British artist Alastair Barford, who painted Queen Elizabeth II a few years ago, produced the first portrait of the new monarch.
King Charles III has been immortalized on canvas, a first since his accession to the throne last September. This portrait, produced in oil paint in two weeks by artist Alastair Barford, has just been unveiled.
“I wanted to reflect his warm and sensitive character, the empathy that shone through his interactions with people”, explains the painter, as relayed Sky News.
“I was keen to present an expression of sympathy,” he adds. The British media specifies that Charles III did not pose for the realization of this portrait and that Alastair Barford based himself on photos and sketches of the king that he made during a reception at Buckingham Palace, last February.
Busy week for the monarch
The painter is already well known to the royal family: as reported by the Daily Mailthis former beneficiary of the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (a fund dedicated to supporting British craftsmen) painted a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in 2015.
Although this portrait of Charles III was commissioned by Buckingham, it is not an official portrait. It will serve as a cover for Illustrated Coronation Edition magazinea magazine published on March 30, which will accompany the coronation of the king, scheduled for London on May 6.
This new portrait is unveiled as Charles III begins his first state visit as a monarch to Germany on Wednesday. It is in France that this first symbolic visit should have taken place, between Sunday and this Wednesday. But due to the mobilization in the face of the pension reform, Emmanuel Macron announced at the end of last week the postponement of the king’s visit.
