King and Queen unveil Coronation portraits

King Charles and Queen Camilla have unveiled their new state portraits at the National Gallery on the second anniversary of their Coronation day.

The paintings will be displayed in the gallery's Central Hall before moving to Buckingham Palace in June.

The portrait of the King shows him wearing the Robe of State alongside his naval uniform with medals, and the Queen is portrayed wearing her coronation dress.

There was applause at the gallery on Tuesday as the couple pulled down coverings to reveal both portraits, before stepping back to admire the paintings.

The King was painted by Peter Kuhfeld, who has known him for more than 40 years, while the Queen was painted by Paul S. Benney.

The robe worn by the King is the one used during the first part of the coronation service. In keeping with tradition, alongside him is the Imperial State Crown.

Alongside the Queen in her portrait is her crown and the Robe of Estate she wore as she left Westminster Abbey on coronation day.

The King sat for Mr Kuhfeld at St James's Palace five times over a year and a half. There were also two separate sittings with just the crown.

"I've spent quite a long time with him over the years so I'm used to being with him, " the artist said.

"As a person he's very interesting, he is very understanding of what a painter needs to do the job."

Mr Benney had six official sittings with the Queen in the Garden Room at Clarence House. He was also allowed to set up a studio there allowing him to meet the Queen informally many times.

"The sittings were extremely pleasurable on my part," he said. "I like to talk when I'm painting… and so we had a lot of chat and stories which we told each other.

"At times I would be holding my tummy from laughing so much. The Queen is very witty."

Both the King and Queen reacted positively as they looked at the portraits after their unveiling.

"I suppose he thinks it's okay," Mr Kuhfeld said. "You never ask a sitter what they think of their own picture because I'm not sure that they know."

The Queen could be heard telling Mr Benney about her portrait: "I think it's really lovely".

He also benefitted from some crucial family support: the Queen's daughter, Laura Lopes, was at the National Gallery for the unveiling and complimented the painting.

Mr Benney said: "The Queen has said nothing but wonderful things about it - but more importantly Laura, her daughter, likes it.

"And you know when the kids like it that you're probably on the right track."

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