What does anne Boleyn look like?

Answer 1

Anne Boleyn is arguably Henry VIII's most famous wife. However, due to the schism that she indirectly (or directly according to your opinion) caused in the Roman Catholic church she was targeted by what we would now call hate crime.

The contemporary ideal at the time was for a blond, blue eyed, voluptuous, pink and white figure. Anne was of a dark complexion, with dark hair and was so regarded as ugly. Her enemies exacerbated this as it was widely thought at the time that outward ugliness was a sign of evil.

Most modern historians consider the rumours perpetuated that Anne had a sixth finger, a wel on her neck nonsense. The only truly contemporary portrait that survives of her is a coin commemorating her second pregnancy (it didn't end well). In it she is seen wearing a gable hood (which she wore to her execution) her neck fully displayed and no wel. Other copies of portraits do survive but it is entirely guesswork to ascertain her true appearance.

She had incredible dark eyes that apparently bewitched the King. That is why I favour the one in the NPG in London. The eyes are incredibly similar to her daughter, Elizabeth's, especially in the portrait when Elizabeth is about 13 (attributed to William Crofts).

Bearing in mind that any supposed sign of the devil would have known and commented upon immediately, Anne Boleyn had no deformities and had a charm as well as being mildly pretty. Look to her portraits in NPG, Hever, and the British Museum. You can find them all on the internet.

Answer 2

There are no surviving original portraits of Anne Boleyn, the only known portraits are made after her lifetime. but after recent studies of the contemorary times painting styles, is the hever rose portrait probably the most accurate. (look at the hands on that portrait, the hands are held in a way that was popular for women in the 1520's we can prove that by looking at portraits of for example Catherine of Aragon and margaret pole, so the Hever rose is a copy of a lost original.)

There are contemporary descriptions of Anne Boleyn, here is one from a venetian ambassador made in 1532

"Not one of the handsomest women in the world. She is of middling stature, with a swarthy complexion, long neck, wide mouth, bosom not much raised, and in fact has nothing but the King's great appetite, and her eyes, which are black and beautiful"

Anne was not considered beautiful by the standard of tudor England which prefered women with blue eyes, blonde hair and round hips. Anne filled none of these standards, since accordingly to doctor Mouat who identified the remains of Anne Boleyn in 1876 when the chapel of st peter and vincula where restored, she was of "a delicate frame of body".

She was: rather short with dark hair, dark eyes, slender figure (long fingers, neck e.tc) and a little bit darker skin.