The Bayeux Tapestry is one of Europe's greatest treasures but it has never been proven who actually commissioned the work. Originally it was thought to have been William the Conqueror or his wife Mathilda, though for many years the most likely candidate has been Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William's half brother, who is still favoured today.
But now there is a new contender. The art historian Carola Hicks believes that Edith Godwinson, wife of Edward the Confessor and sister of Harold, could have been the patron of the tapestry as a ploy to secure herself a place in the new court. Felicity Finch went to Reading Museum, where there is replica of the tapestry, to meet Carola Hicks.
The Life of a Masterpiece by Carola Hicks, Chatto & Windus ISBN: 0701174633
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