On Tuesday, King Charles III, aged 75, unveiled a new official portrait of himself, painted by artist Jonathan Yeo. The portrait, which many royal observers quickly labeled as “disturbing”, was presented in the Blue Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace.
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In the portrait, Charles is wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Colonel Regimental in 1975. “It was a privilege and pleasure to have been commissioned by The Drapers’ Company to paint this portrait of His Majesty the King, the first to be revealed since his coronation,” Yeo said in a quote shared on the official royal family Instagram. “When I began this project, His Majesty the King was still His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and just like the butterfly I painted hovering over his shoulder, this portrait has evolved as the role of the subject in our public life has transformed.”
Yeo added: “I strive to capture the life experiences and humanity etched on the face of any model, and I hope that is what I have achieved with this portrait. Trying to capture this for His Majesty the King, who occupies such a unique role, was a tremendous professional challenge and one I greatly enjoyed and am immensely grateful for.”
The comments on the portrait were not kind. It features a ghostly-looking Charles against a red background. “Sorry, this is a bit creepy,” commented one royal observer, while another said, “I’m sorry, but his portrait looks like he’s in hell.”
Other royal observers noted that the painting seems “slightly disturbing”, “as if he were bathing in blood” and “as if he were burning in hell”.
The portrait, which will be hung in Drapers’ Hall, was commissioned in 2020 to celebrate 50 years of the then Prince of Wales as a member of The Drapers’ Company in 2022.
Photo and video: Instagram @theroyalfamily. With information from the NYpost. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.