femininity.
The first appearance of QE I actually occurred in the outright bizarre 'The Chase', a six parter from the William Hartnell era. The episode begins with the original Doctor effectively watching live streams through time of major moments in the Queen's life, as well as others including William Shakespeare. Bizarrely, these scenes have no relevance to the Dalek central plot of the story and QE I is never seen again, making it a strange missed opportunity for the Doctor to pay her a visit.