King’s first official painted portrait since the coronation unveiled
The first official painted portrait of the King since the coronation has been unveiled at Buckingham Palace.
The painting was done by renowned portrait artist Jonathan Yeo, whose past subjects include Idris Elba, Cara Delevingne, Sir David Attenborough, Nicole Kidman, Malala Yousafzai, and former prime ministers Sirs David Cameron and Tony Blair.
Mr Yeo, whose work has been displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts and Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, has also painted Queen Camilla and the late Prince Philip.
The King sat for Mr Yeo on four occasions between June 2021 and November 2023 at both Highgrove in Gloucestershire and Clarence House in London.
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It’s the first official, painted portrait of the King since his coronation
Mr Yeo also worked from drawings and photographs of the monarch in order to make progress between sittings.
Unveiling his work at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, he said: “It was a privilege and pleasure to have been commissioned by The Drapers’ Company to paint this portrait of His Majesty The King, the first to be unveiled since his coronation.
“When I started this project, His Majesty the King was still His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and much like the butterfly I’ve painted hovering over his shoulder, this portrait has evolved as the subject’s role in our public life has transformed.
Yeo has painted portraits of other figures like Malala Yousafzai, Idris Elba and Queen Camilla.
“I do my best to capture the life experiences etched into any individual sitter’s face.
“In this case, my aim was also to make reference to the traditions of Royal portraiture but in a way that reflects a 21st-century monarchy and, above all else, to communicate the subject’s deep humanity.
“I’m unimaginably grateful for the opportunity to capture such an extraordinary and unique person, especially at the historic moment of becoming King.”
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at Windsor Castle today. Pic: PA
In addition to attending the unveiling ceremony in London, the King carried out his first investiture in five months – and his first since his cancer diagnosis – at Windsor Castle.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was one of the 52 recipients of an investiture – and was given the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
The King’s doctors granted permission for him to return to public duties last month.
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Dame Jilly Cooper was among those given investitures at Windsor Castle today. Pic: PA
His portrait was originally commissioned in 2020 to mark his 50 years as a member of The Draper’s Company in 2022.
It shows him wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, which he was made regimental colonel of in 1975.
The dimensions for the painting, which is oil on canvas, were specific to fit the architecture of the Drapers Hall where it will eventually hang.
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It will first go on display at the Philip Mould Gallery in London from 16 May until 14 June before moving to Drapers’ Hall at the end of August.
The Drapers’ Company is a group of seven charitable trusts dedicated to helping disadvantaged people. Its links to the Royal Family date back to 1364 when it received its first charter from King Edward III.
The crash involving a cargo ship and oil tanker off the East Yorkshire coast is bad news for the sea, fish and air in the area. What we don’t know yet is quite how bad it will be.
That depends on a few things – but the speed of the collision, clouds of filthy black smoke from the fires and the leaked fuel are certainly worrying.
Firstly, it matters what was on board those two massive vessels.
Follow live: Jet fuel spilling into sea after tanker collision
Analytics firm Vortexa estimates the 183m-long tanker was carrying about 130,000 barrels of jet fuel (kerosene), which is now leaking into the sea.
Jet fuel is not as sticky or viscous as heavier types of oil, thankfully, so it’s less likely to clog the feathers and fur of birds and seals. It can also be broken down by natural bacteria.
But it can still poison fish and kill animals and plants on the shoreline if it makes its way into the soil there.
The Marine Conservation Society has pointed out the site in the Humber estuary is close to some protected areas and is important for seabirds and harbour porpoises.
And both ships will have been powered by a dirtier, heavier kind of oil – likely marine gas oil or heavy fuel oil, though we don’t know the details yet.
Heavy fuel oil is nasty stuff.
Pic: Bartek Smialek/PA
Cheap, thick and tar-like, it can smother animals and is very dangerous if they consume it, and is extremely difficult to clean up. Let’s hope this isn’t creeping around the North Sea already.
We don’t know how much of either the jet fuel or the oil powering the ships has leaked, or how much will be burned off in the violent fires – which themselves are ploughing black smoke and filthy air pollution into the surrounding atmosphere.
And we don’t know for sure what was on the Solong cargo ship and if, or what, will go into the sea.
Cargo ship ‘had sodium cyanide on board’
It was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide among other cargo, according to a report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
The container vessel was also transporting an unknown quantity of alcohol, said the casualty report – an assessment of incidents at sea – citing a message from the local coastguard.
Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down, and potentially can choke or trap animals.
Many of us have seen that uncomfortable viral video of a turtle having a straw yanked out of its nose. Previous accidents on cargo ships have seen plastic Lego pieces wash up in Cornwall 25 years later.
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Secondly, the impact depends on the sea and weather conditions around it.
Things like the wind and currents affect how an oil spill spreads in the sea. Scientists can draw up computer models to simulate how the oil could behave.
Thirdly, it matters how quickly this is all tackled and then cleaned up, if necessary, and if it can be.
Usually the slower the response, the worse the impact.
The coastguard has said the incident “remains ongoing” and it has started assessing the “likely counter pollution response” that will be required.
Such a response might need the help of numerous public bodies: the government environment department, the transport department, the Environment Agency and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
So for now the best we can hope for – aside from the welfare of the people involved – is that not all the oil is spilled or burnt, that conditions are calm and that rescuers and those cleaning up can work swiftly.
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