The portrait of King Charles III, which sparked fierce debate when it was first unveiled two years ago, has gone on public display at Buckingham Palace for the first time.

The painting, by British artist Jonathan Yeo, is being shown in the Silk Tapestry Room, next to the Picture Gallery, and is among the first works visitors will see when entering the State Rooms during the palace’s summer opening, which runs from Thursday, July 9, to September 28, 2026.

The work is the first official portrait of Charles as monarch, although it was originally commissioned in 2020 to mark his 50 years as a member of the Drapers’ Company, one of the City of London’s historic livery companies.

Dominated by deep shades of red and purple, the large oil painting shows the King wearing the red tunic of the Welsh Guards, of which he was appointed Colonel in 1975. Yeo recently donated the portrait to the Royal Collection so that it could be displayed at the palace.

The artist’s strikingly modern approach sharply divided opinion when the portrait was first exhibited. Some critics objected to the intensity of the colour, while others welcomed its break from the conventions of royal portraiture, according to the Athens News Agency.

The Guardian described the work as “a psychedelic sea of garish reds,” while Smithsonian magazine posed a simpler question: “Is it too red?”

The painting now joins the Royal Collection, which includes more than one million objects, among them paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints, sculptures and decorative works of art.

Visitors to the State Rooms will have access to 19 of Buckingham Palace’s most impressive public spaces. They will also be able to visit the Picture Gallery, which is displaying 120 masterpieces this summer.