History professor comments on King Charles III’s portrait

Stephanie Koscak, associate professor of history, explores the history of royal portraiture in Britain and the symbolism of King Charles III’s new – and very red – official portrait by Jonathan Yeo.

Kosack explains that part of the reason why the portraits and personalities of British rulers are so well remembered today is because the monarchy, going back to at least the Tudors, has paid close attention to their visual representation and the circulation of their images.

“With this portrait we might say that the king is entering his ‘red era’ to borrow some Swiftie vocabulary,” she writes.

Read her recent online essay for Broadsides, published by the North American Conference on British Studies.