Royal commentator Michael Cole has described the portrait by The Princess of Wales as “dreadful.”
This comes after Tatler unveiled a new portrait of the Princess of Wales on the July cover of the magazine. The portrait, titled ‘The Princess of Wales – A Portrait of Strength and Dignity,’ was created by British-Zambian artist Hannah Uzor.
However former BBC royal reporter Cole was left unimpressed: ““It’s dreadful, isn’t it? It’s as dreadful as Jonathan Yeo’s red portrait of the Red King was brilliant and wonderful.
“It is really a daub, a most dreadful daub. But what Tatler’s doing sticking it on the cover? I have no idea at all.
“I think she’s got the garter sash right. Everything else is wrong. Certainly the features, certainly the deportment: everything about it.
“I have no idea why on earth that would be put on the cover of such a long established, well, it’s the Toff’s bible, isn’t it? Tatler.
“I don’t know what they’ll think of it at all, and I don’t think it’s helpful either, because at this moment, as we know, Kate, The Princess of Wales, is undergoing treatment for an unspecified cancer.
“To have a picture of her, which might have been done by that man who did The Scream, [Edvard] Munch. Mr Munch might have done this if he’d thought of doing a portrait of the Princess of Wales.
“Now I think it’s best forgotten. I think it’s one of those magazines you just want to turn it over and see the advert on the back page.”
The image depicts the princess at the first state banquet of the King’s reign, which took place in 2022.
Cole slammed the painting as “dreadful”
GB News
Kate was the picture of elegance in a gem-embellished white dress from Jenny Packham paired with Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara.
The princess also wore her late mother-in-law Princess Diana’s diamond and pearl drop earrings, which were all depicted in Uzor’s portrait.
In March, Princess Kate recorded a video from Adelaide Cottage to announce she had begun a course of preventative chemotherapy.
The artist used this video as inspiration for the portrait explaining that it showed a “moment of dealing with something difficult, speaking from the heart, having the courage to tackle it head-on.”
Kate shared her cancer diagnosis with the world via a video message in MarchPA
In the video the Princess said: “In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.
“My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.”
At the end of the message, she explained she had taken her time explaining the news to her “young children” and thanked the public for the love and support.