One of the best.
I’m not much for it myself … they’ve caught William’s character about right but Kate looks a bit dreamy or drippy ( and dare I say her bust looks a little saggy) .
Oh dear, sorry, I’m not keen on that
For the faces they might just as well have used photo, it’s not really painterly, is it?
And I think they may have worked from separate photos of each of them and tried to join them together. The way they are standing together and holding each other doesn’t look quite right and her head looks bigger than his, with different tones and colours.
I don’t much like the composition with those pillars in the background, what’s the point of them? And they look a bit crooked
I’m not sure that’s art really, and it’s very forgettable, like a semi formal wedding photo. I think they could have come up with something a lot better
1 Like
Views are subjective.
1 Like
They might have chosen better expressions. They look so terribly serious.
1 Like
It’s a pity Kate has turned away a little, but otherwise I thought it was very good.
I think she forgot her bra!
I agree about a good likeness to Prince William but to me Kate looks like a dark haired Liz Truss.
…and, dare l utter… are they… nipples?
1 Like
Children waiting outside so sweet and uninhibited.
@Cinderella - Kate looks very pretty in that video - William looks like a scruff. I had not realised he had lost so much hair - poor chap.
I quite like it.
And i would love to be able to paint like that,pure genius.
Comme ci,comme ca.
It’s dreadful … 
Apparently, it’s oil on linen.
Although the faces are reasonably accurate, the posture of the pair is one I’ve never seen them in and it looks odd. I don’t recollect William with his hands in his pockets and I’ve never seen Kate in such an appalling dress.
The portrait is, seemingly, typical of the artist’s style.
He obviously likes painting shiny fabric.
I’m not a fan of the painting, or indeed that style of painting. It seems to me it is saying more about the artist, (look at me, look how clever I am) than the subjects. To me it lacks something.
1 Like
I agree, l have never seen Prince William in a pose like that… in the portrait he’s standing like he’s a male model on a fashion photo shoot… for a picture to go in a Marshall Ward catalogue!
1 Like
Maybe the artist used models for the bodies and painted the heads on later … 
1 Like
Nice teeth.
1 Like
Quote from artist:
“As it is the first portrait to depict them together, and specifically during their time as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, I wanted the image to evoke a feeling of balance between their public and private lives. The piece was commissioned as a gift for the people of Cambridgeshire, and I hope they will enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed creating it.”
The focus of the image in terms of symbolism is firmly on Kate who is shown wearing many items of cultural and historical significance.
Which could explain her posture, to show them to advantage.
1 Like
There’s some interesting detail in the article about some of the items the couple are wearing, especially:
Two key jewels worn belonged to Kate’s late mother-in-law Princess Diana. These comprise a pair of earrings which were a wedding present to Diana from her family jewelers on the occasion of her marriage in 1981 and a three-strand pearl and diamond bracelet.
Kate has often worn pieces of jewelry that had formerly belonged to Diana as a way of keeping the princess a part of her and William’s life moving forward.
Perhaps the most important jewel Kate wears in the portrait is a large pearl and diamond brooch with a pearl pendant which is known as “The Duchess of Cambridge brooch.” This originally belonged to Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge, a daughter-in-law of King George III.
Augusta had a famous collection of jewels and left the brooch, on her death in 1889 at the age of 91, to her daughter Princess Mary Adelaide of Teck who was Queen Elizabeth II’s great-grandmother.
The queen inherited the brooch in 1953 and has worn it throughout her reign with and without the pearl pendant.
Kate has often been loaned important pieces of jewelry from the queen’s own collection, seen as a mark of respect from the monarch and this loan of the Duchess of Cambridge’s brooch to the current duchess is the first time Kate has been seen publicly wearing the piece.
The placement of “important” items in traditional portraits has always fascinated me so I’m pleased that’s one tradition the artist followed.
1 Like