Five hundred years after the real Anne Boleyn walked the halls of Hever Castle, her modern-day counterpart has returned to the Queen’s childhood home. Th?o Therese Nguy?n, the star currently portraying Boleyn in the hit West End musical SIX, came face-to-face with history this week ahead of a landmark new exhibition.
A Meeting Across Centuries
Dressed in her iconic, punk-inspired stage costume, Nguy?n was given a private preview of the Hever ‘Rose’ portrait. Re-dated to 1583, this rare likeness is a centerpiece of the upcoming exhibition, Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn, which opens to the public on Wednesday, 11 February.
The ‘Rose’ portrait is particularly significant as it is one of the few to depict Anne’s hands. Curators argue the detail was likely intentional—a visual rebuttal to the 16th-century propaganda that claimed she was a witch with a sixth finger.
“I play Anne every night on stage, but being here at Hever Castle brought Anne home to me,” said Nguy?n. “It felt like meeting her across half a millennium. Seeing the 'Rose' portrait definitely underlined how powerfully her image and her voice still speak to us today.”
Challenging the Myth of Erasure
The exhibition, curated by Dr. Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey, brings together over 30 depictions of the Queen—the largest collection ever assembled in one space. It challenges the long-held belief that Henry VIII successfully erased Anne’s image after her execution in 1536. Instead, it explores how her likeness has been reshaped for centuries by politics, art, and modern pop culture.
Dr. Emmerson notes that scientific dating used for this exhibition brings us "a step closer to seeing her as her contemporaries did." Visitors are even invited to weigh in on the historical mystery by voting for the portrait they believe best represents the woman behind the crown.
Event Details
What: Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn
Where: Hever Castle, Kent
When: 11 February 2026 – 2 January 2027
Tickets: Available at hevercastle.co.uk
SIX the Musical tickets at London's Vaudeville Theatre now available below.
