Another week, another polarizing royal portrait.
A new painting of Princess Kate Middleton commissioned by Tatler magazine for the cover of its July 2024 issue and unveiled on Wednesday, May 22, is dividing the internet.
British-Zambian artist Hannah Uzor painted the Princess of Wales, who is currently undergoing cancer treatment, taking inspiration from Kate’s appearance at King Charles III’s first state banquet following his coronation in 2022.
For the occasion in November 2022, Kate, 42, wore a Jenny Packham gown, the famed Lover’s Knot Tiara, first commissioned for Queen Mary in 1913, as well as earrings that once belonged to the late Princess Diana and a bracelet that belonged to Queen Elizabeth II.
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Kate did not pose for the portrait. Instead, Uzor referenced “as many photos” of her as possible, said Tatler.
“When you can’t meet the sitter in person, you have to look at everything you can find and piece together the subtle human moments revealed in different photographs: do they have a particular way of standing or holding their head or hands? Do they have a recurrent gesture?” Uzor told the magazine.
The image, in which Kate is depicted smiling with her hands clasped, is described as a “portrait of strength and dignity” on the magazine cover.
However, it received a strong response when it was unveiled on Tatler’s Instagram account on Wednesday.
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“This is not HRH The Princess of Wales. God knows who it is, but it is not HRH,” one person commented.
“This is really, um, unfortunate,” wrote another Instagram user.
“Cover horribilis,” quipped another person.
The mixed response follows a similar reaction last week to King Charles III’s first official portrait since his coronation.
The mostly red painting was unveiled by Charles, 75, at Buckingham Palace on May 14 and was met with shock over artist Jonathan Yeo’s bold choice of color.
In the portrait, the king is seen wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975, and holding a sword.
“The red was inspired by the Welsh Guards, but I wanted the painting to be a little more contemporary and not get in the way of seeing the face and the personality,” Yeo, 53, explained his use of color, per Hello. “The color was an early experiment and then I sketched it out and worked on the face, and the face and background worked so well.”
Meanwhile, Uzor told Tatler that her portrait of Kate had taken on new significance in the wake of the princess announcing her cancer diagnosis in March.
“All my portraits are made up of layers of a personality, constructed from everything I can find about them,” said the artist, adding that Kate’s video sharing her diagnosis showed “a moment of dealing with something difficult, speaking from the heart, having the courage to tackle it head-on.”
“She has really risen up to her role – she was born for this,” Uzor said of the Princess of Wales. “She carries herself with such dignity, elegance and grace.”
