The British magazine Tatler revealed Wednesday the cover of its July 2024 issue on Instagram: a portrait of Her Royal Highness Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, by the British-Zambian artist Hannah Uzor. The picture is the third such portrait of a royal commissioned by Tatler and used for the cover of the magazine in the last three years.
The first commission went to Nigerian artist Oluwole Omofemi in 2022 in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubliee. The second, by Trinidadian artist Sarah Knight, was a portrait of a freshly crowned King Charles III.
Those two portraits inspired the founding of the Akoje Residency, which was announced earlier this year. The residency was founded by rugby star Maro Itoje and his business partner Khalil Akar in collaboration with the King’s Foundation, for African, Caribbean and diasporic artists to spend time at Dumfries House in Scotland to focus on their artistic practice.
Response to the portrait online, much like the response to the first official portrait of King Charles III, has been less than flattering.
“This portrait is awful, there are so many amazing artists out there, surely they could have found a better one,” one commenter on Tatler’s Instagram page wrote.
“A very poor portrait which totally fails to represent the beauty and elegance of the Princess of Wales,” said another.
A third asked “Who is making decisions on these commissions? The portraits are getting weirder and weirder. This is quite amateurish, does not resemble [Her Royal Highness].
Middleton is depicted against a blue background and wears the floor length Jenny Packham cape dress she wore to a State Banquet for the South African President at Buckingham Palace in November 2023, according to the fashion and style Instagram account @diet_prada.
In an interview with Tatler, Uzor said she admired Middleton. “She has really risen up to her role – she was born for this. She carries herself with such dignity, elegance and grace.”
Sadly, the same can’t be said for most people who leave comments on Instagram posts.
