A Shakespeare researcher has shared her view on whether a miniature portrait could have revealed Shakespeare’s secret gay lover. In an article published by The Telegraph, University of Warwick art historian Dr Elizabeth Goldring suggested that a newly discovered 16th century miniature of Henry Wriothesley, the third Earl of Southampton and Shakespeare's first patron, may have been a "love token". The miniature painting, which Goldring noted would usually be “worn on the body close to the heart and were frequently exchanged as love tokens”, was formerly part of a private collection held in a private collection within his family before it was purchased by an unnamed party. On the back of the portrait, a playing card’s red heart has had a black arrow painted over it, mimicking the spear found on Shakespeare’s coat of arms. Goldring said: “It’s really extraordinary, and I’ve never come across anything like it before. “Common sense would suggest that the defacing probably occurred relat...