“Although these were not necessarily gifts Mary consciously gave to Elizabeth, as the first independent queen of England it was she who established a powerful rhetoric for female rule, which Elizabeth quite literally inherited. Mary’s claims include: (1) the idea the she was the virgin mother of her country; (2) the idea that England’s people were her children; (3) the idea that she was a virgin wedded to her kingdom, her coronation ring being, specifically, her wedding ring.” TudorsElizabeth IElizabeth TudorMary IMary TudorThe Virgin Queen Book:When Women Ruled the World: Making the Renaissance in Europe Source: When Women Ruled the World: Making the Renaissance in Europe