A gold ring given by Elizabeth I to one of her naval commanders after the defeat of the Spanish Armada has emerged for sale for £70,000.

The ring is believed to date from 1590 and was commissioned as a gift by the then Queen of England as a thank you to a naval chief, possibly Sir Francis Drake, for defeating the Spanish.

Elizabeth I is known to have presented Vice-Admiral Drake, who was second in command during the enemy's attempted invasion of England in 1588, with a locket.

This ring, understood to have been given by Elizabeth I to one of her naval chiefs

Elizabeth I's image can be seen on the gold and ruby ring, which dates back to 1590

The historically important ring which is made out of gold, enamels and ruby has a portrait of the Tudor Queen engraved on the main oval and a British ship on the back bezel.

Down one side of the ring is Neptune holding a trident, while the other side shows Britannia reclining in a shell.

It is believed the portrait of Elizabeth I is by the artist Nicholas Hilliard as he designed a number of medals including the 1588 naval reward medal which is the first British war medal.

Chris Wren, specialist at Timeline Auctions, of London, who are selling the ring, said: 'Elizabeth is known to have commissioned jewels for herself, such as the famous locket ring with portraits of her mother, Anne Boleyn and herself and to have presented jewels to others.'

It is unclear who the ring was awarded to, although candidates include Sir Walter Raleigh (left) and Sir Francis Drake (left)

Mr Wren added: 'This ring, with its strong seafaring imagery, is very likely to have been presented in 'grateful thanks' to a person of high importance who was directly involved with the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

'There is apparently no specific record of this but possible candidates for the gift might include Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins or Lord Howard of Effingham.

'Other names for consideration might include Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Martin Frobisher, Lord Sheffield, Sir Richard Grenville, Sir Robert Southwell, Lord Henry Seymour, Sir William Winter, John Davis or Edward Fenton.

British ship is pictured on the back bezel

'It could well be that if the ring was presented to a commander of one of the ships fighting off the Armada, then it could represent his own vessel.

'This is a lovely piece and the historical connections are unrivalled.'

The Spanish Armada set sail from Spain in July 1588 to overthrow Elizabeth I, a Protestant, and restore Catholic rule over England.

It was a disastrous campaign for the Spanish who lost more than 50 Armada ships through accident or during the Atlantic storms that scattered the fleet en route to England and as it limped back to northern Spain.

The auction takes place on September 5.