King Charles and Queen Camilla have unveiled their official Coronation state portraits during a tour of the National Gallery in London today.
The artwork, by Peter Kuhfeld and Paul S. Benney, was revealed this morning to mark the second anniversary of the crowning of His Majesty at Westminster Abbey on May 6 2023.
Posing alongside the portraits, the King opted for a fun castle-themed patterned tie and a smart navy pinstriped suit, while the Queen put on a vibrant display in a bright red dress.
Now part of The Royal Collection, the portraits were revealed in the Central Hall, followed by the reopening of the refurbished Sainsbury Wing.
Their Majesties toured the space and met participants in the gallery’s outreach education programme.
Ahead of the unveiling of the official portraits, artwork commissioned by the King to capture key moments from the coronation weekend was shared for the first time.
Paintings and monochrome images showing the Gold State Coach procession, heralds waiting to take part in events and the King and Queen during the Westminster Abbey coronation were revealed.
Charles followed a long-held tradition and commissioned five artists to capture significant events from the coronation weekend, with four of the creatives being former students from his Royal Drawing School.
The King and Queen pose with their official Coronation state portraits at the National Gallery
The occasion falls the day after VE Day when the King and Queen stood alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children as they waved to thousands of people from the Buckingham Palace balcony to mark the 80th anniversary.
Today, Fraser Scarfe was outside Buckingham Palace and Gideon Summerfield at Trafalgar Square, Phoebe Stannard was inside Westminster Abbey, and artist and illustrator Shana Lohrey was invited to Windsor Castle to capture the atmosphere, crowds and ambience of the coronation concert.
Eileen Hogan, an Emeritus Professor at the University of the Arts London and a Royal Drawing School trustee, was commissioned to paint the coronation service – the first woman to be given the role.
Ms Hogan said: ‘When I was appointed to paint the coronation from Westminster Abbey, I was very aware that I was the first woman to be appointed in this historical role, and then I thought “What details could a painting bring that modern-day TV cameras could not?”.
‘The more I thought about it, my conclusion was that the stillness of a painting really isolates and intensifies significant moments, and emphasises meaning; whether that be ritualistic, spiritual, or simply extremely human.’
The coronation was held on May 6 2023, and Charles saw the finished pieces, now part of the Royal Collection, last September during a presentation at his Clarence House home.
Mr Scarfe, who is the Royal Drawing School’s head of education delivery, was commissioned by Charles to capture images from his recent state visit to Italy and became the first official tour artist to create images digitally alongside traditional methods.
He said: ‘There were so many incredible moments during the day.
The King and Queen arrive at the Sainsbury Wing during a visit to The National Gallery in London
The King and Queen pose next to a sign marking their visit to the National Gallery today
The King opted for a fun castle-themed patterned tie and a smart navy pinstriped suit for the outing
Their Majesties toured the space and met participants in the gallery’s outreach education programme
Queen Camilla during a visit to The National Gallery on May 06, 2025 in London
‘For me, the real standout moment was the moment when Their Majesties went out onto the balcony and the crowds were able to come and stand in front of Buckingham Palace and celebrate the coronation.
‘And it was that moment that I thought really stood out to me; the joy of the people; the mass of people waving flags; and coming through to cheer and celebrate was such a special moment, and that’s really the moment I felt I should focus my largest work on.’
Yesterday, the King and Queen stood alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children as they waved to thousands of people from the Buckingham Palace balcony to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
They were joined by the Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke of Kent.
The family watched the spectacular display featuring the Red Arrows and a score of historic and current military aircraft, about an hour after viewing a procession through London of 1,300 members of the armed forces and Nato allies.
Their united front commemorating the service of those who fought to bring peace to Europe and the rest of the world comes three days after Prince Harry’s bombshell plea for ‘reconciliation’ following his court defeat.
The Duke of Sussex faced anger last week for sparking speculation surrounding his father’s health after saying he didn’t ‘know how much longer’ the 76-year-old has left to live.
In a bombshell interview with the BBC, Prince Harry, 40, revealed he wanted to reconcile with the royals, while alleging his father, the monarch, was not currently speaking to him.
(From left) the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke of Edinburgh, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Kent, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Prince of Wales, Prince George, the Princess of Wales, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace today to view the flypast featuring the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows
King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince of Wales and Prince George react during the Buckingham Palace flypast yesterday
‘There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family,’ he said: ‘Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things but… there’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.’
He continued: ‘Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has, he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. It would be nice to reconcile.’
King Charles, who is still undergoing regular treatments as someone ‘living with cancer’, previously described the moment of being informed of having the disease as ‘daunting and ‘frightening’.
