Queen Elizabeth I’s Chequers Ring (c. 1575)
Queen Elizabeth I’s Chequers Ring is made of mother-of-pearl with gold banding inlaid with table-cut rubies. The face of the ring is a small locket. The outside of the locket features an “E” crafted out of diamonds, and an “R” (for ‘Elizabeth Rex’). The inside features a portrait of Elizabeth and a woman with dashing red hair and a French hood on the other. The woman in the French hood is widely believed to be Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn.
This wouldn’t be shocking; Boleyn was executed when the queen was just two years old, but remained a figure in her life. Elizabeth brought Boleyn’s name back to the forefront during her reign. Historic records included the queen’s reference to Boleyn. Boleyn featured in Elizabeth’s coronation activities. Elizabeth I received books dedicated to Anne Boleyn and galleries hung portraits of Boleyn. Anne Boleyn was no longer a hidden footnote in history.
