NICHOLAS HILLIARD (1547-1619)
Elizabeth I (1533-1603)
c.1560-5RCIN 420944
This miniature represents Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who reigned from 1558 to 1603. She wears a red and white rose, the traditional symbol of the Tudors, under whom the competing claims of the Houses of Lancaster (represented by a red rose) and of York (a white rose) were united. The dress worn by the sitter has been dated to around 1560, just after Elizabeth became Queen.