Show the image of Queen Elizabeth I’s Great Seal to the class on a whiteboard/printed copies.
Discuss with the pupils the following questions as a class/in pairs/groups to feedback. Pupils could also add their own annotations to a projected version of the seal.
- Can you find the following objects in the seal?
Pair of hands coming from clouds to hold Elizabeth’s cape; a crown, an orb, sceptre, ruff, coat of arms, Tudor Rose and other leaves and flowers. The Tudor Rose was the symbol for the Tudor monarchs.
- Can you find the motto? It says, in Latin: ‘Elizabetha Dei Gracia Anglie Francie Et Hibernie Regina Fidei Defensor’. It means:‘Elizabeth, by grace of God, Queen of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith’.
- Can you describe Elizabeth I’s dress and hairstyle?
- Why does she hold an orb and sceptre? Do you know what they mean?
- What do the hands coming from the clouds to hold her cape suggest?
- Elizabeth was Head of the Church of England. Which part of the seal tells us this?