King and Queen's official Coronation portraits revealed
The King and Queen have unveiled their new Coronation state portraits in the National Gallery.
The King's portrait has been created by Peter Kuhfeld, and the Queen's by Paul S Benney. They depict the monarch and his consort in their Robes of State, alongside their crowns.
Both have been seen by the public for the first time at the National Gallery, at an event marking its 200th anniversary. It is believed that it is also the first time that the King and Queen have seen the completed portraits.
Queen Camilla said of her portrait: 'I just love it', while the King praised the 'wonderful composition' of his.
The King, a keen patron of the arts and architecture who nevertheless once famously described an extension of the gallery as a 'monstrous carbuncle', also unveiled a plaque to mark the completion of a two-year building project and the re-opening of the Sainsbury Wing.
The King and Queen both attended the event, at which John Booth, chairman of the National, delivered a short speech of welcome before inviting Their Majesties to unveil their new portraits.
They were greeted inside the Sainsbury Wing by a fanfare from the State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry Band, echoing the welcome that Queen Elizabeth II received when she opened the original Sainsbury Wing in 1991.
Sir Gabriele Finaldi, director, and John Booth, chairman, will later introduce the King and Queen to architect Annabelle Selldorf, and some of the project, building and design team.
They will view the new Roden Centre for Creative Learning and the new restaurant by Giorgio and Plaxy Locatelli.
They will also be given a short tour of the gallery to see some of the works of art on loan from the Royal Collection in the redisplay, C C Land: The Wonder of Art, that opens on May 10.
It includes Andrea Mantegna's painting series called The Triumphs of Caesar.
Peter Kuhfeld, who painted the King, was granted five sittings over a year-and-a-half, and said he wanted to paint him as 'both human and regal'.
The crown, he said, had its 'own sittings', with the King keen to discuss 'certain aspects' of the work.
Paul Benney, who painted the Queen, said he had hoped to capture 'humanity and empathy', having 'hours of fascinating and sometimes hilarious conversation' with her as he worked.
Kuhfeld was first commissioned by the King to paint Prince William and Prince Harry when they were aged five and three, and has since travelled overseas with His Majesty as an official tour artist.
'I have tried to produce a painting that is both human and regal, continuing the tradition of royal portraiture,' he said.
'His Majesty gave of his time with his usual graciousness and attention to detail, and we discussed certain aspects of the painting.
'He gave me five sittings in total, not including the painting of the Imperial State Crown. The State Crown had its own sittings!'
The commission was kept a secret, only briefly shared with the artist's granddaughter when she accidentally spotted the painting in his studio.
'I usually start with drawings to develop my ideas and then move on to several oil studies to work out problems of composition,' said Kuhfeld.
'During this time, nobody was allowed in my studio while I was working, but one evening my eldest granddaughter forgot, when coming to tell me supper was ready; she burst through the door and came to a standstill and exclaimed, 'Oh! It's the King!''
Benney said it had been an 'honour, privilege and total pleasure' to undertake the first official portrait of her since the Coronation.
'It is with some regret that the sittings for this important commission have come to an end,' he added.
'After nearly a year of being installed in a temporary studio at Clarence House, I have deep and abiding memories of many hours of fascinating and sometimes hilarious conversation with Her Majesty on countless varied subjects.
'I shall miss the quiet and relaxed atmosphere while I was working there, even when Their Majesties were engaged elsewhere.
'My guiding principles in this commission were to both acknowledge the grand and historic nature of the Coronation iconography with all the equipage of the Monarchy and at the same time reveal the humanity and empathy of such an extraordinary person taking on an extraordinary role.'
After being on display at the National Gallery, of which the King is royal patron, the paintings will move to a permanent home in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, where they can be seen by tourists during the annual Summer Opening.
The tradition of state portraits dates back to the Coronation of James VI in 1620.
Following royal custom, the portrait of the King includes the Imperial State Crown, placed on a table to one side. He is wearing his Robe of State and naval uniform 'Number 1 Ceremonial Day Dress' with medals and decorations.
The Queen's portrait includes Queen Camilla's Crown, formerly known as Queen Mary's Crown. She wears her Coronation Dress, which was designed by Bruce Oldfield.
The new portraits were unveiled shortly after a new collection of artworks commemorating the Coronation.
Commissioned by the King, other paintings and monochrome images show the Gold State Coach procession, heralds waiting to take part in events and the King and Queen during the Westminster Abbey coronation.
The King followed a long-held tradition and commissioned five artists to capture significant events from the coronation weekend, with four of the creatives being former students from his Royal Drawing School.
The Coronation was held on May 6 2023, and the King saw the finished pieces, now part of the Royal Collection, last September during a presentation at his Clarence House home.
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Sharing their thoughts on the moment, fans wrote: 'The way ben speaks to and about women is actually disturbing,'; 'Ben you've given the whole Uk the ick,'; 'Who does Ben think he issss. Seriously Toni is too good for him anyways,'; 'Ben you've given ME the ICK,'; 'Ben wants to be the main character so damn bad,'; 'How do we boot this big man child? I'm already sick of him,'; 'Ben is the type of person to be arrested for drunk driving and blame the manufacturer,'; 'Ben is so damn annoying. feels like i'm watching a 16 year old boy in a grown man's body,'; 'Why is Ben talking like a villain yeah,'; 'Why couldn't Ben just be like 'no hard feelings, I don't think we have a connection' instead of all this? And HE wants to talk about ick,'; 'Ben is the biggest walking ick I have ever witnessed on Love Island,'; 'Who gave Ben the nerve, confidence and sheer AUDACITY????!!!!'; '"I'm not feeling it" "'m stuck with a girl I don't wanna be with" "I've gotten the ick" Who gave Ben the confidence to be talking like this after two days?? 'I'm sorry didn't Ben his parents teach him some manners? How can you talk about somebody like that on live television,'; 'Ben is rude lmaoo, "I'm stuck with a girl I don't want to be with".' Tensions brewed between Ben and Toni when he randomly got annoyed at a comment she made about the prospect of the boys not being safe when male bombshells come in Ben then went on to flirt with his former flame Shakira, even taking her to the Hideaway, after she recoupled with Harry and didn't think he was interested in her - with Ben even saying she needed to be 'humbled'. 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But the dating hopefuls were left shaken on last night's show, only the second episode of this series, as Sophie was dumped from the Island. Shakira (left) tells Toni (right) that Ben said he 'gave her the ick' and suggests she pulls him for a chat about it Tonight's episode also saw the arrival of two new bombshells: semi-pro footballer Shea Mannings and fitness influencer Remell Mullins. It comes after bombshell Toni caused a stir with her late entrance to the Love Island villa on Monday night's episode. Shea, a scaffolder from Bristol, revealed he has a young son and will be taking that 'into consideration' when coupling up. He added: 'She needs to be bubbly and we need to have that initial spark. She needs to have a nice personality - like I think I have - so that we match together.' Remell, meanwhile, is a self-improvement content creator with a massive 18million likes and half a million followers on TikTok. 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He needs to have a good fashion sense and a really good, funny personality that I can get on with HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Bankrupt, right now. But we're going to make sales and get on that corporate ladder and be booming. Profits, profits, profits! Tommy Bradley NAME: Tommy Bradley AGE: 22 FROM: Hertfordshire OCCUPATION: Landscape Gardener WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A girl who is very ambitious, with a big personality, caring, but also someone that doesn't take themselves too seriously. I don't know if that's asking for too much, but I want a bit of everything. I haven't got a specific type in terms of looks, though. WHAT WOULD YOU BE CEO OF? Taking hours to do my hair NAME: Alima Gagio AGE: 23 FROM: Glasgow OCCUPATION: Wealth Management Client Services Executive WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A tall man with a handsome face. You know when you just look at a guy and they have that Disney prince look to them? That's it WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I think she'd hire me because I'm a good flirt. I always ask guys on a night out to guess which country I'm originally from. If they get it right, they can get my number. But they never guess correctly so it works really well if you don't want to give a guy your number. I'm originally from Guinea Bissau. If they're close and I really fancy them, I'll give them my number anyway. NAME: Ben Holbrough AGE: 23 FROM: Gloucester OCCUPATION: Private Hire Taxi driver WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone sexy, good looking, good chat, good vibes, nice teeth and good eye contact - they're all the traits I look for. Oh, and also a cute smile, I just look at you and know I can be around you all day, every day. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Bankrupt. I'd have been out of business a long time ago. That's exactly why I'm here. NAME: Helena Ford AGE: 29 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Cabin Crew WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Somebody funny or Northern. I feel like Northern people have much more banter than Southerners. If you look through my previous dating history, you'll see I clearly go for personality. You can pretty much laugh me into bed. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I would say hire but then quickly fire soon after. It would only be a temporary contract. NAME: Megan Forte Clarke AGE: 24 FROM: Dublin OCCUPATION: Musical theatre performer and energy broker WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and has a sense of humour. If they're not bad looking, that's always a plus. I love a boy that's a bit pasty, like Timothée Chalamet. I don't mind scrawny, or a bit of a 'dad bod'. I'm 5ft1 so any height really. CLAIM TO FAME? Me and my friends made a Derry Girls TikTok for Halloween and it went a bit viral around Brighton. Sometimes I get stopped in the street about it. I've also done Panto. NAME: Blu Chegini AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is family oriented, has a lot of love to give and a lot of love to receive. Personality goes a long way. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? She'd fire me, but I've got the charm to smooth things over with a girl. The fact I speak fluent Spanish comes in handy when it comes to flirting! Shakira Khan NAME: Shakira Khan AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is tall, charming, witty, with big arms, a good smile and just really funny. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Booming, but they're all frogs. It's a busy love life but I've not found 'the husband', I'm looking for 'the one'. I'm looking for the ring. NAME: Harry Cooksley AGE: 30 FROM: Guildford OCCUPATION: Gold trader, semi-professional footballer and model WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? The girl next door that makes me laugh and can hold eye contact with me. I don't think I'd go for the most obvious girl, I like a real sweet girl. CLAIM TO FAME? I'm the body double for Declan Rice. So when he does a shoot, any body close ups will actually be me. You'll never see my face, but you'll see my shoulder or chest, that kind of thing. NAME: Conor Phillips AGE: 23 FROM: Limerick OCCUPATION: Professional rugby player WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?Someone who is really sure of themselves, ambitious, a bit of a go-getter and good craic. I like dark eyes and I don't mind a dominant woman. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? Definitely hire. I ask girls if they want to go halves on a baby. It doesn't work, but it gets them laughing. It's an ice-breaker, not a serious question of course! NAME: Toni Laites AGE: 24 FROM: Connecticut OCCUPATION: Las Vegas Pool Cabana Server WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'm looking for darker hair, definitely muscular but not too muscular. Super fit. Clean hair cut. Someone that can make me laugh - I'm super outgoing. And someone that's quite active. Maybe one day we could start our own family together. I WANT TO DATE A BRITISH GUY BECAUSE... I've lived in three different states and I'm still single. It's time to try something new! I have some British friends and they're pretty charming. I think all Americans love a good accent. British men are just more polite, with better manners. NAME: Kyle Ashman AGE: 23 FROM: Stafford OCCUPATION: Water operative WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone that's fun, confident and just themselves. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I'd say I'd be hired. I just go with it, find something to compliment a girl on and go from there. NAME: Shea Mannings AGE: 25 FROM: Bristol OCCUPATION: Scaffolder WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? She needs to be bubbly and we need to have that initial spark. She needs to have a nice personality - like I think I have - so that we match together. Also, I have a little boy, so I'll be taking him into consideration with who I couple up with, too. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? Definitely hire. I'm confident to go up and introduce myself and say, 'You look beautiful', to get a conversation flowing. NAME: Remell Mullins AGE: 24 FROM: Essex OCCUPATION: Self Improvement Content Creator WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A bubbly, confident, ambitious and fun girl. One feature that stands out to me is a nice smile, nice teeth and someone that can keep me on my toes. IF YOU WERE THE CEO OF ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I'm the CEO of flirting. Sometimes it's just unintentional.
