At first, I felt I should try to do a combination of Henry VIII’s siblings. Instead, I chose Mary, Queen of Scots. Although she was a Stuart, she was Henry VII’s great granddaughter through his daughter Margaret. Her controversial lifestyle and activities in Scotland influenced English affairs of state, especially in Elizabeth’s reign, and at last her son James became King when the Tudor line had ended. This piece is based on a portrait of Mary that I have loved from the minute I saw it years ago. I have always wanted to have a go at copying it in some way. I used china silk layered over hand dyed cotton lawn, gold braid, beads, and pearls. I meant to leave the portrait out, and loved the piece as it was, but all the other pages had some sort of likeness of the person. So, I covered the head with silk organza to tone it down, and inserted it into the neckline.

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