Portrait of a Lady traditionally identified as Elizabeth, widow of Sir William Drury of Hawstead, Kent, and wife of Sir John Scott of Nettlestead, full-length, in a white embroidered dress, with a pearl head-dress and a diamond broach

Elizabeth Drury was the daughter of Sir William Stafford (d.1556) of Chebsey, Staffordshire, and his wife Dorothy, daughter of Henry Stafford, 1st Lord Stafford, and granddaughter of the last Duke of Buckingham. She was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth I and married first, Sir William Drury (1550-90) of Hawkstead, Kent. Her husband inherited considerable estates in Suffolk, including the house at Hawstead, which he largely rebuilt, where he 'provided a costly and delicate dinner' for Queen Elizabeth I in May 1578. His marriage to Lady Stafford gave him some influence at court and he became an official of the Exchequer. However, he was forced to flee to the Netherlands owing the crown money in 1587, and he died there after a duel with Sir John Borough. Elizabeth Drury married secondly Sir John Scott of Nettlestead, Kent. The traditional identification of the sitter has, however, been questioned on the basis of the date of the picture and the sitter's age. Elizabeth Drury's son, Sir Robert Drury, is recorded as having been born in 1574 which would make her mother likely to be at least forty-seven years old in 1605. It has been suggested that she looks younger than this. The 'S' design on the sitter's dress, however, is presumably emblematic of a member of her family.