Prince George’s Remarkable Artwork Sparks Debate - Newsweek

Prince George's artwork of a kingfisher sparked allegations of deceit aimed at Prince William, while others said the backlash represented online trolls bullying a royal child.

The 13-year-old future king's intricate drawing of the brightly colored bird was published in an edition of Country Life magazine guest edited by William, his father.

Supporters of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle noticed a similarity between George's picture and one created by an online art tutor for a course.

One post on X, viewed around 780,000 times, read: "It’s a shame that Willy and Kate are so desperate for headlines that they’ve been caught out yet again lying about George’s artwork. What a dreadful example to set for their children."

William and Kate have not, as far as Newsweek can discern, stated the image was an original.

Debates over authenticity in public life, and particularly around images, have intensified in the age of artificial intelligence due to the ease with which fake imagery can be created. William, as guest editor, did not say that George had created the image from scratch, but also did not say whether it was produced through a course.

Some critics compared the debate to a moment in 2024 when Princess Kate apologized for editing a family photo showing her with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Another X account, also a prominent supporter of the Sussexes, wrote: "Prince George's amazing art wasn't actually his, lol. It's an art course through his school Eton and its a step-by-step design, that the course leads you."

There is nothing to suggest George did not draw the picture in question, social media users simply compared it to a drawing taught on an art course.

A third account, a prominent critic of the Sussexes, wrote: "George copied a drawing from a virtual step-by-step lesson. Kensington Palace frames it as original artwork to imply incredible talent—do they really need to LIE for fake #PR for a 13-yr-old."

Meanwhile, an antimonarchy account recreated Kate's 2024 family photo, which she apologized for editing, with the Kingfisher edited in.

However, not everyone agreed with the criticisms, with some pointing out George is still a child. One account drew comparisons with Harry and Meghan's recent visit to Brussels where they spoke about the damage social media does to children at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial at the European Parliament.

The account wrote: "So Harry and Megan speak at an event about bullying children online and the very next day…Harry and Meghan fans are bullying a child online."

And artist Cindy Sinor wrote on X: "The average adult (much less kid) could not produce a drawing like this with a tutorial, tracing or otherwise. I've taught many adult students, leading them step by step, demonstrating, and giving feedback.

"The vast majority would still struggle with this exercise. The point of this post is not that he’s royalty (I couldn’t care less) but that a young person produced an impressive colored pencil drawing.

"All artists go through a learning process and that doesn’t detract from the art itself. Tutorials, classes, whatever, how else do you learn? In my professional opinion, he has exceptional ability for his age and that should be encouraged."

The drawing appeared in an edition of Country Life accompanied by an article that said relatively little about the drawing and certainly did not say it was an original, focusing mainly on information about Kingfishers.

The article did, however, say: "Prince George, age 13, completed the drawing a year ago and it is surely proof that his curiosity about the natural world is already taking flight.

"It also hints at a childhood spent looking beyond screens—something his mother, The Princess of Wales, revealed was incredibly important to her, in an exclusive interview with Country Life."

The drawing was one part of a wider edition which included a leader column by Prince William. The Prince of Wales called for more protection for women in the armed forces.

"I want to play my part in making the military feel like the welcoming, open and professional place I enjoyed and make it feel like that for everyone," he wrote.

"At the moment, I don't feel that we meet those standards and, as a former serving officer, I really mind it when those who wear the uniform now don't feel safe, respected or valued."

While newly a teenager, George remains a child and most parents will well recognize the pride William and Kate no doubt felt in seeing him recreate this incredibly detailed and impressive drawing. The fact he produced it through an art course does not stop it from being impressive. As Sinor noted, many adults could not get close to the standard of George's drawing.

However, the drama could easily have been avoided if William, as guest editor of the magazine, had simply included a note on how the drawing was produced.

Life in the public eye is tough in the 21st century, particularly in the age of artificial intelligence, which causes audiences to doubt everything they see online.

Doubtless, the Wales family may never have imagined anyone would take issue with the idea the drawing was produced through an art course, regardless of whether or not it was in fact created that way. It may therefore never have occurred to them to be open about the production process.

However, incidents like this one are a reminder to all public figures that the scandal is seldom about the way the image is produced but rather the feeling that the method was concealed. The simple cure is to be completely transparent about production processes, and particularly around images since much of the backlash against AI fakes has focused on imagery.

Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.

Update, 11/12/26 8:49 a.m. ET: this article was updated with new photos.