Hidden detail found in Anne Boleyn portrait was ‘witchcraft rebuttal’, say historians

Exclusive: Underdrawing suggests attempt to debunk myth that former wife of Henry VIII had sixth finger

Anne Boleyn's Hever Rose" portrait is one of history's most iconic faces, with her B" pendant, her French hood, her dark eyes and a red rose in her right hand. Now a secret that has remained hidden for nearly 500 years has been discovered beneath the layers of paint.

Scientific analysis of the painting at Hever Castle, her childhood home in Kent, has uncovered evidence that an Elizabethan artist sought to create a visual rebuttal" to claims that Henry VIII's ill-fated wife was a witch with a sixth finger on her right hand.