The Truth About Queen Elizabeth I's Iconic Look

As her reign progressed, Elizabeth became increasingly aware of just how important portraiture was to shoring up her image. According to British Heritage, Sir Robert Cecil, her secretary of state, said that none of the many painters who had completed a portrait of the queen presented her with work up to her standard. "Therefore Her

As her reign progressed, Elizabeth became increasingly aware of just how important portraiture was to shoring up her image. According to British Heritage, Sir Robert Cecil, her secretary of state, said that none of the many painters who had completed a portrait of the queen presented her with work up to her standard. "Therefore Her Majesty commands all manner of persons to stop doing portraits of her until a clever painter has finished one which all other painters can copy. Her Majesty, in the meantime, forbids the showing of any portraits which are ugly until they are improved."

Harsh, to be sure, but Elizabeth's concern wasn't mere vanity. She would endure numerous attacks on her looks, her ability to rule, and even multiple plots centered on her own death. In 1601, she had to watch as one of her favorites, the Earl of Essex, stupidly tried to foment open rebellion against her. As Royal Museums Greenwich reports, he was quickly captured and executed, but it was still yet another blow to the queen's long-damaged sense of security.

In a world where many of her subjects would only see her briefly, or simply as a figure in a portrait, image was everything for Elizabeth. As the National Portrait Gallery shows, nearly every work showing the queen, monumental or miniature, was created specifically to show that she had the looks and the power to rule.

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