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Detail from showing paintings hanging on the wall of Buckingham House
Royal Portraiture

The Royal Collection holds royal portraits from visual works to decorative arts

CRISPIJN DE PASSE THE ELDER (1564-1637)

Elizabeth I

c.1603

RCIN 601073

This print of Elizabeth I (r.1558–1603) was created in the year of her death, and it depicts the Queen dressed in ornate robes worn at the State Opening of Parliament. The engraver, Crispijn de Passe the Elder (1564–1637) presents the Queen with the orb and sceptre, symbols of her power, and with the bible and the sword of justice to the right. This proof was sent from the engraver in Cologne to the publisher in London for the print to be checked and approved. It was through prints such as this that people across Britain and Europe would have seen a portrait of the Queen.


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