King Charles on Tuesday unveiled his first official portrait since his coronation last year in May, and it has received varied responses, with some drawing comparisons to the "archdemon of hell".
Painted by artist Jonathan Yeo, the portrait shows His Majesty bathed in a pool of crimson, with a single monarch butterfly perched on his shoulder. According to the palace, the portrait, standing over 6 feet tall, was painted over three years and shows the King wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, a regimental role he assumed in 1975.
The portrait was posted to the Royal Family's official Instagram page. This dramatic painting, dominated by shades of red, appears to have left social media users disappointed, with many referring to it as "satanic".
See the picture here:
Sharing the picture on X, formerly Twitter, a user wrote, “I unironically love the new King Charles portrait because of how evil it looks. Archdemon of hell a*s portrait.”
Another user wrote that it was the “ugliest thing I have ever seen.”
Somebody asked, “Anybody else find the new portrait of King Charles III incredibly disturbing and off-putting?”
“Who approved King Charles III's new portrait cuz it looks like he's in hell,” another tweet read.
An X user called the portrait “absolutely fecking hideous”, adding that it “looks like he is burning in hell.”
Someone else called it "the poster for a truly nightmarish horror movie."
“Probably the last painting done of him before he dies, and it's just him wreathed in the flames of hell,” another tweet read.
The painting will be exhibited at the Philip Mould Gallery in London for one month starting May 16. It will then be permanently displayed at Drapers Hall, a historic London building once owned by King Henry VIII.
King Charles was crowned on May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey, following his ascension to the throne on September 8, 2022, after the death of his mother, Elizabeth II. This marked the first coronation since Elizabeth II's in 1953, almost 70 years ago.
In February, the royal family announced that the King had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. On Monday, May 13, during a visit to the Army Flying Museum in Hampshire, King Charles mentioned experiencing a side effect of his treatment in a conversation with British Army veteran Aaron Mapplebeck. He spoke about a "loss of taste" during his treatment, reported The Sun.
