King Charles Unveils First Official Portrait Since Coronation

King Charles has unveilled the first official portrait of himself as monarch.

The new portrait, by British artist Jonathan Yeo, features the King in his Welsh guards uniform against a red, satanic looking backdrop, looking as if he is bathed in blood with a single butterfly appearing to land on his shoulder.

A monarch butterly?

The butterfly was the King’s idea…

He had requested a ‘subtle and poignant detail’ to be added to the painting when asked to think of a “clue” to sum up his reign for schoolchildren in the future.

The portrait has recieved some negative reactions on social media with some saying it is disturbing and looks like the King is burning in hell and others drawing attention to the butterfly symbolism and monarch mind control.

The Independent reports: Yeo recalled: “I said: ‘When schoolchildren are looking at this in 200 years and they’re looking at the who’s who of the monarchs, what clues can you give them?’

“He said: ‘What about a butterfly landing on my shoulder?’”

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”.

Unveiled on Tuesday afternoon at Buckingham Palace, the red backdrop in the portrait can be seen to reflect Charles’s position within the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975.

Explaining why he chose the abstract design, Yeo said he felt like this portrait should have more of a “dynamic and contemporary feel” and this sense of transformation is arguably reflected by the butterfly as well.

The Queen said she “hopes it is going to be seen by lots of people” after the unveiling.

And just look at the mirror image of Charlies portrait