New Kate Middleton Portrait Released—But Some Think It Doesn't ...

22 May 2024

Forbes

Topline

A portrait of Princess of Wales Kate Middleton that will serve as a future cover of “Tatler” magazine was released Wednesday morning—the latest portrait of a Royal Family member to be released just one week after a controversial new portrait of King Charles sparked backlash.

A new painting, done by British artist Hannah Uzor and based on this look, is drawing criticism ... [+] online from fans who think it doesn’t look like the Royal—just weeks after King Charles’ portrait also drew criticism.

Getty Images Key Facts

The painted portrait, by British artist Hannah Uzor, was commissioned for the July cover of Tatler, depicts Kate in a white gown in front of a blue background and is based on a photograph of her from when she attended King Charles’ first state banquet in November 2022.

Uzor, whose painting was released about two months after news that Kate was undergoing cancer treatment broke, said the diagnosis “without a doubt” gave her a new perspective on the work, telling the Tatler that the announcement video showed “a moment of dealing with something difficult, speaking from the heart, having the courage to tackle it head-on.”

Some Royal Family fans—and at least one art critic—were critical of the portrait, with The Telegraph’s art critic Alastair Sooke saying the painting was “intolerably bad” and people on social media criticizing it as “awful” and saying “you cannot tell if it's her or not.”

Tangent

King Charles III’s first portrait since his coronation, which was released last week, also received criticism. Artist Jonathan Yeo’s oil painting of the King depicts him in a red Welsh Guard uniform in front of a red and pink background—leading social media users said it looked as if he was “demonic” or “in hell.”

Big Number

189,000. That’s about how many pictures of Kate the artist said she sorted through “to capture her likeness” as Kate did not sit for the portrait.

Key Background

Kate has regularly been in headlines in recent months following news of her cancer diagnosis, which the palace confirmed in March. Middleton said in a video that she is in the early stages of chemotherapy treatment, though she didn’t specify the kind of cancer she has. The announcement was the first major update provided on the princess’ health since January, when the palace said she was undergoing a surgery and would be out of the public eye. Prior to that video, conspiracies around the princess’ health were spiraling, in part because the palace released an image of Kate and her children for the UK’s Mother’s Day that news outlets later retracted, saying it was heavily manipulated. The altered image led to the global news director of Agence France-Presse saying the palace was no longer a “trusted source.”