King Charles III Unveils First Official Portrait
On May 14, 2024, at Buckingham Palace, King Charles III unveiled his first official portrait since his coronation. The painting, a significant 8.5 by 6.5 feet oil on canvas, was created by renowned British contemporary artist Jonathan Yeo. Commissioned in 2020 to mark Charles's 50 years as a member of The Drapers' Company, it depicts the King in the Welsh Guards uniform, with a monarch butterfly symbolically featured above his shoulder.
Jonathan Yeo has previously painted other notable figures, including Sir David Attenborough and Malala Yousafzai. The painting will be on public display at the Philip Mould Gallery in London from May 16 to June 14 before moving to Drapers’ Hall at the end of August. Yeo's work captures both the regal traditions and the evolving role of a 21st-century monarchy, with a focus on King Charles's humanity.