[2] The female pelican was then believed to feed its young with blood from its own body, and the one in the pendant has its wings outstretched and is pecking its breast.

This is taken as an allusion to Elizabeth as a self-sacrificing mother of the English nation,[1] and the Queen was herself fond of the symbolism of the pelican.

[5] The Queen's partlet and sleeves are blackwork of Tudor roses, embroidered on white cloth in black thread.

[6] Hilliard painted Elizabeth from life over many years from the early 1570s on and came nearest to being her appointed court painter.

[1] A technical analysis of the painting alongside another of the Queen from the same period, known as the Phoenix Portrait, was carried out in September 2010 and concluded that they came from the same workshop.

The wooden panels on which they are painted were made from the same two oak trees, and the two face patterns match exactly in mirror image.