Elizabeth I's image is one of the most iconic in British portraiture. Pictures of Gloriana, or the Virgin Queen, hang in art galleries and private homes.
But it was thought nearly every image of the Queen had been discovered, until Alison Weir and Tracy Borman found a never-before-exhibited picture at Boughton House, Northamptonshire, in the private collection of the Duke of Buccleuch.
The find is additionally exciting because portraits of the Princess Elizabeth are extremely rare - with only two other proven portraits: - one at Hampton Court and one at Windsor Castle.
The pictureÌýdepicts Henry VIII and his three children, with Will Somers, his famous jester, standing in the background. On the extreme right of the picture, furthest away from her father (and, asÌý explains,Ìýby implication, from the throne itself) is the teenage Princess Elizabeth.
"The staidly dressed girl to the right of the portrait is barely recognisable as the magnificently arrayed ‘Gloriana’ who was to go down in history as one of the greatest rulers that England had ever known. 
"At the time that this family group was painted, Elizabeth was second in line to the throne and not expected to succeed. Less than a decade later, she was crowned queen and reigned for almost 45 years," writes the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ History Magazine.
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Picture: By kind permission of The Trustees of the 9th Duke of Buccleuch’s Chattels Fund
Henry VIII (1491–1547) By the time this portrait was painted, Henry had been dead for around five or six years. Although he had become increasingly tyrannical towards the end of his reign, to both contemporary and modern observers he was still the embodiment of kingship.
Will Somers (or Somer/Sommers) (? – c1560) Will Somers was the favourite court fool of the Tudors. He first came to court during Henry VIII’s reign, and was to become one of the king’s closest confidantes.
Edward VI (1537–1553) At the time of the Boughton painting, Edward was confidently expected to secure the Tudor dynasty, but he died at the age of 15.
Mary I (1516–1558) Shown here as first in line to the throne, Mary Tudor was to become the first queen regnant in England for more than 400 years. She died after just five years on the throne.
