The first official painted portrait of King Charles III since his coronation was unveiled at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. He sword in hand, with a butterfly perching on his shoulder and dressed in the uniform of the Welsh Guard, whose color does not contrast with the vibrant red background chosen and makes the King’s face take on more importance.
This is how the London artist Jonathan Yeo, a famous portraitist for whom Queen Camilla and Prince Philip of Edinburgh had already posed, has decided to immortalize him. The painting, which measures 2.8 meters high by 2.2 meters wide, is an oil painting on canvas. It was commissioned in 2020, while he was Prince of Wales, to commemorate his 50 years as a member of The Drapers’ Company, an association of medieval origins which currently performs charitable, ceremonial and educational functions.
During the presentation, in which portrait painters and sitters were present, they explained the meaning of the butterfly on the monarch’s shoulder. Yeo has revealed that this colorful poetic license in the painting referred to the metamorphosis from prince to king that the character had carried out during the process, and the monarch has joked that it is nice to know that he is a chrysalis.
The portrait will hang in Drapers’ Hall in the City of London, but first it will be on public display for a month at the Philip Mold Gallery in London, where admission is free from this Thursday until June 14. Regarding this new portrait, the artist commented: “I do my best to capture the life experiences etched on the face of each model. In this case, my goal was also to reference the traditions of royal portraiture, but in a way that reflects a 21st century monarchy and, above all, communicate the deep humanity of the subject.”
Among other characters, Yeo also portrayed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, actress Nicole Kidman and model Sienna Miller.
