King Charles is a painter, and he always encouraged his sons to paint or find their inner artist. While I don’t know if Prince William and Prince Harry have kept up with their artistic endeavors, it looks like William’s children are being encouraged to pursue their art. I imagine the Middleton side of the family is into crafts too, so I would guess that the kids are always surrounded by painting supplies, glitter, paste, etc. All of which to say, Prince George painted something for the holidays. Prince William and Kate posted his painting on their social media:
Happy Christmas!
🎨 by George pic.twitter.com/59wXHYx0vb
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) December 25, 2022
It took about two seconds for people to point out that this painting seemed to be an homage or spiritual copykeening to the front of a Christmas card going around:
I wish these people would be honest and stated this was a copy/inspiration from this card: pic.twitter.com/394XY07OPO
— Marg N – AU (@Daisy1158) December 25, 2022
Yeah. It seems more than likely that Prince George set out to copy the original. Fair enough – he’s just a kid, of course he was inspired by the Christmas card. I do find it slightly tacky that William and Kate put it out there like it was a wholly original work they commissioned from George for Christmas. I also think they could have softened everything by also posting Charlotte’s art and maybe even Louis’s art. I mean… they clearly separate George from his siblings constantly to reinforce his mindset of “the heir.” Just like they’re already positioning Louis to be the foil to the heir.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
SM finds everything..quickly. Copy and Paste is just bad at this.
OK that’s funny! When I saw that, I immediately thought that it was fake and that the desperados needed something to look good! 😂 He probably just painted it in! Sorry, but with those family genes from both sides they can’t really be talented! But maybe he really is an exception!
There’s definitely artistic genes among the Windsors, going back generations. That’s not fake and not surprising. Charles paints; Margaret had artistic talent, as did her husband, 1st Earl Snowden. That’s why both Lady Sarah, and David, 2nd Earl Snowden, are both artists (Sarah is a painter; David is a former furniture maker). Sarah’s oldest son is a ceramic artist.
I think the point is that W&K maybe could have said George was inspired by a picture he saw to paint this. He definitely has talent. I wish he could pursue his artistic talents and his love of dance to the fullest, without being burdened by his royal heir status. SMH
The other part of this I saw mentioned in the Twitter feed, is that if the Sussexes posted such a painting done by Archie, we’d never hear the end of the criticisms, which would follow Archie for the rest of his life. M&H would be called bad parents. This is the real hypocrisy folks. It’s sad that there has grown up this competitive back-biting on Twitter between Sussex supporters and royalist/W&K fans/ Meghan-haters. That’s what this is sadly all about. 😒 But unfortunately, it is W&K’s jealousies, and royal courtiers/ KP’s conniving, BM smear campaign, and racism which has created this entire situation in the first place!
“Artistic genes” aren’t a thing, or if they are, everyone has them. But this “painting” looks really stilted. Idk, it’s nothing like I remember any kid that age doing. It doesn’t have any life to it. I think either someone else was paid to do it, or George was told to in a paint-by-numbers way.
Kids learn to draw by copying images they love.
No one is denying that…
It’s just that when your parents, the FFKandQC share your work, they should probably also share what you were inspired by so that there are no illusions as to what you made. And they can give some nice publicity to the original work.
But this is just indicative of their own work. Copykeen, don’t give credit, rinse and repeat.
I just feel bad that George has to get caught up in it.
Most kids don’t have their parents share their work on social media and have a country’s media write articles about how their child is a genius.
Exactly. And the game—if we can call it that —has not been fair. Remember when Camilla was mockingly referring to Archie as Einstein because his parent said he loved books. Meghan said Archie loved to be read to ,but Camilka Tominey repeated it as a claim that Archie loved reading at 18 months. Any disingenuous act by parents, especially Will and Kate should be pointed out. Their mouthpieces have been mean. It is just unfortunate that the kids are brought into the mess.
Poor kid. Why would they do this?
Why would they do this? Because the painting is cute and cheerful for the holidays.
Sure, it’s cute and cheerful. Mostly, I hope his parents first asked him if he minded them sharing his art work over social media. If he said yes, then, okay. I’m hoping they’d already had conversations about social media with him so he’s making an informed choice about sharing his work. Wish his parents had been more savvy and credited both George and the original artist so as to avoid SM backlash.
They did it because they know people will praise them for a cute pictures. Look at all the ones here saying “it’s cute what’s the deal “. Yeah let’s ignore the royal propaganda and how they are acting no different than the celebrity influencers they pretend to not be. Oh wait there is a difference, it’s that celebrity influencers don’t get taxpayer money for their lifestyle, these people do.
No they don’t.
Children DO learn to draw by copying images they love. I couldn’t paint or draw a stag just from memory, could you? And people criticizing George’s painting as having “no life”….. seriously, slow your roll. He’s a KID. He’s LEARNING. Criticizing his painting as if you expected him to be freaking Rembrandt isn’t any better than the dumb criticism H&M get.
And W&K ABSOLUTELY should have credited the original artist. But what do you expect? Copying without giving credit is all they do.
I can tell the future George I of England used tracing paper lol. Isn’t he a little too young to be copycatting? His parents should encourage him to create his own artwork.
lol copykeening has to start young! George’s art is very cute. They need to put out stuff to make their heir interesting because, you know it’s all about Louis now being cute, against all odds. Fast forward 15 more years and we’ll have these 2 all over the press against each other, if not the 3 of them. Learn from Harry, Burger King!
Spot on, @douchesofcambridge! Right now, Louis is definitely the attraction of the family right now.. didn’t the RR demand his presence to the Christmas walk?
Yall really? He’s a kid. Are you actually coming for him for tracing? I’m a full on adult. I sell my art. I trace things when I’m pattern making. Be mad his parents didn’t give credit but for crying out loud he’s a child and maybe he traced. This is so unnecessarily mean spirited to mock.
Again for the people in the balcony… no one is attacking George. They are being critical of his parents putting his work out there for public consumption where not everyone is going to coo and praise the work. This was done for good PR and their own ego, not for the benefit of George.
Again for the people in the balcony — on the very FIRST post someone said he is starting to look like Andrew….so yea, save the “we are only after the parents” tripe.
I think George (if he keeps that name) will be King George VII.
This family really doesn’t do anything original, do they? It must be so debilitating to be so lacking in imagination.
^^ Yeah, but there is artistic talent in the Windsor family going back generations. It’s good for all children to have exposure to music and art. That’s why Montessori training is so effective. In any case, there are a number of issues involved with the posting of the painting on social media, without some nod to the original inspiration. It’s too bad W&K won’t just allow their kids more measure of privacy during their young years.
There are lots of opinions, but bottom line: the reactions are coming out of a whole extenuating series of events that the Keens have brought on themselves.
I don’t think George traced this. Because I don’t think George painted this, I think Kate did it. The “quality” is around the same level as Kate’s piano playing and speech making.
My kids could have done something similar at that age, and given how important drawing/ painting is in that family, my guess is that George did copy (not trace) and paint the watercolors himself. Personally, I think he did a great job.
As to posting it, on this I’ll give W&K a pass. I don’t know if they were aware the card was copied, and I also don’t know how their children felt about showing their artwork to the world: say George felt proud and Charlotte said, “No”? This family is awful in many aspects, but this in itself isn’t a huge deal.
Agree with you @MrsKrabapple. Especially if you go back and compare it to other artwork he’s done in the past year. It’s a jump to believe it’s George doing this freehand.
@ML, there is zero believability to this not being copied. Too many coincidences. Ear position, snow on the nose, bird on the back (same colors), and more. It’s kind of big deal because RR’s (and George’s parents) are sharing this as if it was something he came up with and did due to his “artistic” ability. When the original (and most likely this shared work) was done by somebody else.
A Great Reckoning, I agree that George copied that Christmas card, and personally, I think that’s okay for a 9.5 year old to do. I don’t normally give K&W a pass, but this is absolutely not an issue where I believe them to have done anything truly wrong.
In the other post where the RF are pictured walking to church, I cannot get over the fact that everyone except Louis is warmly dressed when every parent knows that young children get colder more easily than older children and adults. Wtf is Louis doing in shorts?!
Going after Paedrew’s acceptance, mental health, diversity, silence about friends such as Jeremy Clarkson, swf copy keening, etc. Great! Here, I think George did a great job copying someone else’s work and it’s not a big deal to me.
I just don’t believe that was painted by even the most talented 9 year old. It’s really good, but I think there was tracing and adult help involved. Which is fine if they’re honest about it. Whole thing smacks of those bullshit cards to Granny Diana which they claimed had been done by Charlotte. Again, not without a lot of adult help.
With kids’ paintings, I’d be prepared to gush and praise over anything they produced, whatever the skill and talent level, because they’re learning and experimenting and having fun. But with this I feel that we’re being played. And yeah, don’t put out artwork by just the heir and try to pretend he’s some kind of prodigy.
Every snowflake is in the precise proper location, isn’t it. This is not a normal painting, and I don’t mean because no child could do it. I mean because it doesn’t look like someone did it because they wanted to. There’s no spark to it, no life.
I am not criticizing George. Whenever people criticize Skull and Bones’ parenting people pop up claiming we’re criticizing the children. Hell no. I feel really sorry for these kids, and I’m not going to pretend not to see what I see in how they’re being treated.
He would be the future George VII. And George is Prince George of Wales now, not Cambridge.
He probably used a lightpad. A lot of artists use them when they are learning
Whether it was inspired by that card or not, it’s impressive! I can’t paint like that so good on George. And i could imagine that if a child presents you this then as their parents you would be impressed too. Proud even.
This is exactly the reaction they wanted. People saying they can’t do it themselves and then ignoring how a child’s privacy just got ruined.
Lots of proud parents don’t expose their young kids to a global audience and manage to praise their kids without expecting the world to do it. This is pure PR and George has lost some of his privacy because his parents want strangers to coo over their child.
I still don’t see whats the big deal. So yeah it is PR… everything they do is PR. Still doesn’t change the fact that it’s an impressive painting. Lot’s of parents share they kiddies “art” on social media.
And as far as privacy goes… George is old enough to give his okay on whether they could share this or not. And it’s not like it’s a private picture of him… it’s simply his painting. Maybe George was proud of himself too and wanted it to be shown.
Couldn’t care less about whether he copied the picture.
The issue is that Princess of Wales is an early childhood advocate & yet is putting her children front and center.
How will they defend their privacy when the royal family rests on these new mini Celeb royals.
All this criticism about the Sussexes making money off a family feud…. That everyone already knew about/had heard the tabloid/palace leak version of….
Yet the royal family are allowed to ride off making young children global celebrities.
It is one thing to have photos of them at family events or milestones with other members. However they’re having whole articles dedicated to them and their personalities & fashion.
It’s not 1985 and it just shows nobody has learned anything about life in the media glare, it’s impacts or adapted to the changing media landscape.
Using a kid for PR is always bad and George is not old enough to understand the implications of what something like this exposes him too. Because he’s being criticized for copying as a result of his parents doing this. Is George able to handle that kind of criticism? Doubtful and it’s exactly why he should be allowed to keep certain things private. I mean why not post his grades online if they are good too? Or any essay he’s written. Because lines are being crossed here and since social media will keep receipts everything posted about George will come back to him years later.
Ummm… Didn’t the Sussexes do the same thing? Expose the kids to a global audience?
@Agatha999, they did share images of their children… but very limited… we barely got faceshots. This seems like an entirely different can of worms… exposing the kid to criticism because the parents didn’t acknowledge that he was tracing/mimicking someone else’s work.
But that seems minimal when compared to the fact that the parents had the opportunity to be forthcoming (knowing that sm would figure it out) and highlight another artist’s work as inspiration for George’s… and didn’t take it.
I’m wondering if it was a class project & each kid in class made their own version of that image. And yes, while parents may post such things to SM any more rather than just sticking them on the fridge, George’s parents are ONLY posting about him, not their other two children. Which is weird & awful & ridiculous & points up so many issues with this monarchy.
@BeanieBean, I’m a first grade teacher and my first thought just seeing the pic was that it may have been a school assignment where all the students were copying an original to create their own …..very normal. Could they have included Charlotte’s artwork? Sure if it was comparable. Could they have credited the artist? Sure but (and this probably speaks to my low estimation of them in highly regarding them as lazy) I wouldn’t be surprised if they thought he originated it himself and didn’t realize it was a copy work assignment until it was pointed out.🥴
He traced it, that’s why. I did that when I was a kid. There’s no way he’d be able to pull off that level of artistry freehanded.
I know I did a similar project with Christmas cards as an art project at school. You drew a grid on the card and then you would replicate everything square from square. It’s a pretty common project.
But are we supposed to believe that posh English schools don’t do regular art projects as a class?
When I was his age, I had some classmates who did much more impressive work freehand. Not saying he did, just saying some can and have
It’s 100% within the realm of what 9-year-olds can do. I know because I still remember doing it and having some artworks to show for it. Would definitely say I am above average when it comes to subject but am certainly no Monet. Definitely declined applying to art school due to its impractical nature.
You only have to compare it to the original to see the different levels of artistry. The flat, simplistic ears, nose and mouth give it away, as well as the visible outline of the birds vs creating depth with color, gradation, shapes and form. The translucent brushstrokes give off the effect of water color (notoriously tricky medium that requires a high level of skill) but based on how much he layered the colors, I would say he used thin, watery layers of acrylic paint, which is far more forgiving.
If I were a parent I would be very proud of this picture, even if it was a direct replica/interpretation of another work. It’s not genius level but you can tell he worked hard and spent a lot of time on it, and I applaud the effort.
Kids love copying pictures. It’s a great way to learn and he’s done a lovely job! His parents putting it out on their socials without acknowledging the original artists is iffy though, with the platform they have.
For Mother’s Day they put out cards made by all of the children (for Diana, so that’s a whole other conversation when it’s Harry who is always accused of using her memory for sympathy), but I’m not sure why they didn’t go for maximum cute points by posting drawings from Charlotte and Louis as well.
I mean most children learn to draw and paint by copying other people’s work. That’s fine but there could have been a caption saying that it was inspired by the work of the artist who did the original. I have my doubts that George actually did this and I have a problem with William and Kate posting this. As Harry said it’s all about consent and I think George is too young for this type of exposure. As said before George is being differentiated from the his siblings in the same way other royal children have been in the past.
Notably Diana did not do this to William and Harry when they were this young. If William was treated differently it was by the queen mother and that wasn’t done in the public sphere. There is no instance of Diana initiating any kind of William is special and Harry isn’t nonsense that William and Kate have already done.
Both William and Kate are really doing bad parenting by doing this to a young child. But they are using and good PR to cover their own issues.
“I have my doubts that George actually did this…”
Call me a cynic, but I feel the same way, Amy Bee. It reminds me of those times Kim Kardashian posted online, claiming North, aged about two, had made a (very sophisticated) painting, or “accidentally“ taken photos/filmed Kim doing whatever, and then POSTED them to Kim’s social media.
it is strongly discouraged, but Kate and William really do want to be celebrities.
Having seen what royal rules and upbringing did to Margaret, then Diana, and now Harry, I feel so sorry for Charlotte and Louis.
Who wants to be a celebrity? Lol
I, too, was reminded of the Kardashian picture but for a whole different reason: THAT painting was hella impressive for a 7-year-old. The impressionistic style, the blocks of light, the creation of depth, movement and contrast and the texture and control of paint on those brushstrokes were so sophisticated it was very hard to believe North did it.
This George picture? 100% believable. Just walk into any third or fourth grade art class and you’ll see plenty of students at this skill level. I think we often forget what children are capable of (and yes, even North may be capable of that really beautiful landscape painting).
I have my doubts as well. Remember the mothers day cards that Charlotte “wrote” when she was five, and Louis signed his name when he was two? There’s no way their kids wrote those cards. That family is as fake as Kate’s hair extensions. Excuse me, I mean “childhood scar.”
I remember someone online analyzing the handwriting, and the r’s or e’s were identical. So it was definitely fake.
It’s fine that George painted that image. He did a nice job, particularly with the expressive postures and shapes of the robins.
It’s weird the Wales’ (and their staff) presented it as his own original creation.
It’s weirder that people are defending the royals and picking on the person who posted the source image.
@North of Boston, I’m not defending the Wales at all I just think they may have been ignorant to the fact that this was copywork.
Growing up in the British Caribbean in private schooling I recall lots of copywork in Art although it was usually modelled by the teacher. Despite that, as a 1st grade teacher in a private American school I have only been aware that all the students have a model because I get to see all their artwork and realize they all look similar. I can imagine a parent saying “wow this is amazing! Did you do this yourself?”, the child proudly and truthfully saying “Yes, mummy!” and the parents making a similar post.
They could easily amend this by adding “we forgot to credit @XYZ for his/her inspiration. Thanks to those who reminded us! Merry Christmas!” but this lot sits in the never apologize or explain camp so don’t hold your breath….there are so many small things they could do to be more effective and relatable but they seem clueless and lazy. I can’t believe M got through 2 years!🙇🏾♀️
Oh, @KC, I wasn’t referring to anything you posted. I was referring more generally, to things people (not necessarily on this post, more on the links w/in the article, including the one identifying the source image)
I don’t see anything wrong with copying images.. even professionals sometimes use other images for inspiration, and his version is not bad. The question is why did his parents post it on their social media. Is it out of pride? Is it a hope that it will endear the future king to his public? Or, Is it to single him out as somehow special?
I am pretty sure all kids have had this type of art project in school, but yes the issue is why make this public? There is no need to expose him to the global audience like this. Because why some may admire this, others will critique it and George is too young to understand or handle it.
And of course with Charlotte and Louis being excluded it really isn’t good for them either.
Yes it’s because his parents with or without his consent posted to social media where their presence is the as they royal family and him as the heir. Is the going to be another situation where the goddamn royal family of England is going to be treated as – omg they’re just so down to earth just like us!! As part of middle class American, Britain, just like all the peasants without heating?
I agree, it’s an odd thing for them in particular to post. He did a nice job with it, but they should have credited the original artist if they wanted go post this publicly.
I’m in the ‘color me very skeptical’ camp.
Not only should the Wailses have given a shoutout to the original card, but also… maybe have admitted that George had help. E.g. by saying that someone drew the outlines or helped with the color gradients, shading etc.
Why do we think that someone drew the outlines or helped with the color gradients, shading, though? Either way I think that it’s weird that it was posted without listing the ´inspiration’ artist/her work, but it would also be weird for parents to qualify their kids art by listing which part he needed help with (OR mentioning that he did it all by himself.)
I completely agree, Nanea. Especially when compared to the quality/ technique of his Diana card from Mother’s Day. That was last Mother’s Day, right? So…6 short months ago? We’re meant to believe he went from that painting to this much more technical and sophisticated (skill-wise) painting in 6 months? Unless he’s an artistic genius (which he isn’t, or his younger pics would also be more advanced), he didn’t paint this, or he had an immense amount of help.
Nothing the Wailses do is authentic or original so I don’t believe them either, when they say he painted it. I also think they’re sending a message because the work that he (or someone) copied from has been a Meghan basher in the past. Everything they do seems to also have to get a dig in at Meghan.
I think that it’s perfectly acceptable for a kid to improve his painting skills by copying an existing piece of artwork and George did a great job. I don’t think that it’s acceptable for his parents to pass off someone else’s artwork as his own, but seeing as how they’ve tried and tried to do that with Harry’s endeavors and how Kate constantly copies Meghan’s style, I’m not surprised.
I can’t help but feel bad for those children. In that second-to-last photo, both Charlotte and George are balling their fists. I can’t imagine the amount of anxiety and pressure they must feel to uphold a certain image at such young ages. And yes, that empathy extends to Harry and William when they were younger as well because in many ways they were the first royal children forced to live with the “invisible contract”.
I feel especially bad for George because he’s the “heir”. It wouldn’t surprise me if his parents or someone else strongly suggested he copy that card and only being a young kid, he obeyed. Only to have it posted on SM without his input and publicly scrutinized by strangers. That must be tough for such a young kid. He’ll also be more insulated/trapped in the system than his siblings and more difficult for him to escape like his uncle Harry was able to.
Charlotte especially. Can’t tell if she looks stressed or cold.
I do find it amusing that the crowd next to the Waleses in that shot are all focused… on somebody else way behind them. Not the York sisters directly behind them, but someone else who isn’t close by. Wills and Kate are right there and the people are looking elsewhere.
I did notice that too. They all seem to be focused on someone behind and aren’t paying much attention to Bill and his brood!
George always looks like the most stressed kid ever. I really feel for him.
The painting is really well done and it’s fine to be inspired by another painting but they should have given credit to the original. With social media and how fast people can find things they are just asking for people to attack him.
I feel so sad for them – they’re at the age now where they’re realising that having lots of people staring and the noise of dozens of clicking cameras as you go about your business isn’t actually normal. They’re getting that hunted look. And it’s going to be worse for them with social media and camera phones. No matter where you go, never ever being able to look around and know for sure you’re alone – always having to think there’s someone watching.
One of the worst aspects of continuing the monarchy is what it does to children in the family. From ranking them by birth order to putting them on display for crowds, it’s neither natural nor healthy. And these are the first kids in the family to grow up in the era of social media which makes it all exponentially worse. This Christmas painting kerfuffle demonstrates the sick nature of the dynamic that places small children in the spotlight and, therefore, in the line of fire.
@ brassy rebel. I agree completely. If anything this one example shows just how dysfunctional the entire hereditary monarchy is, especially for kids. There is generational trauma and they won’t be able to protect the current kids either.
Kids (and adults) copy other pictures and it a cristmas card mit a motive I have seen in different variations several times.
Classical motives have been painted hundrets of times without complaints about copying.
This kind of discussion feels like a diversion from the real problems. Singling out George, pushing all the kinds into the spotlight befor they are old enought to consent, especially Charlotte and Louis who will have to make a living in the normal world, and two adult hiding behind their kids.
They posted this in the manner they did because they wanted the press to coo that George an artistic genius. They are simply taking something that is normally a private thing where parents praise whatever level of artwork their kids do and putting it in the public sphere because they want the public to praise him. And the fact that journalists then write articles about it is also more PR. George is having his childhood laid out for public consumption because by doing this, they exposed him to the fact that he certainly copied the design from another card, which was likely done at school with other classmates. That part isn’t unusual. It is his parents acting like George just wanders around drawing this stuff.
Also someone located what he drew last year for the Diana card and the technique is a huge jump. So it’s likely he got some help even for this, which again in a normal setting is fine, but William and Kate are now setting up their child for criticism that is unnecessary but their egos don’t seem to care. And that’s not getting into to how again Charlotte and Louis were excluded.
Spot on. They’re courting praise for George and excluding Charlotte and Louis, but neither of those is good for the actual children. I once had hopes that William and Kate might learn from the mistakes of the past in how they raise their kids, but it’s becoming obvious that they’re embedded into the institution in every single way.
It definitely looks traced to me – the outline is an exact copy. But I don’t think they should have posted it, even if it wasn’t copied. It just invites too much scrutiny and he’s only a little boy.
Exactly this. They even put it out there pretending it was an original. Like if they had couched it as a school art assignment that would be less deceptive.
It still doesn’t undo how they singled him out from his siblings and took something that is normally not laid out there for public consumption. That’s what social media influencers do and they claim to be better than mere celebrities. Clearly not.
It’s sweet, sweet plagiarism. In truth, if he did this on his own, it’s darling and well done. Honestly, before knowing he had copied it, I was mighty impressed, as it shows nice skill for someone his age. That he copied it straight from another card doesn’t fully diminish my admiration for his skill, it just augments my disdain and disgust for his thieving parents who never tell the full truth and are encouraging their kids now to take credit for others’ work. Just as they do.
I agree. Them releasing this as George’s original drawing is plagiarism, pure and simple. No way is George behind this but wouldn’t it be interesting if the original artist made a big stink about this? Grifters gonna grift, and on Christmas too! Shameless!
That’s it exactly!
Great copy! The boy has some talent, well done
Yes, the boy genius has a plan B in case the heir to the throne gig doesn’t pan out.
As he should! Who knows if this royal stuff will be around in the next couple of decades? He had better get a good degree, some useful skill and make loads of connections so he can live it up when this party is over!
It is a copy of a card that he sketched not original. It is nice that he did this but it is part of the pr overdrive for the keen s. Putting out their children’s artwork is not giving them privacy. What do George’s classmates think the artwork probably shows talent too.
Yeah, it only took 2 seconds for the internet to start dumping on a 9-year old. I guess I’m going to be over here in the tiny “pro-George” camp. He’s going to be used by his family, used by those who hate his family, used to make money and used for entertainment.
The hatred around this family is getting unhinged…..sad
Let’s not forget that “this family” openly shows hatred for the Sussex family. Payback is a bitch.
Jean, the hatred that emanates from this family is pretty sad too. The Windsors are the root of the problem, not the innocent victims. And George is a child who is not responsible for any of the hatred yet. Someday, though, he will be expected to embrace his birthright which is racism and misogyny. That’s the saddest thing of all.
There a Huge Difference between people calling out William and Kate for once again using their children for Pr and copying other people work. There are not getting hate at all they tried to once again make is seem like George is this genius artist they want people to lavishly praise on them . And it backfired the Royal family are not victims here they are the ones who have put Meghan and Harry and their kids lives in danger. The Sussex’s are the ones who constantly getting death threats And hatred.
Jean, this “family” ignored a horrific, racist and sexist attack on Meghan just weeks before Christmas.
They can go to hell.
As for George and this artwork, the original artist deserves credit. George deserves private praise from his parents and for this to be hung up on the family fridge with his siblings’ artwork. That’s it.
What’s “sad” is that this family left the most racist and horrific posts about the Sussexes on their social media. Now that’s what’s sad.
People aren’t dumping on George. They are dumping on his parents and KP because they felt the need to fib about his drawing in order to embiggen him and give the tabloids something to feed on. There are calling out a pattern of behavior by this family that is deeply unhealthy. He’s just a kid. He doesn’t need this. He doesn’t deserve this.
Literally no one in this comment section is dumping on George. Every comment I’ve read has had the exact sentiments: that children often copy when learning to draw. And it was irresponsible of his parents to open him up to scrutiny by posting it on social media.
Make room for me in that corner. The painting is darling. I hope he is unaware of the negative conversation regarding his artwork.
Maybe if his parents didn’t post it to a global audience this wouldn’t be an issue. That’s the whole thing with craving publicity, you can’t control how people will react. The parents set him up for criticism and if he’s not old enough to handle it that’s the huge red flag that it wasn’t appropriate to release this in the way they did.
I’ll sit over here next to you — I’ve done many of these paintings with my kids at the local place and also kits we could take home since Covid. I post them on social media too hoping the world will tell me how special and talented my kids are.
No one is dumping on George. They are dumping on his parents putting out a regular kid activity for public consumption because they want good PR. It’s not good parenting to expose your kids like this.
Diana didn’t release things like this about William and Harry which is very telling.
And they did this exactly because they knew many people will go the “don’t attack George if you don’t like it”. So they predicted the sheep response with some success.
Diana didn’t have the internet. Today, she’d be all over social media.
She could have easily posted examples of what William and Harry did at school and the media would have printed it in an instant. But she did not. Diana protected her kids far more than William and Kate are doing.
George is going to school and has classmates
I am not so sure George was ok with having this on social media. His parents wanted it imo and maybe Charles wanted it known that George inherited interest in art. And some classmates may not be happy that their artwork got no attention. It should have been that George and classmates should have gotten praise by teacher and George could have bragged about his good grade.
This comes from Kate and William. Charles isn’t really involved with his grandkids and I don’t see William listening to him anyway.
Although Charles himself never did this to William or Harry when it came to their hobbies. And that’s likely because Diana controlled it.
Diana and Charles shared their separate hobbies with their sons. Diana did not control them.pictures to prove it. Diana and Charles shared interest in skiing and swimming and shared their joint interest with their sons
Neither Diana or Charles were sending the media things William and Harry did at school. I don’t think Charles was that involved in their schooling which is why I used the word control. And the hobbies we did see them do especially skiing became a battle with the media about access. Harry clearly hated the posing in public and both Charles and Diana were filmed being critical of the photographers, especially Diana.
Tessa, so outdoor hobbies? It would have been impossible to keep the vultures away when they’re doing something outdoors that was not on the palace grounds.
It would take nothing to give credit to the original owner of the design. They could have said “Photo by George, inspired by *insert artist’s name* But his parents are too PR-hungry and very eager to establish that George is simply better than his siblings! Sadly, they’re just setting up this child to be bullied! I imagine his friends laughing at him for being a “copy cat” and a “fraud” who tried to take credit for someone else’s work! William and Kate have zero brain cells between themselves!
Wrendale designs was one of the Anti-Meghan haters so I’m not having much sympathy for them
It’s obviously an exact copy of the card, which is normal for children to do either as a school assignment or just as a learning tool. It is a great copy of the card, I’m unsure if he actually did it himself or if he had help doing it, that is irrelevant. Regardless it is a nice painting. It’s interesting that whenever someone questions anything that these two parents share or allow for or from their children, the response is always to accuse those questioning the PARENTING and the lies from the PARENTS, the accuser always claims it is an attack on the children, which is never the case IMHO. The issue isn’t his painting a copy of an original, the issue (as is always the issue) is his PARENTS inability to tell the whole truth by admitting that it was a copy. Him copying the card is actually more impressive than just painting something from your imagination and is another missed opportunity to also give the original artist their flowers and attention. The same thing was done with Louis who was obviously very tired, bored and overwhelmed when he started to act out and respond to his overbearing PARENT at the Jubbly. That was never an attack on him, but an attack on his PARENTS for forcing him to be at an event that was entirely too long and not stimulating enough for a child his age. Worse for Louis is that he was next to the PARENT who wouldn’t allow him to just sit calmly without her constantly bothering him for those much desired PR photos. It’s very bothersome that they have singled out the heir in too many instances when all of the children should be celebrated or proud of in some way. The matching of George to William and being separated from his siblings during the walkabout makes me even more sad for all of the children. It makes me afraid of how their PARENTS are continuing this abusive cycle that has made each generation of spares and heirs as a repeat of the previous, which is not good. Luckily Harry broke the cycle for himself and his children.
Exactly this. They put this out there because they know so many will be “don’t attack the child” when the issue has always been the parents who expose their child unnecessarily to the public.
Put the art on your fridge. It doesn’t need to be sent across the world.
That’s not always true. Louis was called a demon and worse here and jk writes George looks like he may have quite a temper just a few posts down.
Kate and william brought out an overtired child to many summer events. Louis was cranky. Kate and or will should have left with him and brought him backstage instead of Kate trying to reason with a cranky child.
CourtneyB again, when the PARENTING is being questioned, there seems to be this tendency to accuse the commenter of attacking a child. Someone saying something rude and uncalled for about a child is one thing but what I’m referring to is people trying to direct the comment that is clearly directed to the PARENTS onto the child instead. The initial comment we are referring to was an attack on the PARENTS and their PARENTING. Nothing about that comment was an attack on George. People responding to that initial comment automatically attacked the commenter by claiming she was attacking George for likely copying the card. The issue was and still is that these PARENTS use their children to get attention and good press through their invisible contract with the media. They are so desperate for the attention or good PR that they, the PARENTS, fail to see how using their children isn’t healthy for them and don’t use the opportunity to help others like by at least mentioning the original artist by name to give him or her good publicity.
I think Harry kept up with painting into (probably early) adulthood. I feel like he showed off a piece in an interview and was pretty good. Harry showed talent so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s in the genes and George is talented as well. However, this is blatant plagiarism. I don’t expect G to get how messed up this is, but his parents should. Not only that, but how many times are you going to be called out (within minutes!) for your bs before you try for authenticity? They’ve haven’t got a single thing right in all of 2022.
Looks like the paintings the friends and I do at the local “wine and paint” shop — they have a bunch of stock pictures they rotate through different nights of the week and you go pay your $35 — drink wine and paint for two hours.
Yes, the harder stuff is ::gasp:: traced onto the canvas and then we follow along while the instructor helps with colors, shading etc. This seems an odd thing for folks to get enraged about, then again so do buttons.
That was my impression too. One of those group painting classes where the instructor is skilled at explaining the step by step. No matter what your innate skill level is, at the end of the class, everyone has a pretty decent end product.
Exactly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it at school (art class or project)or in some other form of guided group, and the instructor is always there to make sure the end results look good.
It’s not about the art but exposing the child to public scrutiny.
I read this site every day — pretending these comments are from some deep rooted concern about George’s well being is just nonsense. When I snatch someone’s wig I at least own it.
I’ve raised my share of 9 yr olds. I don’t think he did it at all.
George looks like he might have quite a temper…
SurelyNot, I agree with your post.
I was thinking it was a “paint class” project too.
No harm, no foul.
I’m not quite sure what the issue is? As it’s been pointed out, kids learn from copying other people’s drawings. Would it have been nice if W&K went “inspired by *insert card here*”? Well sure. But it’s not something I personally am going to be up in arms about because it’s a 9 year old’s drawing. Not a professional who’s going to make money from this or something.
Agreed – and in Will and Kate’s defence (I can’t believe I just typed that!), they may not have known which card it was inspired by, especially if George painted it at school.
I think the piece shows quite a bit of natural talent, and I’m sure both George and his parents are proud of his efforts. There are a lot of things to be angry about re the Cambridges, but this isn’t it for me.
Kate and will have a pr team
They want to promote the perfect family image After the nastiness they pulled on harry and Meghan. I think they would be familiar with George’s artwork and know he could not be an original artist so rapidly. This is all on the keen s
He probably did that painting at school and brought it home as a holiday present for his parents or something – I doubt the school bothers to tell the parents if the painting was inspired by any other painting etc. I have a 9 year old as well, that’s pretty impressive for a 9 year old!
I think he’s made way too aware of his position for his age. I dunno. He always looks rather anxious and almost like crumbling under the pressure. Always seems super uncomfortable, like he’s hating every minute of it, already. Poor guy.
I think it’s quite telling that in the copy 3 of the birds are left off, an art therapist would have a field day,
The keen s are being promoted by dm and other tabs as the bestest in the world as parents and kate is stunning and perfect and more such drivel. The dm barely mentioned Andrew and pushed Katy keen as star and perfect parents. Andy skulking in the back.
It’s William and Kate’s fault this is backfiring. George is not at fault. It should have been explained it was a copy. Now if George wants to pursue art any work done in the future will be questioned if he truly did the work.
Did you ever think that this Christmas card was copying him?!?!
🤣🤣
It always Amazes me how it’s so ridiculously clear how manipulate William and kate are with the public they have people so convinced that their normal family . People have brought into that hook line and sink everything they do is for Publicity they haven’t work in weeks they used their children’s as shield for criticism. Let make one thing clear George is not being Criticism for his art his not being hated on by any means what people are doing are calling out his laziness ass racist bullying Parents who have No problem using their kids for attention or praise by the public. Whenever William and kate are criticizes for anything they throw there kids up to the public and when people call them out people used mental gymnastics to try to turn the discussion into so how people are being so horrible mean to the Cambridge’s children’s . Until the Cambridge’s kids have a whole country threatened their parents whipping up racist people to harm their mother threatened their very existence . Or have people who are friends with the Queen write violence vile racist article until all this happen the Cambridge’s kids are safe .
A normal family doesn’t post what their kids do on a worldwide network. It is entirely abnormal to do that. The quality or sourcing of the art is irrelevant.
George’s artwork/process: pretty normal for a kid his age. Parents sharing his ‘artwork’ to a global audience: totally wtf out of touch.
I wonder if George is embarrassed by this, or if they’ve warped his norms as well?
It would have been better if Kate sent copies of the pictured to relatives like the middleton not to the world.
Yes thank you for getting it. It’s not about the art but the public consumption of something a literal child has done.
Are we at all surprise? We all saw, we our own eyes, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor play the piano, so shouldn’t we have expected to see a George can paint or something of that sort.
Good grief. Not an issue.
I am one hundred per cent sure it would be an issue if it were Little Archie and not George…….js imo
You are absolutely right and I’ll bet those people think they are entitled to make horrible comments too.
What horrible comment have you seen?
It’s nice, even if it was traced or copied or whatever he did. Why does Prince George look like a 40 year old trapped in a 9 year old’s body? He just seems weighed down.
Good question.
His destiny is mapped out, why not allow him the freedom to be??
I think it’s fine to copy something. It’s very sweet. At the end of the day, they are parents of kids. Let them put something on their social media. I have a lot of reservations about K&W’s behaviour but no snark here.
Is this the response to Archie playing the drums in the docu-series?
It would have been nicer to take a photo of George painting the image from the card. Even if it was a staged photo in front of a Christmas tree in the palace. Just posting the finished product comes across as “middle-class Bill & Kathy” somehow.
Wrendale designs was one of the Anti-Meghan haters so I’m not having much sympathy for them
I wish they’d included Christmas paintings by Charlotte and Louis too. There seems to be some very obvious favoritism going on with George and that tends to breed jealousy from siblings. We know as firstborn that he’s the FFK, but honestly, let the other two shine.
Those poor babies. Look at the pain in his eyes already. I wish the world would ignore those kids until they turn 18. I feel the same about any public figure’s minor children. They didn’t choose the situation they’re in and they don’t have the power to leave it yet. Subjecting a child to the global spotlight is inherently abusive.
Much ado about nothing, it’s cute.
I mean they didn’t claim it was an original. Most kids are probably copying things at that age. Probably better than I can do. Plenty to criticize Kate and William for but a kids painting seems a bit of a reach IMO. People need to chill.
@Luna17, no one is chiding George. It’s a lovely picture and very well done. Most of the criticism, as I understand it, is directed at his parents for deliberately using him for PR and exposing him to criticism because they didn’t disclose that he’d been inspired by another’s work.
That seems fair.
Also, given the cost of living crisis, it would have been a thoughtful gesture to give a nod to the artist whose work inspired George’s. Perhaps it would have driven more interest in the artist’s work and generated other opportunities. Again, truthfulness and thoughtfulness.
They said “by George” and not inspired by so they in fact did imply it was original. And kate majored in art history so she would know the proper nomenclature for this type of thing.
But the issue is about exposing the kid to criticism which is what they did here. They were courting praise and when not everyone does that they will get their minions to imply that people are attacking George. They aren’t.
He’s a literal child and they exposed him to this for PR. That’s exactly the kind of this Diana did her best to avoid doing to both her kids.
@Luna — exactly. This echo chamber has repeated over and over that they claimed it was an original — the reality was the caption was an emoji of a paint pallet i.e. “painted by George.”
I can’t tell you how many “Starry Night” painted by SurelyNot I have in various parts of my house — they even take pictures of the herd at the end of the night to post on social media. No one has ever clutched their pearls and thought OMG Surely think she is van Gogh!!
i am not for everyone dumping on a kid in the comments. it looks nice, regardless if he traced it/copied it/or someone helped him paint it. sure they could have credited the artist, but it’s a child’s painting copied from a stock image of a box card…hardly George stealing someone’s prized work. seems pretty normal for parents to showcase their kids painting online. everyone is here saying “violating his privacy”…maybe he said it was ok? he’s 9 yo and can consent, and i’m sure they make a bunch of those in school all the time, it’s not like they’re posting these every day. Let’s criticize W&K lack of tangible progress in environmental work or other areas of “philanthropy” they’re so keen on and leave the kids alone. also, it’s incredibly rude to comment on other people’s parenting and calling them bad parents when I bet few of the people commenting here are 1) parents 2) none have any idea how to raise kids as a public figure. so far the kids look healthy, happy and other than the formal events where they are photographed, most of their childhood is protected from the public eye.
hangonamin, I would usually agree with what you said, except for the reach the parents have on social media. This is not the next door neighbor posting about their child’s artwork. I think the back lash received on social media is NOT healthy for George. I could be wrong, but that’s what I’ve interpreted the comments above to mean. I hope that he doesn’t see the comments on social media, and I hope that the kids he goes to school with don’t use it in some way as a cudgel.
If there is anyone who doesn’t like him at school, this will be used against him. That’s why his parents courting praise for PR hasn’t been thought out.
Why not just share the photo on the family What’s App? That’s what a normal family would do. But William and Kate wanted the world to praise him. Similar to pretending Earthshot is better than the Nobel prize, or like the Super Bowl. It’s all grandiose narcissism ignoring how a child could be affected.
There are already children of social media influencers who are speaking out about their parents having put them on social media without their consent. This is more of the same. Besides what 9 year old can truly give consent? Remember how we were told William and Harry wanted to walk behind Diana’s casket? And now years later we hear they didn’t really want to? What are the chances George even could consent in that family. He’s being used as PR, which is bad parenting. There is no justification for using George as part of royal propaganda and most sane parents would agree.
Well, this seems to have ballooned into a rather big thing, although posting a drawing by a child is a lovely idea and people send around their children’s drawings with Christmas cards and letters all the time. I think the way the piece was presented, we would all assume it was “original.” Nothing wrong at all with trying to copy or do your own version of something you’ve seen. But the parents or their comms people have subjected the liitle chap to some negativity that was avoidable. Hope he isn’t on social media yet. Kids were probably told to make a Christmas card drawing in art class. George seems to have a talent for drawing. I think KP has posted other things he has drawn. Seems to be a talent in the family from both sides: Kate draws, grand-pa and great-grandpa painted, and I believe the Queen’s niece Sarah is an artist and her father was a photographer. Anyway, the reindeer drawing is lovely, and I’d be proud to have it on my fridge door!
George is a youngster going to school and children draw. He may have other interests too
Kate is no artist she never really used the degree in art history.
It is creepy to see George walking near Camilla. She made his grandmother miserable
Is he already getting Charles spin on Diana.i hope not
it is unlikely that she will gobble him up in public
This could have been a great opportunity, if he was comfortable with it, to sell this image as a holiday card and give the proceeds to food banks for this tough winter. Sigh. They never think of anything but their own gain.
LOLO86- copying images is how young children LEARN to draw and paint. Unless you think a 10 year old should be able to draw a stag (or an elephant, or a fox, or WHATEVER) JUST from memory??? I couldn’t draw a proper stag just from memory and I bet you couldn’t either
ALSO the not giving credit to the original artist thing wouldn’t even be a big deal, if the Wales did not already have a clear pattern of copying others and not only NOT giving credit, but disingenuously claiming the credit themselves