Is this the real face of Anne Boleyn?

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Is this the real face of Anne Boleyn? 13 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Harriet Bradshaw Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust A computer science team believe this unidentified woman could in fact be Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn won the heart of King Henry VIII, gave birth to one of the country's most well-known monarchs, and lost her head in 1536 - but her appearance has continued to challenge art historians and online sleuths. Now a computer science team believes they have discovered a previously unknown sketch of Boleyn by using facial recognition on a famous collection of Tudor portraits.

Boleyn became Henry VIII's second wife in 1533, but her reign was short-lived: approximately three years. She was accused of adultery, incest and treason and was executed. All the painted portraits that exist of her were made after her lifetime, creating a mystery around what she actually looked like and making her appearance the subject of fascination and debate for centuries.

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The research team, led by the University of Bradford, says the new discovery is "exciting" and the methodology could be replicated to do more art detective work. But there is scepticism from within the art history community over the findings. National Portrait Gallery, London An Elizabethan portrait of Boleyn "We don't have a lifetime painted portrait of her that's absolutely secure, a wonderful painting that we can use as a reference point," says Dr Charlotte Bolland, a senior curator for research and 16th-Century collections at the National Portrait Gallery - who is independent from the new study.

"Her reign wasn't necessarily long enough for an established iconography… and there is this tantalising suggestion that perhaps some of her images might have been deliberately destroyed. " Although there are no known surviving paintings made in her lifetime, there are a handful of lifelike, yet contested, depictions left. Including this preparatory sketch with her name on it.

Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust The computer science team believe this sketch was mislabelled and that this portrait actually depicts Anne Boleyn's mother, Elizabeth née Howard It exists within a precious collection of drawings of Tudor court members by the masterful artist Hans Holbein the Younger, now held by the Royal Collection Trust. Many modern art historians, such as Dr Bendor Grosvenor, accept the label on this drawing is correct and that it is a surviving contemporary likeness of her. But there is a counter argument, which claims it was mislabelled.

Despite these opposing theories, what is widely believed, based on written evidence, is that the collection of Holbein drawings does indeed contain a portrait of Anne Boleyn - somewhere. Enter facial recognition: can it resolve the debate, pulling out the true image from the collection, with no human bias and by ignoring existing labels?

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.