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Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Royal fans are all saying the same thing about King Charles and Queen Camilla's Coronation portraits as they spot unusual detail
The King and Queen unveiled their official Coronation state portraits at the National Gallery on Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of the historic event. However, the artwork has since caused a stir online after The Royal Family 's X account shared snaps of the paintings. Royal fans were quick to brand Peter Kuhfeld's portrait of King Charles 'blurry' and 'out of focus', while others suggested Queen Camilla's picture by Paul S. Benney was 'much better' than His Majesty's painting. One person wrote on X: 'Charles's portrait looks like a Wallace and Gromit character - you can imagine it hanging in Wallace's house. Camilla's portrait is lovely.' Another said: 'His face is very blurry. Camilla's portrait was giving more presence and depth than Charles's.' 'I think Camilla's is much better,' someone else insisted, while a fourth individual wrote: 'The Queen's is perfect. The King's too blurry.' 'Looks blurry. Out of focus,' a fifth agreed. A sixth person said: 'Compared to the level of detail in previous ones, King Charles' portrait looks... cheap. Lighting and composition are good, though. Another wrote: 'Comparing the portraits of King and Queen, I think she's come out of it much better than he has. 'There's something a little underwhelming about his portrait, as if he's shrinking into the background. There's a bit more forthright glamour about hers!' 'I think the King should have gone with the same artist as the Queen,' insisted another person online, while someone else said: 'I don't think I like the one of the King. 'It's a bit blurry and he blends into the background too much. But that's the thing with art, it appeals to some, not others.' But while the portraits didn't impress everyone on social media, Their Majesties fortunately appreciated the artwork, with Camilla, 77, saying 'I just love it' while the King praised the 'wonderful composition' of Mr Kuhfeld's effort. It comes after Jonathan Yeo's fiery portrait of the King - commissioned in 2020 to celebrate the then-Prince of Wales's 50 years as a member of The Drapers' Company, and released in May 2024 - proved to be divisive. Whilst some people praised the painting as 'magnificent', the modern approach left others, well, perhaps seeing red thanks to its scarlet hue. It depicts the King wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975. Meanwhile, Their Majesties were met with great fanfare as they had their official Coronation state portraits unveiled at the National Gallery on Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of the crowning of the King at Westminster Abbey on May 6 2023. In the paintings themselves, Camilla cuts an elegant figure as she wears her Coronation dress by Bruce Oldfield, draped with her robe of state, alongside ' Queen Camilla 's crown' - formerly known as Queen Mary 's Crown. Reaction: Royal fans were quick to brand Peter Kuhfeld's portrait of King Charles 'blurry' and 'out of focus', while others suggested Queen Camilla's picture by Paul S. Benney was 'much better' than His Majesty's painting Charles, who is royal patron of the National Gallery, is depicted in uniform with the Imperial State Crown and his robe of state. Mr Kuhfeld said he wanted to paint the King as 'both human and regal' while Mr Benney, who painted the Queen, said he hoped to capture her 'humanity and empathy'. Now part of The Royal Collection, the portraits were revealed in the Central Hall, followed by the reopening of the refurbished Sainsbury Wing. The Queen could be heard telling Mr Benny: 'I think it's really lovely'. Mr Kuhfeld, who took more than 18 months to complete the painting after five sittings with the King, said: 'I think he was pleased. 'It's a very odd thing for a sitter to look at themselves, I just hope that I've got an aspect of the man and King, I just think that's very important.' The artist was commissioned by the King to paint his sons when young boys and has also worked as Charles' official overseas tour artist on a number of trips. He added: 'He's a wonderfully interesting person in his own right, as a person, not King or Prince of Wales, just a very interesting person. And that was one of the things I was really keen in trying to bring out in the painting.' Mr Kuhfeld said that during preparatory work for the painting, a period when his studio is closed to family and friends, '...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!"' Raven Coetzer, aged nine, was invited to the unveiling and after meeting the King said about her grandfather the artist: 'I think it's really good, he did put his heart and soul into it.' Mr Benny set up a studio in Clarence House's garden sitting room for almost a year and the Queen sat for him six times when she had moments free: 'I was able to go in and out and every couple of weeks I was in there.' The artist added: 'Extremely pleasurable on my part, I think Her Majesty the Queen enjoyed them. 'I like to talk when I'm painting - I've managed to develop that skill over the years, I'm able to do two things at once - so we had lots of talks and chats and stories. 'Every time I'd leave, I'd be holding my tummy because I'd been laughing so much - the Queen's very witty.' He added: '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.' Before leaving, Charles and Camilla toured the space and met participants in the gallery's outreach education programme. The King opted for a fun castle-themed patterned tie and a smart navy pinstriped suit for the outing The artwork will be exhibited in the hall for the next six weeks, before being installed in Buckingham Palace's Throne Room as part of the Royal Collection, where they will be on display for the palace's annual summer opening. They will form part of a long tradition of coronation portraits dating back centuries, with the earliest known example being a painting of James VI and I by Paul van Somer which hangs at Windsor Castle. After unveiling the paintings in the central hall and posing for pictures with the artists, Charles and Camilla spoke with Kuhfeld and Benney, who were personally chosen by the King and Queen, being previously known to them from former royal commissions. 'Hello Paul, lovely to see you,' said Camilla, before beckoning over her daughter, Laura Lopes, who joined the King and Queen for the visit. Camilla recalled how Laura, a gallerist, had seen the early stages of the portrait during her sittings with the artist at Clarence House. 'It's so incredible,' Laura said, 'it's very flattering.' Hitting her daughter playfully on the arm, Camilla joked: 'Don't say it's very flattering! I just love it.' Before leaving the gallery, Camilla was presented with a posy by eight-year-old Maria Finaldi, the niece of the gallery's director. 'Thank you, they're my favourite flowers, and that's a very good curtsey,' Camilla told her. And before making their way into the State Bentley, Charles and Camilla quickly greeted a group of well-wishers and school pupils who had gathered outside the gallery's back entrance.
Times
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
King and Queen reveal coronation portraits at National Gallery
The King and Queen have unveiled their official coronation portraits two years after they were crowned at Westminster Abbey. As Charles and Camilla pulled the covers off the paintings in the Central Hall of the National Gallery in London they both appeared to be pleased with the results. The Queen said of hers: 'I just love it', and Charles praised the 'wonderful composition' of his picture. The King's portrait was painted by Peter Kuhfeld, and the Queen's by Paul S Benney. Kuhfeld said he had known Charles for more than 40 years and wanted to create a portrait of the King that was both 'human and regal'. Peter Kuhfeld and Paul S Benney joined the King and Queen at the unveiling CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY IMAGES Kuhfeld added: 'We first met when I had left the Royal Academy Schools where I had completed
Telegraph
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The King's Coronation State Portrait is a right royal mess
Thirty-four years after the late Queen Elizabeth II opened the National Gallery's Sainsbury Wing, her son, King Charles III has returned to reopen it, with Queen Camilla, following extensive refurbishment. To mark the occasion, their Majesties' recently completed coronation state portraits were unveiled in the gallery's central hall. Spare a thought for Peter Kuhfeld (b. 1952) and the self-taught Paul S Benney (b. 1959), the British artists who executed them, who are not quite of the calibre, shall we say, of the greats responsible for the full-length portraits on the surrounding walls. To one side, for instance, there is The Red Boy (1825) by Thomas Lawrence, who is renowned for his painterly flair. And, a few rooms away, there is the colossal equestrian portrait of Charles I by Anthony van Dyck: a defining image of British sovereignty. Tough competition. The Royal Collection, of which the portraits will form a part, defines state portraits as carefully constructed, 'definitive' images of the monarch (usually dressed in robes and accompanied by a crown, orb, and sceptre) as 'the embodiment of Royal rule'. The earliest known example is Paul van Somer's c. 1620 likeness of James VI & I; another image by Van Dyck, at Windsor Castle, was likely conceived as Charles I's official state portrait. Since the coronation of King Edward VII, in 1902, coronation portrait photographs have also been released – the King's, by Hugo Burnand, appeared in 2023 – in advance of the painted portraits. Selected by the King, Kuhfeld plays it very safe, adhering to the conventions of a typical state portrait – with, for instance, the imperial state crown positioned prominently to the monarch's side (on a table that, surreally and unfortunately, appears to sprout like a golden fungus from a crimson curtain). Sunlight streams in from a palace window to the picture's left, imbuing the composition with a late-afternoon quality, commensurate with the fact that Charles acceded the throne when he was already in his seventies. Sadly, though, this air of end-of-day decline is exacerbated by Kuhfeld's doddery touch. Dressed, beneath his robe, in military uniform (just like his great-grandfather, George V, in his state portrait), the King appears kindly but uncertain, with piercing yet close-set cornflower-blue eyes, and lips that seem to tremble. His anatomy, too, is somewhat squashed, providing an unintentionally bathetic note, as if a potentially great man had been diminished. Overall, he comes across as diffident, and – a fatal flaw, this, in a state portrait – does not command his stage. Benney's sleek portrait of the Queen – who stands further forward in the space of the picture, which makes her appear more self-confident, as well as soignée – is far more satisfying (and reproducible, which is important in our digital age). By representing that eye-catching cascade of her purple robe, the picture also nods explicitly to the state portrait of Elizabeth II. (The women, in both pictures, wear white.) As an image, it has greater clarity and coherence than Kuhfeld's wobbly effort. I relish the fact that, for instance, the colour of the background picks up tiny details in Camilla's costume, such as the hue of a setting in her bracelet on her right wrist, or the fan she holds. Is it deliberate that the red palette of the King's portrait finds its complement in this green tonality of the Queen's? I'd like to think so – but, if all you had to go on was the respective strengths of these two pictures, you'd assume that Camilla was the regnant monarch, and Charles her consort.
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
King Charles and Queen Camilla pose with their official Coronation state portraits as artwork is unveiled at the National Gallery
King Charles and Queen Camilla have unveiled their official Coronation state portraits during a tour of the National Gallery in London today. The artwork, by Peter Kuhfeld and Paul S. Benney, was revealed this morning to mark the second anniversary of the crowning of His Majesty at Westminster Abbey on May 6 2023. Posing alongside the portraits, the King opted for a fun castle-themed patterned tie and a smart navy pinstriped suit, while the Queen put on a vibrant display in a bright red dress. Now part of The Royal Collection, the portraits were revealed in the Central Hall, followed by the reopening of the refurbished Sainsbury Wing. Their Majesties toured the space and met participants in the gallery's outreach education programme. Ahead of the unveiling of the official portraits, artwork commissioned by the King to capture key moments from the coronation weekend was shared for the first time. Paintings and monochrome images showing the Gold State Coach procession, heralds waiting to take part in events and the King and Queen during the Westminster Abbey coronation were revealed. Charles 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. Fraser Scarfe was outside Buckingham Palace and Gideon Summerfield at Trafalgar Square, Phoebe Stannard was inside Westminster Abbey, and artist and illustrator Shana Lohrey was invited to Windsor Castle to capture the atmosphere, crowds and ambience of the coronation concert. Eileen Hogan, an Emeritus Professor at the University of the Arts London and a Royal Drawing School trustee, was commissioned to paint the coronation service – the first woman to be given the role. Ms Hogan said: 'When I was appointed to paint the coronation from Westminster Abbey, I was very aware that I was the first woman to be appointed in this historical role, and then I thought "What details could a painting bring that modern-day TV cameras could not?". 'The more I thought about it, my conclusion was that the stillness of a painting really isolates and intensifies significant moments, and emphasises meaning; whether that be ritualistic, spiritual, or simply extremely human.' The coronation was held on May 6 2023, and Charles saw the finished pieces, now part of the Royal Collection, last September during a presentation at his Clarence House home. Mr Scarfe, who is the Royal Drawing School's head of education delivery, was commissioned by Charles to capture images from his recent state visit to Italy and became the first official tour artist to create images digitally alongside traditional methods. He said: 'There were so many incredible moments during the day. 'For me, the real standout moment was the moment when Their Majesties went out onto the balcony and the crowds were able to come and stand in front of Buckingham Palace and celebrate the coronation. 'And it was that moment that I thought really stood out to me; the joy of the people; the mass of people waving flags; and coming through to cheer and celebrate was such a special moment, and that's really the moment I felt I should focus my largest work on.'
