Elizabeth was born on 7 September 1533, the only daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. After the death of her mother, Elizabeth was exiled from court but she received a rigorous Protestant education. Elizabeth became queen of England and Ireland in 1558. She never married, and ruled for 44 years. More than 100 images of Elizabeth survive and they often conform to pattern types, showing her red hair, impossibly small waist, elegant fingers, love of jewellery, and passion for learning. The original painting from which this miniature was copied is the earliest image of the future Elizabeth I on her own. The princess, aged about 12, is shown wearing a striking red dress trimmed with gold embroidery and an abundance of jewels. She is both regal and youthful, with striking red hair, like her father. The two books, one open on a table beside her and the other clasped in her hands, are symbols of learning, Protestantism and royal authority.

This miniature is a copy by George Perfect Harding (c. 1780-1853) made in about 1845 of the painting in the Royal Collection (RCIN 404444) attributed to Willliam Scrots, but originally thought to have been by Holbein. Harding recorded that he visited Hampton Court, where the painting hung at the time, in 1800 and 1843 and on the second occasion made a copy of ‘Queen Elizabeth when young an excellent picture, by Holbein’. Harding exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Society of British Artists between 1802 and 1840. He worked mainly in London and in country houses, where he made watercolour copies of oil portraits, many painted on a small scale.