King Charles' Viral Portrait Sparks a Flurry of Memes and Wild Reactions

Marisa Losciale
·3 min read
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King Charles III

King Charles III just unveiled his first portrait as king, but not everyone is as excited about the work of art as he is.

The painting, which is hanging at Buckingham Palace, was commissioned from artist Jonathan Yeo in 2020 to celebrate the then-Prince of Wales' 50 years as a member of The Drapers' Company, according to a report from The Daily Mail.

Yeo painted Charles in the regal uniform of the Welsh Guards, which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975, and in a statement accompanying the portrait reveal on the royal family's official Instagram account, he explained that he did his "best to capture the life experiences and humanity etched into any individual sitter’s face, and I hope that is what I have achieved in this portrait."

Well, in spite of his best attempt to capture the monarch's "humanity," royal watchers appear to disagree, sharing their brazen opinion of the piece on social media–with several reactions quickly going viral and inspiring even more memes.

"The King's portrait channelling the 'Everything is fine' meme?" one X (formerly Twitter) user asked. "Just me then."

"The King's first official portrait. Are you kidding me. Was he exiting the fires of hell at the time?!" a second joked.

"Karma (Diana’s Version)," a viral Taylor Swift-inspired take read alongside a screenshot of the painting that suggested it's "giving Camilla's tampon," a reference to The Crown's 'Tampongate.' A second joke in the slide read: "When I accomplish one task on my period."

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Similarly, someone else wrote, "did the painter of the king charles portrait stop and think...hm, red...what sort of connotations does red have..."

Another edited the image to include an unsettling and massive set of hands.

"The first official portrait of The King has been revealed. The artist 'wanted to reduce the visual distractions' - like the body, presumably. The face is beautifully done if you ignore the ‘disembodied and floating’ effect," a different viewer quipped.

The critiques didn't end there, continue scrolling for a few more top picks:

Next: The Archbishop of Canterbury Gives Advice to Fans of the Royal Family Amid Ongoing ‘Royal Rift’