Throughout the centuries there have been very few pieces of clothing or jewellery which
have survived that belonged to Queen Elizabeth I.
The last Tudor Monarch is considered a woman who was one of the greatest to reign over
England, but in the last few years a piece of clothing did emerge that allegedly belonged
to Elizabeth I.
The Barton Altar Cloth is considered the only surviving dress of the Queen, and for years
it had survived as a sacred object in a Church before it was recognised as a costume and
piece of clothing belonging to Elizabeth.
But one of the only surviving pieces of Jewellery belonging to Elizabeth I is a ring which includes
a locket with a portrait of Elizabeth and another woman who many have believed is her
mother Anne Boleyn, the executed second wife of Henry VIII.
It’s known that the chequers ring as it is known was crafted and created with mother
of pearl, gold, rubies and diamonds and that following her death in 1603, this ring was
removed from the Queen’s body.
Elizabeth died with this ring on her finger, and it’s believed that it was made around
1570 and was kept at some time at Chequers, where the Prime Minister’s country home
was.
Specifically a mother of pearl hoop is mounted with sheet gold set with cut rubies found
on the sides of the bezel and also on the shoulders.
The white diamonds form the letter E for Elizabeth, and there are blue enamel letters with R for
Regina meaning Queen.
But the rubies surround the letters along a pearl, and as mentioned there is a locket
on the ring.
The image of Elizabeth in this is an older one, and there is also a portrait of a younger
woman, dating from around 1535.
But this ring for Elizabeth was incredibly important to her, and it was as important
to her as the coronation ring, which was said to have been cut from her finger around the
time when she died.
The coronation ring it was said had grown into her flesh as she never removed it once
during the 45 years she reigned over England.
But during the week of her death, the doctors said it should be removed and then the Queen
died shortly after it was cut.
But the ring had a huge amount of significance for Elizabeth, and with this historians have
debated for years who the other figure in the ring iks.
The phoenix on the back of the ring was a reference to the Seymour family, and many
think that the ring was given to her from this noble family.
But the Phoenix itself was a symbol of the Queen and she liked these herself, likening
her rise as Queen almost like a phoenix rising out of the ashes.
But the woman for centuries in the ring has been debated, and one key suspect for this
is Anne Boleyn the mother of Elizabeth who was executed within the walls of the Tower
of London.
The woman in the ring is wearing a French hood, along with all the jewellery that its
believed that Anne wore.
But the woman in this image has light hair and it’s believed that Anne had dark brunette
hair, but the aging of the ring over the centuries may have altered the colour of the hair of
the woman in the other part of the locket.
It’s also interesting to consider who this woman could be, who else was as close to Elizabeth?
She would throughout her time as Queen never speak publicly of her mother, but she would
throughout her reign bestow gifts on the descendants of the Boleyns.
Some historians have claimed that this woman in the ring could in fact be Catherine Parr,
the sixth wife of Henry VIII and the stepmother of Elizabeth who had a role in her upbringing.
Catheirne helped to educate Elizabeth and her red hair would match the woman who is
inside of the ring, but also the marriage she had with Thomas Seymour could all explain
the use of the phoenix emblem on the ring.
But the ring’s secret portrait would allude to the fact it could be Anne, as Elizabeth
I had no reason and need to hide the affection she had for Catheirne Parr.
But by having an image of Anne inside the locket ring for her eyes only, it was the
perfect and discreet way of honouring a woman whose memory is linked to her losing her head
inside of the Tower of London.
There is also the possibility of the other woman in the ring being Elizabeth I, when
she was younger however it still is yet to have been confirmed.
But following her death, the Queen’s jewellery collection was then dispersed by James I her
successor and James’ Queen Anne of Denmark.
With this pieces of jewellery were remade into things, and also they were given away
here there and everywhere.
One statesman referred to the national loss of these jewels and he said in Parliament,
‘O! those jewels!
The pride and glory of this realm!
Which have made it so far shining above all others!
Would they were here, within the compass of these walls, to be viewed and seen by us and
to be examined in this place.
Their very name and memory have transported me!’
But the Chequers ring is one of very few surviving pieces of jewellery worn by Elizabeth I. It
may have been presented by James I to Alexander Home, the 1st Earl of Home and then it descended
through generations.
But then he presented his house of Chequers to the nation, and it is now used as a country
house for the prime ministers.
The ring is still held in Chequers and has been loaned out a number of times, and has
been placed on public display.
It is most probable that the Chequer’s ring is just one of a number of pieces of jewellery
which have survived of Elizabeth I.
But these may be hidden inside of a number of collections around England.
There may also be jewels inside of the royal collection that date back to this time.
But the Chequers ring is a mysterious piece of jewellery that poses as question as to
who the woman alongside Elizabeth I is.
If it was Anne Boleyn, it could be one of the earliest images of Anne as Henry VIII
went on the warpath destroying all portraits of his executed second wife.
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