This set of Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley miniatures will be auctioned off on November 25th in London- expected to go for up to 80,000 pounds.

From The Telegraph:

“Elizabeth I often commissioned miniatures as personal gifts but Camilla Lombardi of Bonhams said it was likely these were made to mark the end of the affair.

She said: “They can be dated to 1575, a pivotal year in their relationship.

“It is the year when Robert Dudley finally gave up his hope of marrying Queen Elizabeth I.”

That summer he threw an extravagant 19-day party for her at his home, Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, in what some historians have seen as a last-ditch attempt to win her hand.

Lombardi, an expert in miniatures, said: “Whether these were something to do with that, or were a gift to him because she knew it was all over, we will never know.”

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