Could Rhys Meyers be the head off Henry?

HE has been criticised for being far too good-looking to play Henry VIII in the hit historical drama The Tudors.

But experts say they have the technology to determine once and for all whether the ruthless former monarch, who had two of his six wives beheaded, was ever as handsome as Cork hunk, Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Leading scientists claim they have the means to find out if the king, widely perceived as being hugely overweight, ever bore even a passing resemblance to the brooding actor.

Bioarchaeologist Catrina Whitley and anthropologist Kyra Kramer say they should be able to recreate the way Henry looked with near-photographic accuracy.

But they face a major hurdle — because, firstly, they need to get permission from the Queen to have the body of the king, who died in 1547, exhumed.

But if permission is granted, the two US experts say they will be able to use new computer techniques to reconstruct the king’s exact facial features, once his skull is intact.

According to some historians, in his latter years Henry grew to more than 20 stone, with a colossal 54-inch waist and needed a hoist to lift him on to his horse.

Although a number of portraits capture the huge frame he is widely accepted to have had, he could have been even larger and more physically repugnant, as depictions of historical figures are thought to be inaccurate because artists were commissioned to paint flattering portraits of their subjects.

But Whitley and Kramer believe that, if they can capture Henry’s true likeness, the process might be replicated for other significant figures in history.

Dr Whitley said: “Using his skull to create a computer-generated image of how he really looked would be a wonderful conclusion to many years of painstaking research.”

The pair also hope to prove that a disease caused the king’s ferocious temper and may have driven him to have had two of his wives executed.

They believe he suffered from genetic illness McLeod’s syndrome, which turned him from a widely loved and rational prince to a murderous tyrant with symptoms of schizophrenia.

But they will only be able to prove he was insane rather than evil if they can persuade the Queen to allow them to carry out DNA tests on his skeleton at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Dr Whitley said: “If our theory is correct that he had McLeod’s, which can cause [symptoms of] schizophrenia, it will throw a whole new perspective on his behaviour.”

The Tudors, which is filmed at Ardmore Studios in Co Wicklow, has been widely criticised for distorting history for dramatic effect.

In a recent interview the show’s executive producer Morgan O’Sullivan accepted that 33-year-old Rhys Meyers’ portrayal of Henry was inaccurate. He said he wanted the slim- line actor to retain his sex appeal rather than pile on weight to look like the tyrant king.

“We still want him to be appealing. We don’t want to destroy his good looks. An exact portrayal of Henry is not a factor that we think is important. We are not in the business of making Johnny look like Henry VIII. We have accepted that from day one. We have been criticised for not casting someone with red hair.

“But you either cast him exactly like Henry VIII, or you choose to deal with it differently.”