The first official portrait of King Charles III since his coronation has been unveiled. Both the artist Jonathan Yeo and the King should be delighted: the vast oil on canvas, which was seen for the first time at Buckingham Palace today, captures a remarkable likeness of the King.
One particular work of his might give his admirers pause
The painting is as respectful a piece of representative royal portraiture as might be imagined. Unlike some of the more experimental (if artistically interesting) pictures of his late mother, such as Lucian Freud’s 2001 effort – where Elizabeth II was compared to a prop forward or a corgi – this is a conventional, sympathetic presentation of the King. Yeo said he intended ‘to capture such an extraordinary and unique person, especially at the historic moment of becoming King.’ The painting shows he has achieved his aim.
Yeo began the portrait in June 2021 at Highgrove, after winning Charles’s trust with a well-regarded study of Camilla that he painted in 2014.
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