London: A new chapter in the story of Anne Boleyn has been unveiled, thanks to facial recognition technology.

Henry VIII's attempt to erase his second wife from history after chopping off her head may have been thwarted after more than 470 years.

Experts say the Nidd Hall portrait seems to be a genuine portrait of Anne Boleyn. Credit:Wikipedia

At present, the only undisputed portrait of the queen has been an image stamped into a four-centimetre-wide lump of lead held in the British Museum known as The Moost Happi medal. Other supposed paintings have courted controversy with experts disagreeing about their authenticity.

But now computer technology has highlighted one picture, the Nidd Hall portrait, which seems to be a genuine painting of Anne – even though it was previously thought by some to depict another of Henry's wives, Jane Seymour.