The English/British colonial period was very long, and I don´t think you can say the whole thing was a golden age. A more precise British golden age was 1815-1890: after the defeat of imperial France, but before the ruinous naval competiton between Britain and Germany.
Queen Elizabeth I in many ways made England a great power, but Britain wasn´t the dominant hegemonic power until 1815. After 1890 or so, and esp. after 1914, its position was more one of first among equals. A better leader would therefore be Wellington, Disraeli or Queen Victoria (even though she was only a figurehead, her reign was long, and included the peak of British power).
1815-1890 was also, I think, the Prussian/German golden age. The cooperation between Britain and Prussia during that time was unmatched, and when that cooperation turned to competition, the result was ruinous for both countries.