Now that she has a baby in her, Kate Middleton has earned an official royal portrait. But upon its unveiling, the reviews were mixed.

Kate and William went to London's National Portrait Gallery early on Jan.11 for a private 10-minute preview. Afterwards, the Duchess prounounced the work "brilliant," while her husband called it "beautiful, absolutely beautiful."

But while the royals may be delighted, art critics are not nearly as impressed.

British art journal editor Robin Simon said, “Fortunately, the Duchess of Cambridge looks nothing like this in real life. I'm really sad to say this is a rotten portrait,” while David Lee (former editor for Art Review) mused, “This is the most bland and predictable royal portrait in living memory."

Man. And they say Americans are rude.

Kate sat for well-meaning portrait artist Paul Emsley twice last summer, but he mostly worked from photographs during the more than three months he toiled away to capture her likeness. Emsley says his purpose was “to convey her natural self as opposed to her official self” and “to try to create something of her natural warmth, her natural serenity without too much busyness in the portrait.”

When the BBC read him one critic's scathing comments during an interview, Emsley chuckled and replied, "Can he draw?"

The British snark. It has been served.

Kate's portrait currently hangs in the same room as a rendering of a nude David Beckham, which the gallery says will be moved -- and which we say would be much more amusing if it stayed where it was.
 

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