The Ditchley Portrait by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger

Upon visiting The National Portrait Gallery in London, this is the portrait of Elizabeth I which stood out to me the most.

Found here: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw02079/Queen-Elizabeth-I-The-Ditchley-portrait 

This is 'The Ditchley Portrait' painted by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger. The thing that stood out to me the most about this portrait was the fact that Elizabeth is painted standing on top of the world, with England being shown underneath her feet. I thought this was very interesting because to me it symbolised not only Elizabeth's rule across Britain but also the power she had across the rest of the world. Furthermore at her feet are ships sailing off from the South of England, I thought this could further symbolise her power and the power of the Navy. By painting them sailing away from Britain, I thought it could show them going off to war, and being the strong force to take down their enemies.
Other elements I noticed about the painting was the use of pearls and the inclusion of the Tudor rose on her clothing. These are symbols that are used over again in portraits of Elizabeth, with the pearls symbolising her virginity and reinforcing her image of 'The Virgin Queen', and the Rose symbolising her rightful claim to the throne- as many thought her illegitimate. Another element I noticed about the portrait was that Elizabeth is holding gloves in her hands rather than wearing them. Elizabeth loved her hands so they are always shown in her portraits. However I thought the fact that she is holding the gloves rather than wearing them could symbolise truth, as sometimes gloves could be seen as a symbol for deception and concealment, and so by showing her hands she is showing the people she is being truthful. Researching into the significance of the gloves, I found that gloves were said to represent elegance instead of deception as I previously thought.

I did have to research the portrait in much more detail as there were elements which I was unsure about and couldn't see properly at the museum, especially the Latin inscriptions. From my research I found that the portrait was produced for Sir Henry Lee, who was the Queen's champion from 1559-90. According to the information given on the National Portrait Gallery website, the theme of the portrait is forgiveness, which is shown through the inscriptions. The three inscriptions are said to read; 'She gives and does not expect';  'She can but does not take revenge', and 'In giving back she increases'1- these do show the theme of forgiveness. The forgiveness is said to be Elizabeth forgiving Lee for becoming 'A stranger lady's thrall', referring to his relationship with Anne Vavasour, who was his mistress and he was living openly with which was said to have offended the Queen.2  

Her dress definitely shows her status, and could also be seen to be symbolic. It is adorned in jewels and pearls, which show the wealth of Elizabeth as she was able to wear this garment that is adorned all over by the jewels. Furthermore the dress is white, and coupled with the use of the pearls on the dress, could be seen to symbolise her virginity, thus even further emphasising the image of 'The Virgin Queen'. 
She also has the typical high forehead, with the very pale white face- even though she was the fashion icon of the time, everything symbolised her high status and the fact that she could afford to look this way. 

Research
Internet: 1 Queen Elizabeth I (’the Ditchley portrait') (2015) Available at: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portraitLarge/mw02079/Queen-Elizabeth-I-The-Ditchley-portrait (Accessed: 18 October 2015).
BBC (2015) Your paintings - Queen Elizabeth I (’the Ditchley portrait'). Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/queen-elizabeth-i-the-ditchley-portrait (Accessed: 18 October 2015).
2 Mongello, M. (2006) Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), with commentary. Available at: http://www.marileecody.com/eliz1-images.html (Accessed: 18 October 2015).
Symbolism in portraits of Elizabeth I (2015) Available at: http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/sea-and-ships/in-depth/elizabeth/representing-the-queen/symbols-and-emblems-used-in-elizabeth-portraiture (Accessed: 18 October 2015).

Books: Bell, I. (1999) Elizabethan women and the poetry of courtship. 1st edn. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.