The painting that could finally prove Anne Boleyn's 'sixth finger' was a MYTH: Infrared scan reveals hidden detail in a 400-year-old portrait of King Henry VIII's second wife

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A 400–year–old painting could finally prove that Anne Boleyn's 'sixth finger' was nothing more than a vicious rumour.

During and after her lifetime, Henry VIII's second wife was hounded by accusations that she was a witch with an 'unnatural' extra finger.

Now, an infrared scan of the famous 'Rose' portrait has revealed that the painting was deliberately altered to dispel these rumours.

Curators say they have pinpointed the moment the artist 'went rogue' to clearly show the queen's hands – without any additional fingers.

During the Tudor period, portraits weren't based on the real subject, but rather on pre–approved likenesses called patterns.

The Rose portrait held at Hever Castle, Boleyn's childhood home, is unique in that the artist veered away from the standard pattern halfway through the work.

Hever Castle's assistant curator, Dr Owen Emmerson, told the Daily Mail that this choice was a 'clear visual rebuttal to that slander'.

Dr Emmerson adds: 'By carefully reworking Anne's image, including the deliberate addition of her hands, it visually rejects hostile myths and reasserts Anne Boleyn as a legitimate, dignified queen.'

Infrared scans (right) of the famous Rose portrait of Anne Boleyn (left) finally dispel the myth that Henry VIII's second wife had a sixth finger 

Anne Boleyn was Queen of England for just three years between 1533 and 1536 before her husband, Henry VIII, had her executed for treason.

Her only daughter to survive infancy, Elizabeth I, would become the longest–reigning monarch of the House of Tudor after taking the throne in 1558.

However, Boleyn was the target of persistent slander intended to both justify the accusations of treason and to discredit Elizabeth I's claim to the throne.

Chief amongst these claims was the idea that she practised witchcraft, evidenced by the fact that she was 'physically unnatural' and had six fingers.

There are no surviving portraits of Boleyn from her lifetime, with all the existing likenesses having been copied from earlier works.

These standardised facial patterns were originally drawn from life and could be reused in workshops.

However, the standard 'B' pattern used for portraits of Anne Boleyn never shows her hands.  

Now, an analysis of the Hever Castle painting has revealed an unusual detail 'hidden beneath layers of paint for centuries'.

Unlike most paintings of Anne Boleyn (left), the Rose portrait is unusual in that it chooses to show the Queens hands. Using infrared scanning (right), researchers found that this choice had been made after the painting was started 

This infrared scan shows the original sketch did not intend to include the hands, with this detail being painted over the top at a later point 

Hever Castle commissioned research on the Hever Rose portrait from the Hamilton Kerr Institute, which is part of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

The researchers used an imaging technique called infrared reflectography, which allows them to see through layers of paint that would normally be impenetrable to the human eye.

Infrared light will pass through most layers of paint until it hits something absorbent or is reflected to the camera.

Since carbon–based black pigments are extremely absorbent of infrared light, this technique will often reveal the original sketch – known as underdrawing – beneath the paint.

This process revealed that the artist behind the Rose portrait made a sudden and dramatic change of plans.

Dr Emmerson says: 'This preliminary design was laid down with confident, continuous lines, indicating that it was transferred from a pre–existing pattern rather than drawn freehand.'

In this design, Boleyn's hands extend downwards and disappear beneath the bottom edge of the panel, as they do in all the standard 'B' pattern portraits of the queen.

'At a later stage, however, the artist altered this plan. Anne's hands were added in, cutting across the earlier design,' says Dr Emmerson.

Experts say that the hands were added during the reign of Anne Boleyn's daughter, Elizabeth I, specifically to fight the rumours of her sixth finger and support Elizabeth's claim to be the legitimate queen 

The scientists then turned to the oak panel on which the portrait is made, using a type of tree ring analysis called dendrochronology.

This dates the portrait to 1583, making it the oldest dated portrait of Boleyn, and placing it firmly within the reign of Elizabeth I.

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The curators, therefore, suggest that someone had ordered the artist to reintroduce Boleyn's hands to fight the persistent rumour of her additional finger.

Dr Emmerson says: 'When Elizabeth came to the throne and remained unmarried, Catholic propaganda seized on her mother's reputation to undermine her authority, frequently portraying Anne as morally corrupt or even 'witch–like'.

'In response, Elizabeth worked to restore her mother's status, formally recognising her as queen by act of parliament and adopting Anne's symbols and emblems as her own. This portrait forms part of that broader campaign.'

The Rose portrait is one of several images of Boleyn which will be displayed in the new exhibition, Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn, open at Hever Castle and Gardens from February 11 until January 2, 2027.