King Charles portrait artist responds to wild conspiracy theories

Artist for King Charles’ portrait, Jonathan Yeo, responded to all the conspiracy theories that came up after his fiery red portrait of the monarch was unveiled.

The unveiling of the painting, which was first official portrait of Charles since his coronation, took place at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, May 14, with the monarch pulling off the curtain as Yeo looked on.

Since then a shockwave was sent through the internet with art critics and social media left divided over the meaning behind the painting and also sparking conspiracy theories about the royals.

“My [17-year-old] daughter was much too keen to show me all the crazy stuff about the painting on TikTok,” he told The Sunday Times. “She’s … had the best day of her life with all of the conspiracies about the painting, saying I’m a Satanist and Illuminati.”

Yeo previously shared that his “mind has truly been blown” by the debate around his paintings.

He explained his use of red, saying that he’d hoped to “distract” viewers from the bright red uniform of the Guards.

It’s strangely reassuring to know a painted portrait can still spark so many conversations in an image-saturated age,” he wrote on Instagram.

“If there’s anyone who hasn’t come up with their own outlandish interpretation yet, feel free to stick one in the comments below. A copy of The Da Vinci Code for the most original.”