A portrait which has not been seen in Britain for almost 500 years will be one of the main attractions in Tate Britain's Hans Holbein autumn blockbuster.

The drawing - made in 1526-7 - shows Sir Thomas More, one of the leading figures of the Tudor age, with his wife and family.

Just eight years later the Lord Chancellor was executed by Henry VIII for opposing his marriage to Anne Boleyn.

In the meantime - in 1529 - the portrait had been sent to Holbein's close friend, the philosopher Erasmus, in Basel.

The drawing, which has remained there and is now in a Swiss museum, has been loaned to Tate Britain for its major Holbein In England exhibition opening on Thursday.

His portrait of Henry VIII will also be on show alongside that of the king's third wife, Jane Seymour, and their son, the future King Edward VI.

The More portrait, titled Designs For More Family Group, shows Sir Thomas with his father, wife, three daughters, one son - and the resident family fool.

Unusually, it contains detailed written instructions from More to Holbein. More preferred his wife to sit rather than kneel and asks that the musical instruments be taken off the wall.

Dr Susan Foister, curator of Holbein In England, said: "It's an extraordinary picture for us to see in London today. The beauty of this drawing is that Holbein has presented Sir Thomas More's family in such an informal and natural way.

These are distinguished historical figures but all of them look like people you know. It could have been a family snap taken yesterday.

"The instructions show a new side to More that might not have been guessed otherwise."

Holbein had two spells in London, from 1526 to 1528 and from 1532 until his death in 1543.

The portrait will be reunited with Holbein's individual portrait studies of the More family which the Queen is lending from the Royal Collection.

Tate Britain's exhibition will be the first major Holbein show in the UK for 50 years. On display will be more than 160 works, including 40 portraits.

The Tate has spent seven years negotiating with the world's leading galleries for Holbein masterpieces.

The iconic Henry VIII portrait is being loaned from Madrid, the painting of Edward VI hangs in Washington and the portrait of Jane Seymour in Vienna.

But the National Gallery is not loaning Holbein's 1533 masterpiece The Ambassadors, as conservators believe that moving it the short distance from Trafalgar Square risks splitting its 10 oak panels.

Holbein In England, 28 September until 7 January