Artist Hannah Uzor’s portrait of Princess Kate faced backlash from critics due to its apparent lack of resemblance to the royal.

Hannah Uzor has spoken out after her portait of Princess Kate, which will feature on the cover of the next Tatler magazine, was branded “dreadful” and “jaw-hits-the-floor bad”.

The British-Zambian artist’s unofficial painting of the Princess was unveiled earlier this week and sparked an immediate backlash from critics and the public.

It captures Kate at the first state banquet of King Charles’s reign in 2022, which was held in honour of the South African President’s visit, and for which Kate wore a floor-length white caped Jenny Packham gown and her Lover’s Knot tiara.

Royal fans questioned how much it resembled the Princess, with one commenting online: “Lol! Look absolutely nothing like her, though!” and another saying: “What a terrible terrible portrait of the Princess of Wales!!! Who allowed that to be on the front cover??? Even published by Tatler!!!”

But Ms Uzor seemed unfazed as she told the Daily Mail she was not aware of any negative response from the public, adding: “It is a fantastic story – and they [critics] can do what they want.”

Princess Kate at the South African state banquet in 2022 (Image: Getty)

The potrait is an unofficial one, meaning it was not commissioned by the Royal Family and Kate did not sit for it, with Ms Uzor instead researching more than 189,000 pictures of her to create the work.

The green-blue background is a nod to Kate’s eye colour as well as a reference to being outside and on water, supposedly to reflect the royal’s love of rowing.

When speaking to Tatler the artist was asked whether Kate’s recent cancer diagnosis had given her a new perspective on painting her, to which she responded: “Without a doubt.”

The Princess of Wales has remained out of the spotlight as she fights cancer (Image: Getty)

Ms Uzor explained: “All my portraits are made up of layers of a personality, constructed from everything I can find about them.”

The artist said that Kate’s diagnosis video, released on March 22, showed “a moment of dealing with something difficult, speaking from the heart, having the courage to tackle it head-on”.

Her admiration for the Princess was clear, as she told the publication: “She has really risen up to her role – she was born for this. She carries herself with such dignity, elegance and grace.

“I sense with her the joy of motherhood.”

Princess Kate and King Charles are both battling cancer (Image: Getty)

Kate has been away from royal duties since the start of the year and is currently undergoing preventative chemotherapy, with the news coming less than two months after the King’s own cancer was revealed.

He has begun to make a return to public life although his treatment is still ongoing, with Queen Camilla saying he is “thrilled” to be back at work.

Speaking at a reception at Buckingham Palace the Queen added she has been “trying to hold him back”, although recent news of the general election means that certain royal engagements will have to be postponed.