BBC CWR: ‘Shakespeare’s partner portrait found’

Dr. Elizabeth Goldring was interviewed live about Nicholas Hilliard, the 3rd Earl of Southampton, and William Shakespeare on BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire, 8 September 2025.

A Warwick art historian has uncovered a lost portrait of Shakespeare's patron and possible lover after more than 400 years. Tucked away in a private collection the portrait has been identified as Henry Wriothesley, who some think was the "fair youth" to whom many of Shakespeare's sonnets are addressed. Dr Elizabeth Goldring from University of Warwick told BBC CWR's Vic Minett about her discovery.