Does the famous CHEQUERS’ RING show a double portrait of Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn, her mother? Certainly it is widely accepted as being one of the few pieces of Elizabeth I’s jewellery collection to have survived the centuries, but debate continues to rage as to whether this mother of pearl locket ring, which has a capital E picked out in diamonds on its front and rubies decorating its band, actually open up shows Henry VIII’s second Queen, or if the woman depicted alongside Queen Elizabeth is someone else important in Gloriana’s life. Perhaps it is her stepmother, Catherine Parr, some commentators say, or her governess Kat Ashley (or Astley), or even a young Elizabeth Tudor herself? In this Tudor history documentary from History Calling I’ll take you through the known history of the ring, who might have given it to Elizabeth and why it is and isn’t likely that the second sitter is Anne Boleyn. We’ll look at other portraits of the Queen and her mother and stepmother for comparison and think about what the style of the mystery woman’s clothing, especially her French hood, can tell us about her identity. We’ll also examine how this beautiful piece of jewellery came into Elizabeth’s possession and if it’s really the ring taken from her finger at death and carried north to Scotland. Was it a gift from a member of the Seymour family, as the phoenix on its reverse side might suggest, or is this symbolism merely a coincidence? Furthermore, was this the very ring taken the dead Queen’s finger and carried to Scotland so that King James VI would know she was really gone and how did it get to its present home? Its name stems from the fact that it is now held at the country residence of the British Prime Minister (Chequers Court), but it only arrived in the 20th century and its earlier provenance is somewhat murky.

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LEARN MORE

Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (WileyBlackwell, 2005)
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Susan Bordo, The Creation of Anne Boleyn: In Search of the Tudors' Most Notorious Queen (One World Publications, 2014)
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Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger, In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn (2013)
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Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) https://amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
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The Tudors, season 1
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The Tudors, season 2
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The Tudors, season 3
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The Tudors, season 4
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Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docudrama)
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Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docudrama)
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Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docudrama): https://amzn.to/3gXU4GH
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docudrama): https://amzn.to/3h7Qh8z (UK link) OR https://amzn.to/3xKuBGA (US link)
Thumbnail: Chequers’ Ring. Photo by Jonathon Vines, accessed on the British Library website and used under Fair Use.
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