Hip to be square: Anne Boleyn’s neckline inspires catwalks

Tudor-style square necks back in fashion as new drama on life of Henry VIII's second wife comes to TV

In the best-known portrait purported to be of Anne Boleyn, a square neckline frames her long, slender neck, foreshadowing her grisly date with the executioner at the Tower of London in 1536.

Debates about Boleyn's appearance - and how many fingers she had - have raged for centuries and no uncontested contemporary portraits of her survive. But most historians agree that her style of dress, which was influenced by her early life in France, set trends in the English court. She is often depicted wearing a low square neckline, a French-influenced style that came to dominate Tudor dress.