BIRMINGHAM, England

The first official portrait of Britain's King Charles III since the start of his reign has been unveiled by oil painting artist Alastair Barford.

The king wears a blue suit in this first commissioned oil painting since ascended to the throne following the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The artwork was commissioned by the Illustrated London News magazine for its special coronation edition, which is on sale from April 6.

Illustrated London News is a historic magazine of news and the arts, published in London and a forerunner in the use of various graphic arts. It was founded as a weekly in 1842 by Herbert Ingram,and it became a monthly in 1971.

The artist — who was also commissioned by the same magazine to paint the late Queen in 2015 — said the new portrait depicts the King's “warmth” and “empathy” and shows him wearing a bracelet given to him by an indigenous Amazon Indigenous leader Domingo Peas.

The British media interpreted the bracelet as a symbol of Charles' commitment so sustainability and work on climate change. The bracelet was presented to Charles in February during an event at Buckingham Palace in aid of biodiversity.

Barford, who is a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) recipient, was commissioned to study the King at the event and was given two weeks to complete the portrait.

The artist, 36, used funding from the royal scholarship to study portrait drawing and painting in Italy's Florence at the renowned studio of artist Charles H Cecil in 2012.