This is how Lord Nelson would look if he was alive and serving in today's Navy.

Modern-day admirals spend less time on deck and more of it behind their desks, so the admiral's complexion would be a little lighter and he'd be carrying a little more weight amidships.

Historians say he'd be given a prosthetic arm to replace the limb he lost in battle. And while the Victoria Cross wasn't available during his stint, he would have qualified had it been in existence.

Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare, and Marie Antoinette have also been digitally transported to the 21st century via a unique art project commissioned by the factual TV channel Yesterday, to celebrate its new historical series Secret Life Of.

Artists spent three months updating a series of classic portraits of historic figures – working closely with award-winning academic, author and historian Dr Suzannah Lipscomb to ensure the new artworks accurately reflect how the historical figures might look in 2013. Dr Lipscomb leaned heavily on the insight gained from the Secret Life Of series, which delves deep into the lives of iconic historical figures and dishes the dirt on their hitherto unexplored secret lives.

Adrian Wills, general manager of Yesterday, said: 'Secret Life Of takes a completely new perspective on the lives on some of history's most fascinating and notorious figures.

'Nelson, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare and Marie Antoinette are among the iconic personalities whose lifestyles and habits are dissected through the eyes of the contemporary, celebrity-obsessed world.

'These great characters are reimagined with a modern take, showing them in a completely different light – much like the new re-versioned portraits.'

Nelson's love life was somewhat choppy away from sea. Born in Burnham Thorpe, he was Norfolk-bred and proud of it.

Daring and forward thinking hipster Shakespeare – who once trod the boards in King's Lynn – has been fashioned as a modern-day playwright with his edgy Shoreditch shirt and waistcoat look.

He has been given piercings on both ears, leaving questions about his sexuality unanswered and wears a crucifix, as he was believed to be a secret Catholic.

An actor as well as a playwright, Shakespeare might have taken advantage of modern-day hair transplanting techniques to sport a full head of hair like numerous celebrity actors.

Renowned for being vain and lavish, King Henry has been given white veneers and hair plugs to hide his balding head.

Henry VIII, known to flaunt his wealth, is now out of his voluminous puffed sleeve velvet gown and in a tailored designer black suit, wearing a sparkling diamond ring and designer watch.

Instead of the cotton shirt fastened up to the chin, he now sports an unbuttoned shirt Simon Cowell-style and is very much the modern-day lady killer.

A powerful no-nonsense female leader, Elizabeth I might have straightened her hair in a powerful yet stylish, short cropped style.

Rarely pictured smiling, Queen Elizabeth exudes power in the modern-day portrait, and hides her new veneers, purchased to disguise her notoriously bad teeth.