The woman in the ring

Posted on March 15, 2021March 15, 2021 By Gareth - Editor

Royal History Geeks caught up with Hever historian, Dr Owen Emmerson, for his analysis on the identity of the mysterious sitter in Elizabeth I’s “Chequer’s ring” portrait

Elizabeth I famously declared that she had no desire to create windows into men’s souls. So perhaps it’s only fair that those of us so fascinated by the iconic ruler, rarely catch a glimpse into hers.

Despite the amount of ink spilt on the legendary Tudor Queen, her inner thoughts remain clouded in mystery. And it’s unlikely that we’ll ever know more than we do now.

But there’s one fragment of evidence that may give us a rare insight into the Queen’s affections. After her death, a ring was prised from her finger. Usually referred to as the “Chequer’s ring” in reference to where it would later be displayed, the artefact contains two portraits. One is Elizabeth herself. The identity of the other remains an issue of debate.

Royal History Geeks caught up with Dr Owen Emmerson, historian and castle supervisor at Hever Castle, family home of Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn.

Disputed identity

“There’s usually three theories given as to who the French-hooded figure in the portrait could be,” Dr Emmerson begins.

“To be honest, I don’t think the first two carry much weight. We’re fairly confident that the ring was gifted to Elizabeth in the mid-1570s. So the real question is, whose memory was it that Elizabeth wanted to keep close at this stage in her life, as she entered her forties?”

A portrait of Parr?

“The first theory is Katherine Parr,” Owen explains. Given the marital history of her father, Henry VIII, Elizabeth enjoyed or endured a parade of stepmothers. But Parr, the King’s final wife, was a maternal figure in Elizabeth’s life from the age of 9 until Katherine’s death when Elizabeth was 15.

Katherine Parr became Elizabeth’s stepmother when the girl was 9 years old

But for Dr Emmerson, the evidence simply isn’t there.

“We just don’t see Elizabeth involving herself with Katherine’s memory in any meaningful way at this stage of her life. In an age when art and portraiture were flourishing, Elizabeth had every opportunity to celebrate the memory of her stepmother. But she never took it.”

A younger Elizabeth

“The other suggestion is that it’s a portrait of a youthful Elizabeth”, Owen continues. “But I find that equally problematic.

“Elizabeth closely guarded her image. She eradicated several earlier portraits of herself. I don’t think she would have appreciated being reminded of her old age. Particularly at a time when the question of the succession was so acutely unresolved.”

A mother’s love

“In this instance, the most obvious explanation is probably the right one. It was her mother, Anne Boleyn, that Elizabeth wanted to keep close.

“As I said earlier, we know that the ring was created for and gifted to Elizabeth around the mid-1570s. The famous portrait of Anne Boleyn, which is today housed at the National Portrait Gallery was created at about the same time. I defy anyone to examine both portraits and fail to spot a similarity.

Anne Boleyn - Wikipedia — This iconic portrait of Anne dates from around the same time as the ring

“One of the most cited arguments against it being Anne is the hair colour. The sitter seems to have a golden colouring. The best evidence we have suggests Anne was brunette.

“But the gold colour really comes from the material the image itself is made of. If you inspect it closely there are remnants of darker enamel. This enamel probably once covered this area of the portrait.

“Contrary to popular belief, Elizabeth often evoked the memory of her mother during her reign. She adopted Anne’s iconography and her courtiers filled their Long Galleries with posthumously created portraits of Anne. She wanted to emphasise and rehabilitate her legitimacy. Elizabeth even had an effigy of Anne at her coronation. This duel portrait very much sits within this pattern of acknowledgement. Subtle and inherently personal.”

Check out the programme of activities at Hever Castle as it prepares to reopen once social distancing regulations ease.

Also, check out “Inside Hever Castle” – a new online subscription that will let you explore this historic property from the comfort of home.

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Lockdown must-reads #5: Six Wives, by David Starkey

Posted on May 4, 2020May 4, 2020 By Gareth - Editor

Let’s be honest: lockdown sucks! But it does mean there’s more time for reading. Over the next couple of weeks, I will review 10 books which all Royal History Geeks should add to their reading list.

“Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived.”

That’s about the sum of Tudor history I picked up at school. Against the backdrop of a blackboard, a cold classroom and an uninspired teacher, the history of England seemed about as exciting as a wet weekend in Brighton.

But years later I would learn the truth. That I was lucky enough to inhabit an island brimming with a history of drama that even fiction writers would be unable to fabricate. A big part of that realisation begun when, before a long train journey, I purchased a copy of the intrepid ‘Six Wives’ by David Starkey.

Starkey – as many will know – has an academic background. The book is dense with research. But there is not a dry paragraph in this 795-page epic. I have read three collective biographies of the six Tudor Queens. Starkey’s is the most readable. Combining wit and a touch of sass with well-formed sentences and colourful language, the book is as gripping as a thriller.

The early pages follow Katherine of Aragon as she sets sail for a new life in England and marriage to Arthur, Prince of Wales. It takes us through her destitute widowhood and her ultimate triumph upon marriage to the 18-year-old Henry VIII. We explores her active role in government and regency of England before her marriage is doomed by a failure to produce a son, a prickling of the King’s conscience and the rise of Anne Boleyn.

The King’s ‘great matter’ (the divorce of Katherine and marriage to Anne) dominates the next section of the book. Henry’s second Queen emerges as a wily and aggressive manipulator. But Starkey is not without sympathy. He is clear that she is not guilty of the crimes she loses her head for. And, unlike some historians, he is not prepared to let Henry off the hook.

Jane Seymour emerges. Jane Seymour gives birth. Jane Seymour dies. Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard both give the reader an interesting interlude. The book concludes with Katherine Parr, the canny reformer who published books, kept her head and briefly ruled England.

Starkey has shown great wisdom in the tome’s structure. Implicitly he accepts that each Queen is not equal in significance. Jane Seymour’s legacy is essentially confined to one act of childbirth. Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard are marginal in their impact. The intellectual Starkey holds a torch for blue stocking Katherine Parr. But it is Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn who shaped the character of Henry, his actions as king and the fate of the nation. Together they claim 73% of the book’s content.

Starkey is surely right to devote the bulk of the book to the first two Queen’s. But as a result, the rest of the reigns feel a little like a flash in the pan. But then, this is probably how they felt to contemporaries.

Because of the strong narrative, colourful language and modern colloquialisms, Starkey’s work has attracted criticism from other academics. No doubt some of it is valid – though we must be mindful of the presence of the green-eyed monster. But it is through writing in this accessible and compelling manner that Starkey and others have rescued the stories of Henry’s wives from the doldrums of the classroom. They have inspired documentaries, historical fiction and other popular biographies.

These women played their part in shaping our history. Thanks to books like ‘Six Wives’, a popular appreciation of their significance continues to grow.

Six Wives, the Queens of Henry VIII, is available from Amazon.

However, please consider supporting your local book seller. If you are based in the UK, search for your local book seller at the Book Seller Associations website.

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The top 10 questions I would love to ask historical figures

Posted on January 15, 2016 By Gareth - Editor

Most of the blog so far has been pretty heavy. Don’t get me wrong, that’s kind of the point. I need an outlet for my intense musings on the big questions and love discussing such epic matters with others.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun as well. To that effect, I’ve compiled a list of 10 questions I would love to put to our Royal forebears but, sadly will never be able to.

Here we go:

Elizabeth I – “You were the virgin Queen – I get that. But what does that actually mean…?”

Richard III – “Come on now…own up. How close to the truth was Thomas More?”

Queen Anne – “If you knew you were going to be the last monarch to veto an act of Parliament, would you have vetoed a few more?”

Katherine Parr – “Was Seymour worth the wait?”

Mary I – “In hindsight, might it have been worth taking a chill pill?”

Henry VIII – “Catherine Howard. Adultery. How did you not see that one coming?”

Margaret Beaufort – “Did you really have a vision telling you to marry Edmund Tudor?”

Princess Beatrice – “What was the juiciest thing you cut out of Queen Victoria’s diary?”

Henry VI – “Do you think Edward was your boy?”

Richard II – “Seriously. Dude. What happened there?”

Okay geeks over to you…what questions would YOU like to put to the Royals of Britain’s past.

Book review: David Starkey – Elizabeth: Apprenticeship

Posted on January 6, 2016January 6, 2016 By Gareth - Editor

Everyone knows the epic stories of Elizabeth I. The lioness who secured the greatest English military victory since Agincourt; the woman who struggled to put her plotting cousin to death; the iconic matriarch who would achieve cult status in her own lifetime but leave behind no child to secure her legacy.

But little did I know how it was probably the earliest years of her life that were for her personally, by far the most dramatic. Thanks to this excellent biography by David Starkey, my eyes were opened.

The story – for indeed it reads with the ease of a story book without any compromising of detail – begins with Elizabeth’s birth and a sense of disappointment. She was supposed to be a boy – no one had use for a princess. And throughout the book there is a sense that for the first 25 years of her life she is a person who never quite fits in and is something of an inconvenience for everyone: the royal bastard with questionable status; the step-daughter who endangers her guardian’s marriage; the heir-presumptive who is stubbornly the wrong religion.

David Starkey cleverly illustrates how these early struggles shape the character that would one day emerge as the great Gloriana. A calculated strategist who knew how to adapt and survive and a pragmatist that was never wedded to philosophy or ideology.

From the fall-out of the Seymour affair to plots made against her sister in Elizabeth’s name, Starkey paints the picture of danger that Elizabeth lived through and creates a raw sense of just how many bullets she had to dodge. Despite actually knowing how the story ends, such is the power of storytelling that there are moments when you anxiously wonder whether the auburn-haired Princess is ever going to make it to the throne.

Elizabeth’s early relationships are also fascinating – her mixed intimacy with her sibling, her fierce loyalty to the servants that raised her, her early encounter with sexuality. The author brings each of these to life with colour and zest. Finally the book concludes with Elizabeth’s ascension – something that even then seems less like a great victory and more like the next phase of insecurity.

This is not the only book to devote itself to Elizabeth’s early life; but it is probably the most detailed. It is therefore a must read not just to fans of the Virgin Queen, but to anyone who seeks insight into this phase of the Tudor period. Above all else is a shrewd analysis of the psychology behind the early experiences that shape the character of a woman who is generally judged by history to have been one of that era’s greatest rulers.

Elizabeth: Apprenticeship, by Dr David Starkey was published by Vintage in 2001. At time of writing, it was available for purchase from Amazon in hardcover (£20.00) and paperback (£13.10)