Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 17 minutes ago
Is the most famous portrait of Anne Boleyn actually a picture of her daughter, Elizabeth I? That’s the explosive new theory from Dr Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey in their book, Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn, released through Hever Castle, Anne Boleyn’s childhood home, in February 2026.
The argument is that while this portrait, which is held in the National Portrait Gallery in London, was always intended to be used to represent Anne Boleyn (she is wearing a B pendant in it after all) the face pattern was modelled on Elizabeth I and so the question of what did Anne Bolyen look like, is still much more up in the air than previously thought. The painting has been dated to 1584 or later using dendrochronology and Emmerson and McCaffrey argue that for political reasons, at a time when Elizabeth’s throne was under increasing attack at home and abroad, her legitimacy was in doubt and she was past childbearing, it was deemed politic to make her look like her mother as well as like other members of her family, like her half-sister and paternal great grandfather, Edward IV and as such, the same face pattern (that of Elizabeth) was used to create portraits of her extended family in the 1580s, all by the same artist. Does this intriguing theory hold water though? Join me in this episode of History Calling as I delve into the evidence presented in this book and explain whether or not I find it convincing and why. If true, this theory would completely reshape how we see Anne Boleyn and her portraiture and leave us with even fewer images of her which we can trust. That said, the book also claims to have identified a previously unknown image of Anne Boleyn from her lifetime, a claim which I’ll also examine.
In addition, I’ll examine how the National Portrait Gallery painting of Anne Boleyn compare to others we have of Henry VIII’s second wife, including the famous Moost Happi medal, created in 1534 (until now the only contemporary image we have of Anne Boleyn and still the best), the Chequer’s Ring, made in c. 1575 and depicting her alongside her daughter and Hever Castle’s Anne Boleyn rose portrait, so called because she holds a red rose in it and now properly dated for the first time using dendrochronology.
If you love Tudor art history, the history of the Tudor royal family or stories about the life of Anne Boleyn, this is the video for you.
#AnneBoleyn #AnneBoleynPortrait #QueenAnneBoleyn
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF ANNE BOLEYN’S ONLY AUTHENTIC IMAGE | WHAT IS THE MOOST HAPPI MEDAL OF 1534?
youtu.be/8x4W2gYrmHg
DOES THE CHEQUERS’ RING SHOW A PORTRAIT OF ANNE BOLEYN AND ELIZABETH I
youtu.be/hvgl1Wbjw1I
IS PORTRAIT OF KATHERINE HOWARD ACTUALLY ANNE OF CLEVES?
youtu.be/G8vm7FtdtXE
DOES THIS HOLBEIN DRAWING SHOW ANNE BOLEYN?
youtu.be/4ZX3tMcLo7c
Has a LOST PORTRAIT of Anne Boleyn been found?
youtu.be/EsUGXO9wieA
THE BIRTH OF ANNE BOLEYN
youtu.be/iA_9SM0UTyw
ANNE BOLEYN’S B NECKLACE
youtu.be/RrODYM4mRdM
DID ANNE BOLEYN HAVE A PSEUDO PREGNANCY IN 1534? youtube.com/watch?v=fTCTzd4IG9s
ANNE BOLEYN’S LAST LETTER
youtu.be/PZHvxGetth8
ANNE BOLEYN’S EXECUTION: HOLLYWOOD VS HISTORY youtu.be/gBczwBsGCqM
ANNE BOLEYN’S EXECUTION OUTFIT
youtu.be/N-uSu7zY_m4
LEARN MORE:
Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey, Capturing a Queen: the image of Anne Boleyn (2026)
shop.hevercastle.co.uk/products/capturing-a-queen
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005)
amzn.to/3xLivgr
Susan Bordo, The Creation of Anne Boleyn: In Search of the Tudors' Most Notorious Queen (One World Publications, 2014)
amzn.to/3zznLY1
Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger, In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn (2013)
amzn.to/2W9oJct
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009)
amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
amzn.to/3wImKIh
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
Blue Yeti Microphone: amzn.to/3FgEDYq
Go-Pro Hero 13 camera: amzn.to/41H4Xnt
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Is the most famous portrait of Anne Boleyn actually a picture of her daughter, Elizabeth I? That’s the explosive new theory from Dr Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey in their book, Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn, released through Hever Castle, Anne Boleyn’s childhood home, in February 2026.
The argument is that while this portrait, which is held in the National Portrait Gallery in London, was always intended to be used to represent Anne Boleyn (she is wearing a B pendant in it after all) the face pattern was modelled on Elizabeth I and so the question of what did Anne Bolyen look like, is still much more up in the air than previously thought. The painting has been dated to 1584 or later using dendrochronology and Emmerson and McCaffrey argue that for political reasons, at a time when Elizabeth’s throne was under increasing attack at home and abroad, her legitimacy was in doubt and she was past childbearing, it was deemed politic to make her look like her mother as well as like other members of her family, like her half-sister and paternal great grandfather, Edward IV and as such, the same face pattern (that of Elizabeth) was used to create portraits of her extended family in the 1580s, all by the same artist. Does this intriguing theory hold water though? Join me in this episode of History Calling as I delve into the evidence presented in this book and explain whether or not I find it convincing and why. If true, this theory would completely reshape how we see Anne Boleyn and her portraiture and leave us with even fewer images of her which we can trust. That said, the book also claims to have identified a previously unknown image of Anne Boleyn from her lifetime, a claim which I’ll also examine.
In addition, I’ll examine how the National Portrait Gallery painting of Anne Boleyn compare to others we have of Henry VIII’s second wife, including the famous Moost Happi medal, created in 1534 (until now the only contemporary image we have of Anne Boleyn and still the best), the Chequer’s Ring, made in c. 1575 and depicting her alongside her daughter and Hever Castle’s Anne Boleyn rose portrait, so called because she holds a red rose in it and now properly dated for the first time using dendrochronology.
If you love Tudor art history, the history of the Tudor royal family or stories about the life of Anne Boleyn, this is the video for you.
#AnneBoleyn #AnneBoleynPortrait #QueenAnneBoleyn
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF ANNE BOLEYN’S ONLY AUTHENTIC IMAGE | WHAT IS THE MOOST HAPPI MEDAL OF 1534?
youtu.be/8x4W2gYrmHg
DOES THE CHEQUERS’ RING SHOW A PORTRAIT OF ANNE BOLEYN AND ELIZABETH I
youtu.be/hvgl1Wbjw1I
IS PORTRAIT OF KATHERINE HOWARD ACTUALLY ANNE OF CLEVES?
youtu.be/G8vm7FtdtXE
DOES THIS HOLBEIN DRAWING SHOW ANNE BOLEYN?
youtu.be/4ZX3tMcLo7c
Has a LOST PORTRAIT of Anne Boleyn been found?
youtu.be/EsUGXO9wieA
THE BIRTH OF ANNE BOLEYN
youtu.be/iA_9SM0UTyw
ANNE BOLEYN’S B NECKLACE
youtu.be/RrODYM4mRdM
DID ANNE BOLEYN HAVE A PSEUDO PREGNANCY IN 1534? youtube.com/watch?v=fTCTzd4IG9s
ANNE BOLEYN’S LAST LETTER
youtu.be/PZHvxGetth8
ANNE BOLEYN’S EXECUTION: HOLLYWOOD VS HISTORY youtu.be/gBczwBsGCqM
ANNE BOLEYN’S EXECUTION OUTFIT
youtu.be/N-uSu7zY_m4
LEARN MORE:
Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey, Capturing a Queen: the image of Anne Boleyn (2026)
shop.hevercastle.co.uk/products/capturing-a-queen
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005)
amzn.to/3xLivgr
Susan Bordo, The Creation of Anne Boleyn: In Search of the Tudors' Most Notorious Queen (One World Publications, 2014)
amzn.to/3zznLY1
Sarah Morris and Natalie Grueninger, In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn (2013)
amzn.to/2W9oJct
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009)
amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
amzn.to/3wImKIh
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
Blue Yeti Microphone: amzn.to/3FgEDYq
Go-Pro Hero 13 camera: amzn.to/41H4Xnt
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
