GB News presenter Bev Turner has detailed her secret link to King Charles in a candid discussion with royal commentator Michael Cole.
The GB News host received a sneak peek of his brand new portrait when she visited the house of the artist Jonathan Yeo two weeks’ ago.
According to Bev, this made her one of the very first people to view it in person.
She said on GB News: “I was with Johnny and his wife Shebah Ronay a couple of weeks ago, and she said, ‘the King is upstairs. Would you like to see him?
“I said, ‘I’m sorry?’ And so, we went upstairs and there was the painting. So, I was one of the first people to see it. It is arresting in real life.
“It is eight-six high and more than six-foot six wide. And it takes your breath away because it's got all of this detail in there. But it's also just so magnificent.
“I think it's actually caught his kind of frailty. It of course has taken four years to paint with various sittings and taking photographs, and all the photographs were on the wall as well which showed how he pieced it together.
“But I think ironically, looking back, it sort of captured his fragility having been diagnosed with cancer throughout this as well and there's also the gentleness of the butterfly on the shoulder.
“It was King Charles’ idea as well. He wanted the butterfly to reflect his environmental interests.”
Bev continued: “Jonathan Yeo had actually done a portrait of Queen Camilla before she was Queen. So t was her recommendation that King Charles sat for Johnny. And just to say about Jonathan, he is a lovely, very modest, very humble man.”
She added: “I think I would have probably, if I hadn't been there and seen it and spoken to the artist, I'd might have thought it was a little bit sinister. And obviously you've got some people on line going, ‘oh, it's very satanic’. It's not.
“That is not what is meant to be depicted here. It's actually his uniform. That was the inspiration, to carry that fabric because it's been commissioned by the Draper's Company of London, a livery company that is all about texture and fabric.
“You’ve got to see it in real life. It will blow your mind.”
