Elizabeth I: mother's girl

The Virgin Queen lionised her father, Henry VIII, in public. Yet, writes Tracy Borman, examine what Elizabeth did as opposed to what she said and it’s evident that her sympathies lay with Anne Boleyn

- Tracy Borman

One of the oldest and most precious artefacts in the collection at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence, is also among its smallest. It’s a tiny, exquisitely crafted ring, fashioned from mother-of-pearl and embossed with rubies and diamonds (see opposite), which opens to reveal two portraits. One depicts Elizabeth I; the other is thought to be of her mother, Anne Boleyn, the most famous – and controversial – of Henry VIII’s six wives. When closed, the two portraits almost touch, face to face, mother to daughter.

Elizabeth’s love of expensive and elaborate jewellery was well known, yet her most cherished possession was this comparatively simple piece, which she kept with her until the day she died. It is a poignant symbol of the private reverence with which she held her late mother throughout her long life.

Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I were two of the most famous women in British history, their stories as familiar as they are compelling. We all know of Henry VIII’s obsessive love for Anne, turning to bitter disappointment when she failed to give him a son, and her bloody death on the scaffold three years after being crowned queen. And we recall Elizabeth’s turbulent path to the throne, followed by her long and glorious reign – a ‘Golden Age’ of overseas adventurers, Shakespeare and Spenser, royal favourites and the vanquishing of the Armada, all presided over by the self-styled Virgin Queen.