The first official portrait of King Charles III since his Coronation was unveiled at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, May 14. The picture was completed by the British artist Jonathan Yeo and depicts the monarch wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was a Regimental Colonel in 1975.
A butterfly, depicted just above his shoulder, adds a symbolic touch to the composition and was reportedly a suggestion by the King. The uniform of the Welsh Guards inspired the colour red, which was painted over much of the portrait, as Yeo said he felt like this portrait should have more of a “dynamic and contemporary feel”.
Unveilings are always a little nerve-wracking, both for the sitter and the artist, but especially so when the subject is the King. Yeo joked: “If this was seen as treasonous, I could literally pay for it with my head, which would be an appropriate way for a portrait painter to die – to have their head removed!”
During a conversation with the King, Yeo said they discussed how it would be “nice to have a narrative element which referenced his passion for nature and environment” and he spoke of how Charles “changed jobs halfway through the process” and the butterfly is a “symbol of metamorphosis” so it “tells multiple stories.”
After Yeo’s speech, the King joked: “It’s nice to know I was a chrysalis when you first met me,” which was met with laughter. Queen Camilla said she “hopes it is going to be seen by lots of people” after the unveiling.
After the unveiling, Yeo said he often says the secret to a good portrait is “having an interesting subject to start with, and you couldn’t ask for a better one than this”, before quickly adding “other than Your Majesty” referring to Camilla who he has previously painted.
Yeo said The Drapers’ Company had asked for the portrait to be a specific scale, and there was a preference for Charles being in uniform, but no other directions from them or the King, which Yeo added was “exciting and also a little bit daunting”.
He said the King “couldn’t be more lively” and was “very easy company” during their sittings, adding: “He kind of makes you laugh and asks lots of questions, and he’s interested in art as well so there’s always lots to talk about”.
The portrait will go on public display for a month at the Philip Mould Gallery in London, from May 16 until June 14. Entry is free.
Who is Jonathan Yeo?
The 53-year-old, from London, has also previously produced commissions of Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Camilla, Sir Tony Blair and Lord David Cameron. He is the son of former Conservative MP Tim Yeo and attended the Westminster School.
But his passion for art came during his 20s when he taught himself to paint while recovering from Hodgkin’s Disease. “I had cancer in my early twenties. It wasn’t fun but in retrospect it was also a quirk of time in that it was a time in my life where I was trying to decide what to do”, he told Reader’s Digest.
“Most people would try to talk me out of art because they see that as a difficult way to make a living, but when you’re ill people don’t want to give you bad news, so suddenly I was able to spend my twenties painting portraits.”
Yeo has gone on to paint some of the world’s most high-profile figures. But in 2007, he caused controversy when he made a collage of George W Bush out of porn mags and the White House found out.
He got the idea for the collages following the cancellation of a commission by the White House to paint Bush in 2004. He made the portrait anyway, but in the form of a collage using pieces of pornographic magazines.
Yeo also did a portrait of Paris Hilton also made out of porn magazine images, which was bought by artist Damien Hirst.
Passion for art also runs in Yeo’s family as his grandmother had a little local art gallery in Greenwich. “I used to go in to see how the local artists worked in their studios. It was an insight into how people were actually doing it”, he told Reader’s Digest.
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