Buckingham Palace has revealed the first official portrait of King Charles III since his Coronation on Tuesday. The portrait was painted by artist Jonathan Yeo and commissioned in 2020. The artist has painted high-profile subjects throughout his career.
Some of his work includes paintings of Minister Tony, actor Nicole Kidman and Malala Yousafzai. Notably, he has now painted King Charles III and everyone has a lot to say about the same. Let’s dive into the details and public comments on the painting.
King Charles Official Portrait Revealed
The 8.5 by 6.5-foot painting by Jonathan Yeo started when Charles was still Prince of Wales. The monarch is seen wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, sword in hand, against a fiery red background. The portrait also has a butterfly that looks like it’s about to land on his shoulder. The vast oil on canvas shows a larger-than-life King Charles in the uniform.
According to reports, Yeo had four sittings with King, and also worked from drawings and photographs provided by the Palace. The King and Queen are reportedly happy with the portrait. The Queen dropped in during the final sitting and mentioned that the artist had captured the King well.
Yeo told the BBC that Camilla said, ‘Yes, you’ve got him,’ after looking at the portrait. As for Charles, he was surprised by the strong colour, but otherwise seemed to be smiling. While painting the monarch, Yeo mentioned that there’s a great deal of sympathy for him. The portrait ‘reflects exactly who he is, everything he represents and what he’s been through.’
Royal Fans Aren’t Happy With King Charles Portrait
The new portrait of King Charles has met with harsh criticisms from the Royal Fans on Instagram. Words like ‘creepy,’ ‘horrible,’ ‘scary,’ and ‘atrocious,’ have been used in the comments section. One of the users said that it evokes unpleasant memories of British colonialism, the Red Wedding from ‘Game of Thrones.’
Yet another fan bluntly added: ‘Without sounding rude, this is the worst royal portrait I’ve ever seen.’ But, we know that Queen Camilla begs to differ from the royal fans. The Art dealer, Philip Mould whose gallery is going to display the painting for a month is also a fan.
While speaking to Daily Mail, Mould said, ‘It’s the most progressive royal portrait done from life in a very long time. It depicts continuity, mystery, a touch of divinity.’
The portrait is set to go on public display at the Philip Mould Gallery in London from May 16th till June 14th. It will be displayed at the Drapers’ Hall from the end of August. We at TV Season & Spoilers will keep passing on all the updates like such.