Coronation Art: Marking The Coronation of Charles III

King Charles III and Camilla have crowned the King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth at their coronation on the 6th of May 2023. This was a time of celebration for many, with street parties taking place across the country.

Now is the perfect time to explore the art world’s reaction to such a huge event, as well as some of the best paintings of the royal family. Read on to find out more information about some of the most famous paintings, including paintings of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

In this blog, we’ll also be exploring our very own exhibition at Grove Gallery - The Crown.

Exploring The Most Famous Royal Paintings

The Royal Collection is full of paintings of British royals including the likes of Henry VIII Queen Victoria and Charles II, and of course, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen sat with Lucian Freud in May 2000 at Buckingham Palace for the painting for the Royal Collection - Her Majesty the Queen, 2000-01.

Lucian Freud is one of the best portrait painters of the 20th century. Peter Paul Rubens created iconic paintings of royals in the 1600s, - including the famous painting of Henry IV, King of France entering Paris - ‘The Triumph of Henry IV’ (1630). Another iconic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was created by Rob Munday - the first ever official holographic portrait of the Queen.

This, in turn, made Rob the first-ever royal photographer. Munday also created the first holographic postage stamp containing a portrait of the Queen, which also made its way to the world’s first £100 banknote. In 2012, the Queen was presented with one of Munday’s portraits of her.

The Crown Exhibition at Grove Gallery

Explore our latest exhibition at Grove Gallery today - we are proud to introduce The Crown by Alison Jackson. Alison Jackson is a filmmaker, photographer and artist who explores celebrity culture.

She is known for creating realistic photographs of celebrities using cleverly chosen lookalikes. Jackson focused on the royals in this exhibition as they are fascinating, mysterious and intriguing - shrouded in history and tradition, the public is left wondering what exactly goes on in their private lives.

Her photographs open conversation and make people question their perception of the royal family. The exhibition includes humorous, tongue-in-cheek photographs of the ‘royal family’ in various scenarios.

In one image, you can see Queen Elizabeth III sitting at the dinner table with Donald Trump, and in another, you can see Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle fighting. You can also view the iconic 1998 photograph Princess Diana Gives The Finger, depicting Princess Diana (or a very realistic lookalike) flipping her middle finger up to the camera with a cheeky grin.

The series also explores the royal family’s reaction to Prince Harry’s book ‘Spare’ - there are cleverly orchestrated shots of Prince William and Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales looking shocked reading the memoir, and another of William ripping it up in anger.

The show explores private moments inside the royal family, also known as ‘the firm’. It plays on news topics, including headlines surrounding the Coronation weekend. Offering a whimsical view of the coronation, the shots in The Crown are sure to spark your imagination.

As well as visiting our gallery in London, you can also view shots from The Crown online, or explore our virtual tour of the exhibition for a limited time. The exhibition is at Grove Gallery until the 27th of May 2023.