8 striking royal portraits: From Andy Warhol's 'pop art' portrait of Queen Elizabeth to Paul Emsley's painting of Kate Middleton

8 memorable royal portraits to see amid frenzy over King Charles’ fiery red painting

King Charles recently unveiled his new portrait by artist Jonathan Yeo, which has caused quite a stir on social media for the dominating red hue. The portrait, which will hang in Draper's Hall in London, is the first official portrait of the monarch to be completed since his coronation. While the recent portrait has sparked conversations among the masses and art connoisseurs, there are several other royal portraits that became talk of the town upon their releases.

1. Queen Elizabeth II by Andy Warhol

Queen Elizabeth II's screen-print portraits by Andy Warhol garnered massive attention and became timeless classics. The portraits are part of Warhol's 1985 project titled 'Reigning Queens' featuring 16 pictures pictures of the late British monarch, Queen Beatrix of Netherlands, Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Queen Ntfombi Twala of Swaziland. On the occasion of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee of sixty years on the throne in 2012, the British royal family's private art collection, Royal Collection acquired the four portraits. The images were created from one of the photos of the late monarch from her silver jubilee on the throne. 

2. Queen Elizabeth by Lucien Freud

Another painting of Queen Elizabeth II that created quite a stir was Lucien Freud's painting of a closeup the queen's face. Freud captured Queen Elizabeth's face using thick brush strokes and completed the look with a diamond crown and pearl jewelry. The artist presented the portrait to the queen in 2002. 

3. King Charles by Victoria Crowe

Commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland in 2018, King Charles III's portrait as then-Prince Charles creates a dichotomy with the recently unveiled portrait in temper. The painting created by Scottish artist Victoria Crowe, is currently hanging in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The oil on linen creation shows the monarch in a meditaive mood amid the background of a wintry landscape. 

4. Queen Camilla by Ruth Heppel

Queen Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall and a patron of Helen & Douglas House Hospice, unveiled this portrait of herself in 2014 to mark the center's tenth anniversary. Artist Ruth Heppel was commisioned to paint the reigning queen consort. 

5. Prince William and Prince Harry by Nicky Phillips

Artist Nicky Phillips captured the striking likenesses of Prince William and Prince Harry in the royal portrait that was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in 2010. The picture marks the first double portrait of the royal brothers and depicts them in uniform from the time when they were serving at Household Cavalry (the 'Blues and Royals').

6. Prince and Princess of Wales by Jamie Coreth

British artist Jamie Coreth produced the first joint portrait of the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate. The painting shows the royal couple in a relaxed manner. The couple even viewed the portrait together at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridgeshire in 2022. Coreth shared his philosophy behind the painting as he said that he "wanted to show Their Royal Highnesses in a manner where they appeared both relaxed and approachable, as well as elegant and dignified," per Hello!

7. Princess of Wales by Paul Emsley

Artist Paul Emsley was chosen to paint the first official portrait of Kate Middleton, then Duchess of Cambridge, in 2013. The portrait was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery with William and Kate in attendance. Though the picture received some criticism, Kate defended it saying the portrait as "brilliant, amazing, absolutely brilliant".

8. Prince Harry by Elizabeth Peyton

American artist Elizabeth Peyton painted the close-up photo of Prince Harry based off a photograph of him when he was starting at Eton College. The 1998 painting of Peyton comes from a period of her work when the artist was trying to capture the "ethos at the turn of the 20th century through her depiction of popular figures from mediated images, drawing on ‘lives that are played out in the public arena of the mass media'," per Phillips.