The New Murrey and Blue blog

Well here’s something interesting. I confess that the Stuart period isn’t one of my strongpoints, and I know very little about Elizabeth Stuart, but the above portrait of her is very intriguing. Is she wearing the same crown that appears in the pictures beneath the main portrait?

The crown in the little illustration on the left is said to have been originally made for Henry VII, and was “improved” by Henry VIII. On the right is a replica of it—I’m afraid I don’t have a picture of it in its entirety, but you can see enough. You can read about them both here. 

I suppose it’s really possible that the lady wears that same crown. It seems to have the same green velvet of the original and its general design looks very similar, but it’s hard to tell. The replica appears to have blue velvet, but again, that might be an illusion. But even so, the resemblance is marked.

So, are we looking at a portrait of someone who was very nearly Queen Elizabeth II? If she had, that would make our present monarch Queen Elizabeth III!