We were delighted to welcome our Patron, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall on 5 September and show a very special Blackwork portrait of The Duchess.

The embroidery was created by the experts in our Embroidery Studio and will be available to see up close in our forthcoming exhibition, Faces & Figures in Stitch.

Her Royal Highness met with the expert RSN Studio embroiderers who created her portrait and students whose work will also be on display.  There will be over 100 embroideries in our new exhibition, including key figures in history and familiar faces of today such as Henry VIII, William Shakespeare, Nelson Mandela and David Bowie.

Watch the making of The Duchess of Cornwall’s Blackwork portrait here.

Dr Susan Kay-Williams, Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework said: “Blackwork uses just one colour of thread which enables dramatic effects to be created and is ideal for depicting faces and figures.  Our Embroidery Studio team worked hard on the preparation, firstly choosing the right image and then sampling the stitches beforehand.  The image chosen was from a photograph taken of The Duchess during her first visit to us in November 2017.  We are delighted that we can showcase this wonderful embroidery in our new exhibition.”

The exhibition Faces & Figures in Stitch opens on 24 September and runs until 19 March.  The exhibition is in the RSN’s Embroidery Studios, based at Hampton Court Palace, so when you book your Tour, not only will you have the chance to see The Duchess’ portrait, but you may also meet the team who created it!   Pre-booking is essential.

If you would like to include a Taster embroidery workshop as part of your Tour, book onto our next Tour & Taster workshop.

For Talk & Tour bookings click here or email: [email protected]