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Here are some photos of Prince William and Prince George, attending the FA Cup final on Saturday. William’s favorite team, Aston Villa, lost in the semifinals, much to his disappointment. So William brought George to watch the final between Manchester City and Manchester United. Man U won. William went out on the pitch to hand out the trophy and greet the teams. This is only the second time we’ve seen George in 2024, and both of his public outings have come at football matches. We have not seen Charlotte or Louis publicly since last Christmas, and I do not believe that their birthday portraits were taken recently or even this year.

This outing also came after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the general election and Buckingham Palace promptly announced that they were hitting pause on all of their outings throughout the six-week election cycle. King Charles canceled several events, and William canceled some mysterious outing which was supposed to be a surprise. It was weird. As I said before, I actually understand why the Windsors are avoiding charity visits which might draw attention to a “political” issue (homelessness, food insecurity, war, immigration), but on the other hand, it looks like they were desperate for an excuse to avoid work. In William’s case, he only wants to do “work” when it involves celebrities, football or pretending to be a global statesman.

William’s outing also came just days and hours after a renewed conversation about his mysteriously vanished wife. Last week, the Mail’s Richard Eden said his sources were telling him that the Princess of Wales would likely not be seen until this fall. Then the Daily Beast’s sources were like: Kate probably won’t be seen at all this year and oh btw, she’s only being surrounded by her “birth family” these days. Weird weird weird.

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

In my lifetime, various American politicians have suggested a “national service” scheme for young people, often some kind of “mandatory” or volunteer military service or community service. Those schemes rarely go anywhere, although programs like the Peace Corps are still highly competitive (and those successful programs should probably just be expanded). Well, now Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is running for reelection by introducing a “national service” scheme for young British people. It probably won’t go anywhere – especially since the Tories will likely face a historic loss in the general election on the 4th of July – but if Sunak’s scheme goes through, it means that young royals would also have to “serve” in the scheme.

Young royals will have to spend a year in the military or volunteer in the community under Conservative plans to revive National Service. Rishi Sunak made the first major policy announcement of the general election campaign on Sunday, vowing to bring back National Service for 18-year-olds. He said this would entail either a year on a military placement or spending one weekend of each month volunteering.

More details have now emerged about the scheme, including that there will be very limited exemptions from participation. The Conservative Party told The Telegraph that this included royal children being expected to take part. The Prince and Princess of Wales have three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie also have young children who would be eligible to take part once they reach 18 as well as Prince Edward’s son, the Earl of Wessex, who is 16.

The Royal family has a long history of serving in the military. Prince William attended Sandhurst before spending seven-and-a-half years in full-time military service.

The Tories have also revealed how they plan to encourage teenagers to apply for the military scheme, including participants being potentially favoured when applying for jobs. One option that has been suggested is the introduction of fast-tracked routes into graduate schemes and the civil service for those who have taken part. Another proposal is that employers are encouraged to consider Armed Forces recruits during the hiring process and that participants are given the opportunity to highlight their military experience on their Ucas applications for university and apprenticeships. There will be 30,000 places on the 12-month military scheme each year, and it is hoped that it will be highly competitive.

[From The Telegraph]

Here in America, there are several programs which help employers prioritize military and former military job candidates. It’s sort of a remnant from how poorly veterans were treated post-Vietnam, there was a larger movement to help veterans get jobs, etc. I guess Britain doesn’t have any of that? As for the royal kids ending up in this national service scheme… the Windsors will argue that their lives are dedicated to service anyway, that’s why they live in palaces and castles, because they’re performing a “service” to the British people. Anyway, yeah, none of this is going to happen.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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This year’s Cannes Film Festival had a weird vibe. I’m saying that from the outside looking in – there was a distinct lack of glamour on the red carpet and a distinct lack of buzz around Cannes. Cannes used to be Harvey Weinstein’s favorite hunting ground, and the film festival organizers have done very little to change the festival’s reputation away from “the festival for predators and abusers.” Things turned especially sour last week when Kelly Rowland was basically shoved off the red carpet by festival security. Several security guards buzzed around her, ruining her photos and refusing to allow her to pose on the steps. Kelly told one of the security guards off, and Kelly later said that she felt like there was racism involved. There was.

Days later, Dominican actress Massiel Taveras was also involved in an incident in Cannes. Just like the Kelly Rowland incident. Massiel was not allowed to simply pose for photographers and unveil her long train. Security once again buzzed around her, blocking photos and attempting to hustle her up the steps. The very same security woman who got told off by Kelly Rowland was there. That security woman put her hands on Massiel and Massiel threw hands right back:

Actress Massiel Taveras had a portrait of Jesus Christ on her dress at the red carpet.

The security guards immediately rushed her out. pic.twitter.com/YFE4pbIU0R

— MatrixUnraveled (@MatrixMysteries) May 26, 2024

The very same security people were also involved with hustling South Korean star Yoona off the carpet and ruining her photos too.

Security guard rushed YoonA out of the carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.

The same security guard was involved in incidents with Kelly Rowland and Massiel Taveras. https://t.co/BW71PS71yN

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 26, 2024

So… what the hell was going on? Why did festival organizers fire these a–holes? Was there a specific mandate to ruin the red carpet for women of color? Why did Cannes organizers not apologize to Kelly, Yoona and Massiel? This is insane. Massiel posted a statement on her social media and she gave a lot of love to Kelly as well.

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Photos courtesy of Massiel’s Instagram.

I have no idea if this month’s polling numbers genuinely reflect the mood of the country, but I genuinely believe two things with all my heart: one, that a lot of stupid people conveniently forget just how evil Donald Trump is and the media should be doing more to remind them; and two, that there a huge swath of American voters who are underrepresented in current polling methodology and that swath of voters f–king hates Donald Trump. Call it a “silent majority” of Americans who despise all things Trump. They are rarely shown in media coverage because Trump and his people carefully stage his rallies and his events so that he’s always kept in a bubble with his unhinged supporters. Bad things happen when he leaves that bubble. Speaking of…

On Saturday, Trump appeared at the Libertarian National Convention and those libertarians were not having any part of his bullsh-t. They greeted him with extreme hostility, and they spent a huge chunk of his speech booing him and heckling him. I was reading Reuters’ coverage and it turns out that libertarians will never support him because they blame HIM for the public health restrictions during the pandemic and for rushing the creation of the Covid vaccine. Which is kind of funny, considering that man was literally telling Americans to inject bleach into their veins to kill the virus. Anyway, this was funny as hell.

Trump’s lies get drowned out with boos at the Libertarian convention pic.twitter.com/Jiy5a0Z3gn

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) May 26, 2024

After getting booed for 20 minutes Trump finally gets pissed and snaps on them. pic.twitter.com/OuB20ksmip

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 26, 2024

No, Donnie, we saw and heard you getting booed BIGLY, and we fucking LOVED it! “The enthusiasm of the crowd” my ass! And saying Kennedy “destroys everything he touches”? That’s YOUR tag! #RickWilson even wrote a book, “Everything Trump Touches Dies”! LOSER! pic.twitter.com/SlSL5w0z2Q

— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) May 27, 2024

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

Bella Hadid wore Versace to the Cannes red carpet of Beating Hearts. Bella has suddenly looked so much like Carla Bruni to me during Cannes. [RCFA]
Rihanna really is a princess of China. [LaineyGossip]
This man’s terrible Wheel of Fortune guess is going viral. [Seriously OMG]
More photos of Sarah Jessica Parker from the AJLT set. [OMG Blog]
An interview with Jackie Beat. [Socialite Life]
Tom Hiddleston & Zawe Ashton came out to support Tom Holland. [Just Jared]
I love Joel Edgerton but I’m not watching this mess. [Pajiba]
Lily Gladstone, this is not the look. [Go Fug Yourself]
Kathryn Dennis’s DUI meltdown. [Starcasm]
Why are Khloe & Kim Kardashian beefing now? [Hollywood Life]
A rare AITA where I’m on the husband’s side. [Buzzfeed]

I said this months ago on the Gossip with Celebitchy podcast, and it’s still true today: I have yet to come up with one overarching theory for the Princess of Wales’s absence from public life, the contradictory reports on health, the wild briefings from Kensington Palace when they reportedly knew Kate had cancer, the Mother’s Day frankenphoto, the mysterious “sightings” of someone vaguely resembling “Kate,” and the behavior of the Windsors AND the Middletons. Every time I think “oh, I guess this or that is happening,” some other thing doesn’t make sense. So I’m left reading the effects and the appearances. It appears that Buckingham Palace took over Kensington Palace’s clownish comms operation in March. It appears that heaven and earth is being moved to protect William, not Kate. It appears that the Windsors are quite pleased that, within the past two months, they’ve reined in the British media on the subject of Kate and her health. The messaging has been much more disciplined and there appears to be a palace timeline being executed.

We’re entering June, a time when many people hoped to see or hear from Kate in some way, even if it was a general health update and a photo. We’re not getting that. Instead, we’re getting the message that no one will see Kate for many more months. Richard Eden reported that in the Mail this week, that Kate likely wouldn’t be seen publicly until the fall. Now “sources” tell The Daily Beast that Kate likely won’t have any public appearances this entire year, but they might do another “video” update on her health.

Kate will likely be away for the whole year: One source said they do not expect to see Kate back in any kind of public-facing role in the medium term, adding it was possible she would remain absent from public life for the rest of the year. The source said: “Lots of people involved in planning need to know what all the principals are doing a long way in advance. I am told that Kate’s diary for this year is empty. There is nothing planned. She may not appear in public for the rest of the year.”

A video update? Asked how the Palace would deal with the inevitable resurgence of conspiracy theories and speculation that a protracted absence would provoke, The Daily Beast’s source said: “I would not rule out another video message updating the country on her health. That proved to be a very effective way of keeping the conspiracy theorists at bay.”

The Wales family is going to Norfolk today: A friend of Kate and William told The Daily Beast: “The key thing for her now is avoiding any kind of stress or anxiety and just getting on with the business of getting better. They will bail out and be off to Sandringham the moment school breaks up.”

Kate is only “confiding” in her family, not William’s friends: The friend said that Kate has preferred to lean on and confide in her family rather than her and William’s circle of friends, many of whom will be at the Duke of Westminster’s wedding next month (along with her husband who is best man). They said: “The circle of trust is tiny. She has been surrounded by Carole and Michael, and (sister) Pippa and (brother) James have obviously been there for her as well. They are an incredibly tight family, and Catherine feels absolutely confident relying on them. They have been there for her for decades and never let her down.”

She’s not working from home either: There is no doubt her office is certainly managing expectations downwards when it comes to the question of her return to work….While making clear she had read the [Early Childhood] report and been kept updated on it, and that her office was on top of things, the statement carefully avoided any suggestion she was spending her days sitting up in bed with a computer. A source described as a “senior royal aide” went further when it came to explicitly downplaying any suggestions she had an ongoing daily workload, telling the Mail: “She will return to work when she has had the green light from doctors.”

The kids’ half-term starts today: Kate and William are expected to “bail out” of their Windsor home on Friday, one friend said. They are likely to spend the short holiday at the family’s country house, Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, where there is plenty of room for her mother and father (Carole and Michael Middleton), to stay, and privacy is easy to enforce thanks to a protective local community, many of whom are either friends with or work for the royals in some capacity.

Kate hasn’t been to her kids’ school events, but she possibly did a few drop-offs: The Daily Beast has been told by fellow parents at the smart private school which Kate’s children attend that she has not been seen at the sports matches and the other school events she and her husband usually religiously attend. However, she is understood to have done occasional school runs, one parent said, but while keeping a low profile. “There have been rumors she has done drop-off, but I haven’t seen her since the video,” said one. “We all feel very protective of her. Ask anyone at the school—they are amazing parents.”

[From The Daily Beast]

The weekend before Kate’s cancer-announcement video, “sources” swore up and down that Kate was seen at her kids’ sporting event AND that she was seen at the Windsor Farm Store. Now they’re admitting that was all a lie? I mean, we knew that at the time, but the palace’s refusal to acknowledge that they have zero credibility these days is remarkable. From January on, it just feels like we’ve been fed one lie after another, about everything. Lies about Kate’s condition, lies about the timelines of recovery and illness, lies about why William pulled out events, lies about who took photos, lies about who was actually in certain photos, lies about when photos were taken. As for Kate not being seen all year minus some, um, suspicious “videos,” again, there is such a credibility issue here.

(Sidenote: I’ve long believed that Kate has been in Norfolk for much of the year anyway – I’ve always had my doubts that she’s been in Windsor or London when the palace has claimed.)

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

As soon as Rishi Sunak announced Britain’s general election, Buckingham Palace quickly issued an announcement that the working royals would be canceling many engagements over the next two months. The idea being that the “apolitical” royals cannot and should not distract from the political campaigns or be put in a position where their activities might be considered “political.” I could see how some of King Charles’s events might be construed as political – like, if the king visited a food bank, people would say “why is there so much food insecurity after fourteen years of Tory rule?” Same with Prince William staggering through a homeless shelter: “Why are there so many unhoused people in Britain after fourteen years of Tory rule?” Like, I get why there are conspiracies and of course I know the Windsors are lazy AF. I just think the whole apolitical-Windsors thing is real and there are legit concerns, especially about William. But I’m sure there are concerns about Charles too, he’s said and written some very political and undiplomatic stuff.

So, King Charles and Prince William have an abundance of time and no work schedule after they canceled almost all of their events for the next six weeks. What to do, what to do. Focus on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. While Harry and Meghan were evicted from Frogmore Cottage a year ago, the Sussexes still live rent-free in Charles and William’s heads. So much so that Huevo and Chuck apparently had a special meeting about whether they should finally remove Harry & Meghan’s titles as punishment for their wildly successful Nigerian tour.

King Charles and Prince William have discussed stripping Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s royal titles, according to a royal expert.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex famously stepped back from their roles as senior working royals in 2020, with them moving to America mere months later. The couple now reside in Montecito, California with their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Since the couple moved across the pond, they have taken part in several projects, with them often making bombshell revelations about their time in the Royal Family, raising eyebrows and causing tensions to brew. The Sussexes proudly sat in chairs labelled ‘Duke’ and ‘Duchess’ during their recent tour of Nigeria and were “delighted” their royal titles were on display.

But royal author and expert Tom Quinn has exclusively told The Mirror that King Charles and Prince William “have had lengthy discussions about stripping Meghan and Harry of their royal titles, but they are terrified this would backfire and make the situation worse”.

Mr Quinn added: “The last thing they want is to give the renegade royals something else to complain about. William and his father know that even without their Royal titles Meghan and Harry would carry on travelling the world as if they were royals and most people in the world will still welcome them.”

[From The Daily Mirror]

“William and his father know that even without their Royal titles Meghan and Harry would carry on traveling the world as if they were royals and most people in the world will still welcome them.” So you’re admitting that the titles don’t actually carry any special powers or magic? That Harry and Meghan are enormously popular, charismatic and well-liked regardless of their titles? So much of the title stuff is Charles and William showing the world that they know no one would really give a sh-t about them without the titles. Who is William without his titles? Just an angry huevo who cheats on his wife and is consumed by jealousy and hatred for his brother. Who is Charles without his title? Just a weak man being manipulated by his scheming side-chick wife. And he’s also a sh-tty father.

Besides, post-Nigerian tour, Meghan is a Nigerian princess in her own right. Take back the musty British titles and Meghan will be a Nigerian Ada Mazi. That’s another thing they don’t want, to take away the British titles and for Harry and Meghan to be honored and titled by other countries. As much as the Brits bitch about the titles, those same people use the titles as their “tie” to and claim of ownership of the Sussexes.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Real talk: the more I look at and evaluate Jonathan Yeo’s “blood-soaked” portrait of King Charles, the more I love it. I’m not pretending to be a professional art critic or anything, but I love the sub-genre of “discussions about artwork done with royals-as-subjects.” Yeo’s portrait of Charles is thought-provoking, evocative and it’s just a really interesting painting overall. The fact that Yeo actually captured Charles is the icing on the cake. Compare Yeo’s portrait to Hannah Uzor’s Tatler-commissioned portrait of the Princess of Wales, and Uzor’s is found wanting. It’s not striking, it doesn’t look like Kate, and the whole piece is so flat and lifeless.

Outrage and opinions followed the unveiling of Yeo’s portrait of the king. Charles’s name was trending on social media for days as everyone dissected the painting. Mainstream, international outlets got in on it too, everyone wanted to talk about Yeo’s portrait. It feels like Tatler is trying to force the same thing about Uzor’s portrait of Kate, only everyone just flatly hates it. The Telegraph’s art critic Alastair Sooke called Uzor’s piece “intolerably bad.” Some of his review:

Sorry, who is she meant to be? The Princess of Wales? You could have fooled me. Even by the standards of modern royal portraiture (and there have been many abominable likenesses of senior members of our royal family produced over the past century), Tatler’s new cover image – an “exclusive” portrait of the Princess of Wales by the British-Zambian artist Hannah Uzor – is egregiously, intolerably, jaw-hits-the-floor bad.

I’ve spent the past hour or so – time, incidentally, that I will never get back – scrutinising Uzor’s “likeness”, and, still, I cannot divine any flicker of resemblance between it and the woman it’s supposed to depict. At first, my editor thought it was meant to represent Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; its subject’s smirk made me think, initially, of Anne Robinson fronting The Weakest Link.

Has there been a flatter, more lifeless royal portrait in living memory? (It’s no surprise to learn that Uzor based her picture on video footage of, rather than personal sittings with, her subject.) Beneath a Lego-like helmet of unmodulated, monotonously brown “hair”, this Princess of Wales has as much charisma as a naff figurine atop a wedding cake.

She holds herself with the bored bearing of an air stewardess about to begin an in-flight safety demonstration – which is additionally awkward, given that this was a job once performed by Catherine’s mother (a fact that, in years gone by, reportedly attracted the ridicule of William’s snobbish friends).

Even her outfit (which she wore to the King’s first state banquet) appears stiff, with that rigid blue sash restricting her like a seatbelt. Her tiara doesn’t sparkle and those diamond-drop earrings fail to shine; towards the image’s bottom edge, her gown seems to disintegrate into streaks of brittle wax, like something desiccated and shrivelled worn by Miss Havisham.

[From The Telegraph]

The Miss Havisham reference is WILD, as is the air stewardess reference, OH MY GOD. Sooke really hates the bejesus out of this piece. Someone else who hated it? “Royal commentator” Michael Cole:

Discussing the portrait of The Princess of Wales which appeared on the latest edition of Tatler, Mr Cole told GBNews: “It’s dreadful, isn’t it? It’s as dreadful as Jonathan Yeo’s red portrait of the Red King was brilliant and wonderful.

“It is really a daub, a most dreadful daub. But what Tatler’s doing sticking it on the cover? I have no idea at all. I think she’s got the garter sash right. Everything else is wrong. Certainly the features, certainly the deportment: everything about it. I have no idea why on earth that would be put on the cover of such a long-established, well, it’s the Toff’s bible, isn’t it? Tatler. I don’t know what they’ll think of it at all, and I don’t think it’s helpful either, because at this moment, as we know, Kate, The Princess of Wales, is undergoing treatment for an unspecified cancer.

“To have a picture of her, which might have been done by that man who did The Scream, [Edvard] Munch. Mr Munch might have done this if he’d thought of doing a portrait of the Princess of Wales. Now I think it’s best forgotten. I think it’s one of those magazines you just want to turn it over and see the advert on the back page.”

[From GB News]

Some of you suggested something similar, which is that Tatler was being purposefully shady by commissioning this portrait and putting it on the cover. While that’s absolutely a possibility, am I the only one finding this hate for the piece a bit… dramatic and performative? While Uzor’s piece looks nothing like Kate, it’s also not unflattering, per se. It’s not like Uzor depicted Kate as slovenly or squatting down to take a dump. Uzor captured Kate’s authentic “flatness,” her dull two-dimensionality. Maybe that’s why the royalists hate it.

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General election? There’s only one debate in Britain right now: where do you stand on the new portrait of the Princess of Wales for the cover of Tatler?

Get the inside scoop in Tatler’s July 2024 issue, on sale 30 May. https://t.co/KZ0QuX1gRS pic.twitter.com/LQVZU0FNj2

— Tatler (@Tatlermagazine) May 23, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images & Avalon Red. Cover courtesy of Tatler, portrait courtesy of Jonathan Yeo.

Tom Bower has been especially vocal lately, and he’s being used as a credible royal expert by many American and British outlets, even though it’s been clear for years that he’s a vile, racist, misogynistic, hateful old man. Recently, he was trying to revive the “bullying investigation” into the Duchess of Sussex and he was full of contempt for the Sussexes’ wildly successful Nigerian tour. Hilariously, Bower claimed that the Sussexes should have mentioned King Charles during their trip to Nigeria. What’s also funny is that Bower and his ilk are basically admitting that the Nigerian tour was a success and that the Sussexes have been more successful than many of them predicted. So now that’s the criticism – how dare Harry and Meghan rub our noses in their wins?? Poor William and Kate, having to contend with the Sussexes’ successes!

Kate Middleton and Prince William are ‘deeply upset’ with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry as they ‘go through tragedy’, claims a royal author. With the Princess of Wales, 42, out of action following the announcement that she is undergoing preventative treatment for cancer and King Charles, 75, only recently getting back into royal duties after his cancer diagnosis, royal expert Tom Bower recognised the ‘huge pressure’ on Prince William.

But not only this, the royal pro also claimed that this ‘pressure’ isn’t helped by how insensitive Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan Markle, 42, appear to be. As the Waleses deal with arguably the most difficult time of their lives, Tom Bower claimed that the Sussexes’ new ventures are ‘rubbing salt in the wound’ for Kate and Will.

Speaking exclusively to Woman, Tom shared why he believes William to be ‘furious’ with Harry, as he said: “Not only is there the pressure on William, but also the constant sniping from California. I’m sure he’s furious with Harry, he’s behaved appalling. Not only by the way he left England and exploited his royal connections but also his book – the things he said about the Waleses were so outrageous, rude, unfair and in my opinion, untrue. It’s a real struggle for the Waleses.”

After their recent trip to Nigeria, and the launch of Meghan’s new Instagram brand, American Riviera Orchard, Tom added: “One just always feels like there may be some sort of secret glee in Montecito. While they’re establishing this so-called brand Sussex, the family here is going through torment. After Charles’ diagnosis, Harry came over for half an hour and that’s it, he’s done nothing else. I can imagine that Kate and William are deeply upset by having the Sussexes’ brand operation rubbed in their face while they’re going through this tragedy.”

[From The Sun]

The Windsors: sink or swim.
H&M: Okay, we’ll swim to America.
The Windsors: You’ll never survive without us.
H&M: Here we are, surviving and thriving.
The Windsors: How dare you rub our noses in your successes, why aren’t you begging to come back?? That’s so rude!!
H&M: We can’t hear you over the sound of all of this winning.

Also: “Harry came over for half an hour and that’s it, he’s done nothing else.” I mean, he asked to see his father and the king lied and said he was too busy, so once again, what was supposed to happen? Harry and Meghan have a very special ability to just step back and make the entire royal institution – and their sycophants – make asses out of themselves, over and over again. I do think Bower is correct on one part of this, which is that William can’t handle the fact that his brother is thriving. It really is that simple.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Tatler’s July issue features three covers – portraits of QEII, King Charles and the Princess of Wales. I wanted to talk about the Kate portrait, because this looks nothing like her. Tatler apparently commissioned Hannah Uzor to make a large-scale portrait of Kate, and Uzor pored over photos of Kate and based this portrait on Kate’s appearance at the state dinner for the South African president in 2022. It was one of Kate’s first big moments as Princess of Wales and she wore the Cambridge Lovers Knot Tiara, Diana’s Collingwood diamond-and-pearl earrings and a caped Jenny Packham gown. The photos of Kate weren’t bad, and the look was fine, if a bit uninspiring. Tatler wanted a portrait which would, as they write, celebrate “Britain’s royal star: the woman so many look to for strength, grace and dignity.”

Now, in a large-scale portrait commissioned by Tatler, Hannah Uzor depicts Kate in her newest role – The Princess of Wales.

‘She has really risen up to her role – she was born for this,’ says Uzor in our July cover story, adding that ‘she carries herself with such dignity, elegance and grace.’ The cover, crafted after the artist’s study of over 180,000 archival photographs, still manages to incorporate Kate’s personal passions; projects the public have witnessed the princess develop over many years. The green colour wash nods to her love of gardening, and its blue undertones to the time she spent rowing – a hobby that dates back to those years spent studying art at university.

Uzor – who was born Hannah Hasiciimbwe in Lusaka, Zambia and counts Toulouse Lautrec among her influences – has equally captured another side to Kate. ‘I sense with her the joy of motherhood,’ says the artist, who, like her subject, is a mother of three. More than ever, the image of the Princess sits between the dichotomies of royal portraiture, balancing the ceremonial and the sequestered. She gazes out of this month’s cover, eyes once again locked with the viewer: a princess, mother, wife and artist.

[From Tatler]

LMAO “The green colour wash nods to her love of gardening, and its blue undertones to the time she spent rowing.” Kate is a woman without passions but bless your heart for trying. And all of that for a portrait which looks vaguely like Minka Kelly. Also: this serves as a reminder that there really aren’t that many portraits of Kate. There’s the Paul Emsley one, there was one of Kate and William, and then there’s this mess. Well, at least it won’t go viral like King Charles’s brilliant portrait by Jonathan Yeo.

Cover courtesy of Tatler, additional photos courtesy of Avalon Red.