Four of Six to Eight

Four of Six to Eight

Do you remember the book Masquerade by Kit Williams? Published in 1979, it became an international obsession because within its beautifully illustrated pages lay a treasure hunt. If one could follow the clues, one could find a golden hare, hidden somewhere in Great Britain.

I was a child then, and I couldn’t follow the clues - and even when I had my own copy that explained the solution to the puzzle (published after the hare was found), I couldn’t understand it. But one clue made entirely good sense:

One of Six to Eight

This was a reference to Katherine of Aragon - the first of six wives to Henry VIII. The hare was buried at Ampthill, where a cross erected to honour Katherine showed the place, if one followed its shadow at the right time of day. I think I have always remembered Masquerade because of the link to Katherine, and the phrase “One of Six to Eight” has stuck in my mind for all these years.

I was thinking of it during October when making some little Queen Portraits. Small enough to fit in Thomas Cromwell’s fictional pocket, how many should there be? Six, for every queen of Henry VIII? Or four, for the queens of Cromwell’s direct knowledge?

Four of Six to Eight

With apologies to Catherine Howard and Katherine Parr, I decided that four would be appropriate. Although in Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell Trilogy, all six wives make an appearance, I decided that Cromwell should not be anticipated. As Hilary wrote in The Mirror and the Light:

The only things he cannot remember are the things he never knew.

And equally, the only things he cannot know are the things he was not there to remember; one of the strengths of the Cromwell Trilogy is the lack of anticipation of events that we, the readers, know are coming.

Cromwell has many duties for the King, but by the last part of the trilogy:

His chief duty (it seems just now) is to get the king new wives and dispose of the old. (The Mirror and the Light - Wreckage I)

He therefore needs to keep on top of the king’s marital affairs. Last year I made him a Book of Queens, to help him keep track. But it’s very big - very unwieldy. It doesn’t leave my studio except to be photographed occasionally.

The Book of Queens (2022-2023), photographed by Michael Wicks

So he also needs something more portable and the pocket queens are his solution.

These four portraits all came from the same basic template but my needle knew what to do, and they all came out with different personalities stitched in.

These little queens were very enjoyable to stitch, and because they are small, they didn’t take too long. I find it’s important to have some small projects under my needle alongside large ones - such as the Cromwell Cloke or the Cromwell Narrative Cloth. Otherwise I start to worry that I am not making progress, and have little to show or share from many hours in the studio.

Of course, never being one to leave a small project alone where there is the possibility of a larger one, my brain is now wondering whether a nice set of portraits of ALL THE CHARACTERS IN THE CROMWELL TRILOGY might be possible…..