New portrait of King Charles: Artist Jonathan Yeo’s painting is the first official portrait of the king since his coronation

LONDON — King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch taken since assuming the throne, a vivid image depicting him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a similarly hued background.

Artist Jonathan Yeo’s larger-than-life painting captures the king with his hands clasped over the hilt of his sword and a butterfly fluttering over his right shoulder. Charles first saw the canvas on Tuesday at Buckingham Palace.

Yeo began the portrait more than a year before Charles became king, with a sitting at the then Prince of Wales’s Highgrove estate in June 2021. The last sitting took place in November 2023 at Clarence House, one of the king’s residences in London.

“When I started this project, His Majesty The King was still HRH The Prince of Wales and, like the butterfly I painted floating over his shoulder, this portrait has evolved as the role of the subject in our lives has transformed. public.” Yeo said.

The portrait, which measures approximately 8 1/2 by 6 1/2 feet, will be on display at the Philip Mold Gallery in London from May 16 to June 14. From the end of August, it will be on display in Drapers’ Hall opposite the city.

The portrait was commissioned to celebrate Charles’ 50 years as a member of the Drapers’ Company, which was established more than 600 years ago as a trade association for wool merchants.

Philanthropy became part of its mission and the company is now a grant-making body.