Coronation portrait of UK's King Charles unveiled
LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) - The official coronation portrait of Britain's King Charles was made public on Tuesday, two years after he was crowned, in a tradition dating back more than 400 years to a time when such a painting often became the defining image of a monarch.
The portrait of Charles, in his Robe of State standing beside the Imperial State Crown, and one of his wife, Queen Camilla, will go on display in London's National Gallery for a month before being moved to Buckingham Palace, their permanent home, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Tuesday.
Charles, 76, who was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer early last year some 10 months after his coronation, has been sitting for the portrait while he undergoes treatment.
The king and queen commissioned the paintings shortly after the coronation ceremony at London's Westminster Abbey, choosing different artists. Charles was painted by Peter Kuhfeld, while Camilla selected Paul Benney, Buckingham Palace said.
"I have tried to produce a painting that is both human and regal, continuing the tradition of royal portraiture," Kuhfeld said in a statement of the image of the king whose backdrop is the Throne Room in St James's Palace.
Camilla is seen wearing her Coronation Dress of ivory coloured silk, next to a different crown. Benney said he wanted to acknowledge the historic nature of the coronation while also showing "the humanity and empathy of such an extraordinary person taking on an extraordinary role".
Historically, the paintings were used as a show of power. The earliest example in the royal collection is the state portrait of James I of England, James VI of Scotland, from 1620.
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However, if we could invest more money in teacher education, and supporting teachers to assess in schools, then that is a way to reorientate all that expertise in assessment. And by that I mean a really rich type of assessment that adds value to learners and learning, not simply a one-off test situation with limited context.' Maybe, but concerns would doubtless persist about the reliability of and potential for bias in any teacher assessment-based system. No prizes for guessing what Britain's strictest headteacher thinks. Katharine Birbalsingh, who founded the high-achieving Michaela Community School in the London borough of Brent, is a firm supporter of GCSEs. She approved of Gove's changes and thinks it's important for children to face challenges such as exams, to help build the resilience that will get them through the vicissitudes of life. 'Look, GCSEs are not perfect. I would be the first one to say that. All exams have problems. But exams hold institutions to account. It's not just about holding the children to account. Most of it is about holding the entire system to account. 'There needs to be something to set the standard. It's also the case when it comes to employers that they have some sense of how the child has done. Otherwise it's just a free-for-all where everybody's just making up whatever they're doing.' Richard Brown, headteacher at Urswick, may not see eye to eye with Birbalsingh on everything, but he does agree that GCSEs should be retained, with some changes. 'At the end of the day, this is an outcomes-driven business,' he says ruefully. This is his last summer of exams before retirement. 'Personally I would not get rid of GCSEs. They are such a powerful brand and children do thrive on the challenge of them. 'I can just about remember when I took exams and I'm sure I was nervous, but I went in and did it. That's grit and resilience, isn't it? That's what schools have to look at and make sure their youngsters can deal with setbacks.' We are chatting in his office, reflecting on his 40 years as a teacher. Over in the exam hall, maths paper 2 draws to an end. It seems to have gone reasonably well, though the question on angles caused some problems. 'It was OK,' says Scarlett cautiously. 'A lot of predicted topics came up.' 'Challenging questions but nothing I couldn't overcome,' Kelvin adds confidently. 'Topics that I didn't revise came up but I used my foundation mathematical knowledge to work it out,' says Fatou. 'Perfecto!' breezes Joshua. And so the annual ritual continues. The see-through pencil cases, the clocks, the rows of desks, the last-minute revision and prompt cards, and the final reassuring words from ever-attentive teachers who are desperate for their students to do their very best. Maths paper 2 is over but there's maths paper 3 still to go, plus religious studies, history, French, English language, geography … Elsewhere in Urswick's bright, modern classrooms, year 10s are well on their way through their GCSE courses, preparing for next summer's exam season. The debate will go on, but in all likelihood, so too will the exams. In some shape or form. For the time being.
