Hilary Mantel is known for her outspoken views on politics and the royal family, and of course for her Wolf Hall trilogy, with its vivid recreation of the lives of Henry VIII, his wives and his consigliere, Thomas Cromwell. So it is striking that when we meet, a few days before the death of the Queen, she is reluctant to be drawn on the subject of the present-day monarchy or our new prime minister.
“I’m against parallels, you know, and people are always trying to force me into making them,” she says, firmly.
