King Charles wears indigenous bracelet in first portrait

King Charles III has been depicted wearing an indigenous bracelet in the first portrait to be released since the start of his reign.

The portrait in oils was completed by artist Alastair Barford in just two weeks after he studied him at work at a Buckingham Palace reception in aid of biodiversity in February.

The monarch was presented with a bracelet during the event by the Amazon indigenous leader, Domingo Peas.

Mr Barford included it in his portrait to add context and authenticity, as a symbol of the King’s advocacy on climate change and sustainability.

“I wished to capture his warmth and sensitivity, the empathy which came across in his interactions with the people he met,” he said.

“It was important that I captured a sympathetic expression.”

Mr Barford, 36, from Bridport in Dorset, studied painting in Florence on a Queen Elizabeth scholarship and in 2015 was commissioned by the Illustrated London News to paint Queen Elizabeth II - his first formal commission.

The portrait was hailed at the time by The Daily Telegraph as “a far better likeness than many more famous artists have achieved from extensive sittings with the Queen.”

The new portrait of the King is among the first to be commissioned since the change of reign last September and will feature on the front cover of The Illustrated Coronation Edition.

His Majesty’s first state visit to Germany

It’s release coincides with His Majesty’s first state visit to Germany, following the postponement of a trip to France due to civil unrest over President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms.

The King, accompanied by the Queen Consort, will seek to highlight the many continuing links between Germany and the UK since Brexit, including a shared resolve on helping Ukraine.

He will become the first British monarch to address the Bundestag and will become the first foreign head of state to receive an official military welcome at the Brandenburg Gate since the Second World War.

On Thursday, the King will watch a joint German-British engineer battalion, the first combined military unit between the two countries in more than two centuries, lay a B pontoon bridge over the Oder-Havel canal north of Berlin.

The German authorities will deploy up to 1,100 police officers to secure the royal visit.

Mr Barford added of his commission: “It was a terrifying honour.

“It’s a great responsibility to create a portrait of someone who means so much to so many people. If you are painting someone you know pop, you bring to the portrait certain preconceptions.

“While I don’t know The King, he has been an enduring presence in all our lives. So reconciling this ‘Idea of The King” with the reference material I had gathered was a challenge.”