The first portrait of King Charles III since the start of his reign has been unveiled by oil painting artist Alastair Barford.
Barford studied fine art at University College Falmouth. He graduated in 2011, and in 2012 he received funding from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust to study portrait drawing and painting in Florence.
This wasn’t Barford’s first time painting a member of the royal family. In June 2014, Barford was commissioned by the Illustrated London News to paint King Charles III’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
You May Also Like
Related Articles
The portrait of Charles depicts him wearing a navy blue pinstripe suit with a formal white shirt. The monarch also sports a light pink tie with a simple knot and a coordinating light pink pocket square. A hint of Charles’ watch is seen as his hand is placed in his pocket, along with a bracelet given to him by Amazon Indigenous leader Domingo Peas. The bracelet is a symbol of Charles’ commitment so sustainability and work on climate change.
The bracelet was presented to Charles in February 2023 during an event at Buckingham palace in aid of biodiversity. Barford was commissioned to study Charles at the event and was given two weeks to complete the portrait in his likeness.
“I wished to capture his warmth and sensitivity, the empathy which came across in his interactions with the people he met,” Barford said. “It was important that I captured a sympathetic expression.”
Charles and Queen Consort Camilla’s coronation is scheduled for May 6 at Westminster Abbey. The event will include the formal sacred anointing and formal crowning of King Charles, marking the first coronation of a British monarch in the 21st century. The royal couple is in Germany to visit the German-British Engineer Bridge Battalion.