King Charles Left Red-Faced After 'Nonsense' Portrait Initiative Sees Shockingly Low Turnout
A framed photo of King Charles III, which is meant to sit in official offices, failed to capture the public's imagination and has been called a 'nonsense' scheme.
King Charles III, 76, has been monarch for over two years, and His Majesty is "not inspiring deference" like his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did at this point in her reign. The sovereign's recent embarrassment comes thanks to a framed photograph of the head of state, which the British government spent millions of pounds on, failing to catch on.
This led the head of Republic, Graham Smith, to tell GBN, "Spending almost £3m on pictures of Charles when school children are going hungry is an appalling waste of money."
The fervent anti-monarchist, whose organization has been out in full force since the King came to the throne, called the scheme, which was for public bodies to request an official portrait of the monarch, "nonsense" and he wasn't surprised that "take up has been low."
"Those who run public bodies have more important things to worry about," he shared. "Support has always been marginally higher in England, so it’s no surprise that’s where most requests have come from. If someone wants a picture of Charles on their wall they can easily print one off at their local Snappy Snaps. Spending millions on this is nonsense."
Fewer than a third of schools and just 35 of the U.K.'s 475 universities submitted requests for the framed portrait of the King. While 82.7 percent of government departments and local authorities in England took part, participation was much lower in Wales, with only 15.6 percent of similar bodies applying.
When the initiative was announced on November 14, 2023, former Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden described it as a way to "remind the public of the example set by our ultimate public servant." By the end of the scheme in August, more than 20,500 portraits had been distributed, each at an estimated cost of 132 pounds.
The image, showing the King in his Royal Navy uniform, was captured by photographer Hugo Burnand, who also documented King Charles’s May 6, 2023, coronation and his 2005 wedding to Queen Camilla.
In the spring of last year, seven months after the King's accession to the throne, the British Cabinet Office stated: "Official portraits of Queen Elizabeth II are currently on display in many public institutions, and the offering of the new official portrait of King Charles III will enable organizations across the U.K. to carry on that tradition."
But the cost associated with replicating possibly hundreds of the portraits also angered many, who took to social media to vent their frustrations.
"I'm sure this £8 million could be better spent on hungry children, cold pensioners, or veterans struggling on the streets," a critic stated.
Someone else chimed in, "What a waste; they could use this money to do some good instead."
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