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Too red, too vampiric, too sexy: A brief history of polarising royal portraits

By Emma Bubola
New York Times·
6 mins to read

Royal family members sit for portraits a lot. And even when they don’t, artists paint them anyway. Some of these portraits have drawn near-unanimous praise and stood the test of time, captivating viewers generations later. Others have attracted mixed reactions, scandal or controversy.

With some artworks, critics objected royals were too gloomy, too naked, or, in the case of King Charles III’s latest portrait, too red.

In the painting unveiled on Tuesday (Wednesday NZT), Charles is enveloped in

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