Bath Literature Festival: Hilary Mantel - I have absolutely nothing to apologise for

Wolf Hall author Hilary Mantel has insisted she has “absolutely nothing to apologise for” following widespread outrage over her apparent criticism of the Duchess of Cambridge.

The double Booker Prize-winning author issued a withering attack on those who “deliberately misunderstood” her remarks at a British Museum lecture.

In her speech, Ms Mantel described Kate Middleton as a “shop-window mannequin” with a “perfect plastic smile” whose only purpose was to give birth to the heir to the throne.

But Ms Mantel told BBC Radio 3’s Night Waves that her words had been taken out of context, and she had in fact been talking about the tabloid press’s morbid fascination with the monarchy.

“My whole theme was the way we maltreat royal persons,” she said. Ms Mantel speaks at the Bath Literature Festival at 8pm tomorrow evening.