This work investigates the evolution of the royal image and the political iconography surrounding Queen Elizabeth I through the lens of contemporary portraiture. Roy C. Strong, a noted historian and museum director, analyzes the visual language employed by the Tudor court to construct a specific public identity for the monarch. By examining surviving paintings, miniatures, and engravings, the author argues that these portraits functioned as sophisticated tools of statecraft and propaganda. The text provides a systematic framework for interpreting the symbolic elements present in Elizabethan art.

Historians and art scholars frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the visual culture of the Elizabethan era. The prose is noted for its academic rigor and its detailed documentation of primary source imagery.