Portrait Painter Joins King Charles on Caribbean Tour

Jonathan Yeo, the artist who painted the King's first official portrait after his accession, is travelling with King Charles on a nine-day tour of the Caribbean. The artist has been describing the trip in interviews, and he called the visit "a fascinating circus to join".

Yeo is the tour artist for the trip. A tour artist is a painter or sketch artist who goes along on an official overseas visit and records it. The practice dates back to Queen Victoria and was revived by Charles in the 1980s, according to Hello magazine. Artists are asked to capture the mood of a moment, and they can paint or sketch whatever catches their eye.

The arrangement is private. Hello reports that the King pays for tour artists himself. He keeps one of the images produced and then has the option to buy others. The Palace first approached Yeo about the role around six months ago, about two years after his portrait of the King was unveiled.

Yeo has spoken about the King's energy on the road. "He's amazingly energetic," he said. "And to do that speech after the long flight, it was particularly impressive." He also said he was especially struck by the Junkanoo parade in Nassau, The Bahamas, which the King joined on the second day of the trip. Junkanoo is a colourful street festival with music, costumes and processions. Yeo attended The Future Bahamas Youth Rally and Exhibition in Nassau on October 27, 2026.

The trip is part of a wider Caribbean programme. In August, Reuters reported that King Charles and Queen Camilla were scheduled to visit Caribbean nations in 2026, with a stop in Antigua and Barbuda included in the plans. On October 27, at the start of the tour in the Bahamas, the King said the Commonwealth would confront the injustices of slavery, according to Reuters.

Yeo's paintings from the trip have not yet been shown. Tour artworks are often seen in public later, but no date for any display has been given.