Renewed analysis of the “Phoenix” portrait started in 2005 led to the secure identification of Nicholas Hilliard’s hand in this famous picture of Elizabeth I (c. 1575). Although the portrait now kept at the National Portrait Gallery in London bears the traces of several hands, it is now known for certain that Hilliard was responsible for the provision of the face pattern (used in this picture and others) as well as the painting of all ornaments including the hair, pearls and phoenix jewel. The striking rendering of the jewels in particular owes a lot to his background in miniature painting. This is in fact what bestows most liveliness and energy upon the picture and the Queen, therefore exemplifying the moving power of the limner’s hand, even when adapted to greater formats. Using material/internal and textual/external evidence, the present paper offers an inquiry into the making of Elizabeth’s enduring pictorial aura through Hilliard’s hand.