The woman who won the heart of a king, and in doing so triggered a tumultuous upheaval in English history, is wearing a simple coif, or undercap, and furred gown. Some historians have suggested that this could be a nightgown Henry VIII is known to have given her. If so, then Hans Holbein the Younger has brought us into Anne Boleyn’s private chambers.
The queen, in profile, appears lost in thought, her brown eyes looking down, her mind perhaps far away as the great court painter scrutinises her. With her hair tucked up under the tight cap that, to our modern eyes at least, is hardly glamorous, and with her rather weak chin, this woman who so captivated the king that he broke with Rome
