RICHARD EDEN: Mystery over why the first official royal portrait of the Princess of Wales moved into storage
When the first official royal portrait of the Princess of Wales was unveiled to the public a decade ago, Catherine was typically polite, describing Paul Emsley’s efforts as “brilliant, absolutely wonderful.”
The critics, however, were less kind, denouncing it in one instance as “awful… rotten… an unmitigated disaster.” Another sourly commented, “The only saving grace is that it’s not Rolf Harris.”
Now I can reveal that the work has been transferred to a storage space in the National Portrait Gallery, even though it is our future Queen’s only solo painting from the London institution. Can be viewed ‘by appointment in our archive’.
Catherine is the royal patron of the Trafalgar Square gallery and it is rumored that she may be secretly glad the work is no longer on public display.
“It is inconceivable that Her Royal Highness’s painting would be hidden from view without her consultation,” said a source. “That would be very rude. She is our most valued patron.’
The first official painted portrait of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, by Scottish-born artist Paul Emsley, 2012
Now I can reveal that the work has been transferred to a storage unit at the National Portrait Gallery (pictured)
The oil painting was given a prominent place from its unveiling in 2013 until 2018. It was then loaned for a touring exhibition around the world until the gallery closed in 2020 for £35 million worth of renovations.
When the gallery was reopened to much fanfare by the princess last month, only two works featuring her image were left on display: a Jamie Coreth painting, of her side-by-side with her husband, Prince William, and a photo of Paolo Roversi, an Italian fashion snapper, taken to mark her 40th birthday in 2022.
Emsley’s “dead eye” painting, which sparked worldwide controversy for making the princess look older than her years, wasn’t the only prominent royal portrait to disappear when the gallery reopened.
Nicky Philipps’ 2010 painting of Princes William and Harry in their uniforms from the Household Cavalry mess was removed from public display.
The decision sparked speculation that the gallery wanted to avoid photographing Catherine next to an image of Harry, who publicly accused her of making his wife, Meghan, cry. Among other lurid allegations in his memoir, Spare, he alleged that William physically assaulted him and knocked him to the ground.
The gallery emphasizes that the princess has no influence on her selection of works. “Decisions about the portraits shown are taken by the curatorial team,” says the spokesperson.
‘With more than 250,000 portraits in our collection, we can only show a small percentage in our building. We rotate the exhibited portraits regularly and lend portraits from the collection to other galleries and organisations.’