A New Image of Anne Boleyn? Re-Creations of the Mysterious Image Under Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I
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This x-ray image of a woman, found hidden underneath a 1580s portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, has fascinated researchers and the public. It’s led many to come to believe that this is a secret image of Elizabeth’s disgraced mother, Anne Boleyn, and that Elizabeth had purposely painted over this image to preserve her mother’s memory. But, is this image really of Anne Boleyn? And if it’s not, who could it be? I’ll reveal a re-creation of this hidden woman, and then we’ll do a little detective work.
0:00 The Hidden Portrait
2:33 Elizabeth’s Relationship with Anne
4:22 The Portrait in Question
5:37 Mystery Woman Revealed & Who Is This
Fifteen years ago, the National Portrait gallery undertook some research for their Making Art in Tudor Britain project. The project revealed some unexpected characters underneath 16th century portraits, using Infrared Reflectography and X-rays.
The image that most interested the researchers was this portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, because it revealed what appeared to be a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman staring out from beneath the layers of paint.
Painting panels were commonly re-used in Tudor times, they were valuable commodities. So was there be a hidden or personal meaning behind the re-use of this specific panel? Could Elizabeth have purposely been trying to preserve an image of her Mother, since so many were destroyed?
Let’s first take a look at the image we see today - This portrait of Queen Elizabeth was painted in the 1580s - and we can tell it’s been altered in multiple layers. Infrared revealed that the bunch of flowers in her hand were painted over what she was originally holding - a snake. Snakes can be emblems of wisdom, but in the religious environment the Tudors lived in, it was likely to be confused for a sign of the Devil. So as a result, it was painted over in the later stages of portrait.
This is another curious detail that connects the portrait to Anne Boleyn, who was famously accused of witchcraft.
When looking under the layers of Elizabeth’s painting, the researchers could see immediately that this hidden portrait was painted by someone highly skilled, but it appeared to be unfinished - only the head and some of the shoulders had been painted. They could make out a French Hood in the image, which is a style that Anne Boleyn was famous for wearing.
I’m going to reveal my re-creation of this woman’s face, and then we’ll see if it looks like the paintings we have of Anne Boleyn.
This re-creation was challenging because this hidden face is somewhat incomplete. We can really only see the right side of her face, so I had to somewhat invent the jawline and ear. While her eyes and hair look dark, It was technically impossible to tell the hair or eye color, because of the nature of radiography like this - it will always be in black and white.
There is certainly some resemblance to Anne Boleyn - I see it especially in this Hever Castle Version.
However, there are quite a few reasons why this is not a portrait of Anne Boleyn.
Upon closer inspection, the style of her clothing is a little too late to be the fashion of Anne’s time. This type of French hood was worn in the 1570s and 80s. Another piece that’s barely visible is what appears to be a ruff - another fashion from about 40 years after Anne’s death.
The best evidence would be to date the panel using dendrochronology, so that’s what the researcher did next. They ultimately found that the wood came from a tree that was cut down between 1572 to 1582, which means that the panel was reused by Elizabeth only a few years after it was made.
Another reason is more emotional - Elizabeth already celebrated Anne Boleyn with her possessions, and had a portrait of Anne on her own finger, in the Chequers ring. She didn’t really need to hide an image of her mother or keep it a secret by this point in England.
So, unless this is a portrait commissioned later, of Anne Boleyn wearing 1580s attire, it’s not her. But then who could it be?
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Thank you all so much for watching :) Who do you think this mystery woman could be?
Margaret Russel 🤔
Despite the evidence you discovered against the image being Anne Boleyn, I think it is visually the closest match I could make out. Thanks, there's a lot of research gone into this!
A very compelling mystery! Obviously I’m not an expert, but to my eye, the mystery woman’s nose shape exactly mirrors Elizabeth’s. It makes more sense to me that the underlying portrait is that of Elizabeth herself, perhaps by a different artist. It was deemed unacceptable and was painted over. That’s my two cents. Thank you for all you do. It is so very fascinating!
Elizabeth would have never covered a rare portrait of her mother. She adored Jane and wouldn’t have hesitated to cover Catherine Howards portrait as her scandalous predecessor 🤷🏼♀️.
@@patriciahyman3527 That's a good observation. That's feasible, too.
I believe it's Anne. It may not make perfect sense but the uncanny likeness can't be ignored. As soon as I saw the recreation, I instantly remembered who it looked like. It was so cool I kinda got the chills. This is really a special find. Anne deserved to be remembered and she is definitely remembered today. With fondness
I agree with you on the reaction of the reveal and it could be her!! it really does resemble almost all paintings that are thought to be of Anne.
I got chills too! I agree, I really do think it's Anne. Someone adding their own twist to a recreation of an older painting.
@@giggle_snort yes!!!!!
How odd..i got that feeling too.. Like i knew instantly it really was her .. very pretty btw
Artists paint over paintings they're not happy with. Maybe the subject didn't pay the artist for his work. Who Knows as there could be many reasons for paintings under paintings.
I know I’ve said this before but I really think that your videos should be shared in schools. Nothing peeks interest more then visualizing the people you’re learning about and taking a break from your teacher. You are truly gifted. I think she looks like Anne.
I completely agree!!!❤
*piques interest
Sorry, I had to.
@kellmac No. You absolutely did not. They were saying something positive and nice. And, there's you with your superiority complex. How about you go touch some grass and read your Oxford Dictionary in silence. Bye
If history lesson were like this in school during my time, I guarantee I would have paid attention and would be one of my favourite classes. But nooo, big old books with a million words were the way to go
@@fk1432 right, would’ve completely changed my outlook
I don’t really have a logical reason why, but something about the Holbein sketch has always stood out to me as being a true likeness of Anne Boleyn. Given that so many portraits of her were destroyed, anything labelled as Anne that looks too like Elizabeth I just makes me think it was painted in retrospect based off EIR.
I love the Holbein sketch and agree with your thoughts about it. :)
@@DevonExplorer it just looks so… quietly ambitious, so perceptive.
I think the Holbein sketch looks the most like this recreation of the painted over lady, too! All the paintings shown looked like they had much longer faces and almost look more like they're stretched vertically by comparison.
I thought that looked more like Anne of Cleves sketch. The cap seems off.
@@margabarr8500Agree, it looks more like Cleeves. I'd even go with Seymour.
To me, personally, it looks more like Anne Boleyn than any of the other examples you've shown. It quite possibly could have been a recreation. I only say this because of the nose. It's virtually the same as other portraits done of Anne by other artists with the exception of Holbein's. Her right eye matches a little bit, but I'm mainly going by the design of the nose. That nose is not similar to any other example you showed other than Anne and possibly the Elizabeth portrait you showed toward the end. That's just what I think.
I do too and Elizabeth had a prominent nose like Anne only if we saw the fingers of the woman that could have helped tell if it Anne since she liked to show them off
Ann’s lower nose area appears to
be hooked outward in the area immediately before the bulb. (The pic of the 2 women together). Maybe it’s a shadow. I’ve read many accounts of QEI’s affection & loyalty toward her sister who allegedly had one or two children by Henry before Ann came along. The son was often with QEI & she did all she could for the sister & daughter. I’m sure there aren’t any portraits of those people for comparison.
HENRY CARREY pos 1/2 brother
I'm confused a little. We don't have any paintings of Anne from her time. We don't know the Hever or any other is accurate. Is it the stance of this channel that they believe one of them is accurate? Sorry to bug you all. Just trying to understand. Have a great day!
@LaPetiteBoulin henry had ordered anything to do with Anne be destroyed unfortunately
@@LaPetiteBoulin well, anything is possible. I wonder if, when the floor was repaired in the chapel, tissue samples were taken. It’s possible because there were 2 female bodies in the vault & there were questions about which was Ann’s & which was Katherine Howard (wife 5).
If there’s saved tissue, there’s a chance that a DNA picture profile could be made. It’s done now in law enforcement with great accuracy.
I love the idea of Elizabeth having her portrait painted over her mothers to preserve or connect with her memory.
A suggestion for the next subject is King Henry VIII, since you have recreated all of his wives I think it would be interesting to see your perspective of his life and creation of his younger and older portraits. Thank you for all your hard work on all the historical subjects, I'm always looking forward to the next video!
Anne but she may have changed the clothes to her time then thought better of showing it so place her picture over it, therefore keeping her mother near.
Why would Elizabeth have a portrait of her mother painting over? If the portrait had survived Henrys purge, Elizabeth wouldve savored it, not destroyed it like this. And why wouldnt she show her mothers picture? Once Elizabeth was Queen, she was legitimized again, as was Anne, there was no longer any reason to hide Anne away, that was solely Henrys persecution to get rid of her in favor of his newest flavor.
Plus, theres the dating of the wooden panel. Sure, it couldve been the painters attempt at recreating a portrait of Anne, but it is highly doubtful. That it should be Anne underneath makes no sense at all and goes against all the available evidence. It was simply a reused panel, they reused panels and canvasses all the time back then.
@@dfuher968 maybe except it’s true there was a tremendous amount of back stabbing ‘camp,’ and Elizabeth stated in her memoirs that were found, she couldn’t trust anyone at court. If that was extreme it’s still keeping mom Anne by laying into and over her her portrait. Memories are invisible not always to be looked at it a photo.
I can't buy that it was painted over "-to preserve" it. What a silly idea! It destroys it, not preserves it. They didn't know about x-rays.
I don't think she's done Jane Seymour but I could be wrong
This mystery person is Elizabeth at 10 years of age. It is a Holbein portrait commissioned by Henry in 1543, who had been reconciled to his children through Katherine Parr. Neck ruffles had only just been introduced into fashion because of the need to protect the throat from contagious diseases. Henry may have feared losing his children to the plague and therefore wanted paintings of them. Unfortunately Holbein died in London in 1543 of the plague before he was able to finish the portrait. So Elizabeth painted over a Holbein image of herself at age 10, that today would be worth an absolutely ridiculous fortune.
I thought the same thing. As soon as I saw it I immediately said Elizabeth when she was young!
The reconstruction nose is straighter than the original, so I think it's very possible
This makes total sense. And that's why the face looks so similar to Anne Boleyn but different as well....they are mother and daughter after all so of course they would favor one another in appearance in so many ways.
But the wood was dated to the 1570’s..how could it be Holbein… or a 10-year old Elizabeth?
@@cheryljacobo7884and its not a 10 yr old face!
I believe that the portrait beneath the one of Elizabeth is Anne. As others have commented, when I saw your recreation of the mystery woman, I got chills. Her features are more lifelike than the others. I could see how Henry would have been bedazzled by her. Fascinating video! Thank you!
I think she was outstandishly ahead of her time , more sophisticated as looks and personalıty. This is why she ended up being labeled as ''witch''.
Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose. As an artist with a history degree myself, I often paint over old works that I don't like anymore or didn't turn out the way I wanted. It saves on materials and I already have a reference to work off of for my next piece.
My Daughter,studied in London and when visiting her I went to The Tower of London where Anne is buried in the chapel there, you can’t help the sadness that overcomes you while there! Henry the 8th was a monster who only believed a son could follow his reign and yet it was Anne’s daughter who would have an historic Reign!
Elizabeth wouldn't have necessarily known about the overpainting...it could have been in the artist's supply
The lady in the portrait might have been a distant cousin of Elizabeth’s. Her Stepmother/Cousin Katherine Howard was not an only child, so the subject might have been a one these individuals or an adult child of one. This would explain the resemblance to Katherine. Without more information all we can do is speculate how the the unfinished portrait became the basis for Elizabeth’s.
I was wondering the same thing! Maybe they didn't like the draft or went in a different direction for the original portrait and the artist reused the half done canvas for Elizabeth's portrait later? Hmmm
This is amazing! I’m curious, do you think it’s possible it was a younger version of Queen Elizabeth herself, redone later, in an updated style, for some unknown reason? While she does look like Anne, in my opinion I instantly saw a resemblance to other paintings of Queen Elizabeth herself. I know you mentioned it but to me she looks closest to both women- which would make sense had she been much younger
It could be! Although the panel was reused only a few years after it was made, so she would be tops 6-8 years younger in the hidden version
Beautiful recreation- whoever she is - thank you for your hard work on these mysteries, it brings these ladies to life ❣️💕
Henry VIII did that twice with his portrait by Meynnart Wewyck! He 'updated' his image.
@@RoyaltyNowStudiosAmazing and interesting video (as always). ^^ I did some research as well cause I was interested too. More so on the panels. It's 2 wooden panels with one being roughly 341mm wide. It's wider than the typical range for Baltic panels which had suggested that it's unlikely that it had been trimmed. You can see the split best at the top near Elizabeth's rose on her headpiece. You can also notice that the woman underneath is perfectly within the larger panel and not cut. So originally she was meant to be on the larger one before the painting of Elizabeth. Sapwood was found on the edges of both panels which came from 2 different trees. Tree rings now. The last tree rings on panel A (left side, front view) are from 1564. Panel B (right side, larger panel) is from 1567. Queen Elizabeth the 1st would've been in her 30's (31-35 y.o.) when they were cut down. Which would fit your suggestion that the original painting might've been done when she was 6-8 yrs younger than the portrait we see in front of us. They said the "first" use of the panels were between 1572-1582 so she would've been roughly 40-50 y.o. I believe the larger panel was used earlier than that. So 6-8 yrs younger respectively she'd be 32-34 or 42-44 y.o. I believe the woman in the background IS Elizabeth perhaps in her image of herself in her early 30's or it was originally painted when she was in her 30's. (Given from when the trees were cut down). Clearly the younger woman was painted by a different artist (who was incredible * I'm speechless). Maybe that artist had died of a sickness and couldn't finish the painting. So another artist combined another panel of the same wood type but of course a new sapwood would be added around the entire 2 panels. So the new artist painted an older Queen Elizabeth in her late 40's early 50's. Elizabeth resembles her mother a lot and her aunt except for her nose. That's why I feel it's Elizabeth in the background too because her nose is the same and her small lips (not really an upper lip). I apologize for the extremely long comment. This was fascinating to look into though. ^^ Thank you.
Yes I thought that too I just think it looks more like a side view of Elizabeth's early portrait in which she wore the French hood ❤
love the amount of research and deep dive you did for this!! it was worth every second❤️❤️❤️ love you royalty now
Love you too :) thank you
Another fascinating video.
To me, painting over a portrait is equivalent to erasing the former, so I would expect it would be of someone with whom Elizabeth had a falling out
I agree! I really thought I was onto something with the Lettice Knollys portrait...but it doesn't look like her at all :( That was about to be some spicy history
Agreed! I think she was making a jab at Lettice Knolly.
My first thought was, could it have been Queen Mary? The timeline might not match. But it was my first thought.
@@jayneharding6546I did too! Oh I'm so glad someone else was thinking it.
@@RoyaltyNowStudios I think that makes a lot of sense that it was someone she didn't like or saw as a rival. If not Lettice Knolly it would be fascinating to know who🤔
This is a simple case of an artist reusing a panel. You keep saying "Elizabeth resued it" but the queen did not choose the wood panels on which artists painted. This painting is also almost certainly not from life, but from a template, and was produced in an artist's workshop to meet the demand for portraits of Elizabeth for the nobility or merchant class who could afford to hang a portrait of the queen in their homes as a way to show their loyalty. Elizabeth did not dit for this painting and almost certainly never saw it.
This is exactly what I was thinking. There's a pretty good chance Elizabeth didn't know the painting was there either.
True but the hidden lady looks too similar to Anne’s sister Mary plus the nose is 100 percent Elizabeth’s nose which would suggest it’s her mother underneath her portrait. Genetically we inherit our parent’s most dominant feature, which often is their nose.
Artists often reuse canvases.
Could it be Anne's sister?
Maybe it’s Mary B
Ah, to be able to go back in time to really see what all of them looked like. That would be so fascinating. I absolutely love what you do with your channel. It's the closest we can get to traveling back in time. I really would love to see what Anne Boleyn truly looked like.
This is why I love Holbein portraits. His subjects look like real human beings who could jump off the page, without any embellishments or heavy stylization. I think they’re one of the best sources out there for what people actually looked like.
I agree, I would love to time travel to see and hear them, and everything about them. Clothes, food, what the castles and palaces looked like in their everyday use
@@AC-th4ci I agree. I think his portraiture was the best during that period of time.
My vote is for an early sketch of Elizabeth! I doubt if Elizabeth herself would have had any say over which canvas was used, I reckon she probably didn’t know/care about the painting underneath. Even if artists re-used canvases regularly, I wonder if they would be wary of which ones they would use as the basis of a portrait of the Queen. They might consider it disrespectful to reuse a portrait of a lady in waiting, let alone a potential rival of the Queen. Barring any religious imagery, I feel like only another portrait which would be appropriate to repurpose would be of Elizabeth herself. Great video, looking forward to watching your others!
If it was painted over, it seems logical to me that it would be someone Elizabeth didn’t like, or that the artist deemed less important, or the lady couldn’t, or didn’t want to, finish the portrait. Disease was rife in those times, let alone the dangers of childbirth. So I think either Elizabeth either loved this lady, and wasn’t averse to keeping her close, or she hated the lady, and covering her with her own portrait, was a kind of snarky, “I won”, victory symbol.
Good thought......🤔
Could it be Katherine Grey or Mary Grey, the sisters of Lady Jane Grey? Or Lady Jane Grey herself? I thought it looked a bit like Lady Jane Grey.
Very interesting indeed! I think that the most reliable portrait of Ann Boleyn is the one found in Queen Elizabeth's ring. In my opinion, the hidden portrait resembles Catherine Howard a lot!
I think the same thing, she does resemble Catherine Howard.
I live near to Hever castle and have been there several times. It’s beautiful and sad. To me it is Anne. Beautifully done.
holy moley. got absolute chills at that reveal
My immediate reaction to the recreation was that it looked like Catherine Howard. Perhaps this lady is a Boleyn/Howard relative? They had many. The nose looks very similar to Elizabeth in the x-ray image.
Yes, the nose is the most telling feature. It curves downward noticeably.
I had the same thought - someone of the Howard family. I immediately as well thought it is Cathrine at first glance.
You make History real. Tangible, available, relatable and put it in a context that is accessible in a modern world...thank you for your work. Invaluable.
She's beautiful. In my humble opinion, she was probably some noble lady who passed away before the artist could finish her portrait (or maybe fell on hard times and couldn't pay to have it completed?). The artist would have painted over it because it would have been less expensive when he did Elizabeth's portrait later. It's amazing to see a real person from back then even if we don't know her name for sure, with such a realistic face. Thanks so much, I look forward to your videos!
For me, it think it may be Anne Boleyn. The features appeared closest to hers when looking through the other comparisons you presented. A theory as to why it may have been used (though possibly wrong 😅) could have dealt with knowing the images of her mother were being destroyed and she saved that one and had her own image painted over it, possibly in a thought of protecting something of her mother’s. Granted, I acknowledge she would have had no idea we would ever be able to see the image below, but possibly at that time it was her own subtle way of protecting and keeping something of her mother close to her. She would have probably known what it looked like prior so each time she would have seen the art of herself, instead of seeing herself she would see her mother.
Oh I love that theory. Could be. 🤔
She was only a toddler when her mother died. By the time she had the portrait painted there would have been no need for secrecy. I personally think its Catherine Howard and Elizabeth merely re-used a panel that didn't really mean much to her
What a fantastic art detective story.
Thank you! I had a great time researching it :)
Your research is impeccable. We all appreciate that when you don't know, you say so, and invite your audience to add their thoughts as to whom an unidentified person might be.
I may have missed some relevant information, but is it possible it was a portrait of Elizabeth herself which she disapproved of and insisted be redone? Perhaps she had a personality conflict with the artist and did not want reminders of him in her home. We can speculate all day long, but whoever it was, your re-creation reveals an alluring beauty.
Honestly, when you first showed your recreation, it reminded me so much of Catherine Howard, though I don’t think it’s her. The resemblance is uncanny, though.
Catherine 's daughter?
@@33DancingRainDrops she didn’t have one.
I think so too. I immediately thought of Catherine Howard.
Anne and Catherine were first cousins, maybe there was some resemblance
I've always preferred the Hever Castle portrait. Your recreation really seems to jive with that particular painting of Anne. Well done.
Excellent! Your recreations are beautiful and your voice is so soothing to hear. Impressed with the info you found during research. Thank you for this.
Before I even saw your recreation, I felt it looked very much like Anne. When I saw your recreation, I got goosebumps! Imo, this is Anne Boleyn. Thank you for doing so much research! I’m thrilled with this finding!
I can't tell you how excited I am to see this video!!! I absolutely scoured the web to find any cases for this painting and xray and there are so few. I love this channel and all the wonderful work you do!!
Damn I was hoping it was some secret Anne Boleyn painting that had survived. 🥰😊
Me too :(
I think it is a portrait of Anne Boleyn which was painted after her death. The ressemblance with the Hever Castle portrait is amazing (especially the eyes and the long nose). It doesn't surprise me that it ressembles Catherine Howard, too, as she was a close relative of Anne.
From what I have learned over many years is that the painting shown is likely not of Anne Boleyn. The experts just don’t know. Thank for another interesting video.
Someone said a younger version of Elizabeth and I think yes, look at the nose, which has a hook. It's a beautiful face and Elizabeth was a beauty.
I thought that also, but the lips are too full for it to be Elisabeth
Putting a lot of faith in comparison portraits being accurate likenesses for ruling out matches, especially given how different the Anne Boleyn portraits look. But a fun and intriguing video, as always. 🙂👍
That was my thought. It's so hard to fully trust the features in these portraits, between stylization, skill & flattery. Something that really stands out (ex. a hooked nose) might be enough to rule someone out, but otherwise? Hard to say.
Incredible I got chills watching the recreation!
Hello, I just recently started watching your channel, and as an artist I can say I love what you do. I went back and watched some of your videos a couple years old, and great to see the evolution of your channel. So it’s great to see how you are recreating these images, but also how you recreate yourself as you go. Great work. I will continue to watch and enjoy. Thank you
I do not believe the image is a 10 year old girl. It is so difficult to determine what they really looked like but whoever is, the artist appears to be very gifted. Those eyes are striking.
I have to wonder at subtle messages, sent from the artists, who painted over one piece of art for another. I am an artist and I've re-used canvases (they can be expensive!). Though, as a landscape artist, the opportunity for messages to the future is, sadly, limited. Thank you for this video and all your work. It was very interesting. I watched it before I'd even fixed my morning coffee and there are very few channels that produce that kind of anticipation, in me.
Fantastic job turning a barely-visible shadow into a lifelike image! Respect for your hard work!
I absolutely love your channel and recommended to everybody I know. I love the idea of combining history with the artistic expression. If history could be this amazing in school, imagine how excited and engaged children would be.
Super fascinating, thanks for your hard work and research!
In my opinion the picture inside is Ann Boleyn. Your recreation is beautiful. The clothing period could have been changed to throw off in case someone discovered her secret.
I can honestly say this is going to drive me nuts. I also think it looks a bit like Catherine Howard, but I also had wondered if it could be somehow be Mary Queen of Scotts. It's just too exciting in any case.
I also said Mary queen of Scots
I doubt it but ooooh that would be incredible!
I did think mary BUT Mary never wore French hoods in Scotland. Coifs or hat s
These are my favourite videos , always amazingly done
Fascinating! I loved this so much. You are so talented. Wow, how talented. I don't have a bit of it in me so I admire yours so much. Much respect. Thank you so much. This was great with my morning coffee.
I love when we walk away with questions because the comment section is always exploding with great ideas lol!
I'm convinced that it's Lady Jane Grey. Comparing this woman to your recreation of Lady Jane, they look remarkably similar
These are such a joy to watch. Thank you
I cant get enough of your stories of the past and the recreations and the music.
I know it sounds crazy, but could it be that someone commissioned a portrait for Elizabeth of Anne, looking as though she was still alive? A well meaning gift that ended up being in poor taste, and scrapped? Just like your recreations in modern dress, could this have been a recreation for Anne? Makes one wonder....
Oh I like this theory!
Despite the evidence you discovered against the image being Anne Boleyn, I think it is visually the closest match I could make out. Thanks, there's a lot of research gone into this!
Wow!! Your work is so amazing. Thank you! ❤
I always feel a zing of emotion when you reveal your recreations. They are so beautiful!
It could be a picture of young Elizabeth. The Queen hated getting older and it is mot unreasonable to suggest that she had this portrait over painted to hide/destroy images of her youth.
To me it looks like Catherine Howard, so when I saw you saying it does indeed look like her, I was shocked 😂 Good job, I love your channel!
Thank you SO much. As usual, your work is outstanding!
Ok wow, more of these kinds of videos please!!! While I love the long informative videos, this is probably one of my new favourites amongst your videos! Keep it up :) (also, I don’t know if you take suggestions, but I would love to see a video on Wu Zetian)
Gosh I thought it was Katherine Howard too! But yeah, the clothes aren't right... I wouldn't know if there were any other Howard cousins at court at the time (laziness, sorry haha) but that's my headcanon :3
This was fascinating to watch. Thank you for all of your hard work on your channel! ♡
Beautifully done Patricia
Very interesting video. Thank you.
Another fantastic video! Like others here, I look forward to your videos and love when one pops up in my email inbox. I don't want to muddy any waters, and of course there's probably no way of ever proving it, but perhaps Elizabeth had given birth to a daughter and this painting was commissioned by Elizabeth as a way of keeping her daughter close in mind since she couldn't physically? It's entirely possible the girl could have looked very similar to Anne yet appears in updated clothing styles. Elizabeth wouldn't have wanted her daughter to go through what she had gone through as Queen... the intrigue, the assassination fears, the inability to marry for love, etc. so the daughter was lost to history. All fun conjecture to go with such a marvelously told mystery!!!
I mean there was quite a few women who influenced Elizabeth's life. As much as it is implied that Elizabeth loved her mother, she already had a portrait of her hidden in her locket ring. There was also Catherine Parr, who inspired Elizabeth when it came to education, and theology. Anna of Cleves could be an option too, since she also adored her children long after the annulment. But if the portrait was hidden under another portrait it is hinted that the woman in the portrait was meant to be erased and forgotten, much like Anne Boleyn. Catherine Parr was not as scandalous in her life, until of course she married Thomas Seymour, and Anna of Cleves was a fine lady with a good reputation, so there would be no reason for their portraits to be hidden. I think that it was Katherine Howard. She was after all a cousin of Anne Boleyn's and accounts do say that she referred to Elizabeth as her kin. And her execution had a big impact on Elizabeth, and probably opened up some old wounds for her, when it came to how similar it was to her own mother's. It was rumored that she was one of the contributing reasons to why Elizabeth remained unmarried. So I do believe that it was Katherine Howard, as a testament from Elizabeth to show that she never forgot her, or her mother's side of the family.
Well presented
Awesome research. Much respect.
To me, she resembles her mom, Anne Boleyn. Many of her portraits were destroyed, yes, but maybe Anne wanted to be side by side with her mom, to be close to her.
The amount of time and effort you put into these videos is to be commended. Anne has always been a personal hero of mine. She went to her death innocent of the crimes she was accused of.
I know I’m late to this video but I’m a new subscriber who is obsessed with your brilliant work! I wonder if this could possibly be an incomplete portrait of Lady Jane Grey? I know the wood dates later, but there was another portrait made of her around the late 1500’s. Just a thought.
Fascinating, love the way you use your time!
Also, at this point, I feel my pulse rise markedly whenever you say the word "now"😅 Classical conditioning!
I can see this being Catherine Howard, especially given the resemblance. Rather than being deliberately painted over on order of Elizabeth, here's what I think is a more likely scenario. A royal painter was in the process of painting a portrait of Katherine when she fell out of favor. The artist quickly painted over the partially finished panel, and chucked it in a storeroom. Years later, the less talented artist painting Elizabeth, working out of the same studio, found the old panel sitting in storage and repurposed it for the new painting of the queen.
That makes a lot of sense. She looks like Catherine Howard.
Wow, I had never heard of this! But I dont think it is Anne. Perhaps a lady who fell out of favour? Like the two remaining Grey sisters perhaps. An other spicy candidate would be Mary queen of Scots. Although I do not believe it is her. My best bet is Katherine or Mary Grey.
Intriguing possibilities. Thank you Royalty Now for the bonus sleuthing!
Amazing reconstruction!
I was wondering if it could be her cousin Mary Queen of Scotland?? This is definitely a fascinating mystery.
I could understand why a princess Elizabeth would try to hide a painting of her mother. But I don't see that coming from her as a Queen. There was nothing left to hide after her father passed away. But it does look like we're talking about a Howard...
I love your recreation! :)
Sometimes things don’t make sense. I’m so in love with how you share! I believe it’s her though (Anne) or Catherine.
If you’ve studied Anne for 20 years you can look and know. Sometimes these things don’t make sense. It has Anne’s features on a more basic level: commanding eyes, resemblance to Elizabeth, dark eyes that can command room, the long nose, etc. I think its her or Catherine Howard & I agree the resemblance to Katherine is striking. You’re the best. I’ve been a retoucher for almost two decades & have also studied Anne for same. I’ve even sculptured and digitally recreated her myself from the ring portrait. You’re the best recreator there is. Compare the portrait of this possible Anne to your other recreations of her x
Ooh this should be interesting
Or could it be just the painter reusing an unpaid portrait and not actually connected to Queen Elizabeth 🤔
Definitely - could be a total coincidence
Always great to watch yourvideoa, thank you ❤
I absolutely loved this, fascinating to watch the process. ❤
I can't remember her name, and I don't know much about the title she held but there was a woman that was very close to Elizabeth I who had the title called the Gentlewoman. I came across this years ago there was even a portrait. from what i can remember the woman was dressed in male courtley fashion but her features had some similarities.
I was told by my mother that I am a direct descendant of Ann Bolyn. I think this picture does look extremely close to resemble Ann. It's very interesting, and I would love to find out more about this! My name is Marla Roach. My mother's maiden name was Dorothy Joan Laux. She has her name in The Book of Yale, and told me some things about my ancestors, including Ann Bolyn being a part of my history. It would be great to find out what truth, if any, is in my history! I will follow your stories to hear more about Ann Bolyn. Ty
Certainly not direct as Anne only had one surviving child, Elizabeth and Elizabeth didn’t have children right? Maybe a direct descendant of George or Mary, Anne’s siblings? Either way that’s very cool!
Yay! Was just studying her! Thank you!!!!!🎉🎉
Those were difficult days, court life was treacherous even for a Queen. When you first revealed your artistic reconstruction, I immediately saw Anne. The facial comparison between Elizabeth and her mother Anne is impossible to get any kind of perspective since there isn't any rendition of Elizabeth as a young woman, and we can only guess their likeness. How I love your videos, Thank you.
I sincerely hope it is Anne, only because I want to romanticize it. She deserved so much better and her daughter knew it. This looks like a beautiful tribute to a beautiful queen.
Fascinating re-creation!!! ❤️👏❤️
Two thoughts.
1. Started earlier and never completed. Artist reused canvas.
2. Artist started to paint younger Elizabeth and she corrected him.
The thought of preserving her mother's image is sweet, but I think you're right that she already did that. Seems more likely it was reused for practical reasons.
Acho incrível o fato de se descobrir desenhos por baixo de pinturas, imagine quantas outras obras guardam esse tipo de segredo. Obrigado por sua pesquisa e vídeo.❤👏
She is stunning. When I met her eyes I felt the touch of a real, living human being brought to life through your art.
So interesting and close to her portrait. Wonderful work, as always! I trust the Holbein drawings the most. He did obfuscate with Ann of Cleves, but not, I think, with Anne.
The image behind is so well done, it could be mistaken for a photograph rather than a painting - the eyes are perfect, not the same as most of the portraits of that era made everyone's eyes look like they were related! It's quite eerie, staring at us from behind the other portrait.
For me the whole x-ray thing was quite creepy. Not because theres a hidden painting but the way there are 2 people staring at us
Jane Grey? I know thats far out there as the timelines once again doesn't match up, they look a lot alike. Thought I'd mention it. All of these ladies are very beautiful, classic natural beauties in fact, thank you so much for the time and effort you put into your work to share these special works of art with us in these modern advanced times. God Bles You and your good work! have a nice day and be safe love and litebrite!
Fascinating inquiry.
What a cool video...and discovery! I think it is accurate. Love it!
So beautiful!