King Charles: First official portrait of monarch since coronation
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Here's the portrait in full - what do you think?
The official royal portrait of King Charles has been revealed, painted by artist Jonathon Yeo.
It's his first portrait as King since his coronation last year.
The painting is covered in a bright red colour, and features a butterfly on the King's shoulder.
So what is the story behind the vibrant painting and why do royals have painted portraits? Read on to find out more.
How the King's portrait was made
The artist started working on the painting a long time ago - before Charles had even become King
Jonathon Yeo was chosen to do the portrait - he's done paintings of lots of other famous figures, including Sir David Attenborough and Malala Yousafzai.
The artist said he wanted to make a break with the past. This means he wanted to paint something slightly different to other, more traditional paintings of monarchs.
This is why he used a bright red colour throughout the painting.
Why do we have portraits of royals?
Like many things concerning the royal family, it's about history and tradition.
Before we had good quality cameras, or any cameras at all, kings and queens used to choose a royal painter to come and do their portrait.
How the monarch looked in the portrait was important - it would be shown for years to come - often kings and queens wanted to put across a certain impression of themselves in their portrait.
Historians can learn a lot about a person from their royal portrait. By looking at how they're shown in the picture - for example if the painting makes them look big or intimidating - they can begin to piece together what their character may have been like.
There also used to be a lot of pressure on whoever painted the portrait. If the king or queen didn't like it, they would be in for a rough time!
Here are two famous royal portraits. You might be familiar with the man on the left - Henry VIII - what do you think his portrait says about him? How does it compare to his dad on the right, the first Tudor king Henry VII?
What does the portrait tell us about King Charles?
When looking at the picture you might notice something else - a butterfly on the King's shoulder.
This was actually the King's idea - he suggested it to artist Jonathon Yeo when they met up to discuss how the painting was going to look.
The artist says the butterfly represents the King's care for nature and the environment. He says it's also about new life and starting a new era for the royal family.
King Charles says he's always been interested in the environment - here he is many years ago in a jungle in Cameroon, that he wanted to preserve
Yeo had asked the King what "clues" he wanted to give about himself in the painting to future schoolchildren studying the kings and queens of the past.
His family seemed pretty impressed with it - Queen Camilla took a look and said "Yes, you've got him". The King also gave his nod of approval.
- Published11 March
