Illustrated London News is proud to reveal its specially commissioned portrait of His Majesty King Charles III that will feature on the front cover of The Illustrated Coronation Edition. The portrait was painted in oils by the artist Alastair Barford, a former QEST scholar (Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust) and is the first portrait to be released since the change of reign and among the first to be commissioned.
The artist had just two weeks to complete the project, and while His Majesty did not sit for the portrait, Alastair was able to study him at work at a Buckingham Palace reception on 17 February held in support of global biodiversity, working from his photographs and sketches of the occasion.
The likeness of The King and his sympathetic expression are striking. Alastair Barford commented: “I wished to capture his warmth and sensitivity, the empathy which came across in his interactions with the people he met. It was important that I captured a sympathetic expression.”
A detail of the portrait includes a bracelet on His Majesty’s wrist, presented to The King by the Amazon indigenous leader, Domingo Peas, at the Palace reception on 17 February. The artist included the bracelet to give the portrait context and authenticity, a symbol of The King’s advocacy on climate change and sustainability.
The portrait of The King was not Barford’s first royal portrait. He was commissioned as an up and coming artist by Illustrated London News in 2015 to paint Her Majesty The Queen in oils to mark her becoming the longest reigning British Monarch. It was Barford’s first formal commission and he studied The Queen at The Order of Garter Ceremony at Windsor Castle.
The portrait was hailed in The Daily Telegraph as “a far better likeness than many more famous artists have achieved from extensive sittings with The Queen” and The Daily Mail deemed it “stunning”. After The Queen‘s death in September 2022, The Daily Telegraph included Barford’s portrait as one of the top 5 portraits of The Queen.
The Illustrated Coronation Edition is the first dedicated Coronation edition to be published in 2023. In addition to the new portrait, it contains rare archive material of the former Prince of Wales and coronations though the ages. It will be in supermarkets including M&S, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Booths, Asda, Morrisons and WH Smith and Barnes & Noble in U.S from 30 March.
Lisa Barnard, Chief Executive of Illustrated London News, commented: “Illustrated London News has had a long tradition, dating back to 1842, of commissioning royal portraits for Coronation and Jubilee editions. So we wished to create a new portrait of King Charles III for our special Illustrated Coronation Edition. It is the first painting of The King where the artist has been able to observe the Monarch first hand. It’s extraordinary that Alastair Barford achieved this result in just a fortnight. He is phenomenally talented, and so modest. He worked around the clock to get the best result and finesse it. We are grateful for the Palace’s support in making this happen.
“Creating this portrait is fitting with His Majesty The King’s support of artistic talent and craftmanship. Alastair Barford was ILN’s first choice as artist because of the dazzling talent he demonstrated with his portrait of Her Majesty The Queen and his connection with QEST. These are now two companion portraits of Queen and King, and mother and son.”
You can buy the magazine by going to britishcoronation.com.
‹ all articles
