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Princess Kates ghastly Paul Emsley portrait was shuffled off to storage

Even though the Princess of Wales has been part of the Firm for over twelve years, there really aren’t that many portraits of her. Sure, there were those photos she arranged for her 40th birthday. There was also a painting of Kate and William completely last year, I think? But beyond that, the only major solo portrait done of Kate was in 2013, and it was so bad that even pro-Waity people hated it. The painting was done by Paul Emsley and Emsley took one look at that wiglet and decided to paint Kate as a Victorian ghost, haunting all of Britain. Well, it took ten years, but Kate finally got that portrait shuffled away and out of sight. Per Eden Confidential:

When the first official royal portrait of the Princess of Wales was unveiled to the public a decade ago, Catherine was typically polite, describing Paul Emsley’s efforts as ‘brilliant, absolutely amazing’. The critics were less kind, however, condemning it as ‘ghastly…rotten… an out-and-out disaster’ in one case. Another remarked, acidly: ‘It’s only saving grace is that it’s not by Rolf Harris.’

Now, I can disclose that the work has been consigned to a store room at the National Portrait Gallery, even though it’s the London institution’s only solo painting of our future queen. It can be viewed ‘by prior appointment in our archive’.

Catherine is Royal Patron of the gallery in Trafalgar Square and rumours swirl that she may be secretly pleased the work is no longer on public view.

‘It’s unthinkable that the painting of Her Royal Highness would be removed from public view without consulting her,’ a source tells me. ‘That would be very discourteous. She is our greatly valued patron.’

The oil painting was given a prominent spot from its unveiling in 2013 until 2018. It was then lent for a touring exhibition around the world until the gallery closed for £35million of refurbishment work in 2020.

When the gallery was reopened last month by the Princess amid great fanfare, only two works featuring her image were left on display: a painting, by Jamie Coreth, of her side by side with her husband, Prince William, and a photograph by Paolo Roversi, an Italian fashion snapper, taken to mark her 40th birthday in 2022.

Emsley’s ‘dead-eyed’ painting, which sparked global controversy for making the Princess look older than her years, was not the only prominent royal portrait to disappear when the gallery reopened. Nicky Philipps’s 2010 painting of Princes William and Harry in their Household Cavalry mess uniform was removed from public display.

[From The Daily Mail]

I honestly haven’t looked at the painting in years, but I do remember the controversy at the time. The painting was never popular – people who had neutral or negative feelings about Kate found the painting creepy, and people who loved Kate thought the painting made her look old and pre-cosmetic surgery. I find it more interesting to think that perhaps Kate didn’t even have anything to do with the portrait being shuffled away. What if this is a larger message that, um, Kate is about to shuffled off somewhere too? There’s something in the air. I still say it’s notable that there are so few official portraits of Kate as well, especially now that she’s Princess of Wales.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

North America Sales Only- London, Britain 7/19/12-Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge Visits Olympic Exhibition at National Portrait Gallery. The Duchess of Cambridge is the Patron of the National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition showcase commissioned photographs documenting the preparations for London 2012 Olympics. -PICTURED: Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) -PHOTO by: Michael Dunlea/Startraksphoto.com -BAR_9326067 Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Featuring: Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) Where: London, Britain, United Kingdom When: 19 Jul 2012 Credit: Michael Dunlea/Startraksphoto.com **North America Sales Only** STRICTLY NO UK SALES. January 11, 2013: The official portrait of HRH Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, London, UK. Artist Paul Emsley had two sittings with the Duchess and was asked by her to portrayed naturally – her natural self – as opposed to her official self. Mr Emsley found the Duchess to be “enormously open and generous and a very warm person” Mandatory Credit: Paul Emsley/Supplied by INFphoto.com Ref: inf-00 IMPORTANT NOTICE: The attached image is supplied by Insight News & Features, Inc. (INF). INF does not own, nor does it claim to own, the copyright or any license to the image. Any fees charged by INF for the image are for the supply of the material and do not, and are not intended to, convey to the user any copyright or license rights. By accepting submission of the image, the end-user accepts the full responsibility of obtaining copyright clearance from the copyright holder prior to publication. Also, the end-user agrees to fully indemnify INF from any and all legal claims, demands or causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the user’s use or publication of the image. If the end-user does not, or cannot, comply with all of the above restrictions, the image should not be used or published by that end-user. |sp| Featuring: Kate Middleton, Catherine Middleton, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge Where: London, United Kingdom When: 11 Jan 2013 Credit: INFphoto.com The Princess of Wales during a visit to the Percy Community Centre in Bath, to meet some of the young people supported by the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust youth development charity. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Bath, United Kingdom When: 16 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
The Princess of Wales arrives at the Foundling Museum in London, to meet those with lived experience of the care system, as well as with foster carers and adoptive parents to hear about their experiences. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 25 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY** The Princess of Wales with Kinship Carers and children during a visit to the Saint Pancras Community Association in Camden, north west London, to meet kinship carers, to hear about their experiences of raising the child of a relative or friend and the vital role they play in raising the next generation. Kinship care is when a child is looked after by their extended family or close friends if they cannot remain with their birth parents. Featuring: Catherine, Princess Of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 25 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY** The Princess of Wales, Patron of the V&A, officially opens the Young V&A, Bethnal Green. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 28 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**

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