New portrait of Kate, Princess of Wales, draws criticism. Is it really that bad? (2024)

Kate, Princess of Wales, can’t catch a break. In the wake of recovery from abdominal surgery, becoming the subject of wild conspiracy theories and a cancer diagnosis, Kate is once again the center of public discourse.

This time, for a polarizing portrait of the princess.

The portrait, painted by artist Hannah Uzor, is featured on the July cover of Tatler magazine. She tries to capture “the soul of the person” in her portraits, Uzor says in an Instagram video.

“I spent a lot of time looking at her, looking at her pictures, watching videos of her, seeing her with her family, seeing her diplomatic visits, seeing her when she’s rowing or visiting children at hospice,” Uzor, who did not have access to the princess during the process, says in an Instagram video.

In spite of Uzor’s efforts to capture the princess’s soul on paper, public critique centers on the portrait’s lack of resemblance to Kate.

“Sorry, who is she meant to be? The Princess of Wales? You could have fooled me,” panned The Telegraph. “I cannot divine any flicker of resemblance between it and the woman it’s supposed to depict.”

“Doesn’t look like Catherine at all,” a public critic wrote on X. “(If) she wasn’t wearing that dress I’d have no clue as to who it’s meant to be.”

The royal family has not commented on the portrait and the artist has not responded to the backlash.

Kate has dominated headlines since she received a “planned abdominal surgery” in January. In light of the operation, Kate took an extended leave from royal duties to recover.

While recuperating, her disappearance from the public eye fueled conspiracies on where the “missing” princess had gone. Some joked she was waiting for a bad haircut to grow out while others concocted dark theories, like that she was dead.

In March, Kate announced she had been diagnosed with cancer and is currently undergoing treatment. Since her announcement, Kate has maintained a low profile.

“This of course came as a huge shock,” Kate said of her diagnosis. “William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.”

Last week, King Charles’ portrait attracted critics

Last week, King Charles III unveiled his official portrait at Buckingham Palace.

Charles lightly tugged on a black sheet to reveal the 8.5-by-6.5-feet painting. What was underneath stirred up a range of public reaction: praise, humor, confusion and even controversy.

Charles’ aging face, hands and a monarch butterfly stand out against the shades of crimson. He stands dressed in the uniform of the Welsh Guards and rests his hands on the hilt of a sword — but most viewers won’t notice such details, because it seems no one can see past the overabundance of red paint.

“I really like the portrait of King Charles,” one critic wrote on X. “Before photography, to have a great painter capture your real appearance you accepted the revelation of your flaws and your mortality.”

But for every fan of the painting, there were probably a dozen people comparing it to a “nightmarish horror movie” and calling it “frightening.”

“When I started this project, His Majesty The King was still His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, and much like the butterfly I’ve painted hovering over his shoulder, this portrait has evolved as the subject’s role in our public life has transformed,” the artist, Jonathan Yeo, wrote in a joint Instagram post with the royal family. “I do my best to capture the life experiences and humanity etched into any individual sitter’s face, and I hope that is what I have achieved in this portrait.”

According to Yeo, Charles expressed approval for the unique approach while the painting was in progress. Before the official unveiling of the portrait, Charles was shown a “half-done” version of the painting, artist Jonathan Yeo said in an interview with the BBC.

“He was initially mildly surprised by the strong color,” Yeo noted, “but otherwise he seemed to be smiling approvingly.”

The public had fun with the unorthodox painting. Social media users poked fun at Yeo’s use of red by comparing it to deep-dish pizza or suggesting it has a connection to the blood-soaked royal horses that recently ran loose in London.

What people are saying about Kate’s portrait

Uzor’s portrait is getting a lot of online hate, with one user calling it “almost impossibly terrible.”

Others are humorously giving Uzor the benefit of the doubt — since Kate has made few public appearances this year, some users are joking that she simply forgot what the princess looked like.