HE WAS a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I and was immortalised in Shakespeare's sonnets, having invited the great bard to his Hampshire home.

The third - and by far the most important Earl of Southampton - was highly regarded in the Royal court and was the inspiration to many Tudor poets seeking his patronage.

One of the early industrialists, he built the Titchfield and Beaulieu ironworks and introduced Southampton to the world, with American cities and an Canadian Island named after him.

Now, more than 400 years after his death, Shakespeare's patron Henry Wriothesley is courting the attention of art historians.

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Students researching a display of Tudor portraits have uncovered a "ghost" figure which the National Portrait Gallery believes could be the third Earl of Southampton.

It was painted over with an image of his wife Elizabeth Vernon, who was maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth I.

The secret portrait was found when it was X-rayed by students from Bristol University.

The male figure closely resembles the composition of portraits of Southampton made around the same time, some of which are attributed to the Dutch artist van Somer.

A spokesman for the National Portrait Gallery said: "It is thought that the unknown artist of this portrait painted over the image, possibly because a commission for a double portrait of husband and wife was abandoned in favour of the single portrait seen today."

Ken Groves, of the Titchfield Historical Society, said: "The third Earl of Southampton was by far the most important of all four earls.

"Obviously there is something underneath the existing portrait and it would be most likely to be the third earl. In those days portraits were not worth much, so they would just paint over old ones."

The auburn-haired earl was a great friend of Shakespeare and it is believed that during a visit to Southampton's home, Palace House at Titchfield Abbey, he wrote sonnets eulogising the young and attractive Earl.

Although a favourite of the queen for many years, Henry was lucky to escape execution for his part in Essex's plot of 1601 to capture the Queen and take over the court.

He was imprisoned in the Tower until 1603. It was then that he turned from "man about town" to industrialist, building the Titchfield and Beaulieu iron works.