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Telegraph
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
New portrait of King and Queen unveiled to mark 20th wedding anniversary
A new portrait of the King and Queen has been unveiled to mark the couple's 20th wedding anniversary. Phillip Butah, the monarch's tour artist, based the painting on an image captured by Millie Pilkington, a royal photographer, in the garden of Buckingham Palace last year. Mr Butah was invited to accompany the King and Queen on their state visit to Kenya in 2023. 'They are one of the most famous couples of our time, so it was fascinating for me to see the personal side of their relationship,' he said. 'It is so strong and they are a great team.' The portrait will grace the June cover of Tatler magazine and comes after a new portrait of the Princess of Wales was unveiled for last July's Tatler cover. Hannah Uzor, the artist, said the Princess's cancer treatment had influenced her work, 'without a doubt' changing the way she depicted the royal. Before that, Trinidadian artist Sarah Knights' portrait of the King appeared on the magazine's July 2023 cover, while Oluwole Omofemi, a young Nigerian artist, was commissioned to create a celebratory portrait of Elizabeth II to mark the Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Mr Butah said: 'I love the fact that a top glossy magazine commissions an artist to make a cover, because art and fashion do belong together.' He added of his own 'informal' portrait: 'I think it will be a first; I have never seen the royal couple painted together on the cover of a magazine, and I just want people to enjoy it and see it as a celebration of our King and Queen.' Mr Butah, who was raised in east London, first came to His Majesty's attention when he entered a Prince's Trust competition for young artists at the age of just 14. His self portrait so impressed the Kings that he was invited to a palace reception with his mother. He went on to become the youngest prizewinner in the competition Young Artists' Britain: The Prince of Wales's Young Artists' Award, in 1998, before studying fine art at Central St Martins. Mr Butah later wrote to the Prince asking if he could draw him, explaining that he was interested in sittings with people who had impacted his life. A year went by and there was no word. Then, Clarence House called out of the blue, telling him he should make himself available for six sittings with the then heir to the throne between 2008-2009. The organisers of that original Prince's Trust art competition happened to be John and Imogen Sheeran, parents of singer Ed. The couple became mentors to the young artist and Mr Butah, in turn, became a great friend of their son, going on to sketch the singer for the cover of his extremely successful 2011 album, +. The artist continued with his career, which included creating a book with Sheeran, but at around the time of the Coronation, he reached out to Buckingham Palace asking if he might be considered to do the official portraits. That job had already gone but the palace came back to him a few months later to ask if he wanted to join the King and Queen in Kenya. There, armed with a graphite stick, a sketch pad and a camera, Mr Butah was tasked with capturing the tour, and the country in his own, unique way. 'Kenya is a beautiful country and the entire trip was magical,' he told Tatler. 'To see the response from the Kenyan people to the King and Queen being there was incredible, you could see and feel how much this visit meant to everyone who had turned out to see them. 'But they work very hard and that is probably something that people don't understand. It is quite gruelling to do a tour like this – meeting all these people and everybody wanting their moment, so you have to be on best form all the time.'
The Herald Scotland
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
King and Queen's portrait graces Tatler cover after much-criticised Kate picture
But the artwork has already come under scrutiny on social media with one person remarking: 'Doesn't look like Charles' and another suggesting the King's eyes were more similar to those of former US president Joe Biden. Butah's portrait was painted to mark the magazine's celebration of the King and Queen's 20th wedding anniversary (Phillip Butah/Tatler/PA) 'Queen Camilla looks brilliant – but the eyes on the king look like Biden .. it is not a good resemblance of King Charles,' they said. It follows the widely criticised portrait of the Princess of Wales which appeared as Tatler's front cover last year. The canvas by artist Hannah Uzor was branded 'dreadful' and a 'parody' by royal fans and art critics. As Tatler commissions Hannah Uzor's graceful depiction of the Princess of Wales for its July 2024 cover, we look back at the history of the Princess of Wales in portraiture — Tatler (@Tatlermagazine) May 22, 2024 Butah said he believed it was a royal first for the royal couple to be painted together for a magazine cover. The image, in the society bible's June edition, celebrates the King and Queen's 20th wedding anniversary, which they marked this month. Butah said: 'I think it is wonderful and I love the fact that a top glossy magazine commissions an artist to make a cover, because art and fashion do belong together.' The original Millie Pilkington photograph of the King and Queen (Buckingham Palace/Millie Pilkington/PA) He added: 'I have chosen a summery green for the background because they are walking together in a garden, and this is an informal portrait, not a state portrait. 'I think it will be a first; I have never seen the royal couple painted together on the cover of a magazine, and I just want people to enjoy it and see it as a celebration of our King and Queen.' Butah said of joining Charles and Camilla on their official visit to Kenya: 'They are one of the most famous couples of our time, so it was fascinating for me to see the personal side of their relationship. 'It is so strong and they are a great team.' Artist Phillip Butah who painted a portrait of Charles and Camilla (Philip Sinden/Tatler/ PA) The artist first met Charles at the age of 16 when he won the Young Artists' Britain: The Prince of Wales's Young Artists' Award competition in 1998. Celebrities he has drawn include actor Ashley Walters and former Olympic sprinter Linford Christie. The full feature is available in the June issue of Tatler via digital download and on newsstands from May 1.
