A rare portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, thought to have been painted in her lifetime, has gone on display at London's National Portrait Gallery - but the oval miniature nearly did not see the light of day.
The world-famous museum bought the painting of the 16th century royal for 50 pounds in 1916 - more than 2,000 pounds (2,950 euros, 3,800 dollars) in today's money - only for it to be dismissed as a fake and left to gather dust.
It was only when the curator of 16th century collections, Tarnya Cooper, used X-ray technology to re-examine the painting that it was discovered the 18th century brushwork overprinted the original.
On closer inspection, the words "Maria Scotiae" - "Mary of Scotland" - were found on the wood, which was also analysed to determine its age; it came from a tree felled between 1560 and 1592.
"This is an exciting find," Cooper said. "The new research on this picture indicates that it was probably painted either in her lifetime or very shortly after her death."
"This is significant because the vast majority of painted portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots that survive were either painted in the Jacobean period, when her son James I came to the English throne, or are later imaginary portraits." Mary Stuart is one of the most fascinating figures in British history, notably because of the threat her avowed Catholicism posed to England's Protestant queen, her cousin Elizabeth I.
The portrait shows Mary, who was crowned Queen of Scots at just nine months old, after her return from France following the death of her first husband, king Francis II in 1560.
Experts believe it may have been painted for one of her supporters either as a symbol of loyalty during her long incarceration at the hands of Elizabeth or as an icon of Catholic martyrdom after death.
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