Not all of King Charles’s portraits have been received well, but the latest contribution, called “The King of Sustainability,” is not only striking, it’s unlike anything else gracing the walls of Buckingham Palace. Created by artist Michael Shellis, it incorporates actual sustainable materials—everything from British perennials to flower petals tinted with coffee waste—to create a more textured finish. The end result might just be one of the best (and most accurate) portraits of His Majesty.
A Brand-New Portrait of King Charles May Be His Best One Yet
The artist’s behind-the-scenes video will blow your mind
Published Nov 24, 2025
•6:22pm
Ilyas Tayfun Salci/Getty Images
After all, Charles is known best for his unwavering commitment to the environment. A short behind-the-scenes video of what went into the creation of the piece, which was presented to the monarch in October, has been shared on Instagram by Michael Shellis. It shows the artist’s process from start to finish, which includes cycling around London on a Lime rental bike to collect materials from St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Royal Parks and more. Even the frame is sustainable, made from ash timber collected from Charles’s Highgrove estate.
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Shellis based his work on the king’s 2010 book, Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World, which outlines his belief that the human and natural worlds cannot be separated. The portrait was originally commissioned in March by Taz Khan, who founded London’s Community Kitchen, as part of a cultural and sustainability initiative. Khan revealed that, after seeing it, the king’s reaction was incredibly positive: “I was holding my breath a bit, but he absolutely loved it. He asked if I would bring it over to him,” Khan told The Telegraph.
But that’s not all: The portrait, which is currently hung privately at Buckingham Palace, will be relocated to the Mansion House in London later this week, where members of the public will have a chance to view it.
The perfect precursor to Charles’s Amazon Prime documentary, also about his “harmony” philosophy and set to be released in early 2026? We’d say so.
