Why is it red? We're unveiling the most surprising facts about the new King Charles portrait.
11 Things You Didn’t Know About King Charles’s Official Portrait
Updated on Apr. 04, 2025
When the first official portrait of King Charles as reigning monarch was unveiled at Buckingham Palace in May 2024, it caused quite a stir, both in the U.K. and around the world. Many praised the dramatic work, calling it mysterious and powerful, but others were quite literally seeing red, making cynical connections between the sweeping scarlet background of King Charles’s official portrait and blood spilled by British colonizers in prior centuries.
“The thing is, it was the first major portrait of the reign, and it is quite—well, very—unusual,” says royal biographer Robert Hardman, author of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story. “Historically, royal portraits would be very conventional, and this one isn’t. It’s quite an extraordinary painting.”
British artist Jonathan Yeo spent three years creating the piece, which features the monarch in the uniform of the Welsh Guards, with his sword in hand and a butterfly set to alight on his shoulder—all set against a striking red background. But it’s not just the vivid color that has people talking. Reader’s Digest spoke with Hardman and Penelope Fussell, an archivist with the Drapers’ Company, which commissioned the painting, to learn more. Read on to find out everything you need to know about this unique image, including its hidden symbols.
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more royals, humor, cleaning, travel, tech and fun facts all week long.
1. It’s King Charles’s first portrait since taking the throne
While there have been official photographs of King Charles since his coronation in May 2023, this oil-on-canvas work was the first official painting of the new British monarch. And it was revealed almost exactly one year after he was crowned: “Like the first royal coin or the first bank note with his face on it, the first portrait is a landmark moment,” says Hardman. “It’s a big deal.”
The larger-than-life work measures an impressive 7.5 feet by 5.5 feet and was commissioned by the Drapers’ Company, a charitable institution in London with a vast collection of royal portraits, to celebrate Charles’s 50 years as a member. “The choice of artist was by agreement between the company, His Majesty and past master William Charnley, who sponsored the commission,” says Fussell.
2. This King Charles portrait is almost entirely red
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: The massive painting is bright red. The color was meant to provide a “contemporary jolt,” according to Yeo. “My aim was to make reference to the traditions of royal portraiture but in a way that reflects a 21st-century monarchy and, above all else, to communicate the subject’s deep humanity,” he said when unveiling his work.
It also matches the striking scarlet uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which Charles became a regimental colonel back in 1975. (As king, he is now colonel-in-chief.) In keeping with the tradition of royal portraits showing male monarchs in uniform, Charles wore his Welsh Guard attire for the project, and in the final portrait, the red from his uniform fades into the background of the painting. “The red just sort of bleeds across the portrait,” says Hardman. “Everyone agrees the portrait of his face is really fantastic, but they’re of two minds about the redness.”
3. This isn’t artist Jonathan Yeo’s first time painting royal family members
Yeo is considered one of the most highly regarded portrait artists of our time. He’s painted an array of notable figures, from Hollywood stars like Nicole Kidman and Idris Elba to former British prime minister Tony Blair and British naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, among many others.
And while the King Charles official portrait is certainly his most prestigious royal commission to date, it wasn’t Yeo’s first time working with the royal family. Both Queen Camilla and the late Prince Philip also previously sat for Yeo.
4. Charles became king halfway through sitting for the portrait
Yeo had four sittings with King Charles for the portrait. The first was at Highgrove, Charles’s country estate, in June 2021, when he was still Prince of Wales. The final one, at Clarence House in London, was in November 2023, after he had become king. In between sittings, Yeo worked on the painting in his London studio with the help of photographs and sketches.
During each session, Yeo asked Charles to stand leaning on his sword for about 40 minutes. Because Charles had not yet ascended the throne when the portrait was commissioned, “the company chose not to go along the state portrait route but rather for a less formal pose and style reflecting the king’s personality,” says Fussell.
In an interview with the BBC, Yeo described Charles as being in “good spirits” during the sessions and stressed his “great sense of humor.” What’s more, “he stood impressively still and didn’t get distracted like some sitters do.” Yeo also reported that he noticed a change in Charles after he had taken the throne. “When he became king halfway through … I was able to see the shift in the body language,” he told ITV. “To be able to visibly see someone gain stature and become more comfortable in themselves is a really interesting thing.”
5. The portrait features a butterfly landing on the king’s shoulder
Beyond its distinct color, a key feature in King Charles’s official portrait is the butterfly landing on the monarch’s right shoulder. As Yeo has explained, it was Charles who came up with the idea during their initial chats about the portrait. Initially, the butterfly was meant to be a nod to the king’s interest in environmental issues, which “he has championed most of his life and certainly long before they became a mainstream conversation,” Yeo said. However, when Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth, died, and he became king, the butterfly became even more fitting. “In art history, the butterfly is the symbol of metamorphosis,” explained Yeo.
And the painter didn’t just choose any butterfly to sit on Charles’s shoulder—he chose the aptly named monarch butterfly, the largest of its kind in the U.K., which originally made its way to the island from North America.
6. King Charles considers the portrait “remarkable”
One would think that being king gave Charles the right to check out his own portrait before showing to the world, but it seems Charles saw the final result only when he officially unveiled the painting at Buckingham Palace on May 14, 2024. “It’s remarkable actually how it turned out,” he said at the time.
Yeo told the BBC that the monarch had gotten a glimpse in its “half-done state.” His first reaction? “He was initially mildly surprised by the strong color, but otherwise, he seemed to be smiling approvingly,” Yeo said.
7. Queen Camilla believes the portrait has captured King Charles
Yeo also received the approval of King Charles’s wife, Queen Camilla. She was curious to see how the painting was coming together and showed up halfway through the sittings to have a look for herself. “Camilla summed it up when she saw it for the first time,” says Hardman. “She said to Yeo, ‘You’ve got him!’ And she’d certainly know.”
Mission accomplished for Yeo, whose goal as an artist is, he says, “figuring out who someone is and trying to get that on a canvas.”
8. Yeo and the king share a passion for the arts
When sitting for a portrait, especially a royal one, it’s only natural to spend a lot of time with the painter. Luckily, it seems King Charles and Yeo had a lot to talk about. “Don’t forget Charles is a painter himself,” says Hardman. “He started painting in earnest back in the early ’80s, and he takes it very seriously.” A self-taught artist, Charles is famous for his watercolor paintings, with some of his favorite subjects including countryside scenes and royal residences.
But more than that, says Hardman, the king has been a great patron of the arts over the years. As Prince of Wales, he would invite up-and-coming artists to join him on royal tours, taking sketches and pulling together a collection of works from the trip. He also co-founded the Royal Drawing School and the School of Traditional Arts to support arts education. “He has a great passion for art,” says Hardman. “Probably more than any monarch since George IV.”
9. The painting now hangs in a private art venue
The portrait was initially displayed at the Philip Mould Gallery in London, but it now hangs in Drapers’ Hall in East London. The space also houses numerous other royal works, including sculpture busts of the Charles and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as oil portraits of previous monarchs like Queen Victoria and King George III. “Whilst contemporary, [the portrait] rests beautifully in a room dating to the mid-19th century,” says Fussell. “It looks both forward and backward. Also, it generates much interest and comment, with visitors to the Hall most definitely engaging with it.”
The downside of the new location is that the building is not generally open to the public but rather rented out for weddings and other glittery events. Nonetheless, provided there’s no celebration going on the day you’d like to visit, it’s sometimes possible to arrange a tour in advance.
10. There are roughly 170 King Charles portraits to date
Yeo’s portrait of King Charles may have been the talk of town when it was unveiled, but it’s far from the only portrait Charles has sat for. The National Portrait Gallery in London has recorded 170 official portraits of Charles over the decades—both photographs and paintings. This might sound like a lot, but compared to his mother, the king has some catching up to do.
The gallery lists 973 official portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. Polish artist Barbara Kaczmarowska Hamilton was the last one to capture the late monarch in several sittings—her portrait was commissioned for the queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, just a few months before Queen Elizabeth II passed away.
11. It isn’t the first unconventional royal portrait
Yeo’s work is also not the first royal portrait to break convention. “Historically, people would just sort of paint the same old kind of portrait, but under the late queen, there was a move toward more experimental portraiture,” says Hardman. “There were some pretty extraordinary portraits of her done.” Among the most outside the box: a portrait by Justin Mortimer where the queen’s head is separated from her body by a swath of yellow paint, and another by Lucian Freud that some say made her resemble one of her beloved corgis.
“I was interviewing George W. Bush for my book on the queen, and he said that one of the things that impressed him most about her was that she sat for Lucian Freud,” recalls Hardman. “Freud does some extraordinary pieces, but chances are that it’s not going to be terribly flattering. So he said it was a sign of someone with great inner confidence. You don’t sit for someone like that unless you’re made of strong stuff.”
About the experts
|
Why trust us
Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of stories on the British royal family, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the fascinating facets of the monarchy. We regularly cover topics including the latest royal news, the history and meaning behind time-honored traditions, and the everyday quirks of everyone’s favorite family members, from Queen Elizabeth’s daily snack to Prince William’s confessions about his home life. We’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this piece on King Charles’s official portrait, Astrid Hofer tapped her experience as a London-based journalist with more than 20 years of experience covering topics including the British royal family. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Robert Hardman, royal biographer and author of Charles III; interviewed, March 2025
- Penelope Fussell, archivist for the Drapers’ Company; interviewed, March 2025
- Los Angeles Times: “King Charles’ new portrait elicits interesting reactions: ‘Looks like he’s bathing in blood'”
- The Royal Family: “New portrait of the King unveiled”
- Reuters: “King Charles unveils his first portrait since coronation”
- ITV News: “Portrait of HM King Charles III by Jonathan Yeo”
- The Royal Family Channel: “King Charles reveals his first official portrait since the coronation”
- BBC: “King Charles: First official portrait since coronation is unveiled, painted by Jonathan Yeo”
- National Portrait Gallery: “King Charles III”
- National Portrait Gallery: “Queen Elizabeth II”
