Wearing a suit and bracelet given to him by an indigenous Amazon chief, he is the first official portrait of King Charles III.
And in a touching nod to his late mother, it was painted in oils by artist Alastair Barford, a former QEST – Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust – grantee.
The release comes as King Charles prepares for his first official state visit to Germany on Wednesday.
The monarch postponed a planned visit to France earlier this week after widespread civil unrest, and German authorities will deploy up to 1,100 officers during the two-day trip to Berlin and Hamburg.
The king and queen are expected to be received at the capital’s Brandenburg Gate, the first foreign head of state to be honored in this way since World War II, before dining with his German cousins at a state banquet, the hosted by Federal President Frank – Walter Steinmeier.
The new portrait of King Charles III. was painted in oil by artist Alastair Barford, a former grantee of the QEST – Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust – in a nod to the King’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth II
A portrait by artist and Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust grantee Alastair Barford painted the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2015 to mark her becoming Britain’s longest-reigning monarch
The portrait was commissioned by the Illustrated London News and will appear on the cover of their special Coronation Edition.
The artist had only two weeks to complete the image.
While His Majesty was not sitting for the portrait, Mr Barford was able to watch him at work at a reception at Buckingham Palace in February held in support of global biodiversity, and work from his photographs and sketches of the occasion.
The bracelet on His Majesty’s wrist was presented to the King by Amazon leader Domingo Peas, adding context and authenticity to the portrait, a symbol of the King’s commitment to climate change and sustainability.
Mr Barford, who also painted Queen Elizabeth, said: “It was a terrible honor. It is a great responsibility to create a portrait of someone who means so much to so many people.
“I wanted to capture his warmth and sensitivity, the empathy that came through in his interactions with the people he met.”
In this 1953 portrait, Queen Elizabeth II wears the tiara of George IV and holds the scepter in her right hand, which rests on a table with the Imperial crown at left
The artist told The Times that it was important to him to capture the monarch’s “warmth and sensitivity” and the “empathy that came across in his interactions”.
Mr Barford, who hails from Bridgeport in Dorset and studied painting in Florence, the birthplace of painters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, said he wanted to portray the king with a “sympathetic expression”.
Lisa Barnard, Chief Executive of Illustrated London News, said: “Illustrated London News has a long tradition, dating back to 1842, of commissioning royal portraits for Coronation and Jubilee issues.
“It is the first painting by The King in which the artist has had the opportunity to observe the monarch firsthand. We are grateful for the support of the palace in the implementation.”
It comes as His Majesty, who will depart today on the Queen Consort for his first State visit to Germany as Sovereign, was announced as the new Colonel in the Corps of Royal Engineers, succeeding his mother.
Everything you need to know about the coronation weekend
King Charles will be crowned King at Westminster Abbey on Saturday May 6th.
A coronation concert will be held as part of the celebrations. 10,000 spectators will be successful in a ticket vote for the event (Platinum Jubilee Concert, 2022, outside Buckingham Palace)
The ceremony falls on a bank holiday weekend, meaning Brits have until Tuesday to celebrate the event.
A coronation concert will be held as part of the celebrations. But are there still tickets? Where can you buy them?
Read everything you need to know about King Charles’ coronation concert below.
When is King Charles’ coronation concert?
As part of Karl’s coronation celebrations, the concert will take place on Sunday evening, May 7th.
This precedes the public holiday, which falls on Monday May 8th.
Where is King Charles’ coronation concert?
The event takes place on the East Lawn of Windsor Castle. It is the first time that a concert has been held on the premises.
Which artists will perform at the coronation concert?
The official line-up has not yet been announced.
It has been reported that Lionel Ritchie could open a case. Andrew Lloyd Webber, who played at last year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, has also been asked to perform.
Adele and Ed Sheeran will reportedly not be able to perform, and Harry Styles, Kylie Minogue and Elton John are all said to have turned down an offer to take the stage at Windsor Castle.
The Coronation Choir, made up of community choirs from across the UK, will perform at the concert.
Are tickets still available for King Charles’ coronation concert?
The public vote to purchase tickets for the concert is now closed.
10,000 citizens who have applied will be informed of the success by the end of April.
The remaining tickets will be split between Charles and Camilla’s charities, organizations supporting young people, the military, the environment, local communities and the Commonwealth.
It is not yet known whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be present at the coronation ceremony or the concert
Will Prince Harry attend the coronation concert?
Prince Harry has not yet confirmed if he will be present at King Charles’ coronation ceremony, but did say he had received an invitation.
Is the coronation concert on TV?
The Coronation is broadcast on the BBC and is therefore free to watch across the UK.
The state visit to Germany will open with a military welcome ceremony at the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin, the first such ceremony to be offered to a foreign head of state since World War II.
Access to the event will be tightly controlled, with a police cordon in place with 20 sniffer dogs to locate explosive devices.
Thomas Drechsler, chief of police operations, said the desire to get through the crowds and meet the people coming out to see the King and Queen made the planning a bit of a tightrope walk.
The king will also dine with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, who are personal friends of the royal couple.
Several of the king’s German cousins will attend the state banquet, a source close to the proceedings told The Telegraph.
The then Prince of Wales lays a wreath on November 15, 2020 during a trip to Berlin for Germany’s National Day of Mourning, which commemorates victims of war and fascism
The King and Queen with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (right) and his wife Elke during the couple’s trip to Berlin in 2020. The President will host a state banquet for the royal couple during their visit this week
Prince Ludwig von Baden remembers Prince Philip in a BBC documentary. A member of the House of Baden has confirmed that they will be attending the state banquet in Germany this week
Prince Rainer of Hesse, Princess Clarissa of Hesse, Prince Georg of Hanover and Prince Ludwig of Baden count the king as a first cousin and he is also closely related to Hereditary Prince Bernhard of Baden and Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.
A relative from the Baden family has announced that he will be attending.
The king is expected to deliver a speech in English and German. He is said to be very proficient in the language, like his late father Prince Philip, who was fluent.
The monarch has previously spoken about how he “cherishes” his bond with his German ancestry.
On Thursday, the king will oversee a joint Anglo-German engineer battalion laying a pontoon bridge across the Oder-Havel Canal north of Berlin.
It is the first joint intercounty battalion in more than two centuries and was reinstated 18 months ago.
The battalion was tasked with rebuilding defense links between Britain and Germany following the initial withdrawal of British troops from the country in 2020 and the impact of Brexit.
After the Windsor framework, German officials, including Ambassador Miguel Berger, have suggested there could be renewed military engagement as evidence of “renewed confidence” in the UK.