A new portrait of Kate Middleton has fans divided—some were royally impressed, while others thought it was a royal miss.
The provocative painting by British-Zambian artist Hannah Uzor graced the cover of Tatler magazine’s July 2024 issue. It was part of a series showcasing portraits of the royal family.
Somewhat muddled and featureless, the portrait misses the mark of capturing Kate Middleton’s likeness. It also doesn’t seem to work on some sort of abstract, artistic level, either. It looks a bit like something a resident of a retirement community would paint to pass the time away.
Although Middleton, currently battling cancer, couldn’t sit for the photo, Uzor claimed to examine thousands of images to capture her likeness.
“I spent a lot of time looking at her, looking at her pictures, watching videos of her, seeing her with her family, seeing her in diplomatic visits, seeing her when she’s rowing or visiting children in hospice,” the artist explained in footage posted to Tatler’s Instagram. Uzor added, “It’s been really interesting for me to get a sense of who she is.”
Fans Royally Drag New Portrait of Kate Middleton
Although Tatler praised the finished piece as a portrayal of “strength, dignity, and courage,” many Royal family fans had a different perspective.
“Artist needs to go to SpecSavers urgently!”, a fan joked on X (formerly Twitter). “She must be a blind painter,” another X user agreed. “That looks nothing like Catherine. Was she trying to put Meghan’s head on Catherine’s body cause that nose is Pinocchio’s,” they added.
Another fan asked, “Is this a parody? Love the artist… she’s very stylish… but the painting, while lovely… doesn’t look like the Princess of Wales…”
“How can you put this in front cover it looks nothing like Princess of Wales. Looks like a child’s painting,” a third Royal fan wrote. “Looks horrible. [The artist] needs another hobby,” another X denizen declared.
Of course, Kate Middleton’s new portrait comes merely a week after another artist, Jonathan Yeo, faced criticism for his artistic depiction of King Charles III.
Charles’ first official portrait as monarch faced heavy scrutiny due to its intense red background and overall tone. Many thought the piece was simply creepy, with some claiming it looked like the monarch was in Hell.
As it goes, it spawned a parade of memes at the King’s expense.