Jim McMahon

Portraits of the United Kingdom’s royal family tend to be fairly conventional. But the new official portrait of King Charles III—the first since his coronation in 2023—is anything but traditional, which is why its unveiling caused such a stir this spring. The outsized canvas shows the king in uniform, hands on the hilt of his sword, with a butterfly over his right shoulder and his entire body bathed in a sea of crimson. The artist, Jonathan Yeo, said his goal was to produce a more modern royal portrait, reflecting Charles’s desire to be a modern monarch. Public opinion was mixed, with many social media users largely unimpressed. “It looks like he’s bathing in blood,” one person commented, while another called it “one of the creepiest royal portraits I’ve ever seen.” Many thought the color drew attention to the British Empire’s violent colonial history. Regardless, the portrait was on display at a London gallery through mid-June and was expected to move this month to its permanent home at the city’s Drapers’ Hall—which holds hundreds of other royal portraits. Now, it’s time for you to play the role of art critic: What do you think of the portrait? What might the artist have been trying to convey?