Prince Charles portrait commissioned by Australian billionaire has been revealed

Prince Charles portrait commissioned by Australian billionaire has been revealed

Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt has revealed a new Prince Charles portrait he has commissioned.

It was supposed to be a secret until the arrival of His Royal Highness, but Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt could not contain his excitement at the results of his artistic commission.

The realist piece by highly-acclaimed Australian artist Ralph Heimans, a former Sydney schoolboy, was commissioned by the Australian billionaire and unveiled to Prince Charles on Thursday night.

It features Prince Charles wearing a grey suit and holding a wooden cane beside a large window inside the tapestry room at Dumfries House in Scotland.

The reflection of his suit and the large oak tree outside can be seen on the grand piano that the Prince is standing beside. Pratt however released images on his social media pages just hours before.

https://twitter.com/anthonyjpratt2/status/1065527038767853569

“I commissioned Ralph Heimanns [sic] to paint this portrait of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales,” he wrote on Twitter and Instagram.

“It was commissioned on the occasion of His Royal Highness’ 70th birthday – he will unveil it tonight at Australia House in London – I’m honoured to be the founding patron of the Princes’ Trust Australia through which HRH has championed many worthy causes,” Pratt added.

Heimans is no stranger to producing royal portraits. The Australian artist has previously been commissioned to paint the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Mary, as well as other prominent Australians including Michael Kirby and Quentin Bryce.

He said his portrait of Prince Charles took 18 months to complete and was completely different to other royal portraits he had painted.

Speaking to Fairfax Media, Heimans explained how Charles’ passion for environmental causes and love of the outdoors shaped his approach to the portrait.

“He’s committed to protecting nature but he also loves farming and gardening so I depicted him with a walking stick,” the artist said.

Heimans’ portrait comes a week after Queen Elizabeth’s eldest child turned 70.

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