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A familiar portrait of Anne Boleyn has just yielded an unfamiliar secret. Infrared scanning and tree-ring dating suggest an Elizabethan artist deliberately altered the so-called “Hever Rose” portrait to show Anne’s hands - apparently to rebut the centuries-old claim that Henry VIII’s doomed queen had a “witch’s” sixth finger, reports The Guardian . This finding reframes a famous Tudor image as something more than a copy of an approved likeness. If the portrait really was adjusted during Elizabeth I’s reign, it may have served as political messaging, defending not only Anne’s reputation, but also Elizabeth’s legitimacy at a time when Catholic critics were keen to undermine it, writes Artnet News. Surprising Intimate Facts About Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s… Unlawful Love