Well, this is certainly something. On Tuesday, King Charles had a big unveiling ceremony for a new portrait painted by Jonathan Yeo. The portrait was commissioned by The Drapers’ Company, and it will hang in Drapers’ Hall in London.
This portrait is… incredible, honestly. Usually, royal portraits are pretty staid affairs, by the book and even kind of bad. One exception is Paul Emsley’s portrait of Kate in 2013, where he made her look like an un-Botoxed ghost haunting the royal family. Yeo’s portrait of Charles is both accurate (that genuinely looks like him) and avant-garde. The fact that this will probably be known colloquially as “The Bloody King portrait” or “The Tampon King portrait” or “The Charles-Burns-in-Hell portrait” is even more outstanding. It’s not a soothing, gentle painting. It’s not all about his Welsh Guards uniform or all of his pretend medals. It’s not about the trappings of royalty, nor is it meant to play to Charles’s substantial ego. He looks like he’s been doused in blood, or he’s in the pits of hell.
Apparently, Charles sat for Yeo four times, the first time before he was king. His final sitting was late last year. Camilla also got a look of the portrait before it was unveiled and she reportedly told Yeo that he had really “got” Charles. I mean, Charles did tell Camilla that he wanted to be her tampon.
Two things I will say – Yeo absolutely shaved a few years off Charles’s face. He also shaved some “sausage” off of Charles’s fingers.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Jonathan Yeo via Buckingham Palace.
-
-
Artist Jonathan Yeo, at the unveiling of artist Jonathan Yeo’s portrait of the King, in the blue drawing room at Buckingham Palace, London. The portrait was commissioned in 2020 to celebrate the then Prince of Wales’s 50 years as a member of The Drapers’ Company in 2022. The artwork depicts the King wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975. The canvas size – approximately 8.5 by 6.5 feet when framed – was carefully considered to fit within the architecture of Drapers’ Hall and the context of the paintings it will eventually hang alongside
Featuring: Jonathan Yeo
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 14 May 2024
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
-
King Charles III at the unveiling of artist Jonathan Yeo’s portrait of the King, in the blue drawing room at Buckingham Palace, London. The portrait was commissioned in 2020 to celebrate the then Prince of Wales’s 50 years as a member of The Drapers’ Company in 2022. The artwork depicts the King wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975. The canvas size – approximately 8.5 by 6.5 feet when framed – was carefully considered to fit within the architecture of Drapers’ Hall and the context of the paintings it will eventually hang alongside
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 14 May 2024
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
-
Artist Jonathan Yeo and King Charles III at the unveiling of Yeo’s portrait of the King, in the blue drawing room at Buckingham Palace, London. The portrait was commissioned in 2020 to celebrate the then Prince of Wales’s 50 years as a member of The Drapers’ Company in 2022. The artwork depicts the King wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975. The canvas size – approximately 8.5 by 6.5 feet when framed – was carefully considered to fit within the architecture of Drapers’ Hall and the context of the paintings it will eventually hang alongside
Featuring: Jonathan Yeo, King Charles III
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 14 May 2024
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
-
Artist Jonathan Yeo and King Charles III at the unveiling of Yeo’s portrait of the King, in the blue drawing room at Buckingham Palace, London. The portrait was commissioned in 2020 to celebrate the then Prince of Wales’s 50 years as a member of The Drapers’ Company in 2022. The artwork depicts the King wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975. The canvas size – approximately 8.5 by 6.5 feet when framed – was carefully considered to fit within the architecture of Drapers’ Hall and the context of the paintings it will eventually hang alongside
Featuring: Jonathan Yeo, King Charles III
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 14 May 2024
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
