A portrait of King Charles III by a Sarum Art Studio teacher will feature on the cover of the Illustrated London News' special coronation edition.

The painting is the second portrait of a sitting monarch that 35-year-old artist Alastair Barford has completed, having previously painted a portrait, also commissioned by Illustrated London News, of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate her reign becoming the longest in history in 2015.

Alastair, who is originally from Bridport but now lives in Salisbury, said he wanted to capture Charles’s “sensitivity” in the oil painting, with the inclusion of the bracelet a nod to his environmental campaigning.

The bracelet which gifted to the King by Domingo Peas, the leader of the Achuar Nation of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Salisbury Journal: Portrait of King Charles III by Alastair Barford (c) Illustrated London News. Portrait of King Charles III by Alastair Barford (c) Illustrated London News. (Image: Alastair Barford (c) Illustrated London News.)

SEE ALSO: Mayor of Salisbury receives card of gratitude from the King

Alastair was invited to attend the reception at Buckingham Palace in February where Domingo presented the bracelet to the King, along with a necklace made of seeds.

The event gave Alastair an important opportunity to observe the King, as the production of the portrait presented the additional challenge that His Majesty would not be sitting for the portrait. Before attending the reception, Alastair did not know how he would make the portrait unique, but it became apparent while watching the King’s interactions with others.

Alastair said: “What struck me from attending the reception and observing the King interacting with the people he was meeting was this sort of- the warmth, and the empathy and the sensitivity with which he- he seemed to genuinely care what they were saying and to be really listening.

"And that I think resonated with me, that kind of sensitivity. It’s not necessarily a quality that you think of as being kingly, perhaps. So from that reception I felt quite keenly that I wanted to try and imbibe something of that warmth and sensitivity in the portrait and make a portrait that was more about him as a man rather than his role as monarch.”