Here’s How King Charles Reacted to the Red Portrait that Was Greatly Dissed by Social Media

King Charles’s red portrait created quite a controversy on the internet. According to BBC , the humongous portrait, which spans 8ft 6in by 6ft 6in was unveiled in mid-May and the response from the people online has been somewhat intense and conspiratorial. But, here’s how the King of the United Kingdom reacted to his shocking and fiery red portrait.

The portrait features Charles standing in all his glory, wearing his red Welsh uniform against a raging red paint all over the background in which His Majesty seemed to be blended in. Other details of the painting include the King holding a sword in his left hand while his right-hand rests on it. Also, a butterfly hovers over his shoulder.

Artist, Jonathan Yeo, who previously painted other notable personalities like Tony Blair , Sir David Attenborough, and Malala Yousafzai , revealed Charles asked him to add the butterfly in honor of his love for the “[King’s] environmental causes” and a way to celebrate his “love for nature.”

First commissioned in 2021, the oil on canvas took over three years, and four separate sittings with the king to finish the painting. Yeo explained on his website , “As a portrait artist, you get this unique opportunity to spend time with and get to know a subject, so I wanted to minimize the visual distractions and allow people to connect with the human being underneath.”

Social media users criticized the intensely red portrait as one user @tekkenqq8 drew similarities of the redness with serious accusations on X, formerly Twitter, “These royalties are so boring. His portrait while swimming in the blood of millions of people Britain has murdered, displaced, enslaved, …”

Meanwhile, another X critic, @AshwaniiSKumar , likened the color red to danger and other intense emotions and condemned, “Why in the color ‘Red’? Red has meanings associated with shades of danger, violence, anger, malice, and aggression.” @DavidSmuts added to the previous tweet of Jeopardy, “I just see lots of blood I hope that’s not an omen.”

However, @DavidSmuts , also added a different perspective, “Remember the reign of a previous King named Charles l ended in his beheading. I sincerely do not wish that outcome that for our monarch, but red is also a color of martyrdom, and that’s all I see in this portrait.” The criticism extended to Instagram where people were equally shocked to see the “sinister” portrait.

But, how about Charles? Well, the British Monarch was seemingly happy with the way the portrait turned out. He eagerly unveiled it in Buckingham Palace , shared a gleeful smile with Yeo, and even conversed with him. While the King has yet to make an official statement about the art piece, the assembled crowd also appreciated Yeo’s efforts.

The artist shared with BBC, “He was initially mildly surprised by the strong color but otherwise he seemed to be smiling approvingly.” Yeo also clarified to US Weekly , that Charles saw the portrait in November 2023 when it was three-quarters done, “If he’d been appalled, I think, I might have rethought it and toned it down a bit. But he didn’t seem that way.”