Anne Boleyn's Re-constructed Face Revealed, with History
2,541,653
Published 2022-01-06
Narration & Art: Becca Segovia
Writing, Editing & Music Direction: Andre Segovia
What did Anne Boleyn really look like? After Anne Boleyn’s death, her image was essentially erased from England. The palace walls which once held the initials, H and A, are struck. Her portraits are painted over or destroyed. What we have left of her image is through posthumous portraits - potential copies of copies of a lost original.
We do have one agreed-upon contemporary image, and that is a portrait medal, referred to as the “Moost Happi” medal, that was struck during her lifetime, probably to celebrate her second pregnancy and the upcoming birth of a son. I’ll compare each postulated portrait of Anne to the coin throughout the video to see which match the best.
Anne Boleyn’s body has never been officially exhumed. It was hastily buried at the chapel of St. Peter Ad Vincula, adjacent to the tower, in an old Elm box. Her exact burial spot, under the tiles of the chapel, is unknown. The bones were then examined by a Dr. Mouat. He confirmed that the skeleton was that of a woman between 25 and thirty, with a delicate frame. She was of slender proportions, with a small lower jaw. She also had particularly small vertebrae - Lending credence to the story that she had a “little Neck”, and small, tapered hands and feet. She was between five feet and five foot three. All of these findings match up with the physical descriptions we have of Anne, but there is a possibility the bones are not Anne’s but rather Lady Rochfords or Queen Catherine Howard’s, who were also buried hastily near the same spot.
I've created two brand new portraits - one from the proposed Holbein Sketch, and another from her National Portrait Gallery image, which is thought by many to be potentially the most accurate.
0:00 Introduction
0:52 The Life of Anne Boleyn
11:11 What did Anne Boleyn look like?
12:51 The Body of Anne Boleyn
13:56 Portrait Comparisons - Which is the most accurate?
18:42 Recreation Reveals
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Sources and further reading:
queenanneboleyn.com/2015/04/28/la-jeune-anne-boley…
www.theanneboleynfiles.com/leonardo-da-vincis-bole…
englishhistory.net/tudor/anne-boleyn-physical-desc…
onthetudortrail.com/Blog/anne-boleyn/anne-boleyns-….
www.theanneboleynfiles.com/the-holbein-sketch-is-i…
theanneboleynfiles.com/anne-boleyn-portraits-which-is-the-true-face-of-anne-boleyn/
blogicarian.blogspot.com/2018/07/voices-of-early-e…
The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives
onthetudortrail.com/Blog/2011/04/21/where-is-anne-…
www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/16/anne-boley…
All Comments (21)
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This really humanizes a woman that was vilified so harshly. This was so amazing.
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It makes my heart happy to see recreations of Anne with a smile. History has made her into a harlot and home wrecker, but has forgotten how intriguing and intelligent she was. She is finally being seen in a kinder light.
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What kills me is, somewhere in England or possibly France, in some dark, dusty, forgotten corner of an attic is a contemporary painting of her. She was loved and hated, but those that loved her, even having to appear that they didn't, would have secretly kept SOMETHING of hers. Her family hid something somewhere. Not at Hever but at one of their other houses.
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There’s something about seeing what someone may have looked like that lived 500 years ago that is just so entirely fascinating to me. Very good job! Thank you! ❤
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There’s something radiant about her smiling. You really hit the ball out of the park with this…ABSOLUTELY STUNNING
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This actually made me cry at the end. She was so beautiful and unique looking. What a tragic life...Great job on this video.
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Beyond gorgeous. And a brilliantly educated woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. They were afraid of her potential power and influence- and it’s so beautiful that Elizabeth took after her mother and proved that women can successfully lead.
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I found myself subconsciously and uncontrollably smiling from your renditions of Anne. Thank you so very much for your work and talent that brings to us so relatable images of people that we do consider from time to time.
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U know... i cried while seeing the recreations with her smile!... Whatever her haters may say, she didnt deserve such an end. Thank u for posting this video.
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I often think of her as one of the documented cases of extreme domestic violence and betrayal. May she rest in peace
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Yes, Anne was portrayed as home wrecking force for Henry. It is written she was very smart speaking several languges and as you mentioned her independence was an issue with Henry. This is a great portrayal of her and it shows her beauty. No wonder Henry noticed her. Great job!!!!
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I I believe that the Holbein sketch portrays Anne the best. The written description of her having a “wide mouth” and black eyes is captured by Holbein in that sketch, as well as her individualistic look. Holbein was a talented sketch artist, not a hack who relied upon the safer, more carituristic artistic patterns typical of that time period. He had come to England for a brief time to do Royal portraitures and to make his name. I think that you can discount the national portrait Gallery pieces because it was an artistic convention by Royal portraitists of that time period to show all royal women with tiny “bow” mouths. For that reason, I think that they are the least accurate portraits of Anne.
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seeing her smile, especially the one at 19:15 choked me up, she was so radiant and beautiful and truly did not deserve the end she got. fantastic work on the portraits! ♥
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As a Catholic I have always been an admirer of Anne Boleyn. Ever since I was a small child and saw "Anne of the Thousand Days" in 1970. She is my favorite Queen of all of Henry's wives.
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I’m an Portrait artist myself and have studied the Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn story religiously. Personally, I feel the Hans Holbein portraits are true portraits of Anne done in her lifetime. I think they survived Henry’s rampage and destruction of her likenesses, because they were merely sketches Holbein did likely to prepare for the oil portraits. Maybe they were stashed away somewhere. The others are merely copies…IMAGINED. IMO
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Let’s say these portraits are close to the actual Anne, I can see why people were mesmerized by her. Her smile is infectious.
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I live extremely close to Hampton Court Palace and, no matter how many times I attend, I never fail to be taken back in time. Along a wooden beam are the carved initials of HT(Henry Tudor) and AB. They extend along the beam and then come to a sudden stop. The magnificent portraits “Artist unknown and subject unknown”. One can only imagine who these people, long gone, once were. To have a modern day likeness of Anne is quite remarkable. I can now put a face into history and also those initials. Diolch yn fawr hi 🏴 Thank you very much
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Anne Boleyn is actually my distant cousin. It’s cool knowing more about her and finding things in common. She was treated so unfairly…
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Her eyes in all 3 renderings show they were her best feature. You can tell by her eyes she was incredibly intelligent and lively.
